Which Tarptent?

[orion_134]

I'm looking for feedback on the Tarptent solo tents.  Who has one?  Likes?  Dislikes?  Anyone have a double that they don't find to bulky/heavy for solo outings?  So many models and not so sure on the differences.
Thanks,
Jesse

[bmike-vt]

have a contrail.
was looking at the moment, but as i run drop bars, wanted to be sure i had the smallest packing tent for options up front, in a frame bag, or attached to a seat bag.

have used it in the backyard and did 24 hours of heavy rain testing after i seam sealed.
never made it out for a longer test where it was needed. will know more next spring.

impressed by the quality, and ease of setup, even though this tent takes  bit more than others to pitch.

[JerryW]

Not to dissuade you from Tarptent, because they are quality products, but also take a look at the Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker(24oz. plus 3.6oz. for poles). Similarly priced to the Tarptent products and comparable in weight. They also have a polyester version(34oz.) and a cuben fiber version(15oz., big $).

The one downside I can think of to any single-wall shelter, like the Tarptent, is condensation. By morning, especially in more humid environments, the inside is usually covered in moisture. You need to be careful not to rub against the walls or you can get pretty wet.

There's some Tarptent reviews over at BackpackGearTest.


Jerry

[orion_134]

Won't the ventilation gaps at the bottom and the doors allow the humidity/condensation to exit?

[Cheyou]

jerry are you a tarp guy And happy shortests day of the year .

Thom

[JerryW]

Won't the ventilation gaps at the bottom and the doors allow the humidity/condensation to exit?

That's the thinking. It all depends on how much humidity is in the air. In a dry climate - no problems. If it's rainy and humid and the the vestibules are all buttoned up, there's probably going to be condensation.

I'm trying to decide what kind of shelter to use for those trips where a lack of trees would prevent the use of my hammock and tarp. There's tradeoffs with any type of shelter.

jerry are you a tarp guy And happy shortests day of the year .

Thom

I'm a hammock and tarp guy now. I have some past touring and backpacking experience with tarptents and regular, double-wall tents, though.

[Cheyou]

I am making a new home made siltarp 8x10. Works for Me . Touring on the divide this summer for  4 to  6 weeks . Low budget . Your home made gear is very nice.

Thom

[riverfever]

I use an OR bivy. It's a bit heavy but i'd sleep in it in a car wash. I've been looking at the Gossamar Gear solo tarp though. What about that?

[joeydurango]

I have a TarpTent Moment that I've used on the CTR and other rides.  I love it.  Lighter than many full bivys, more spacious than any bivy.  Nice and waterproof once seam-sealed, but is somewhat prone to "misting" in heavy rain.  Will have condensation, as others have mentioned, in humid climates or when sleeping in the rain or cold.  As far as single-wall shelters go, I think the Moment is one of the best out there.

One caveat - change out the stock stakes for MSR Groundhogs or similar, unless you always plan on camping in perfect dense loamy dirt.

[Area54]

My Terra Nova bivi tarp just arrived. Has mesh liner, tub floor (sealed) but fly is not sealed. Raining out now, just about to cut in the footprint and get outside for setup in the rain.

[orion_134]

Thanks to those posting up responses that are related to the original post.  This thread is for information on Tarptent's line of shelters.  Not bivys.  Not tarps.  Let's not muddle up future search results.
Back on topic.  Why did you choose the Moment over the other choices?

[bmike-vt]

Contrail for me. Packed size. And when I use it for hiking i'll have trekking poles for the front.

[joeydurango]

Moment for me over the other TarpTents because, for the type of tent I needed (good pack size, no hiking poles necessary, as few stakes as possible, fast pitch time) it has the best attributes.  It fits quite well under my mountain riser bars, it pitches nice and solid with only two stakes, and it's pretty roomy to boot.  Hard to beat in my opinion if you want a full tent for bikepacking, unless you have portage space constraints like bmike-vt on his drop-bar bike.

[Curtis C]

I have  the Double Rainbow. I went with the double for the additional room inside with only a minor weight penalty. I am glad I did. The size is just right for me(I'm a big guy). The solo rainbow would have been cramped.

One thing I noticed is most of Henry's tents that use tent poles come with a packed size of 20 X 4. I suspect the reason for this is all of his poles measure 20". I know the poles from my DR do. I think the tent without poles will stuff down to 15X4 which would work better strapped to the bars. I could either relocate the poles or see if i can have a shorter pair made.

I am very happy with my DR tent but I do like the Moment design better. Maybe they will have a Moment2 available when I wear the DR out.

Curtis

[bmike-vt]

I talked with Henry via email at great length about the 2 - Moment and Contrail. The packing issue with the moment has less to do with the pole and more to do with the integrated triangle struts. Those cannot quickly be removed as they reside in sleeves at the head and foot of the tent.

I really wanted to make the Moment work, and probably could have, and I would be happy with either, to be honest. But when I made the buy, the Contrail ticked the right boxes.

I did not consider the larger models. Was looking for ~$200 or less and as small as possible.

[jhl99]

Edit:  Oops,  I just realized the original poster is referring to Tarptent as a brand, I originally interperted Tarptent as a type of tent.  Regardless, I think my comments are valid.  JHL99

I just finished making a 6 Moons Night Wing.
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/make-your-own-gear/night-wing.html
(I know nothing about 6 Moons, but a commercial company that publishes plans for competing product must be OK!)

I went this route because:
1.  Custom dimensions:  I made it longer than published.
2.  After using a floorless tent for winter camping, and experience the advantages, I want to try floorless for 3 season use.  (can add floor later if I want one).
3.  I'm not sure about poles.  For now, I designed it to be adaptable to use site found branches/trees/or bike.  If this ends up being a hassle, I'll add poles to the setup.
4.  I'm considering making the rear wall zipped so that both the front and rear can be unzipped and the 'tent' converted to more of a fly.
5.  Almost all of my camping is in sheltered, forested sites, superior wind stability is not required. (I have a traditional free standing tent to use as substitute if required)
6.  If this design ends up suboptimal, the scissors and sewing machine are standing by for modifications.

Not one of my requirements, but without poles to contend with, stuff bag can be made to whatever size one wishes.  I randomly made the stuff bag 5.5 dia x 12" long... easily fits tarp, tyvex ground sheet and stakes.

[Dave-W]

Contrail for me. Packed size. And when I use it for hiking i'll have trekking poles for the front.

Bike-vt : Im thinking about getting the contrail because of the listed pack size.  If you add the tent poles are you able to keep the same pack size or is it longer/longer?

Did you ever consider the ultralight, it looks to have the same pack size. If you did, why did you go with the contrail?

Thanks

[bmike-vt]

the smallest you can make the contrail if you keep the pole (either a trekking pole or a collapsible tent pole from Henry) is 14" long. you can remove the rear struts and pack it into a ball or odd shaped bag, but i haven't done that as i want a fast pitch.

the moment will pack down to 18" in length, due to the struts in the triangles. again, those can come out (more difficult than the moment, from what i remember in my emails) - and that will pack down small as well, assuming the pole is elsewhere.

for me, i'm going to strap the tent without pole to the underside of my front drybag, or to my tailbag. the pole will slide into a sleeve on a yet to be made frame bag.

i didn't look at the sublite, as it requires 2 trekking poles, this would be great for backpacking / trekking - but i didn't want an extra pole on the bike if i could afford it.

and, from what i've read, a contrail can be rigged without the pole. i plan to experiment with the bike and extra guy line next season.

here are a few pics (none of them packed on bike):

rear up for ventilation:

Rear Struts by mbeganyi, on Flickr

36 hours of rain. only a few drops seeped under my bag (left in for testing) from me climbing in and out to deal with my dog and messing with the door, (dog was upset i was sleeping in the yard in a downpour);


TarpTent Contrail, from inside by mbeganyi, on Flickr

interior, rear flap up for ventilation (during seam sealing): full floor and bug net, and from talking with henry about the bottoms he suggests not taking a ground cloth unless really rocky / prickly - as he rarely sees a repair request for the botoms

Interior by mbeganyi, on Flickr


some great youtube stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/user/francodarioli/videos

his 'peg test' and rain and wind test sold me that i could make the contrail work. more room than a bivy, lighter than some of the models out there (just have to pitch it), and way lighter and more packable than my current kit.

if i were running flat bars i'd likely go moment.
but then there is still the need to carry a collapsible pole when i use it for some planned backpacking, so it was a toss up.

[Area54]

Edit:  Oops,  I just realized the original poster is referring to Tarptent as a brand, I originally interperted Tarptent as a type of tent. 

Me too, my bad.

Anyhow, forge on. Slightly off topic, but relates to my input. So bivvy tarptent up in the backyard, not really happy with it, so it goes back to the shop. Spent all xmas eve researching tents,  came back to the Contrail. Looks roomy, light, packable. I like to see the outside at night - moon, stars, critters - and the huge opening will deliver that and more.

[Thumby]

I used a Contrail on TD.  Drop bar setup, 44cm.  I didn't "have to", but I cut about an inch off the rear struts to make room for my hands on the controls when packed.  It needs a little attention to detail to set up correctly, hard for me to get the physics down pat.  If I was touring I'd take it again, if racing I'd just do a bivvy.