UL All Purpose Shelter

I'm not the majority here – I only have one shelter I use when backpacking. It's a SMD Lunar Duo. Most of my backpacking is with my wife, so it's tough to justify spending $235 plus shipping for a Lunar Solo or whatever for the very few number of times I go alone. Instead, I just deal with carrying a pound more than I need when solo, and I enjoy my castle. I do keep trying to convince myself though. :)

I'm wrestling with this some myself but I don't think there is a one-size fits all really. At least not with keeping it very light for both solo and duo use.

I plan on getting a Scarp 2 for use with my gf and that shelter can be used in pretty much any situation but it wouldn't be very light for solo trips.

I live in the SE where it's generally pretty humid so for solo trips I'm going to try a Contrail, a poncho-tarp + bivy combo, and likely an 8×10 flat (or cat) + bug tent. Contrail and 8×10 + bug tent both come in around 1.5 lbs and poncho-tarp + bivy comes in around 1 lb. The two combos could be used most anywhere by a seasoned tarper but I'd probably want something else in severe winter storms or hurricane-class winds when exposed.

One shelter. Poncho/tarp and bivy. Oh, I own many tents… but always go back to the poncho/tarp and bivy combination. The exception is sometimes snow, but even then I do trips with the poncho/tarp. Plus it doubles as rain gear, and is much lighter than most other solutions.

Chris-

I'm from Atlanta so the SE is my main stomping grounds too. I saw that when you sold your Sil DuoMid you decided that it was too small given the humidity of the south. What did you mean by that?

Alas, I would go the poncho-tarp route, but for a variety of personal reasons the option isn't efficient for me.

Dan-

Your's is the kind of compromise I just might end up making. It's too bad the "just add water" principle can't be applied to shelters. If so, they could be like those tiny animal sponges that grow huge when you get them wet but are tiny when dehydrated. Sigh.

Jed,

The duomid would work for one down here but I felt it was too small for two breathing adults in typical SE conditions so I got a shangri-la 3.

-Chris

How do you deal with the skeeters and other manner of buzzy stingy bugs? Did you get the nest too?

It's for winter use. I'm going to get the Scarp 2 for duo use (we use a Hubba Hubba now) the rest of the year and I'm evaluating solo options to see what works for me.

I would very much like to find a completely enclosed shelter with floor that did not require the use of a bivy. As it is now, when I go with my partner, we use a Hut 2 and a double bivy. This comes out to about 33 ounces. I can't find a shelter that would weigh less than this AND give us better protection (sure, i could get a cuben mid or something, but it's still the basic set up–floorless shelter + bivy.)

The tarptent and Smd shelters look nice, but they are heavy considering they are not fully enclosed. The wind still comes in under the shelter, as it does with my Hut, and would thus require the use of a bivy to get wind protection.

When is someone going to make a fully enclosed, cuben shelter? (One without mesh for part of the floor like the Refuge X).

Nathan,

How would you get ventilation without the mesh?

Yah, there's the rub….what about a vent at the top? Or a mesh door that can be opened and closed? The wind isn't as problematic as long as it comes in over you…when it whips under the tarp shelter right on your level, it's kind of annoying. Don't most people with tarptents take bivies anyway?

Actually, you're the first person I've heard mention using a bivy in combination with a tarptent. I know you're supposed to pitch the foot end into the wind which would work fine as long as it doesn't change direction on you. You could maybe try blocking the side mesh with gear as well but it would definitely increase the chances of condendsation. I imagine if you only had a top vent it would need to be pretty large to replace all that mesh on the sides.

Really? There was a whole thread on here a while back where all TT people admitted they used a bivy…..

What about something with a ventilation system like on the Utopia?

See how the ventilation is above ground level?

If you don't mind carrying the weight, the best "all-purpose" 2 person shelter would be a 3-4 person pyramid tarp. I would look at the silnylon pyramid tarps in this size range made by companies like Oware, Mountain Laurel Designs, Black Diamond and Golite (though Golite's needlessly heavy version of silnylon makes all their shelters a touch on the heavy side). You should be able to find one under 2 pounds that will suit you well. Keep in mind that you'll have to factor in a few extra ounces for the weight of a pole extender to come up with a estimate for how much it will weigh.

I have a Duomid and I can certainly attest that it's a great all-purpose ultralight shelter and will fit 2 people just fine; however, it's sized for 2 people with minimal gear storage inside. I use it for solo hiking only and with all my gear sprawled inside of it, it'd be a tight fit (or I'd have to move some of my gear) if I wanted to fit another sleeping person inside.

Bug protection can be achieved with a bivy in any climate. In bug season, I use a homemade bivy that has a top made of 3/4 ripstop and 1/4 bug netting (over my face). I made the bivy so it closes up tightly with a zippered entry, so no bugs can get in. I do the majority of my backpacking in non-bug season, however, so most trips I'm bivy-less.

Personally, I wouldn't rely on a tarp-tent as an all-purpose shelter. They tend to be heavier and less adjustable than tarps, and less versatile than a tarp plus a bug bivy (or no bivy at all in non-bug season).

A solo-sized silnylon cat tarp is really neat to sleep under and be able to see out on all sides from while sleeping, but sometimes I just like the enclosed feeling that a pyramid shelter offers, both psychologically, and in terms of weather protection. I have one of each, but now that I've had plenty of opportunities to use my Duomid, I'm getting more and more sold on the simplicity of a pyramid tarp. A year ago, I probably wouldn't have said that there is such a thing as an all-purpose shelter, though…

The Refuge X does not have mesh on the floor (if setup properly). The mesh connects the walls to the floor and sits a few inches above the ground. The Refuge X does not have a bathtub (which is unfortunate or unnecessary depending on your viewpoint). It also has mesh up above. Some tarp tent designers have experimented with mesh only up above and found the ventilation inadequate. You really need the mesh in two places so the air will circulate through. You can anchor the tent down so that the mesh sits on the ground (and thus does not provide any ventilation) but you won't get much air flow (I would only do that if it was really windy).

This is the first I've heard of folks carrying a bivy with a tarp tent. I would be very surprised if most folks who use a tarp tent also carry a bivy. I own two tarp tents and I've never carried a bivy (even though I own a very light bivy). It just doesn't seem necessary. If I did that, I would probably just go with a tarp and bivy (and I definitely believe that most tarp folks carry a bivy along).

I would definitely agree with you that I wish there were more Cuben Fiber tarp tent options. It is hard being limited to only one design. I personally like tarp tents with the high point on one end, by the head (like the Contrail, Squall, etc.) but I seem to be swimming against the tide (most new tarp tents seem to have the high point in the middle or midway between the middle and end). If it saved significant weight (more than 8 ounces) I would love to get my hands on a Cuben Squall.

Art, what area of the country do you live in?

Interesting…I thought it was discontinued because people found the mesh near the floor was wicking water into the shelter? If not, it seems like a pretty good option for someone wanting complete (yet very light) protection…

midwest

Makes sense. Two in a sealed up duomid down here would be a condensation nightmare I'm afraid.

I always carry a bivy with my tarptents (including the refuge-X). Neither tarps nor tarptents are completely weather proof, and the weather here is often bad. A bivy not only protects from precipitation and condensation, but also from the drafty nature of tarptents. The 'tent' part of a tarptent is really just a method of keeping insects at bay!

It would be here too. I didn't mean to say that 2 people in the duomid would be good in the long run… By "just fine" I meant "sure you could fit 2 people inside for the night, but I wouldn't be happy with this set up for more than one night," which is why I recommended that the original poster look into the 3-4-man pyramid tarps for comfy living quarters for two people.

Gotcha. I'm in agreement with you which is why I replaced the DuoMid with a Shangri-la 3. Mine is 24.2 oz in the stuff sack (shelter only).

Nathan
You have to choose between getting some wind inside or excessive condensation. If you do not have enough mesh around the floor area of a single wall shelter made with a non breathable fabric (silnylon/Cuben/spinnaker) no matter how big the top vent is it will still rain condensation on you. If you have a breathable fabric is either heavy (eVent) or not that waterproof( Epic)
For your info I have never used a bivvy with my Tarptents (apart from my backyard tests) but I don't do winter hiking.( and yes we do get wind and rain in the 3 seasons) If you search you will find that some do use a bivvy with the TT and SMD but certainly not most.
However I am not suggesting any Tarptent (except for the Scarp) as an all season shelter unless you hike in relatively mild conditions, like most of Australia except for Tasmania and the alpine region.
Franco

So let me see if I understand this correctly.

The DuoMid would not be adequate because in storm-proof mode it would be overwhelmed by the moisture output of two bodies. Also the space is not adequate enough to really stretch out with two people.

Does that sound right?

Sounds about right to me. It's just the nature of the size constraints of that shelter. Of course, YMMV.