Good to know. Where your camp is, and the fact that I am not a moron.

@Dave:
Without a doubt, this is a shallow judgment on my part. “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and all that. But it can’t be helped. If I see someone out there in a bright purple shell, I’m going to think negatively of them. If I then talk to that person and find that he is a skilled outdoorsman, or find that he in some other appeals to me, my judgment of him will change and I will probably overlook his attire.

I don’t know that I would find an orange or yellow tent any more cheerful that a brown tarp. You have to consider the differences between tarps and tents. In a tent, you’re completely isolated from the environment. Wherever you look, all you can see is tent. A tarp is different. If I have my tarp pitched like I do in the above photos, I have a window on one side. If I’m below tree line, I probably have it pitched in an elevated fashion that allows me views of my environment on all sides. Much more to look at and to keep one entertained while under the shelter!

I have plenty of brightly colored gear myself. Partially because I track down pieces of gear that I want in off season sales and take whatever color is available. But sometimes I choose bright colors more deliberately. For winter snowshoeing trips in alpine environments and rock climbing, I like to know that I’m easily visible. Makes me more rescue-able should that become necessary. I like a brightly colored climbing rope too, so I can look down from rap stations and see *exactly* where it is and that it isn’t tangled or caught up somewhere. Also, there’s something to be said for climbing in a bright t-shirt that reads “JESUS HATES YOUR SUV”, but then I used to be the kind of kid who cruised around with the windows down and the music cranked, didn’t I?

Also, have you ever spent several consecutive rainy days in your brown tarp? It gets depressing, doesn’t it! On occasions like this, I think there’s something to be said for the cheerful glow created inside an orange or yellw tent. And, in winter snow storms, it’s much easier to find my way back to basecamp if I’m looking for orange or yellow tents.

Anyway, for bushcraft-type applications and general 3 season hiking I agree with you. Drab, natural colors are preferable. But there aren’t many Bushcrafty reasons to climb onto sub-zero summits in the middle of winter or to scale a sheer cliff face, so my kit reflects this.