Torres del Paine- Chile

Search for photos of my modded Tarptent moment DW.

Better yet, I'll post 'em here.

This tent, with the ripstop inner tent, is great for 4 season use. Two vestibules and doors with room in them for pack and boots and cooking space if needed.

These are photos of the tent in 50+ mph winds, staked and guyed at sides and ends. It is "unflappable".

Get the X-ing pole option, shorten it 5 5/8"with a small pipe cutter, sew double-sided Velcro cable wraps inside at the two circle reinforcements for the exterior X-ing pole attachments and you're done. The Velcro wraps hold the X-ing pole in place in severe winds. **Be sure to seam seal where you sewed the Velcro wraps.

The pole still goes into the small Hypalon pockets provided with the tent at each end.

Ask for 4 fly hem loops to be sewn on when ordering. Important to minimize flapping in high winds. Also ask them to throw in 4 Line Loc cord tensioners and 4 small plastic snaps. You need these for your 4 pre-made Triptease cord guy lines. Essential to have them at the ready for high winds. Color code side and end cords. (End cords are much longer.) Snaps go on ends near the tent guy loops and Line Locs on stake ends.

Finally, as with any ripstop double wall tent, spray the inner tent (except mesh) with Revivex or other very good DWR so condensation from the fly rolls of the inner tent when some of it inevitably drops off the fly.

Alysha – I did the TdP using a simple Big Agnes fly creek UL. You'll be fine with whatever tent you take – what do you have?? Just make sure you know how to really stake it down and you'll be fine.

Most of the people doing that trek have never even slept in a tent before, they rent these crappy things and have no idea how to put them up. If you have experience – i honestly think whatever tent you bring will be fine.

Almost all the campgrounds are completely sheltered anyway. Just avoid the one at Cuernos, those are all platforms (or bring something to be able to attach your tent to a platform).

Have a blast!

my trip report is at BackpackerPT.com

So, lightweight 1P that's good with wind? The "chill" thing really doesn't matter- keeping you warm isn't what tents are for. That's what your bag or quilt is for, and your money and weight is better spent there.

It's important to remember that this is BackpackingLIGHT, so you're getting input from a fringe group already. There won't be much discussion of mass market stuff, and some of it will be extreme. At some point someone will tell you to just use a flat tarp. :)

Do you have any other requirements? Do you want it to be fully enclosed and bug proof, for instance?

The TT Moment is a good one, actually. I'll back that up. Especially the new true-double-walled model. There's even a version with more of a solid than mesh inner if you're really worried about wind or spindrift, but the stock model is a great general purpose 1P shelter. Wicked fast to set up, too. (I used to have one.)

The TT Notch is essentially a Moment that uses trek poles instead of that semicircular tent pole. It's about a half pound lighter.

The MLD TrailStar is supposedly about as bomber in the wind as a lightweight shelter gets but it's floorless, if that's an issue for you. I've heard that it takes some practice to get a tight pitch. It's also low, so not fun to live in for long periods if you're weathered in.

I personally really like pyramids as general-purpose shelters. If you can only have one shelter it should be a mid. Something like the MLD DuoMid is a palace for one, and fully staked out with twelve stakes mids that size are pretty bomber, too. Still floorless, though, and IMO getting an inner for a mid is sort of missing the point.

Hi Alysha. My TarpTent Notch did well there, though it was difficult to set up on the platforms at Cuernos in the wind since I wasn't prepared for that (I have a thread on it somewhere). Once set up it was rock solid. My friend took a Fly Creek UL2 and that worked well too. Like Jen said, most tents will work fine if you get something of decent quality. I did see a couple of dome tents get damaged at Cuernos, but that could have been due to poor set up more than poor quality.

-Stephen

I did TdP this past Jan-Feb with MLD Duomid and was fine. There was one camp where I would have been happier with a small footprint fully enclosed tent, like BD Firstlight (Camp Italiano). The ground there was uneven and the camp was somewhat muddy. It may be easier to just camp elsewhere. Most good (pay for) camps are on grassy meadows that take stakes, have plenty of space and have nice grass cover. Just about any tent will work. You are not in the wilderness, so the penalty points for making a mistake are low. You can always hide in a shelter if something bad happens.

In the Fitzroy area (Los Glaciares) I was really missing a fully sealed tent due to blowing dust and sand in strong winds. But sounds like you are not headed there.

If you give yourself an extra day or two and take some time hanging about at the backpackers hostels in Puerto Natales, chances are you'll be able to find partners in the right age, language and so on group. Planning some extra time in Natales is helpful anyway, it's a nice town, you can rest, buy supplies, check out shops and tourist agencies for additional trips, etc.

I recommend doing the trek in counter clockwise direction (better views) and planning on doing the full circuit, since the back side is better, in my opinion.

Oh, something to note. It may not be a common experience, but I encountered some mosquitoes at Lago Dickson and they were pretty persistent at getting inside my (florless) tent. Not enough to make me carry an inner net, but something to keep in mind.

I was also there earlier this year and would agree it's mostly pretty sheltered at the sites. Paine Grande gave our MLD Supermid a little stress with 100km/h gusts… I wouldn't want a lesser tent at that spot, but it's easily avoided.

I'll be heading back to Patagonia again and taking a Trailstar but mainly as I'll be going to wilder locations west of the Andes and further south where I can't bail so easily. I'm confident that shelter will be 100% peace of mind.

Regarding the route itself, I agree the back side is nicer just because less people are there and most people are friendly Chileno nationals. If/when I do it again I'll do a counter clockwise Q so I get the W out of the way and then cruise in the relative serenity on the back side to finish.

About Dickson- closer to the trees along the bank there is less wind but more bugs; further away there is more wind and fewer bugs. Really, on the Patagonia scale, I should say breeze, not wind.

BTW, you aren't supposed to hike alone there. On the backside it is unlikely that anyone will care, but on the W you might get questioned if you walk into camp alone (Paine Grande in particular – just hang back until you find a group to tag along with for the last mile).

Thank you all so much for your input! A lot to consider! I was going to only do the W but some of your comments have made me reconsider and will possibly do the full loop. I have a good amount of experience but have really only backpacked in CA (currently) and the east coast when I was (much) younger. Any input on things you guys found helpful to have for this trip? or any pointers in general would be great! Thank you all again!

Oh yeah – don't just do the W; you've GOT to do the whole circuit – counterclockwise. I ended with the sunrise at the Torres and it was a phenomenal way to end the trek. My friend and I decided that we wold actually have been disappointed to have travelled all that way and had only done the W.

As for Puerto Natales, you'll meet plenty of folks at the Erratic Rock hostel – that's where the daily "3 o'clock talk" is…which, by the way, is pretty helpful.

Have a great trip!

Alysha,

The Tarptent Moment will handle anything you come across. Just bring a couple of extra stakes and chord for side guy outs. This site has some incredible info on backpacking Torres del Paine.
http://www.back-packer.org/trekking-guide-how-to-prepare-for-hiking-in-torres-del-paine-patagonia-chile/
Whether you only do the W or the Q the scenery is spectacular.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/d1948n/sets/72157643186792094/

A second option is the W and then spend 3 days in El Calafate, Argentina and going to the Perito Moreno Glacier. That will leave a little more time to enjoy the local cuisine.

Alysha, don't over worry about the tent, the conditions aren't that harsh and there are facilities along the way.

I'll second the suggestion to do the whole circuit counter clockwise, so me great views and descending down onto Glacier Gray (if the weather is nice) is a beautiful sight. Just make sure to use the "free" amenities on the way, like popping into one of the paid campsites for a 10 minutes shower and than keep on walking to a free campsite.