Mitten clip alternatives

[California Packrafting]

I read this thread before I got TT Notch and practiced Franco’s technique when I got the shelter. Given recent experience, I have concluded that these mitten hooks are a horrible solution and I will be upgrading:

Camped at Golden Lake just below Mono Pass in John Muir Wilderness twotwo nig ago. It started raining hard and I had to set up Tarptent Notch in a 10k basin without any tree cover (in hindsight I should have stopped for the night an hour before along Mono Creek).

I wanted to take advantage of the removable inner on the TT Notch to set up the outer to cook under and get changed out of wet gear, and then set up the inner and sleep.

The mitten hooks made this idea untenable. Crouching down, trying not to get soaking wet or covered in dirt…what a nightmare. I eneed up wet and dirty and decided just to eat snacks for dinner (i know i could have cooked in the vestibule but I was over it at that point)   I’ll looking for something I can do one handed, with cold wet hands.

Also, I’ve often taken this shelter fly only outside if mosquito season, and never been rained on. I think that’s a bad idea without a splash bivy – the inner keeps you centered in the shelter and you will slide and migrate if there is any slope at all (how often are you PERFECTLY level) and you have to stay perfectly centered to avoid splash. Also, you need the bathtub floor to protect you from the splash from the big gap between lower edge of shelter and the ground at the struts. (I really don’t understand why this shelter isn’t designed so that you can slam it to the ground if necessary. I get that condensation would be an issue but I’d like to manage it myself and have the option to pitch to ground if necessary due to wind or extreme rain)

I love my Notch but:

– the mitten hooks suck, it’s not a technique thing

– if you go fly only, be clear about your strategy to keep your down bag dry if it rains

 

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