I got a golite shangrila 3 for a major month long winter trip two winters ago and stripped it down to something like 1lb 5oz by removing all the extraneous 6 pull straps, 6 nest hooks, 3 vent poles, and main poles among other things. It is amazing how much all that useless stuff ads up when you have a six sided tent. I have added a little paracord back into the mix to give me more versatility in pitching it in various tarp configurations and have found myself using it even in the summer.
I absolutely love it. Indeed I love it so much i decided to experiment with a golite poncho tarp for summer use as well. I haven't quite used the poncho tarp enough on its own yet to make any huge decisions. Mostly just with my bivy. I can say it is a SUPERB add on as a little extra protection for a bivy setup. Am looking forward to using it alone with a ground cloth, my 1lb 4oz synthetic Lafuma summer bag and my Exped Airmat. I do add in a generic Sea-To-Summit a-symetrical bug net when it gets buggy.
As for the shangri-la 1. If the golite poncho tarp turns out to be too small for my summer needs (am 6'5") I will get one. Indeed I'll probably get one anyway.
The shangria 1's simple a-symetrical design means it can be pitched like a tarp in a huge variety of ways, most simply with a single line off a tree or my bike. This makes setup extremely easy with no poles necessary.
What appeals to me most about the Shangrila 1 is the ability to be set up a little higher and wider at the head for ease of access, headroom and superior ventilation.... "tarp like"... for beautiful summer weather. Yet it can also be pitched as originally intended in a completely enclosed fashion for storms or winter use. \
Indeed it is small, but 90% of the time you're not going to need to pitch it staked right down to the ground. This means you can have your enclosed winter / storm shelter and yet also have your large, wide airy tarp for those beautiful hot summer nights.
It too would work superbly with a $35 a-symetrical sea-to-summit bug net if you wanted an alternative to the specially made nest.
Oh, and one more thing. I have sewed a bit of ground cloth directly to my bug net 3/4 round thus making it completely bug proof. No creapy crawlies. I call it a "bug bivy". Very light, very simple, very effective and inexpensive to boot. I suppose I could just buy a shangri-la 1 nest or shangri-la 2 nest... and one day I might, but it's all the same. Am pleased with my own hack at the moment.
I'll try to post some pictures of my shangri-la 3 pitched in various tarp like configurations that you might get some inspiration on just how versatile the golite series are.
I think part of the reason I've fallen in love with these tents is because I always used to think a free standing single wall tent like the henry shire double rainbow or indeed my MSR Fling were the way to go. Boy was I naive.
Hundreds of s24o / s48o trips and some large trips lasting weeks and even over a month over the last few years in both winter and summer conditions have taught me that there is no such thing as a perfect solition for all conditions. There is only the right shelter for the right conditions on the right trip. s24o trips in addition to being superb grounds for rapid and low risk experimentation have evolved and informed my decisions so much I can barely identify with the choices I was making three or four years ago.
In the tech startup industry we have a saying. "Fail quickly." It is the key to learning and success. s24o are superb in that respect.
Indeed it is the evolution I've gone through with bikepacking and UL touring that I love the most. I no longer look for off the shelf solutions, instead I'm looking for versatile tools that can be capitalized on best with experimentation, experience and skill... what you carry in your head weighs nothing.
A tarp is lighter and more versatile then a tent if you take the time to learn how to use it.
Alcohol or even wood are lighter and more versatile and enjoyable then an Jetboil if take the time to learn where to find fuel and how to most effciently harness them.
Don't purchase a "cook kit". Take the time to assemble on piece by piece.
So too it goes with shelter.
The golite shangrila series are more elemental and when you get more elemental you find you also get lighter and more versatile gear.
This still doesn't mean I'm going to ever wear my golite poncho tarp actually as a poncho, but who cares, it's 6oz and I can pitch it 15 different ways.
These tools (not solutions) are, especially when you build them yourself or modify and adapt them yourself, not only lighter because they aren't one size fits all mass produced solutions for the mass market, but they are often more effectiv for your specific needs.
You know their limitations and you know how to get the most out of them through skill and experience with them.
And finally you know how to fix them when they break because you're intimately aware of how they work and are created.
Anyone who's bike toured or bikepacked for a significant period of time knows that everything breaks. Flat tires, broken chains, broken pedals, torn sidewalls, broken derailleur and brake cables, broken spokes, broken derrailleur arms. It happens.
I've come to love the challenge and adversity if trailside maintence and replair. It is the zen of bikepacking.
It is not your fauit, it cannot be avoided with even the best of maintence, it's not bad karma. These things are simply PART of the experience.
Rain, headwinds, adverse weather.... these things should be embraced as opportunities to learn, to rise to the challenge, to build character, to overcome, to grow.
They are the zen of unsupported racing. Which is why unssuported ultra-endurance races are the only type of race that interest me.
I can ride 200 miles in a day... but I have on more then one occasion walked 15 in a day or less... because of snow storms, ice storms and extreme fog.
I have single speeded 120 miiles before noon because I forgot to bring a spare derailleur cable. (I got up at 4am and had a tail wind.)
I've ridden straight through the night on many many occasions simply because that's the only time it wasn't raining.
I have single leg pedalled for 10 miles because I've broken a pedal axle.
The point being... that I truely loved it all. Overcoming each obstacal brought me an amazing exprience I might otherwise have missed.
I have braved snowstorms for a day of fresh tracks on a bluebird day through a mountain pass.
I have ridden all night and found a gourmet breakfast at my favorite cafe in a major metropolis on a sunday morning at 6am with 140 miles under my belt. (I also napped at the laudrimat while doing my laundry afterward.
Life like nature is always most beautiful after the storm and hence it is best enjoyed with the satisfaction of having had overcome some adversity in the process.
It's not all sunny days and fuzzy bunnies.
That is the zen of bikepacking.
And though I have failed to bring the point full circle... if you are going for a truely free and ultralight experience then definitely go with the Shangrila 1.
Be aware it is best utilized if you take the time to experiment with it fully. Try different pitch techniques. Try it with and without bug net. Try it in the winter. Try it in the summer. Rainstorms. Try it without carrying poles off a tree or your bike or with sticks and other found objects. Contemplate trimming off or out excess plastic nest hooks which really should be attached to the nest anyway, nylon pulls and straps, the poles built into the ridgeline vents, these are all "optional" in my opinion. Then try adding back in some lightweight para cord to give you that versatility to pitch it high to catch some breeze on a hot summer night... or like a tarp over a picnic table to cook and eat at on a rainy day.
