Integral Designs Element 2 Shelter

[Ron W]

Crazy me. I just ordered this for my hunting season shelter. Yellow so my shelter isn't shot through "by accident".

Crazy part is, there's nothing I've found online outside of the limited information given on the Integral Designs website.

I know that the seams aren't sealed so I'll be doing that after I set it up and ensure it will meet my needs for 1 & 2 person and 1 + dog use for backpacking in Colorado while the bullets are flying during the fall.

Note that it has two doors and the support poles are outside of the bug net inner, which I also ordered.

I'm told it has peak vents, two-way zippers, is reinforced at the peaks and from what I've read about other ID tarps, this should last for many years without any wear issues.

I'll have it next week.

Edit to add: Integral Designs Link…
http://www.integraldesigns.com/product.cfm?id=36&mainproducttypeid=15

[Ron W]

One more product image is all I've found thus far. No shots of it outside or reviews.

The height/width dimensions look to be a little smaller than the Shangri-la 2 and it's hard to tell how the length would compare because of the Element having two extended doors/vestibules, which is one of the reasons I went for it. It's possible that only the front door is extended…we'll see.

[Andrew F]

Looks like a nice shelter. Please post some pics when you get it!

[Franco Darioli]

The fly is 149×55, the bug inner is 86×47 (aprox)
So the fly is 63" longer than the inner that would suggest two vestibules of equal size.
Franco

[Ron W]

Thanks Franco. I have the numbers but using the Shangri-la 2 as an example, the nest doesn't sit on center. If the same goes for the Element 2, the vestibules won't be of equal size. Either way you look at it though, there should be a little bit of room for a dog and some gear.

[Ron W]

Will do and I'll post several.

It would have been interesting if I had it today. Here in the Vail Valley we've seen a max sustained wind speed of 41mph with the current max gust being 56. Hold onto your hats.

[Ron W]

I thought the Integral Designs Element 2 shelter would be an improvement over our Golite Shangri-la 2 shelter. On paper, it looked like the Element would be almost the same size in width and height but significantly longer and with a door and vestibule on each end. Turns out that it's noticeably smaller in width and height than the SL2 so I won't be keeping it. I was also disappointed that the pole pockets aren't sealed. Just metal grommets and I'd imagine that rainwater could easily run down the poles.

I didn't take additional time to set the inner tent up after I decided that this wasn't going to work for me. No point in pulling it out of the stuff sack since I would be returning it.

In my opinion this would be better suited as a one person shelter, especially if pitched right to the ground. For two-person use I'll stick with our Golite Shangri-la 2.

Here are a few additional photos of the Element.

[Andrew F]

Thanks for the pics, Ron. I really wish someone would make a good 2 person UL shelter in this style. I have a Spinnshelter that I love, but it's really too small for me + my wife, though we managed to sit out a snow storm in it once. I like that you get the open feeling and versatility of pitching it as a tarp, but can close it up all the way if you get some nasty weather. It seems that this ID shelter misses the mark.

The HMG Echo II is the closest thing I've found, but I wish the tarp had a rear beak and it wasn't $600.

[Scott S]

Andrew, I've also been looking for a 2-person Spinnshelter-type tarp. In my research, I've come across a few that might fit the bill.

– GoLite Shangri-La 2
– Black Diamond Beta Light
– Bearpaw Wilderness Designs Canopy 2 (if you get the optional beak)

It would be great if someone made one of these in Spinnaker fabric or cuben so the weight would come in under 1 lb. The Echo II looks nice, but I don't think you could pitch it to the ground like you can with the SL2 or some others.

[Ron W]

I think the Shangri-La 2 is a great, underrated shelter. It's light, strong (both material and design), modular, highly featured and factory taped. For the features I'm after it's the best thing offered on a non-custom basis(that I'm aware of). I thought the ID Element 2 could trump the SL2 but I guess that's not going to be so easy to do.

Right now on GoLite's clearance page they have a stoopid deal on SL2 Flysheets that are not current production, as well as the bathtub floor. $99 and $39 respectively. That said, I've spoken to GoLite and though the SL2 being shown on the clearance page depicts tie-out points on the side of the fly, I'm told there are none on these clearance shelters and also no toggles on the inside to connect the inner tent to the fly. Though so cheap it's hard to resist (and will sell out, the inners already did), I like the side tie-outs and would buy the current version or retrofit the fly to add them if possible. The ID Element 2 doesn't have this feature either.

[Ron W]

* "I have a Spinnshelter that I love, but it's really too small for me + my wife, though we managed to sit out a snow storm in it once."

I haven't seen a Spinnshelter in person but I wouldn't be surprised if the ID Element 2 is in fact larger inside. For me to get this shelter pitched the way I'd want it, it would have to be pitched a couple of inches off the ground. I couldn't get the ridgeline tight without angling the poles to help do so. I think you should be able to tighten up the ridge by pulling the end points out but this is limited by the fabric running to the corners. You run out of slack there before any tension is put on the fabric running to the peak.

It would have been cool if I could have pitched the GoLite SL2 and this side by side or even if I had time to take some measurements to confirm sizing…but at the end of the day, I'd take the SL2 for a number of reasons given the Element 2's current design. That's my view, given my needs. YMMV.

[John S.]

If no tie outs on sides, the SL2 may very well be at least 2009 with the heavier weight silnylon.

[Ron W]

"If no tie outs on sides, the SL2 may very well be at least 2009 with the heavier weight silnylon."

To fully cover what the rep at GoLite told me, these units being sold are supposedly the same as the current model but there was a production error which excluded this feature. It seems more likely to me that this is the old version since the SL2 is being offered with a whole slew of other related items from the same product family, which aren't current offerings. They are covered by the same warranty FWIW.

[Ron W]

Andrew: As Scott pointed out, BearPaw Wilderness Designs has made a tarp tent similar to this and since affordable custom work is something they are known for, they just may be the answer for us.

http://www.bearpawwd.com/tents_tarps/tent_images/canopy/dcanopy_7.jpg

The kind of thing I was hoping to achieve with the Integral Designs Element 2 was a fair weather setup along these lines, but with the inner tent in place:
http://www.bearpawwd.com/tents_tarps/tent_images/canopy/dcanopy_6.jpg
http://www.bearpawwd.com/tents_tarps/canopy_tent.html

I'll have to get in touch with them.

The MSR Twin Sisters shelter also caught my eye but it is bigger than I need. With that shelter I'd have to do some trimming around the bottom and find an inner tent for it or have one made.

[Rakesh Malik]

I'm getting to like my Twin Sisters quite a bit, though I haven't tried using it with a bug net yet. I think something similar to an MLD Serenity would work well with it. I might try that one of these days.

[Ron W]

Can you do me a favor Rakesh and tell me what the measurement between the support poles is? Have you used it in the summer above tree line? How does it do closed up for the night? Two doors, gotta love it.

[Rakesh Malik]

I'll have to measure it tonight or over the weekend, but that wouldn't be a problem. It's almost silly how easy it is to
pitch it.

It did pretty well closed up; I piled snow onto the snow flaps, so I had no draft, but I did have frost on the interior. It ended up being a calmer night than I'd anticipated, so I probably should have opened the top of the doors a bit.

I didn't think to show them in the video, but it also has peak vents, one at each end, in addition to storm flaps on the zips. I suppose I ought to do another video, but I wanted to show it in the field rather than in my back yard. :)

I haven't had a chance to use it in summer at all yet, let alone above the treeline, so I not yet on that part.

It does have tieout loops on each peak, so you can use trees, trekking poles, etc to pitch it rather than interior poles. It also has tieout loops on the vents, which I suppose would be nice for truly stormy weather, both to keep the little beaks over the vents from flapping, and for some extra stability.

[Rakesh Malik]

The two poles are around 48 inches apart as it turns out. When you have two people in it, you'd have the poles between you, unless you use the exterior tie outs to pitch it. I haven't tried that yet, since I have only been in it solo so far.

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