Joe Valesko of Zpack’s new 9oz tent

good to know Doug. Is the mesh no-see-um or nano-see-um? I'm sure i could figure this out with some effort, but being lazy.

-Tim

My hexamid arrived this weekend. There were several things that kept me in town for the long weekend, but have had some nice winter rain storms which made backyard testing somewhat interesting. I have a very preliminary Initial Hexamid Review which is still in progress. No doubt more experience will make me realize that I am completely wrong in some areas.

–Mark

Hi Tim,

I wouldn't know one from the other! But from Joe's website: This tent is unique in that it has a fully enclosed .7 oz/sqyd nanoseeum screen floor….

Take care,

Doug

BTW, am ready to order another cuben quilt, a bit larger than the last, to use as an underquilt as its primary purpose! Will email separately.

Nice review. I also brought along a pole tip guard to use where the pole tip meets the netting patch. I'll carry that little bit of weight for the peace of mind!

Tim, it's nanoseeum from the zpacks website. Many fabrics will stick to the snow after you have slept on it and your shelter floor turns partly to ice. I have used neatsheets as a bivy and a AMK thermolite as a groundsheet and both stuck to the floor. They both came off without tearing, but if you pulled it hard it could tear possibly.

"Not sure about the three zip entry in the video. More points of failure? Also not sure of the lack of vestibule space and open side that can't be pitched to the ground in blowing wind."

David,

Understand this is still very much a tarp, not so much a tent (regardless of how it's described). So the lack of vestibule and open side with standard pitch is what you get with tarp camping. That being said, based on the design, I see this as a nice tarp option. For those not interested in the full blown tarp living, the netting offers some level of isolation/protection.

The basic concept is still based around a tarp and thus usage will mimic such. The problem with this design with regards to tarp use is this will offer less pitching options. That being said, I prefer this 3-sided coverage option (how I setup my flat tarps today). I feel in conjunction with a bivy, it offers very good protection for person and gear while remaining relatively simple by design.

I like the hexamid so much, I order one for my up coming trip into the White Mountains in February. Should be a good test of man and gear ;)

Here's my current spinntex flat.

Hi Eric,

I don't consider it a tarp because it has a floor. Even if a tarp has bug netting around the perimeter or front and rear as in an A-frame configuration, you can still bring wet shoes, pack, gear under the tarp. With the Zpack shelter you will be bringing said gear into your living space. This is a minimalist tarptent in my opinion.

I like it however – just to uncompromised for me.

Personally, I believe I'll be getting the plain tarp version. $139 for a 3.3 oz. cuben tarp is so appealing!

I think Ill be doing the same Chris. A 3.3oz tarp and cuben doors combined with a SMD/MLD innernet should work well.

David,

I guess I would agree with that with a caveat. I guess it's more of a tarptent but after owning a contrail, I'd still consider this MUCH more tarp than tent.

Similarly a duomid/super,solo even without a floor, in my mind are more considered tents then tarps.

I also agree that for 3.3oz for a well engineered cuben tarp for $139, you can't beat it. It's the version I bought.

I'm basing my trip on seeing temps in the 0's or colder, 50+mph winds at a minimum and snowfall that could be feet a day. A tough test for any shelter let alone a tarp.

"I think Ill be doing the same Chris. A 3.3oz tarp and cuben doors combined with a SMD/MLD innernet should work well."

I assume you mean the bug bivy and not innernet. The innernet wouldn't work at all. And I don't think the bug bivy will work very well either, unless you don't care about hanging the netting off you. From my post earlier in this thread:
So while I couldn't stake out the MLD bug bivy, I did slap it inside quickly to see if it would work. The short is answer is yes. The longer answer is not very well. The only tieoff point on the inside of the Hexamid is where your pole handle sits at the apex of the Hexamid. In other words, at the center, near the front of the inside. So this would not be an optimal point to tie off the bug bivy, as the netting would be 'leaning forward' and probably onto to the top of your head instead of 'leaning back' like it would be under an MLD tarp or Patrol Shelter.

EDIT: The more I think about this, I shouldn't have said that the innernet (solo) wouldn't work at all. It could, I'm sure, but, I believe, not well. The hang point for the inner would be to the front, instead of centered over you, so you'd probably have the back netting of the innernet brushing against you if you were in the 'optimal' sleeping position under the Hexamid. So, like the bug bivy, I think it could work, but it would be a kludge that I think you'd end up being unhappy with.

Doug,

How's the actual coverage with the "beak"?

Hi Eric!

The beak really allows you to sit 'back' away from the front and get good coverage from the elements on its own. I did use the optional doors, however, on the night I was out in it.

When is more white cuben fiber tarps going to be available? I'd rather have that instead of green.

Doug – Thanks for your insight on the innernet/bug bivy issue. I thought that the inner might be able to be set back a bit more, but it looks like that might not work. I emailed Joe for suggestions to see what he thinks because I am a little up in the air about the mesh floor.

Doug,

Thanks. Overall I'm impressed with what the hexamid has to offer for such a mimimalistic shelter. I love my tarps but considered a solo-mid from MLD for winter use for coverage reasons and nearly ordered one.

The hexamid I feel is very much a nice option for me as it's mostly tarp but has some what better coverage. I'd think pitched in a "storm" position low to the ground with snow packed around the perimeter, it could be a very viable winter option. The beak also provides a bit of a wind break should the inevitable wind shift occur during the night.

Very cool piece of gear I feel.

….why not just attach the net to this shelter so it's all one piece? In other words, have a slightly larger bug bivy with sil-nylon floor (kinda like the MLD bug Bivy) attached to the underside of Joe's tent. The screen sides would attach to the tent's ceiling. Of course one would somehow have to seal the junction between screen and ceiling.

I like Joe's 3 something oz tent but I'm not keen on the screen floor or the screen attached to the outside. On the other hand, I want complete bug protection yet am not keen on trying to make something like MLD's Bug Bivy fit inside Joe's tarp only version.

> I'd think pitched in a "storm" position low to the ground with
> snow packed around the perimeter, it could be a very viable winter option.

No matter what you do, you have a 20+ inch gap in the front. If you are comfortable using an open tarp in the winter, then the hexamid is a possibility. Personally, I want more protection from my winter/harsh weather shelter. The door does help, but I haven't used it enough to conclude if it's enough or not. After 3.7 nights of trying the hexamid without the door getting increasingly wet, I deployed the door early this morning. It certainly added a good bit of protection. Maybe enough that I would consider it in harsher conditions. More in a few days.

In harsh conditions I want a zone that is mostly dry, where I can move enough to do attend to my camp routine without getting more wet (which includes going in and out of the shelter), and were my items have a chance to dry out a bit. I am not yet sure the hexamid is quite up to that task. If you asked me today, I would without question take our DuoMid on a trip that I expected heavy extended rain or snow.

–Mark

"If you asked me today, I would without question take our DuoMid on a trip that I expected heavy extended rain or snow."

+1. I really like the Hexamid, and have another on order. But for 3-season, really light/fast/long use. I'll use my DuoMid for winter/nasty weather, no doubt about it. I really like the extra, lazy stretching out room it provides! And since I backpack with a generator, there's room for me to set up my HDTV for those long rainy weekends…..

Okay, only kidding about the generator.

But not the TV……;-)

For me, I've slept in only a bivy in the snow and rain so for me, this still provides more coverage. I'd assume even compared to my flat tarp, this should be an improvement.

I will agree that the duomid is a better full coverage option, one in which I personally wouldn't carry a bivy unless it was suppose to be really nasty. I may still pick up a solomid and test the two against each other. I am really interested to see how the hexamid handles varied weather though.

>>I'll use my modded DuoMid for winter/nasty weather…

Do you mind sharing what mod you made?

Would it not be possible to rig the raingear already being carried as a "splash protector" for wind blown rain? I think that is what I'm going to try if and when I order the Hexamid. Not that the optional "door" is heavy, but hey- I'm carrying rain gear and a length of spectra cord anyway… I'm sure I could have Joe sew in a couple of tiny tie-loops to the inside of the canopy on each side of the net door.

Douglas, or anyone that has used/seen this shelter – do you think that there is anything out there that will work as a simple bug bivy / bug netting? … Or is a regular bivy zipped up the only thing that will do the job?

If not, do you think it would be possible to sew on some more attachment loops to attach something like the MLD Bug Bivy or perhaps Serenity Shelter?

.

Ohhh, interesting. Any details on expected weight / price? What will the shape be like?

Thanks!