I already have a couple of pyramid style shelters and I enjoy the design but I always felt I was at the height limit (6'1") for the length of my main shelter if I required it pitched close to the ground in a bad storm. The design of the pyramid shelter to me is a good compromise of protection, weight and ease of set up and can be used, in most locations, for all seasons with options of adding an inner tent whether it be mesh or fabric. I also find it a pretty fun design as you can also combine groundsheets, bivy sacks, hanging bug nets etc depending on the situation.
I was excited when I heard that HMG were designing a pyramid shelter because they are one of the better manufacturers that use Cuben, in my opinion, and they have always designed their products to be very sturdy, they will add weight if necessary to make a product more reliable rather than simply going for the lowest weight. Their customer support, website and marketing is also far ahead of most other cottage suppliers which I imagine is supported by the higher prices they charge. I received this product within two weeks of placing the order, including shipping to Australia. A big difference from other cottage companies who have a 12 week plus waiting list for the product to be made. Once again, I'm sure that the higher cost of the HMG product supports this practice.
Here are some pictures of the Ulta2 set up, I haven't had a chance to use it in the field yet. The quality seems very good and as you can see there is heaps of room for 2... weight is about 500-600 grams (I haven't weighed it after adding mid point guylines)
Very rushed write up I will add some more info later and clean up some spelling and grammar issues!
- UltraMid 2 first set up
First set up, perimeter guylines came pre-attached
- Side View
Side view of the mid, note the door is on the short side for ease of access for 2 people
- Both doors open
Both front doors open, note the edges of the tarp are raised high for ventilation
- Doors open with groundsheet and xtherm
Plenty of usable space, shown with groundsheet and full length xtherm mat
