Tarps. Who uses them?

[Orion]

A bit of glamour in the backcountry! Are you able to get darker shades of bridal veil? And wondering about the no-see-ums? Do we have those in Australia? Would the bridal veil mesh be small enough?

Yes, I could get some pretty racy stuff but I go with a simple unadorned style.

It isn't as fine a mesh, but I've never camped where there are noseeums. The coarser mesh breathes better.
Here is a shot of regular noseeum and plain bridal veil:

[Kinsayder]

I really like the notion of tarping it but most of my hiking is alpine, so I guess that as an emergency shelter, stowed away in my pack on hikes from hut to hut it would serve quite well but as a regular shelter it might be a stretch. I've not tried one but I'd imagine that snow would be hard to stop from drifting onto your face unless you bivy it as well. Then, coupled with a bivy, the weight would be comparable to a tent and the main benefit (as I see it) would be negated. It's still pretty tempting though!