Tents/Shelter

[mrpotter]

I'm curious what you're all using for tents/shelter as I'm in the market for a new one. The cheap old tent I have is heavy and I'm not sure its really necessary in the Blue Mountains area.

[Strider]

Tarptent Scarp 1 for me.

Check out this thread too:
viewtopic.php?t=5821

[wildwalks]

generally I use my Blackbird Hammock. in the Blue Mountains and when ever I can.
http://www.warbonnetoutdoors.com/blackbirds.php

But if I need to be grown dwelling then I have a tent I got from Aldi for $40 that I modified and use. I just the the fly and the single pole then peg it out as a tarp tent (using a space blanket for the floor). Work fine in most conditions. Though the aldi tent has a fiber glass pole so I would not trust it in too colder considerations. (though I have slept in it in the snow a few times fine, but just a light dusting.) but as it gets to far below zero that pole will fail.

for snow camping I have a tent that I got MEC about 15years ago - still good and light enough but seams are starting to fail

Matt

[Supertramp]

I use a Six Moon Design Skyscape Trekker, am yet to use it with some decent wind and rain, but it has been great so far.

[Mark F]

Very happy with my ZPacks Hexamid Plus with beak for solo use. I use the fly version (no sewn in net floor) and add a net inner when required. I have had in strong winds and 10cm hail and it has come though unscathed. The image below shows it with the beak pulled up and with the net inner. (155g for the Hexamid, 215g for the net inner) Uses 1 walking pole.
For 2 people I use a Six Moons Designs Haven with net inner (760g). I haven't had this setup in bad weather - just a bit of rain. Uses 2 walking poles.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I can imagine how awesome that view must be from your shelter Mark F.

I use a Mountain Laurel Designs Cuben Fiber DuoMid shelter for those times I can't take my hammock.

[forest]

Like Mark I too have a Zpacks Hexamid Solo Plus with beak but mine has the bug net floor. I use a twin zpacks groundsheet inside and it's very spacious for one person. Plenty of room for gear/pack etc inside on the ground sheet next to me.
I've been very, very happy with it, Probably I have about 20 nights in mine by now all up. Bettered a few "proper" tents one night in a Kosci storm, they are much more durable in the weather than some think. But they can be drafty if your used to a double wall tent.

Or given the choice of trees I have a few different hammocks which I prefer (WBBB 1.0 Double and DIY) and cover them with a Hammock Gear 4 season cuben tarp.

[sthughes]

MSR Hubba Hubba HP most of the time.
Hilleberg Soulo for winter/exposed/potentially horrible conditions.

[Supertramp]

I also forgot to mention, I have a Mont Moondance 2 for when it's expected to get pretty wet as well.

[cooee]

Just retired my 20 year old Eureka Polar Storm. Great tent, served me well in every known weather.
I was in the same boat as you, what to get? Looked at them all, in the end I bought an Exped Venus II Extreme. Very happy with it.

[KANANGRABOYD]

My collection is quite diverse......
Tarptent Contrail, and Tarptent Stratospire 2.
Also have for a somewhat "permanent" camp tent is a Mont Extreme Dome.( Bought in '96 and used in Snowies and Arctic in wild conditions)- probably the BEST tent I have ver owned- never let me down!
I also have a Mountain Hardwear Weather Station 5/6 person 4 season tent.( got it for $700 when I worked for outdoor store ( Mtn Equipment) and got it for pro deal- retail 2500 at the time)
Also have a MSR Hubba HP and also 2 Moss Tents.( Moss are Probably the best tents ever made)- Now MSR
Have a GoLite Shangri-la 2
Also North Face VE-25
I also have a cheapy Vango Helium tent
Have a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1
And Salewa Sierra Leone ( old school) version bought in 98.
Last but not least have a MSR Carbon Reflex
Of all the tents I own, probably the Tarptents are my fave- despite the fact they are not "bombproof" as others, but for the design/weight and use they arwe hard to beat

[Franco]

Kanangraboyd,
There are several people that work (or worked) in the industry here in Melbourne too that use a Tarptent.
I think that it is a pretty good recommendation for the product, considering that they all paid retail versus staff price .

[ULWalkingPhil]

My collection is quite diverse......
Tarptent Contrail, and Tarptent Stratospire 2.
Also have for a somewhat "permanent" camp tent is a Mont Extreme Dome.( Bought in '96 and used in Snowies and Arctic in wild conditions)- probably the BEST tent I have ver owned- never let me down!
I also have a Mountain Hardwear Weather Station 5/6 person 4 season tent.( got it for $700 when I worked for outdoor store ( Mtn Equipment) and got it for pro deal- retail 2500 at the time)
Also have a MSR Hubba HP and also 2 Moss Tents.( Moss are Probably the best tents ever made)- Now MSR
Have a GoLite Shangri-la 2
Also North Face VE-25
I also have a cheapy Vango Helium tent
Have a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1
And Salewa Sierra Leone ( old school) version bought in 98.
Last but not least have a MSR Carbon Reflex
Of all the tents I own, probably the Tarptents are my fave- despite the fact they are not "bombproof" as others, but for the design/weight and use they arwe hard to beat

Wow. Thats an impressive list. I don't feel as bad now in regards to my stove fetishes

[iGBH]

Hilleberg Nallo 3 GT for bushwalking with family and cruizey trips.
Hilleberg Jannu for anything in the snow expecting bad conditions.
Tarptent Scarp 1 for solo fair weather trips (also used in snow in good conditions).
Kathmandu Expedition. Retired, now for kids camps.
Kathmandu Mountain - as above.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Mountain Laurel Design Cuben DuoMid
Oookworks Oooknest inner for DuoMid
GoLite Shangri La 3 with custom mods
I also own two other tents, I don't know what there called, one is over 15 years old
Warbonnet Blackbird Hammock
Warbonnet Superfly
Hammock Gear cuben 4-season tarp

[Bluegum Mic]

My collection is
Aarn pacer 1
Bearpawwd cuben ute with built in netting and sil floor
Golite SL5 with nest plus a custom 2 man inner
Dangerbird hammock and TRG prospecting tarp
Oh and a monster Roman explorer 9 for family car based trips

[photohiker]

Tarptent Scarp 1
Tarptent Notch
MLD TrailStar with OookStar inner
BlackWolf Turbo Lite 240 Plus for car trips.
Plus a couple of hammocks and tarps.

[phan_TOM]

I've recently started using a duomid from MLD which I have nicknamed the stealth bomber

Duomid

even though I prefer to use my dangerbird hammock / terra rosa tarp setup

Dangerbird

& I use a coleman 4 man tent that has an extra large covered vestibule for car camping

[sim1oz]

Our current list is much shorter...

Tartptent Double Rainbow - for the two of us
Tarptent Hogback - with kids

My wishlist...

Roger Caffin's tunnel tent - for the two of us in more inclement weather - hopefully it will be on the market soon. Just call us the 'droughtbusters' as most times we go camping it rains and rains and pours. Guess we won't be visiting Queensland any time soon or they could blame us for the floods

Solo tent - I was thinking about getting a Zpacks hexamid but then read ULWalkingPhil's post leading to the MLD Duomid and have been procrastinating ever since. I'm still erring towards the hexamid just to save weight but I worry about the netting floor.

[DaveNoble]

Solo tent - I was thinking about getting a Zpacks hexamid but then read ULWalkingPhil's post leading to the MLD Duomid and have been procrastinating ever since. I'm still erring towards the hexamid just to save weight but I worry about the netting floor.

I too was worried about the netting floor - so when I bought my hexamid (the slightly larger one person version, also with a beak) - I bought just the fly and a separate inner - netting with a cuben floor. This is a very flexible arrangement. The inner clips in place very quickly. The cuben floor is quite tough and not slippery. And its a bucket type floor - so provides good rain protection from raindrops splashing outside and also partial wind protection. This setup may be a little heavier than the netting floor and a cuben groundsheet - but only slightly. Last time I looked - this inner setup was not on the zpacks website any more - but Joe is flexible - and I'm sure he would make a special one for you if you requested it. A friend had made an inner custom made out of much lighter than standard materials.

My original plan was to use both the fly and inner in summer - for mosquito protection. And only use the fly in winter with a tyvek groundsheet. But I find I often take the full inner in winter - its a nice setup.

Dave

[Bluegum Mic]

Joes recently updated the website. He's making the inner again

[mrpotter]

Interesting guys! The dangerbird & tarptents look like great options. However are these good protection in very bad weather, like ice/cold and hail?

[Strider]

Interesting guys! The dangerbird & tarptents look like great options. However are these good protection in very bad weather, like ice/cold and hail?

Did you look at the Tarptent website?

www.tarptent.com

[mrpotter]

Yep sure have!

My concern comes that I have an ultra cheap k-mart V shaped tent. After replacing the aluminium tubes with carbon fibre, and the aluminium pegs with plastic, it now weighs 2kg and is suitable for 2-3 men. Sure a tarptent contrail is less than half the weight at 800g, but I can protect my pack, cook inside it, repair any parts easily as they're very cheap off the shelf components instead of purpose made textiles etc.
With an ultralight that'll only fit my body, wouldn't I need to add weight to protect food & equipment from wildlife?

[icefest]

I concede the question of money. You tent is easily one of the cheapest ways to get a decently light tent.

As far a room for cooking and storage goes, my trailstar with net inner weighs 900g, has room for two people plus large packs, can be patched with ducttape and you can cook in the vestibule.

There is enough room inside the inner for storage of food (~1 square meter) I prefer hanging up my food if there are rodents about, but that can be done in my 50g waterproof bag.

As far as repair goes, I'm not too sure yours is the most repairable, when the model goes out of stock you will not have any source of spare parts and warranty claims will be difficult.

[walkon]

I'm curious what you're all using for tents/shelter as I'm in the market for a new one. The cheap old tent I have is heavy and I'm not sure its really necessary in the Blue Mountains area.

How tall are you? Cause a number of those tents thrown up here are very ordinary if you have any height about you.

[mrpotter]

I concede the question of money.
...
As far as repair goes, I'm not too sure yours is the most repairable, when the model goes out of stock you will not have any source of spare parts and warranty claims will be difficult.

Money is always important. For the record we're comparing a $30 tent with $30 of mods, to $300+ tents.

I was mostly referring to the use of patching for any more permanent repairs at home - and how the more expensive tents would take to these kinds of repairs.

How tall are you? Cause a number of those tents thrown up here are very ordinary if you have any height about you.

Also a valid concern! I do want a lighter tent, but I don't want to compromise on comfort. Ceiling height also seems important for cooking inside the tent.

[Strider]

The reason your Kmart tent only weighs 2kg is because it is almost certainly poorly constructed and utilising weak materials. As for plastic pegs...seriously?

If you want a quality shelter that will protect you when conditions turn bad, unfortunately this involves handing over more money than many of us would like.

[Empty]

Yes you get what you pay for and if you want value for money it is hard to go past a tarptent. The moment dw is fantastic value at less than $300

[idc1970]

I too can vouch for the Tarptent Moment DW (double wall). Adjustable vents from inside, two vestibules and side openings, and the ability to upgrade your tent to free standing with the additional pole in light weight aluminium or carbon fibre. I also have the Notch which is lighter again (uses walking poles to hold it up), both thumbs up from me.