[pct-l] Contrail Tarptent

[Timothy Nye]

I'm not a cheerleader for the Contrail for one reason only and that's it's
performance in high winds.  I used a Contrail in 2009, a year which differs
from the last two years in terms of the amount of bad weather (high winds
with snow and sleet) encountered through the desert portion of the trail
more recently. (I know you've been out there since 2009 too, Burning
Daylight)

I had no difficulty in obtaining a taut pitch.  With tarp style tents I've
found, as the instructions advise, that you need to re-tighten the lines
after 15-20 minutes or so; I've always done it a third time as well, right
before I turn in or after rain begins.  In winds, the Contrail is supposed
to be pitched with it's smaller end facing into the wind, which I did, but
a gusting wind storm resulted in my being buffeted by the tent sides
throughout the night.  Vulnerability to winds is not a feature only to the
Contrail, it's shared by a number of tents.  In 2010 a couple of instances
of actual tent collapse were shared with or witnessed by me; in one
instance during a storm with high winds and freezing temperatures the hiker
wound up getting off the trail. This year I believe Chilidog and Sea Horse
had a Double Rainbow which went down at Pioneer Mail, and I think Splash
may have had one that when her tent went down at the island encampment at
Cascade Locks.  Although others may speak more knowledgibly on this subject
than, the thing about high winds for me is that they seem to be more often
that accompanied by some form of condensation and a drop in temperature.
The desert, especially at the beginning of the hiking season, seems to be
where the most severe conditions are encountered.

My observations in 2010 led me to conclude that the plains Indians knew
what they were doing, a conical, tee-pee shape appears to be the most
stable.  There are a number of these, but I used the Six Moons Designs
Lunar Solo (with a reinforced floor).  At PCT days at Cascade Locks I was
camped on the Eastern end of the island, near Splash, without any wind
breaks.  The tent was still standing in one of the most exposed positions.
As an experiment, I left it there for the whole time I was there, using the
small Ti stakes. During this entire time the wind was ferocious and the
tent was constantly under assault.  The lines never loosened and the tent
walls were taut when I left; that was from Friday afternoon to mid-morning
Sunday.  The kicker for me was that I wasn't sure which way the wind as
going to be coming from, up river or down, so I pitched the tent at a 90
degree angle from it's optimum pitching position that would maximize it's
wind shedding ability.

The major plus of the Contrail, from my viewpoint, is it's roominess.
Also, condensation is alsways going to an issue with a single wall tent.
The roominess offsets this somewhat; although increasing the amount of
netting (not using or closing the vestibule unless it's raining) will also
offset this, especially for a conical type set up.

My two cents.

Gourmet.