Two-hiking Pole Freestanding Tent Idea

Franco’s enthusiasm for the H(M)S Rainbow is truly infectious, I can tell you. Gotten me plotting away even while concentrating on more urgent matters on the toilet (^J^).

Here’s my latest contribution to this whole exercise.

Just think of your camp stove as the “hot air balloon” burner. Weight of fuel and fuel containers less of an issue. Shelter in eVent fabric is now no longer offered, due to corporate finger-wagging. Use of product in outdoor pursuits entails possible life-threatening risks, therefore a signed waiver of all responsibility for deaths due to atmospheric waywardness or asphyxiation is required with each purchase. Air shipping is free, but no guarantee of accurate arrival at destination addresses. Offered in four colors: Sunset Yellow, Sky Blue, Storm Grey, and Starry Night Black with glow-in-the-dark constellation pattern.

The discussion of the Wanderlust Gear Nomad brings back a lot of memories from the early years of Ultralight… thought it was a flimsy, useless shelter at the time. Looking at it now it certainly hasn’t lost its beauty and appeal. Nor its worthiness in the current UL gearlist.

M,

Great drawings and commentary. dbl-duty stove – brilliant! bet even an old geezer like me could break Skurka’s coast-to-coast record if i had an original, authentic (accept no substitutes), Arboleda Zero-G shelter! however, given the prevailing winds in No. Amer., i’ll do the coast-to-coast west-to-east. one question, when pitched at night, how does it “hold up”…no…wait…that’s not right….how does it “hold down” under a strong wind?

i really like the “constellation pattern” idea. might be nice imprinted on the underside a tarp on cloudy or rainy nights – a veritable “Planetarium on the Trail”. i’ll trade Franco, the one with the Southern Cross for the one with Orion’s belt. i wanna’ be the first kid on my block to collect all four: summer & winter patterns for both northern and southern hemispheres.

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since i’m somewhat recent to the L/UL experience, and not too familiar with its history, could it be that the Nomad Lite was a couple (few???) years too early? maybe, it would sell better now. larger market. more understanding among by the “fringe” group not ready for tarping. the current success of the HS tarptents and the SMD Lunar & Europa models might bode well for a re-introduction of the Nomad series. at the very least, the fella’ who designed that series of shelters might be interested in “licensing” his designs to someone else? those designs have, several times, generated some interest in these Forums. for many of us, we arrived on the scene too late and are left with just the pictures.

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BTW, i’d like to see some M. A. “editorial cartoons” added to the BPL Print Magazine – you certainly have both the drawing skills and wit to make it work. i believe even the “New Yorker” magazine has a cartoon. any interest, BPL and M.A.?

Miguel you still are in my blacklist, but I do like your drawings very much so I will give you an inside tip about the Rainbow, see my carbon fiber post.
You are driving yourself crazy with your superlight tent idea and like PJ I hope that you can prove me wrong. A bipod does not stand up ( trust me on this one) however you are getting closer in finding a solution. Strangely enough last night I slept on a stretcher with an Insul Mat SE under me, I am training myself to accept the mummy shape.
Franco

one question, when pitched at night, how does it “hold up”…no…wait…that’s not right….how does it “hold down” under a strong wind?

Well, since this whole site operates on the idea that we hike as efficiently as possible, if you are attempting to beat Skurka’s record shouldn’t you try to find a way to make the best time without expending any undue energy? So, the Zero-G can accommodate you quite nicely: just keep your backpack on and let the Zero-G gently drift with the prevailing winds throughout the night, making sure to keep your feet in contact with the earth at all times (to make sure that your claim of having walked the trail the entire way is not invalidated), and you can safely fall asleep as you prance with the sheep. On stormy nights or when the winds are not blowing your way, just lodge the Zero-G among the trees and wait out the worst of the weather. Out in treeless terrain, well, none of us over here at Weightless Whale Designs have ever been in an area with no trees, so we just didn’t think of that. At least you can rest assured that you are getting the best service because we are, at least, honest!

Franco wrote, “A bipod does not stand up ( trust me on this one)”.

Aren’t humans bipods? :)

Miquel and Ben,

this Thread continues to be the most entertaining i’ve come across on the BPL Forums in quite a while. many thanks.

Birds and America’s Funniest Animals, too!

I also distinctly recall dropping by my local computer store and seeing two i-pods nicely standing at attention on the display. You must have seen them, too, Franco, with your vocation. They can be hard to spot sometimes among all the speakers and mp3 player jackets and spilled mocha latte cream.

And reliable sources tell me a certain bounding resource for burgers inhabits the environs of Uluru! ‘Tis not a bipod, too?

Yes, humans are bipods and after a few beers they fall over. That’s called unstable equilibrium.

Maybe the one that designed humans is a better designer than Henry.
Miguel see if you can sleep standing…
Same reason why after 27 cans I fall over, some times under.
In fact I am a cheap drunk, 3 drinks and I’m yours, after the first one if you are that young energetic lady I am waiting for.

Franco,

actually, i’ve twice fallen asleep standing, or more accurately leaning against something. once against a car (a Chevy Vega) and once while on watch (non-Combat at the time) in the military – oopsie. that time i was holding a railing with both hands and not really leaning – good thing i wasn’t on board a ship and in a position to fall overboard! i’ve fallen asleep “in mid sentence” while talking on the phone and on the “throne” in “mid-…” (didn’t fall off). oh…and literally 100’s of times behind the wheel of a car (when my head falls fwd, i wake up – this is my clue to either use “teeth knocking” or a Qi Gong technique called “Beat the Jade Drum” to stay awake – really two drums – small points, one on each side of the neck near the base of the skull – use a form of “finger snapping” to beat the points – the points also have Martial application as well as healing, so don’t beat too hard!! it really wakes you up and makes you alert – for a while until the next applcation of the technique is required).

More than once my wife has said, “why are we getting off this exit?”!!! never had a real accident – only once hit one of the two small metal poles supporting a road sign on I-95 East in Connecticut driving to the Sub-base in “Rotten” (what we called Groton) for a night watch.

falling asleep is a “gift” of my maternal grandfather, bequeathed to me via his genes (i think it skips a generation). it took him and it takes me ~30sec to 2min to fall asleep. it’s all about relaxing and emptying the mind, grasshopper. and repeating over and over to yourself “Fall asleep, you will” – just your basic Jedi mind-control trick employed by yourself upon yourself. basically, i sleep like a “dead man” – i virtually never move – that’s why i love mummy bags. hey…i’m the guy who would wake up the next morning IN the Bear’s stomach!!

since, i don’t drink, i can’t intelligently speak of how many “cans” of Foster’s it takes. Do y’all really drink that down-under, or is it a myth foisted upon us poor North Americans? We’ve been “in love” with all things Aussie (except your snakes, spiders, sharks, box jellies, crocs (esp. the Salties or BigNasties), and some plants. did i miss anySting? oh…how could i forget,…and those male Platys and their poisonous forearm spurs – very bad, they are! sorry. habit. once a jedi, always a…)…well, like i was saying before my lengthy parenthesis,…We’ve been “in love” with all things Aussie ever since those Quantas commercials with the Koalas, and of course later on, Paul Hogan & his Crocodile Dundee character. Does he really drive a Subaru Outback in the outback? I figured I’d ask an insider; just thought you might know.

ok. Miguel it’s your turn to try the Darioli Sleeping Challenge.

I don’t drive at all, essentially I can concentrate on one thing only at a time, steering a wheel and pushing pedals are two different tasks ( for me). Also I really do drink only a few at a time and only rarely and never Fosters but Stainlager (N.Z), Pils Pilsner (Check), Cascade (Tasmania)
My step grandfather used to fall asleep upon touching the pillow with his head (instantly) I seldom sleep for the first hour or so. In my last night in the Rainbow I waked up after 3AM ( to check for the non existing condensation)and then spent a considerable amount of time admiring the shape of it, for some reason I like the diamond formed where the cross pole and the strut meet, then I would study the floating floor, the little pocket and so on. For some time I had been thinking about a similar design to the one that Miguel is working on, so I spent many sleepless hours trying to come up with a solution.

I can sleep anywhere, in almost any position. Too bad there’s no award or monetary recognition for my ‘talent’!

Have you ever been inside a Catholic church? You know how Catholics form lines and shuffle forward to receive communion?

One time, I was at the back of the line, and it was moving particularly slowly — actually not moving at all. I closed my eyes (to meditate, of course) and next thing I know… the woman behind me rudely jabbed me at the back! I jumped — and then realized there was about 50 feet of empty space ahead of me, and lots of folks bunched up behind me! Oops.

Uh….err…wha’?… somebody say my name?

…Last thing I remember I was talking about freestanding two pole shelters… and here we are talking about SLEEPING??? My subject too boring for youze all, eh? Rather be popping those snooze buttons, hmm?

I can barely sleep anywhere except in the front passenger seat of a car. Back when I was living in Boston my girlfriend and I were driving up to Maine for a hike on Isle au Haut. It was a very long drive and I didn’t have a license at the time (in Japan you just don’t need one) so my girlfriend had to do all the driving. I can’t help it, but when in the front seat those incoming median lines in the middle of the highway have a way of hypnotizing me and dragging me into deepest, darkest slumber. Anyway, there I was floating above the planet with visions of freestanding two-pole shelters inundating me with premonition, when suddenly “CLAP”, like thunder something awfully hard and painful struck my face. In an instant I was wide awake, clutching my cheek. To my left sat my girlfriend glaring at me with the hardest eyes.

“You don’t get to sleep if you don’t have a license!” my girlfriend breathed, barely able to hold her fury. “I have another six hours to go here, so you just sit there and STAY AWAKE!”

Needless to say I made sure to enjoy the passing trees for the next bit of the journey. It was wonderful how the sun flitted through the leaves of the trees, so gold and peaceful, limned with fear!

Ben,

i yield and submit. given the hallowed nature of your experience, i’m playing second “harp” to you. i know of a similar experience, viz. falling asleep during prayer (like who hasn’t?). apparently, this snoring occurs. afterwards, the fellow who was praying says to the other, “did you hear that snoring while i was praying?”. the other fellow, in all honesty, says “no”. i’m sure that you can guess why. ok…i’m not fooling anyone. confession is good for the soul. i did the snoring. this one doesn’t top Ben, however, b/c i was seated in a very comfortable seat and not standing.

Miguel,

good story. BUT, you too were seated. besides, i don’t know if her slap would have woken either Ben or i. you might be very witty and a great artist, but i think you don’t sleep very well, relatively speaking. just kiddin’ you. ;) hey…you might try praying – i always seem to fall asleep doing so (doesn’t say much for my “spirituality”, or lack thereof, now does it?).