MLD Solo Mid

[Donna C]

I'm thinking of transitioning to a more tarp-like setup and the 'mids' are in keeping for me instead of a traditional tarp. I just like that style of door, without the low crawl factor. I use a Hubba right now and in the colder months, use only the fly set up. I see lots of reviews for the Duo Mid but not the Solo. Is it because of the space?
Any feedback would be great!
Thanks!

[Brian Hall]

Its probably due to the amount of space at the cost of only a couple ounces. I went from a solomid, to a tarp/bivy combo, and now i'm in a duomid. I also have the innernet with mine. I use it as a solo shelter without the floor, and then use it with the innernet when my wife goes with me.

[carl becker]

I went with the Solomid for weigth reasons. Just enough room for me. I also have a TT Sublite. If I had only one solo tent it would be a TT Sublite Sil for price, space, weigth, weather and bug protecion. I use trekking poles.

[Jim MacDiarmid]

I have both a silnylon Duomid and a Spinnaker Solomid [picked up on Gear Swap). I've used the Duomid for one night snow camping and the Solomid 2 weeks ago for a 3 night trip in Ansel Adams wilderness.

If I had to have only one shelter, I'd break the bank and get the cuben Duomid, as it weighs only 3oz more than the Solomid and provides the all-season option to sleep two people.

I found to Solomid to be plenty of room for a 5'10" guy with UL gear. I use my pack as under-leg insulation, so I only have a stuff sack of things like my camera, glasses case and head lamp crowding me for space.

I did not use the Solomid in the rain, but I could certainly see how the narrower width the could have a problem with possibly getting gear wet when entering/exiting. With a Duomid , travelling solo, you could put your sleeping gear at the back and not have to really worry about rain.

On one hand, I like the Solo for the 'V' pole set up which provides enough room for me and my gear and doesn't have the (to me) awkward 'pole in the center' issue. I flop around a bit in my sleep so it's been issue sometimes banging my knee against the pole in the Duo. You can pitch the pole in the Duo at an angle to provide more room to one side, with the help of the pole jack, but I left mine at home that night. In winter, I'd want the extra room in the Duo for gear storage. I haven't tried, but I think you could cautiously cook inside a Duomid with a canister or alcohol stove, whereas I would not try cooking inside my Solomid.

For 3oz weight penalty in either cuben on silnylon with get 18" of width and 5" of neight for the Duomid, plus more tie-outs in windy and/or snow-loading conditions. I really like the Solo, and for 3-season sub-alpine trips it's great, but if you want to have a shelter that can extend into four season and/or sleep two people when necessary, get the Duo.

Here's a few pictures.

Duo and Sol side-by-side

Here you can see a bit more the difference in width.

With a tigoat bivy and gossamer gear polycro ground sheet which is 40"x96" I believe. Pitched semi-high for ventilation.
And again.

[Johnny Duke]

Awesome. Was also wondering why no one has said too much on the solo mid. I'm looking to get a duomid myself soon for my dog and myself. I really like the last photo posted with the solo.

[Donna C]

Seriously. I would probably have to get a bivy if I had the Solo. I am short ( 5'2")and I would be using a quilt. Those are great shots for comparison. Like you, I toss and turn alot and like the poles in the Solo. But I'm sure I can adapt to the center…Decisions…

[David Ure]

The Solo Mid has a shorter height when pitched to the ground, effectively making less usable length. For the price and size difference, the Duomid would be the better choice for virtually everyone.

[BlackHatGuy]

"But I'm sure I can adapt to the center"

you really don't have to. For the half dozen times I used my Duomid, I only had a center pole once, every other time I used the inverted V with poles and extenders and loved the room!

[David Ure]

Doug – I haven't tried this with mine, opting instead to slant the middle pole. What approximate pole length were you using for the inverted 'V' for a corner to corner ground pitch?

[BlackHatGuy]

Dave, too long ago to remember exactly. But I BELIEVE (I'm old, memory ain't so great sometimes) that I was using 18" extenders, but my poles (regular GG LT4s) were not extended anywhere near fully because of the extenders.

Hope that helps.

[Donna C]

Doug, I see you live in the same area as I do, so your experience is most helpful. I camp mostly off-season…no bugs and cooler temps ( hot flashes and all ) so the duo may be the way to go. I had a Virga years ago and while it was great, I was caught in a horrid storm and was tired of being so low inside all day. It too was floorless, which I liked.

[David Ure]

One other consideration of the Duo – when it is raining and you open the door, rain will not get your sleeping gear wet as easily as the Solo will. You open the door in the rain in the Solo and you can't hide from the moisture….

[Leigh Baker]

I bought a Spinn Solomid from the gear swap last spring for a trip where I knew I wouldn't be able to use my hammock and I have to agree with everything Jim said. I'm only 5'5" so it was plenty roomy, but I've also never used it in the rain. If I were going to use it more, I'd go with the Duomid, just for the rain factor, and Cuben :) But I just bought a 4 season cuben tarp for my hammock, so that won't be happening any time soon:)

[Jim MacDiarmid]

I haven't tried this with mine, opting instead to slant the middle pole. What approximate pole length were you using for the inverted 'V' for a corner to corner ground pitch?

You can sort of see in the top picture of my Duomid that I was actually testing out the inverted V set-up that day. I wrote down somewhere what length of pole I needed, but have misplaced it. 66" of pole is what I recall. I used the MLD pole jack and the broken shaft of an LT4 to get to 66" on my LT4s poles.(which I would never actually use in the winter, as they seem to fragile for snow-shoeing)

And I am terrible at math, but I just used the pythagorean theorem to estimate a 65.5915391" necessary pole length for a full-height, edges to ground pitch, which tracks with my memory of 66".

As mentioned, it seems the inverted V would be nice for helping with snow-loading in winter, provided the poles could handle it.

[Mike M]

if your looking at three season solo shelters, also look at the Solo Trailstar- it's a little lighter than the Solomid and has as much or more room- the vestibule is VERY handy

I've got a Duomid that I use w/ my wife (w/ inner net) for 3 season trips, and sans inner for winter/shoulder season trips- I wanted something a little lighter and w/ a smaller footprint for solo use- the Solo Trailstar has fit that bill pretty well, this season I used it w/ a bivy, next year I'm going to leave the bivy at home

btw on the Duomid I also use 18" extenders w/ my BD carbon corks fully extended (to just shy of the stop mark) for an inverted V- I think the tent is a little more wind worthy in this configuration, but mainly as it provides more room for two

[Donna C]

With these pyramid style shelters, does the rain get in when you open the door? I've heard that it does. I suppose in the Duo, because it's so large, it wouldn't affect your sleeping area.

[David Ure]

From my previous post:

"One other consideration of the Duo – when it is raining and you open the door, rain will not get your sleeping gear wet as easily as the Solo will. You open the door in the rain in the Solo and you can't hide from the moisture…."

[John Frederick Anderson]

Donna, most shelters are a compromise in some way or another, and the MLD SoloMid is no exception.
I have one in cuben, which weighs in at 296g, and the compromises of the size are easily outweighed by the joy of carrying such a great shelter that weighs so little.
I recently spent a few days in stormy conditions above the tree line, and yes, rain entered the door when I was entering and exiting the shelter, but nothing unmanageable, even in storms.
I found the space allownce just right for the minimal amount of gear I was carrying. I am five foot nine and for five days my total pack weight comes in at about 6kg.
I am a no cook convert, and wouln't cook in the SoloMid, even with the door open on a nice day. I did this once, and the fumes were very strong.
When I want solo luxury, or hike with someone, my Golite Shangri-la 3 is much more comfortable, but at double the weight.
Mids are great, but in cuben, they are a real investment. I would suggest you look at what areas you are willing to accept compromise Donna, and what areas suit your conditions and intended use carefully. There is no one do it all shelter.
I hope this helps, and good luck with your choice, there is some great info here.

[Donna C]

Thanks for everyone's input. Yes, true that there is no perfect shelter…hence so many choices and my closet full of gear!! And I don't mind the condensation…all part of the silnylon experience, especially here in the East Coast. I think I will chew on the info, maybe consider cuben if I save my coins. I just didn't want a deluge entering and exiting when storming. I tend to be overly analytical when looking at things. : ) I will let everyone know what I decide to do.

[Miguel Arboleda]

I have the cuben Duomid and really like it, but always find that it is difficult to find a campsite with big enough area to pitch it easily here in the very steep and rock mountains in Japan. So I ordered the Solomid to camp on the alpine walks, to use as little space as possible. I also got the DPTE: Dual Pole Tip Extender from Locus Gear here in Japan for use with both the Duomid and the Solomid. I'll continue to use the Duomid or my GoLite Shangri-La 2 for longer trips where comfort is important, but use the Solomid for fast trips where light weight and small footprint are the main concerns.

[Mike M]

Miguel what's the length on the extenders? Also what is the purpose of the sleeves and cord on the bottom?

thanks

Miek

[Jeffs Eleven]

I'm guessing it connects the pole handles, on the ground.

The handles are on the ground in the black cup things and the string keeps them at the proper distance. Like the grosgrain under the floor of the Moment and others that has grommets and the pole tips go in

[BlackHatGuy]

FWIW, I went to Lowes and bought a (12" or 18", wish I could remember) aluminum tube (over in the bathroom stuff area, it's a towel rack bar) and use that. It's basically a long pole jack, seems to be the same stuff that MLD uses only longer. Works like a charm and is fairly lightweight.

[David Ure]

Booya. I am heading over there right now.

[Pete Harris]

broken/bent ski poles are often free. Cut and sand into nice pole extenders:
15" long, 1.1 oz ea. they work great. I cut them where the tapered diameter mated well with the tip end of my TiGoat pole tips. These are lighter than my MLD extenders (per inch).

[Author]

Posts