[pct-l] UL Tents

[John Abela]

Hey Chris,

As others have said, Six Moon Design, TarpTent are probably the two most
commonly knows manufactors for UL tents.

The MSR and Big Agnes are pretty much rips of those two companies tents
(still great tents, but they have to overbuild to hold their reputation and
thus are heavier).

If you are looking for something lighter than the SMD and TarpTent models -
and still want to maintain an enclosed tent for those hellishly skiters -
there is the Echo 1 system from Hyperlite Mountain Gear.

Now the following example is far outside anything you will encounter on the
PCT unless the weather over 2011 continues to play games with us mere
humans, but here is my story...

I have owned multiple TT models. Every single one has failed me. And, every
single SMD would fail me to because they all have the same issues.

For me, I live where it rains and rains and rains and oh-boy, its raining
some more. Gotta love the rain here in the Redwood Forest of NorCal.

Check out this photograph of a trail I was on... this time of year just
about every trail up here looks like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abelajohnb/4619499718/

Now imagine trying to setup a tent in this.

Simply put, you can walk for 8-10 hours and not find a dry spot here. When
it starts getting really wet, even finding a burned out Redwood Stump to
crawl into is no good as they have been saturated. We had 33 out of 36 days
of straight rain in Nov/Dec. It stopped raining the day before Christmas and
Christmas day (ohhh, how nice) and than went back at it again.

So, the issue here is water getting into the bathtub. I directly talked with
Henry from TarpTent before I bought my first one and he said they would
handle it. So I dropped the money and first night it failed. Second night it
failed. Cut my trip short as all of my down gear was soaked. Called TT and
told them about it. He said he's encountered such situations only a few
times in all the years he's been at it. Suggested a different one, I tried
it. It failed too. Simply put, the bathtubs on TT's are so freakishly low,
that even a slight amount of water flow outside the bathtub is going to make
you consider the wisdom of one of those - especially if you use down
sleeping gear.

So, I passed on it and went looking for something with a real bathtub. Ended
up over at MLD ( www.mountainlaureldesigns.com ) and all of their stuff had
the same issues. But, while looking at their gear I discovered a fairly new
start-up in the industry called 'Hyperlite Mountain Gear' (
www.hyperlitemountaingear.com ) and they pretty much only have two products.
A tent and a backpack. Slightly more expensive than what you'll pay for MSR
tents and about twice what you will pay for a TarpTent. Their Echo1 peaked
my interest because of the higher bathtub it has (10, maybe 12 inches) and
because it puts the hurt to even TarpTents on the weight scale, which is
amazing. It's 100% cuben fiber and bug netting. Anyway, at this point I had
already dropped over a grand trying to find a tent that would keep me dry
here in the Redwoods, so I just sucked it up and dropped the money for the
HMG tent.

I have had the chance to use it a few times now but not enough for a full
review of it. Here are my thoughts so far. Freakishly light. Hellishly
strong. Crazy high bathtub. Modular system is nice for when the bugs are not
out. Brilliant use of the right weight CF in just the right places. Bathtub
is heavier CF, tarp is very light. At this point a few negatives. The insert
is just not tall enough for my 6'2 height. I just cannot sit up in it
without hitting the top of the bug-net, unless I really have the poles
adjusted high, but if it is raining hard I cannot do that. That makes it
very very hard to move around in. It is a front-entrance so that already
makes it hard for the average hiker who is not use to that design style.
Where it lacks in height it makes up for in width. I thought it would not be
as wide as it is. I can easily get my z-lite pad inside with about 5 or 6
inches on each side. Could not fit two of them in there though. The length
of the insert also surprised me. It looks like it is not very long but I
could get myself and my pack inside if I needed to (never have because of
the front beak).

Anyway Chris, I am in a very unique situation here where I live. Nowhere
along the PCT are you probably going to encounter 30+ days of straight rain.
Maybe NorWA if it is a bad year (??). But even that factor aside, the weight
of the HMG compared to a TarpTent, if you have the money to spend, makes the
HMG a viable option if you are looking for a bomb proof shelter. I would
take this on snow without hesitation. I am not sure I would put it into a
season4 situation of hellishly strong hail/snow/wind though. Regardless of
what HMG says and stands by, the lack of a beak at the foot end (even though
I have never ever had water get in from that direction) just does not turn
this into a 4Season tent. But, lets face it, that is not something typically
encountered on the PCT.

In the end, I would probably just stick with the HMG over getting another
TarpTent for the PCT. Just too many condensation issues with the TarpTent
line of tents (I've never had one of them that didn't suffer that) and they
are all heavier than the HMG, and I already own this HMG, so I might as well
just stick with it. Overkill for the PCT I would say. I do know a few folks
used the HMG on the PCT last year and heard/read no major complaints.

In closing, I would just say figure out your budget for a tent, and start
your research there. If you only have 250 bucks, check out TarpTent. If
you've got 350 bucks, check out SMD, if you've got 400 bucks, check out MLD,
and if you've got 500 bucks, check out HMG. (and yes, MSR at 3.5 pounds
heavier than anything else, but still in the MSR 450-500 range)

All that said, I suspect you will get a lot of folks who say forget a
full-on tent, take some bug gear and a tarp and call it good - and save
yourself even more weight!!

John


On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 5:58 PM, Christopher Barrow <cbarrow1 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Does anyone have perspectives on the lightweight tent as a shelter for the
> PCT.  I'm pretty resolved that I will enjoy the evenings/sleeping much more
> during my hike if I can be totally enclosed (more protection from the wind,
> the elements, rodents, critters, and the always annoying mosquitoes).
>