Have we discussed shelters this year (I'verounded it down)!

[redefined_cycles]

Firstly, sorry. Bloomin shelters again

Managed to get my (invisible) BAM badge for last year so decided this year I'd lay off. But now after completing my 2nd consecutive BAM and leaving full time employment (zero contract now, more flexi-time ) I think I wanna try and do a full run like the BAM top banana leaderboard folk. Is it 70 and more someone like Reg is on...

First BAM I managed to get away with a daylight bivy but without deploying anything other than the quilt and mat. Second BAM (still awaiting someone to challenge if someones summer house doesn't/does count) and I ended up going with the bivy but being given a summer house. Then it rained from 0400 so I had an extended lie in and now contemplating proper shelters again for when the going gets tough later in the year.

The story of m shelters so far. Firstly, I'm rubbish at putting up tarps and tents. The Lunar Solo I got off Stu didn't seem big enough for me. I'm 5ft10 and the double walled Trekker Tent Stealth 1 person was nice but head room a bit low and always risked doing my back in getting in or out.

The bivy bags I've had have been the Borah (too slippery); army type Goretex (heavy but can manage alot); Alpkit (it's Sonder) and I can't recall what else. Six Moons Design Deschutes could work well as it's light and I suppose Sean fits it so, so should I. But I'm not sure I'm ready to be eaten alive by insects whilst sleeping in't summer. It's light though.

Erm... So I've found this page on backpackingLight.com and it would appear one doesn't have to sell a kidney to invest in an ultralight that doesn't suffer too much condensation, is roomy enough and (kindof) affordable.

https://backpackinglight.com/gear-shop/ ... 5%2C435.25

SeekOutside Eolus and the Gossamer Gear One seem to be appropriate. But then again I'm trying to get something at least 3 season appropriate

Did I say sorry for opening another shelter thread

[Richpips]

What are you wanting Shaff?

A tarp (and bivi) for fast and light or a tent for a home from home.

Lightweight hooped bivi - Outdoor Research Helium

Terra Nova Moonlite bivi couple with a light tarp.

The F10 Helium is a great tent (one in classifieds)

Oh, and the Lunar Solo is used by plenty of people who are taller than you?

If you want something really light you'll need to spend much money.

[ScotRoutes]

LOL - just accept that one shelter is never enough. Think of it like bikes

[ton]

i love a good shelter thread.
i would love a good shelter too. one that will fit a not too mobile 6ft 4'' large framed gent.
i have tried a few, but no success as yet.

[slarge]

I really like my Trailstar (copy). Spacious enough for 2, and not too heavy. Needs a pole but a great tarp for winter.

[ScotRoutes]

i love a good shelter thread.
i would love a good shelter too. one that will fit a not too mobile 6ft 4'' large framed gent.
i have tried a few, but no success as yet.

Speak to Marc at TrekkerTent and ask him to make you one.

[Richpips]

i love a good shelter thread.
i would love a good shelter too. one that will fit a not too mobile 6ft 4'' large framed gent.
i have tried a few, but no success as yet.

There must be a teepee type shelter that will fit you Tony. LuxePeak type thing?

[redefined_cycles]

i love a good shelter thread.
i would love a good shelter too. one that will fit a not too mobile 6ft 4'' large framed gent.
i have tried a few, but no success as yet.

Speak to Marc at TrekkerTent and ask him to make you one.

You might be waiting a few years before you get tired of chasing him though Ton I fortunatlely ended up with a used one after much waiting and prodding lightly

[redefined_cycles]

I really like my Trailstar (copy). Spacious enough for 2, and not too heavy. Needs a pole but a great tarp for winter.

I was looking (and admiring) yours in that 80ish miler you did to check out your gear Steve(en?). Love to get some more info on that and whats weights we talking...

[redefined_cycles]

Rich. Not light and fast (I conceded that I'm never gonna be that) but light enough to manage without getting bogged down too much. Main thing for me is always the winters - what shelter did you take to try the HT550 (or was it Cairgnorms) last year please?

1.2kg for the Helium sounds really good and I assume its winter appropriate. Another thing for me is something that I could sit up in properly as I might just get away with saying my prayers sat down if it's too cold out - yet to ask a scholar about my specific BAM situation

Oh, and for fast/light I already have the Black Diamond that someone kindly gave me off here and it's what I'm using at present. 1.2kg on the Helium is also only 200g heavier than the goretex army bivy I used through last winter...

[slarge]

I really like my Trailstar (copy). Spacious enough for 2, and not too heavy. Needs a pole but a great tarp for winter.

I was looking (and admiring) yours in that 80ish miler you did to check out your gear Steve(en?). Love to get some more info on that and whats weights we talking...

Ah that was a terra nova pulse tent, Shaf. It's a tiny 1 man 2 skin tent that weighs 600g. To be honest it is too small to be comfortable, quite fragile and a bit fiddly to put up. It's my Tour Divide tent, but after that it might be up for sale (I might be having a clearout). The MLD trailstar is much bigger and similar weight, but a single skin tarp.

[redefined_cycles]

Thanks Steve. I might keep open my eyes for it but in the meantime will lookup the Trailstar copy. I hate putting up complex things (and maybe why I never got on with the Lunar Solo)...

Oh, I forgot to add the Alpkit Ordos (or whatever) two man that was really nice when I had it (or was it a Jaran!).

[Rob S]

The Lunar Solo isn't bad. Though it is way more finicky to pitch than my Elixir, practice makes perfect here. I'm 6ft and it's just ok for me as long as there is no condensation. Trouble is, the only time I don't get condensation is when I leave the door open. So on a rainy night I'm getting some wetness whatever I do, I suppose pitched with it's back to the weather it would probably be ok with the door open. I haven't tried that yet though.

I have thought to myself, if I have to leave the door open all the time, why not use a tarp and get similar weather protection, but at a lower weight. It's still early days for me and the Solo though, I need to use it a bit more yet before making a decision.

[ScotRoutes]

Rich. Not light and fast (I conceded that I'm never gonna be that) but light enough to manage without getting bogged down too much. Main thing for me is always the winters - what shelter did you take to try the HT550 (or was it Cairgnorms) last year please?

1.2kg for the Helium sounds really good and I assume its winter appropriate. Another thing for me is something that I could sit up in properly as I might just get away with saying my prayers sat down if it's too cold out - yet to ask a scholar about my specific BAM situation

Oh, and for fast/light I already have the Black Diamond that someone kindly gave me off here and it's what I'm using at present. 1.2kg on the Helium is also only 200g heavier than the goretex army bivy I used through last winter...

I wouldn't compromise my summer shelter requirements by requiring it to be winter standard. Having said that, most of the winter I use a tarp and bivvy bag When I want a winter tent I use my Scarp 1.

[ScotRoutes]

The Lunar Solo isn't bad. Though it is way more finicky to pitch than my Elixir, practice makes perfect here. I'm 6ft and it's just ok for me as long as there is no condensation. Trouble is, the only time I don't get condensation is when I leave the door open. So on a rainy night I'm getting some wetness whatever I do, I suppose pitched with it's back to the weather it would probably be ok with the door open. I haven't tried that yet though.

I have thought to myself, if I have to leave the door open all the time, why not use a tarp and get similar weather protection, but at a lower weight. It's still early days for me and the Solo though, I need to use it a bit more yet before making a decision.

That's about right. Consider the Lunar Solo to be a tarp, a groundsheet and some midge netting. If I'm tarping in summer I carry a bivvy bag with midge netting built in too. The Lunar Solo just combines all of those into one piece of equipment.

[redefined_cycles]

Tarp and bivy Colin... ... But you're just solid. Hadn't thought of getting 2 shelters for winter and summer use though Colin, ta...

[Rob S]

Qu for the tarp users, (sorry Shaf, hope you don't mind?)

Are tarps open enough to never get condensation, or is it dependant on how you pitch them? What about the Trailstar, if you pitch it down low because of bad weather, is condensation a problem?

[ScotRoutes]

Qu for the tarp users, (sorry Shaf, hope you don't mind?)

Are tarps open enough to never get condensation, or is it dependant on how you pitch them? What about the Trailstar, if you pitch it down low because of bad weather, is condensation a problem?

I've had "condensation" under an open tarp. There are atmospheric conditions that will cause moisture to form on any surface. As you suggest, pitching low to reduce airflow will exacerbate the situation.

[redefined_cycles]

Qu for the tarp users, (sorry Shaf, hope you don't mind?)

Are tarps open enough to never get condensation, or is it dependant on how you pitch them? What about the Trailstar, if you pitch it down low because of bad weather, is condensation a problem?

Not at all Rob. I forgot to mention (my other shelters exp) that the one I got off Stu (shaped tarp in orange) was in hindsight one of the best I had. Easy to put up (hindsight) and just did the job. No faff of zips or anything and superlight. Maybe a shaped tarp again is way forward (for now).

[Cheeky Monkey]

Trailstar, IMO, bulky and heavy *compared to other tarps* BUT very nearly bomb proof. I am very fond of mine (original rather than knock-off, if that matters).

Lunar solo is also vaguely exciting because it does nearly everything - compact, light, anti-bug etc.

Feel free to prove me wrong if you've weighed them, my assessment of weight is entirely esoteric.

How many deep-winter-conditions bivis do you think you'll do? I would.just buy the one you're going to use most and then back it up (and accept the weight penalty) with another bivi inside when winter hits.

Or look at some of the Lanshans. My No.1 (another Lunar knock-off?) was cheap, and seems to cope with most stuff.

Or a Gatewood Cape.

Mleh, it's all compromise and personal prefs

[Bearbonesnorm]

Yeah, perhaps no such thing as the perfect 365 day UK shelter really. I rarely sleep in a tent, not because I don't like them or because I'm rufty tufty but because I'm too lazy for a tent and generally CBA with the faff. I can usually deploy a tarp far quicker, pack it faster and not worry too much about it when I get home.

I tend to believe that a bivvy bag / tarp set up is the most versatile shelter. If that was a shaped tarp (in my case often a Gatewood) and a light bug proof bivvy, then you've lots of options and it's more than capable of year round use.

Are tarps open enough to never get condensation, or is it dependant on how you pitch them?

As Colin says, varies with pitch Rob. Always puzzled by tarp users who try and emulate a tent - something like this is a condensation trap.

i have tried a few, but no success as yet.

These are designed for folk up to and even over 6'8" Tony. https://lightheartgear.com/products/lightheart-solong-6

[boxelder]

That Seek Outside Eolus looks a bargain at $205 and then you add the inner/gsheet and sealed seams and it's nearly $500. And then you need pole(s)
A Big Agnes Copper Spur can be had for £350 or a Tiger Wall for £315.
My Copper Spur tidily fits on a bar roll, with homemade extra groundsheet, or at a squeeze in my Ortlieb TT bag and has never leaked (yet). Easy to erect (although inner first without the extra groundsheet) it has loads of useful gear staching pockets for staying organised and the side entry makes it easy to get in and out, or spend some time in.
The materials clearly aren't going to stand for abuse, but at around 1kg for a full tent, that's expected. I'd describe it as 3 season, as the bathtub floor keeps cold wind at bay to a decent degree.
Expensive? Sort of, but removes the 'need' for summer and winter shelters.
O had a Trekkertent, but got wet when my lanky legs pushed the bathtub groundsheet out beyond the flysheet, which did it's job of shedding heavy rain - into the bathtub.......... Couldn't live with the awkward entry and exit past a pole either.

I nearly went for a Tiger Wall
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/big-agnes- ... 4172566820

[redefined_cycles]

Thanks Boxelder. Yes, I realised the play on words of that Eolus soon aftwr I posted the thread. Thanks for the link to the Big Agnes. I imagine something like that might eventaully be the way forward (or not considering that my Alpkit Jaran was a similar concept but just a bit heavier/bulkier).

Maybe the Deschutes is what I may ultimately need to go for (or Trailstar, though price is a bit tough!).

[Rob S]

The Lunar Solo I got off Stu didn't seem big enough for me.

Forgot to say, do you use the mid panel tie-outs? When the wind blew, I had the fabric in my face before I started using them. I cut two thin garden canes so they just fitted my frame bag, then used a junior hacksaw to put a "v" on either side to catch the cord when I put a couple of turns round. They could be a bit taller, but it's made quite a difference inside.

[Bearlegged]

If the Lunar Solo wasn't big enough, I'd be surprised if the Deschutes is what you're after.