Is this a good reason to buy The One?

Seems like you're very close to justifying an exciting new piece of gear :) If you go with some 6g Titanium shepards hook stakes (5.8g each) then you'll save another 13g off The One, which makes it even closer to your existing setup. Given the advantages of a tent and the ease of setup, you'd probably be pretty happy with the switch….not that I've ever used a bivy or The One.

There is a lighter option, but it involves using the Patrol shelter with a MLD bug bivy which I think would be a bit breezier and colder under certain conditions:

MLD Bug Bivy

Patrol shelter 6.5oz 184g
BPL Bug Bivy 5.6oz 160g
Line 1oz 28g
Pegs 3.5oz 100g

Total 16.6oz 472g

Hi Pedro,
I went the same road as I'm sure alot of people have. By the time you add up all of the components you are at the same weight as a single larger component. My kit has gradually been gaining a slight bit of weight, but the number of items I take has been decreasing. I have been using a neo air and avoid taking a pillow as well as something to put under my legs. The one is a brilliant design, I'm sure Franco has told you a thing or two about Tarptents too! ( I had a contrail and thought it was brilliant too, the centre pole design of the one does seem a bit roomier when you sit up. You may want to add the polycro for rock hard Australian camp sites. I think it works terrific in most of our climates especially for summer where you can get plenty of air flow, room to sit up away from the flies and you don't have to be wrapped in a bivy on a night when the temperature doesn't drop below 25 degrees C.

Can a 6'3 bloke fit in "The One" with a Large Neo-Air? I have heard that the length is a bit limited..Any input would be appreciated!

-Jay Eastern Suburbs RFC

Jay – I keep hearing the answer is "no" to The One as that's a question I'm interested in too. GG is supposedly working on a new tent, however, much like SMD's "Vamp" which was supposed to be released at some point this year. I believe both are intended to handle taller guys.

Thanks Mr. Giant-that helps..How tall are you anyways?

6'6" and a fluffy 280. I keep needing to update my profile as it started about 240. I need to hike more :(

By the way, if you care, I just returned a "new" GoLite shirt that was listed as XXL. It was maybe a real-world large in my book. Talking to one of their reps, they said they are looking for another vendor to offer XXL's for them which should increase the XXL sizing a bit, but I'm not holding my breath for it to come anytime soon. At least it's a start though.

Dear Petras
According to this chap ,a good start for losing weight, would be to eat less chips…

The same chap is also very happy with his "heavier" shelter, the one in the foreground, because it is roomy enough inside for all of his gear, sets up fast,nice and taught and by miracle remains like that all night long . No worries about wind or rain either. Note another nice shelter there and some green contraption.

Franco

The bivy does cut wind a lot. How breezy is The One?

Franco,

Green contraption is a Ray way style tarp. Let us bow our heads to Ray.

–genuflect–

I want to use a MLD Revelation pack so I must gram count, exclude my beloved chips, scotch and cigars (I have my food weight down to 600 grams a day) and consider bulk.

Franco! Great to see you- hope you had a blast backpacking Washington!

Hi Doug
Yes , we had loads of fun. The place is indeed spectacular and the trails very well maintained .
Petras kept suggesting other trails we could have done, there are enough to hike forever…
Several parts of the Olympics in particular were very similar to the area I grew up in ( Italian Alps) and spotted similar fruits and herbs to the ones we have.
We did eat copious amounts of blueberries/ huckleberries, similar to the bilberry we have in the Alps.
The weather was very kind to us. Did not rain and only dropped down to 4c (39f) , I was ready for temps down to 20f or so.
I was very surprised at how sturdy the GG LT4 are, MUCH lighter than mine.
Having switched to the BD poles for the second trip I realised that at the end of the day my hands were slightly numb, not experienced with the GG version.
Franco
BTW, Seattle is for a gearhead like visiting the Hershey's factory for a chocolate addict….
Apart from your burgers ( and the very nice homemade Scott's sauce) we fell in love with Mexican food.
Petras enjoying Mexican food ( food as defined downunder)

If you have the money I think you would enjoy The One. The setup is fairly quick and straitforward. Another advantage is that you have a much larger bug free space. That's one of the reasons I switch from a GG spinnshelter to The One.

–Mark

Hey Mark how tall are you? I am 6'3..Do you think I would fit in "The One" with a Large Neo-Air???? Thanks

Alas… I am just 5'10" and haven't really tried to figure the max length for comfortable use. Hopefully someone else can comment. I would think there is enough room for you. I am fully extended and then typically have room to put my sunday afternoon hat filled with the items normally in my pocket by my head.

–Mark

"How breezy is The One?"
Most of the airflow is going to come through the door side as the spinaker is raised more off of the ground on this side,the other sides can be stake down as shown on the new video on the GG website. It is pretty similar to the contrail if you can imagine the contrails entry on the long side of the tent. Your bivy may keep you warmer, but then again so will your scotch and chips.

I have been through the same reasoning a few times.
As another tarp/bivy user I understand the allure of the single -easy -to -set -up -one -piece -shelter.

But, after trying a few TTs I came back to the tarp/bivy.

why:
– floored tents of any kind need a bigger foot print to set up.
– they may have a larger bug free space but a lot smaller over all space.(depending)
– I can use my bivy to well… bivy, when the weather is good.
– I can use the bivy separately inside a shelter for bug/mice protection.
-bivy adds warmth.

Still I liked the tarptents and could be perfectly happy with them. Im just kinda too used to the bivy/tarp.

Hey Brian,

What kind of pad do you sleep on?

If my Neo Air would fit in my bivy I would stick with things. It alone is driving the change! I just sent this email to Titanium Goat:

"I have been using the Ptarmign bivy with great success.
Recently I purchased a Cascade Designs NeoAior mattress which is quite delicate so I had to place it in my bivy.
The mattress is quite thick, I'd say a couple of inches thick and it takes up valuable space inside the bivy.
Because the base of the bivy is tapered, I can't quite get full use out of the length of the bivy.
Worse, my sleeping bags loft gets compressed significantly.

Does the large size of the Raven Bivy address these issues?
It would be great to see a bivy with a 22" width all the way to its base and about 2" more diameter throughout"

Also, if I didn't do so much bush bashing the poncho tarp would win in weight every time.

Earlier thread that may be helpful. I now use a neoair regular with my wm megalite long.

FWIW, I did a rainy multi-day trip in Colorado’s Collegiate Range this August with the One. I did have interior condensation in the mornings, but restricted to the interior roof and not enough to wet my bag (or me). The tent was pitched for maximum wind/rain protection so it wasn’t as ventilated as normal.

You're right that there isn't really any weight difference between a tarp+bivy and tent when the materials are the same, so it comes down to preference. I like my Patrol because of the views, even when it's raining, whereas a tent forces you to close yourself off more. But some people prefer a tent for exactly this reason (they can zip themselves into a safe haven I guess).

But it seems a pity to shift all because of the Neo… it *is* possible to get used to a foam pad, so that it feels as comfortable as a bed at home (I did it by sleeping on the floor). Honestly, when it comes to sleeping I like my luxuries: hot cups of tea, snacks, a paperback, warmer-than-strictly-necessary sleeping gear etc – I'm no masochist. But unlike being hungry/cold/tired, you can acclimatise to a thinner pad with time.

I just committed to buy a 2008 'the one' on gear swap. With my height I'll be pushing the envelope, as always, but I'm attracted to the sit-up headroom and twin pole setup for wind stability. My little lady Kath will like the bug netting too, she found the gatewood cape a bit exposed to biting insects this summer. Good job we're thin and friendly…

Pedro, I use a reg. neo air. I am 6'1" and 215. I find the one to be roomy though if I was taller it might get tight. If the wind picks up I unzip the beak and tie off to two stakes in front of the door in a cross over pattern to get a taught pitch. I too did some calc. on weight of a full size tarp and full size bug bivy.It was close so I went with the "one" . Hope that helps. Enjoy.

I had one briefly. I am 6'1" but fairly broad (47" chest measurement with corresponding wide shoulders) and noticed that on a 2.5" mat, laying on my side, my shoulder would touch the sloped roof of the shelter.

I am pretty sure I had it pitched correctly.

Overall length was fine for my 'long' bag, however.