Want to make my MLD Cricket tarp more winter friendly. Need advice

[Sam Riggle]

I love my cricket tarp for 3 season use, but I don't think I'll love it for winter use. My winter being in the SE USA. When it's pitched to the ground in storm mode, basically winter mode down here, I won't have enough room for my winter sleep system without my head and feet hitting the canopy. I won't have room for all the gear either. I don't want to have to buy a Duomid and figured this may be easier to do than making my own mid. I may end up having to do one or the other though. :(

So, I'm thinking about making an add on vestibule to attach to the awning. With this attachment, I could sleep perpendicular to how you normally sleep in the cricket. This would give me room to sleep on one side, and have a huge area for my gear and cooking out of the nasty freezing rain.

I want to make two triangles of sil or Cuben with tieouts and what not that can be fitted to the front of the tarp. The triangles would match the dimensions of the front edges and follow down the Orange front guy line. Adding loads of additional space. This covered area is where my feet would be while sleeping. I'm thinking I could overlap the pieces by several inches to keep out rain.

So, what do yall think of this plan? Sound like it would work? Did what I describe make sense? Any other suggestions to give myself more room for winter use? Should I just suck it up and buy a Duomid or similar? Should I suck it up and sew my own mid type shelter out of sil?

Sorry for all the questions.

[Ryan Smith]

n/m

Ryan

[Brian Hall]

How tall are you? Im 5-11 and can fit under my cricket tarp on a neoair xlite with clearance on each end. There is also enough room to store gear inside without worrying about it getting wet. The cricket handles rain just fine, but really isnt designed for winter weather. Your idea would probably do ok at keeping wind blown snow out, but you would still have to worry about snow loading on the porch area. I do have a duomid too that i use in the winter. Mids are a better design for winter weather in my opinion.

[Sam Riggle]

I'm 5'11" and barely have room at either end on my XLite small with 2.5oz Apex quilt when the tarp is pitched with the corners near the ground. I have an inch. If I move to much I touch.

I've decided this is a stupid idea, and that I'm trying my hand at sewing my own mid. My Step Father is a PhD math wiz, so I'll have some help getting the measurements correct at least. lol

Ordered some 2nds silnylon from DIY Gear Supply. Hope to have something for my efforts by winter. Good thing there's that how to build a mid article.

Edited: it's too early and I forgot some words.

[Robert Beaullieu]

Sam, I don't think your idea is stupid as I've been noodling around with the same thoughts. I've got a Cricket on order from MLD and have been considering how to add some "flaps" that would close the front entrance. I have a ZPacks Duplex tent and the vestibule "flaps" overlap by about 5" at the peak and close to a single stake that supports the ridge of the tent. This vestibule design works great and I believe I can adapt it to the Cricket. The amount of material required would probably add a couple of ounces to the tarp but if I can extend the "dry" space, I would be willing to carry it. Once I get the Cricket, I plan to prototype the design in some lightweight tyvek I've got left over from another project. If I think it can work, I'll buy some matching silnylon and sew it together. If I end up not liking how it works, I can always unstitch and go back to the original. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm always trying new ways to make things work and will post a follow-up if I move forward with this modification…. Bob Beaullieu

[Robert Beaullieu]

Sam, In researching the concept of a "door" for a Cricket, I ran across another idea that had been posted on BPL. One of the pics is of a door on a Trailstar and the other is on a Cricket. The "door" consists of a single triangular piece of silnylon that connects via bungie to the two front corner stake out points and to tie-outs in either the top of the Cricket or on side seams of the Trailstar. Bob This may be another way to get what you are looking for.

[Bob Moulder]

For all that effort, I think I would just get a Solomid! :^)

[Sam Riggle]

Thanks for the continued commentary gents. Since my last post, I have continued to ponder the possibilities. I'm now thinking of making a door, a long with a mostly solid inner tent. The inner tent would have 12" bathtub floors, the top 6" would be mesh, and the remainder would be NoBull. The NoBull breathes like nothing else so I think would be great for the application. I'm thinking I could make the inner slightly larger than the footprint of the tarp when pitched to the ground. With the tall bathtub and solid portion, I should be able to pitch the tarp 5 or 6" off the ground and still remain completely comfortable along with having more room. And if the wind is really whipping through, I can pitch the tarp to the ground, and just deal with the saggy inner. It would keep me from rubbing on the wet tarp as well. (Bound to be condensation on it in storm mode.) How does that sound? Snow loading, as mentioned previously, isn't a real factor for me. Just wind and lots of rain. Thank you Mr. Beaullieu for furthering the discussion. I hope to hear your thoughts, whether they've changed or remain the same, once you receive the Cricket and get a chance to fiddle with it.

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