MLD SoloMid

[Nathan Baker]

I received my sil SoloMid in the mail the other day and thought I would share some photos. Since there was also good amount of snow on the horizon I thought it would be nice to see how it held up under a few inches.

In the last photo the snow is about 8-9". Without any tweaking or shaking anything off it held up very nicely.

[David Ure]

Nice – what are the dimensions?

[Nathan Baker]

I didn't take measurements yet, but Ron said that it was 42" wide (I dont know the length) and I had my poles set at 140cm to set up the peak.

[Ron Bell / MLD]

HI!

I was testing a SoloMid in the snow last night too! We got about 2-3 ft here. I let it stand all night and it got completely burried.

I shook off the top so you could see it- it was completely buried…

When I looked inside both of the one piece CF ( strong) trek poles were both curving a lot! At least equal to +100lbs of force at the apex- no problems to the shelter at all.

From watching it get buried I figure by just shaking it a few times during the night and then getting out maybe only once to shovel it would have been fine inside.

[Anonymous]

This tent looks like the DuoMid or is it a different tent? I can't find a SoloMid on the MLD website??

[Nathan Baker]

Looks good Ron! I would have left mine out, but I was afraid of my CF trekking poles snapping so I took it in before we went in for the night. We ended up with about 1 1/2' over here and I agree that with a little shaking out it would have been fine

[Ron Bell / MLD]

We do not have the SoloMid ™ on the site yet.

A few folks got a SoloMid prototype. We are doing final testing and tweaks and will have it out in January.

Basically, it's a smaller DuoMid ™ that is lighter and trimmed of features not needed in a Solo SIze.

We may have a tent version with a sewn in net skirt and floor option.

We have already tweaked the Solo InnerNet size to fit the SoloMid and have been shipping version recently. Will also be available with just the net skirt- SO – lots of options for complete protection.

Happy Holidays
Ron

[t.darrah]

If having had my new SoloMid setup during this same winter storm I would have chickened out long before Ron. I would have likely removed snow at least once if not multiple times. Great to see a true test of the storm worthiness of this new shelter when pitched in epic conditions.

Ron, what poles were used in the setup? I use LT4's and can only hope for equal performance.

[Bruce Tolley]

Ron
From what you said, the DuoMid in the photo was erected with two poles, in the inverted V method?

[Jonathon Rogers]

Solomid looks interesting…my feeling is that my Duomid is really a better solo shelter once you take into account gear for two people or if you want to cook inside the shelter, but I'd maybe try out the Solomid if it looked like there would be room for gear.

I put my Duomid out during the storm too to test both my new Stephenson's DAM and the DuoMid storm worthiness and light snow loading with the "inverted-v" pole setup method.

It did great…I slept while 6" or so came down and no drama whatsoever.

I do like the inverted-v setup SO much better than the offset pole or central pole setup…central pole makes it easy to knock the pole around getting in and out of bags/bivy sacks and the offset pole (for me) always seems to result in one side of the mid having flattened corners when pitched taut.

[Diplomatic Mike]

The Solomid does look interesting, but i think i'll be sticking with my Duomid. I use it as a solo shelter, and the extra room inside for gear and cooking is just about perfect for me. I would probably go for the Solomid if i hiked in a drier climate.

Can anyone post what their pole set-up is if using the inverted 'v' in a Duomid.

[hunter nelson]

questions
1.why not is cuben?(because its a prototype?)
2.can we get a pic of someone in it?
3.do you tuch the edges?
4.cost?
5.vent?

looks like 2010 it will be the
''solomid v.s. hexmid(z -packs)'' ????

[Adam Frizzell]

Nathan/Ron,

Looks awesome! I'm eagerly waiting the SoloMids arrival.
Nathan — Do you know how much your sil SoloMid weighs?
I'm thinking this new MLD shelter could be my go to winter shelter, especially after seeing these pics!

Thanks for sharing,
Adam

[Jonathon Rogers]

>Can anyone post what their pole set-up is if using the >inverted 'v' in a Duomid.

My setup for the inverted-v in the Duomid is two BD adjustable aluminum poles with two 12" pole jacks. The poles are set to around 135cm.

[Diplomatic Mike]

Cheers Jonathon. :)

[BlackHatGuy]

If you've got Lightrek adjustables, GG will be selling a carbon fiber extender (around 17" long) next year (early in the new year, I believe). More solid than the pole jacks, and very light! One per pole and you'd be set.

[Diplomatic Mike]

Bob at Backpackinglight in the UK is selling carbon 'extenders' now, Douglas. He has been selling alum ones for a while.
I've been thinking of making something myself. I'm going to join 2 lengths of tubing together at one end to form a 'bracket' shaped as a 'V'.

[Julian Thomas]

I'm using my pacerpoles as an A frame. The handles site in the the apex parallel to each other, polejacks on the floor, works great.

[BlackHatGuy]

"Bob at Backpackinglight in the UK is selling carbon 'extenders' now, Douglas. He has been selling alum ones for a while."

Hi Mike! Didn't realize he was now selling CF ones! I remember the aluminum extenders, they looked great! And, I assume, much easier for you to get on that side of the pond!

[Nathan Baker]

Hunter – I can answer a couple of questions for you, but Ron would have to answer the rest. As far as touching the sides, I am 5' 8" and have plenty of room lying down and sitting up (45" peak height). Also there is a peak vent just like the duomid. There is a photo on MLD's Facebook page of someone in the solomid for size reference if you need it.

Adam – The sil solomid I have weighs in at 13.5 oz with stuff sack. Keep in mind though that this is a prototype and not the finished design or weight.

As for the inverted V design to hold up the mid, the sixth photo down sot of shows it and this is how the top looks:

[Author]

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