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MLD Speedmid Problems
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Dec 3, 2013 at 7:02 am #1310525
I recently purchased an MLD Speedmid and have some problems with it.
The tarp arrived yesterday. The first thing I noticed is that the color is more of an orange-gold than bright yellow. Comparing it to an old yellow MLD stuffsack, the colors are indeed different. This isn't a huge deal to me, but it may be to others. I tried to photograph the difference:
Next, I see the guylines are already installed, so I weigh the tarp in its stuff sack and get 24.3 oz. MLD lists the Speedmid weight at 22 oz, so the tarp is over 10% heavier than specified. Unfortunate (particularly for a company focused on UL gear), but that weight is still okay with me if the tarp proves to be roomy and pitches well.
Finally, I go pitch the tarp. Setup is easy (it's a square mid), but when everything is all taut and done, the peak height of the Speedmid is only 46 inches! This is significantly shorter (8 inches shorter!) than the specified peak height of 54 inches; it is supposed to be the same height as the Duomid. For reference, I had it pitched with the corners about 2 – 3 inches off the ground. I owned a Duomid about 2 years ago and this Speedmid is nowhere near the same height.
I'm rather disappointed with this purchase and will be returning it to MLD. It is both heavier and shorter than described. I have no idea how the height difference happened, but it was a total deal-breaker.
Has anyone else had similar problems with MLD shelters? What are the heights and weights of other people's Speedmids?
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:14 am #2050279The 22 oz would be for the tarp itself, not including guylines and stuff sack.
The exact color of the tarp will depend on the silnylon manufacturer; MLD tests the silnylon they purchase for waterproofness, not color matching.
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:19 am #2050281website says peak height is 4' (=48") not that different than your measured 46"
They don't really specify how far the edges should be above ground to get that
I like a peak height more like 60" if it's raining a lot, enough room to move around a little, with a pyramid, it gets narrow at the top so all of that height really isn't usable.
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:20 am #2050282web site says "This is a low peak style Mid. Best for 3+ season use."
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:21 am #2050285I just received my yellow Littlestar and it's a nice pleasant yellow color when pitched. certainly not a dealbreaker. Agreed on the weight measurement discrepancies. As per the height, what was your pole set to? The website states an appropriate length pole for using this mid, but certainly makes no guarantees about operational height. maybe a case of RTFM?
>>6" pole jack available for users with shorter poles. 1.4oz- A full length 140cm pole is tall enough but if you have a shorter pole >>of a fixed length pole note in the comments for a free 6" pole extender.
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:34 am #2050287"The website states an appropriate length pole for using this mid, but certainly makes no guarantees about operational height. maybe a case of RTFM?"
Not quite true. RTFM indeed….
From the MLD site:
On the Duomid page: Height: About 54\' with a tight ground pitch – Most users will want to pitch it a few inches off the ground for ventilation and even more space.
On the Speedmid page: The SpeedMid is the same height as the DuoMid.
Though I'm not sure how this can be, since also from the product pages, the Speedmid is listed as 8.9' X 8.9' X 4', while the Duomid is listed as 8' 9" X 5' X 4' 6"
So the site is a tad confusing.
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:38 am #2050288I love it when I shoot from the hip and get called out.. grrr.
Dec 3, 2013 at 7:51 am #2050291I have an older speedmid. The peak height with the 4 corners against the ground is somewhat variable depending on how tight you stake out the 4 corners. On mine, with the 4 corners staked out really tight the peak height is about 46-48 inches or so and results in a really tight pitch. If I stake out the corners just to the point where it is not loose (but not tight or stretched) the peak height will be about 52-54 inches. Mine must have a lighter and maybe more stretchy silnylon than what is currently used.
Mine weighs 23 oz but that's including a full perimeter noseeum net.
I'm not sure about the descriptions on the website but I previously had a duomid that I sold and the peak height I think was higher since it required a pole extender. On my duomid I use trekking pole set to max height without any kind of pole extender.
Dec 3, 2013 at 9:00 am #2050312I already said the weight and color discrepancies were fine (but not great). Stuff sack plus guylines will not be 2.3 oz
And regarding the stated height on the MLD page, it used to say 4.5' as the height. Since posting here it has changed to 4' (glad it is now correct).
My trekking pole was set to 46 inches
Dec 3, 2013 at 9:05 am #2050316In the past the solomid page had some sentences about the duomid.
Dec 3, 2013 at 9:48 am #2050330What did Ron say, or am I wrong to assume that you would have contacted the manufacturer first?
Dec 3, 2013 at 9:53 am #2050334I told him it was shorter than I expected and that I'd like to return it. He offered no explanation for the height discrepancy but said I can return it.
So it seems my main beef with the Speedmid (its lower than expected height) is simply due to an inaccurate website description which has now been corrected. I'm surprised I have not seem this mentioned before.
I wonder what's caused the Speedmid to gain weight in recent years?
Dec 3, 2013 at 10:09 am #2050340I think it's fairly common for MLD stuff to come in above stated weights. I bought a silnylon tarp from them a couple years ago that was 20% above spec. After some research I found 3-4 threads here about this same topic. Left a bad taste in my mouth, so no more purchases from MLD for me.
Ryan
Dec 3, 2013 at 10:44 am #2050354My bivy and trailstar were spot on weight wise but my duomid was about 15% over.
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