Contrail tarptent question

Yes I have read those comments too and maybe you have seen my reply as well.
Very simply there is no perfect tent and you need to understand how yours works before taking it for a long hike.
Non freestanding tents need to be pegged down correctly if you want them to stand up, some need more tension than others. I would put the Contrail right in the middle of the "required tension" between a so called freestanding Seedhouse and a Stephenson.
The supplied Easton pegs are OK on firm ground but a Y peg works better (for me) on sandy soil. If needed I put a stone/s on top of it to keep them in. BTW, pegs should be inserted at a 45 degree angle, not straight down….
The guylines tend to slip through the tensioners, so just use them fully extended. Before you go to sleep , re-tighten the tent. In most cases just lifting up the pole will do the trick. Once the silnylon is relaxed (cold temperature,humidity or rain will do that) it does not stretch anymore, so if the tent is taut it can rain all night and will not sag. Again to keep it in tension I use the front guyline and my mid rear pole/guyout point.
Franco

Hey Franco…have you had opportunity to try the redesigned Contrail? I read somewhere that Henry tweaked the canopy for tauter pitch with less fuss…not that I've had issues with mine. I haven't really heard any feedback on the redesign.

I am actually the one who had his Contrail collapse on him in a rain storm.

My stake popped out of the ground.

I blame the failure as much as on the design of the stake as my inexperience with setting up my tent. (I should have put rocks or logs on top of the stakes. I now use MSR ground hog stakes with the Y shape mentioned earlier).

Anyway, I have found that the fabric does sag in the evening time due to the moisture/humidity increasing.

Henry Shire clearly states this in the instructions.

It is very easy to add tension to the Contrail. I simply using my bare hands to pull on each of the four tensioners to take up the slack before going to bed.

On the extreme side, you could use pliers on your knife (I have a leatherman squirt) to really crack up the tension, but just don't cause a seam to bust.

Having said that, I have had morning where I find that the fabric on the back end/foot end of the Contrail has sagged and could come in contact with my sleeping bag.

If it has come into contact with my bag, it just tells me that I did not put enough tension on the lines before going to bed.

I have not had any of the tensioners fail on me and loosen them up.

Regarding pitching the Contrail completely flat. If you are talking about weather protection, you can not pitch it completely flat.

The bottom perimeter of all the Tarptents has mesh to allow for ventilation to limit condensation.

There is a bathtub floor on the Contrail.

Laying the Contrail completely flat would collapse the bathtub design and allow for water to enter the tent.

Having said that, you can lower the rear struts on the back of the Contrail and velcro the rear flap from inside the tent. The sides each have an elastic loop which I have staked down to limit rain from being blown in from the sides.

The Contrail is very storm worthy.

Though my Contrail did collapse in a storm, I did not know about the appex line that can optionally be installed by the user at the front of the Contrail….just below where the pole is held in.

With that anchored down, I am sure that it would provide a lot more stability in high wind.

Hope that this helps.

Why not get a Squall Classic – no sag.

http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/Squall_Classic.html

I just bought one for my friend and ordered the ONE as well which I did not like and returned. The Squall Classic is nice, real nice and big and no sag because of the Spinnaker.

Personally, I use a tarp and bivy. I am thinking of making the Meteor bivy as it is so cool.

Hi Tony
you are not alone…I was referring to a forum member on another forum who has experienced several failures.

I have not gone bush since I have received the 08 version but had it up several times in my backyard . We had some lovely storms so I took the opportunity for a test drive…
It is easier to set up ( only realized that AFTER some of the non obvious tweaking with the design was pointed out to me) .
The new from the inside door closure works better and the end is more protected and also easier to slide up and down .
Much easier to get the "bathtub" up than before. ( if you are new at it)
This is (again…) my fix for the sagging rear, 30g , free from one of the local shops (ex broken pole). I do this also (mostly)for cosmetic reasons.
Franco

I almost always tarp too, but during those early trips or trips when I am not walking all day long, taking a tent would be nice.

The squall classic looks like the best of both worlds. Light enough for one, but large enough for two when needed.

I keep coming back to the contrail mostly because of value.

What did you not like about the ONE?

Let's put it this way: I've been looking for a new single wall tent for the better part of 6 months, but I finally pulled the trigger on The One earlier this week.

In fact, I would have bought the Contrail back in January if they weren't on backorder at the time. So, instead, I waited it out to check out the price point of the Refuge X, and I wasn't really satisfied with the value of it.

For me the Contrail went out the window some time in late January because the vibe and chatter of the Contrail was not as positive as it once was. That's not to say it's not a great tent — I'm sure it certainly is, it just didn't seem to be the tent for ME.

So I went with The One because of the weight, apparent durability, apparent stability, and again, what appears to be a fairly simple pitch for such a small footprint. The front vestibule not closing down all the way to the ground does worry me for severe storms and cold weather. The early word says it is not an issue in any storm short of damaging wind gusts; however, as expected, it does add draftiness.

I'll receive it next Tuesday and get a chance to test it out next weekend. I can't wait.

Let us know what you think once you have played with it etc…..

I haven't used "the one" in severe conditions, but it's was fine in moderate storms.

While the pitch I got wasn't as quite as taut as my Spinnshelter locked down, the pitch was plenty good to handle 25 mph winds. There was a bit of fabric flap (mostly the vestibule), and some side deflection (especially in the back corners), but it wasn't bad. There was no problem with the wind getting the rain inside.

I didn't experience the misting that people sometimes get through sil-nylon in heavy rains though I can produce misting using a hose with a jet nozzle.

Overall, I have been really happy with "The One". Provides a lot of space and looking like it will do fine in any conditions I am likely to face on 3seasons trips.

–mark