Gatewood Cape ??’s

Ian You brought this up about a month ago. Why again? No takers the first time around?

The first time I tried a recumbent bike I fell down within 10 meters of taking off.
However having observed the owner arriving with that bike I somehow assumed that it was me not the bike…
I succeeded on the third attempt . I only had been riding bikes for just over 40 years at that stage.
The point here is , if some or most can set up a shelter, the ones that cannot do it should not blame the manufacturer nor the particular shelter but learn how to do it before posting comments that just highlight their shortcomings.
And yes , I did get abused when I pointed this out about a certain other shelter .
BTW, I ride a recumbent trike now, nothing wrong with the bikes but it is hard to fall of a trike.
Franco

I love my Gatewood Cape. Combined with a 2 1/2 oz CF golf club shaft and 6 Ti stakes and a piece of polycro, it's a reasonably sturdy shelter under 16oz which is *just* big enough for me and my lady.

Wow, Ian. That IS quite a rant.

I have had, unfortunately, few occasions to try my Gatewood Cape and they were all pretty ideal conditions, so I can't comment intelligently about condensation, etc. I'm also short (5'9"-ish, 5'10" on a good day early in the morning), so I fit in it very well.

But I thought setup was very intuitive! Almost like a pyramid- just stake an edge down, snap the little harness thingy in the neck, and stick the trek pole in. Poof! maybe you then adjust your lines or stakes or something.

I would imagine that if you didn't have the little multi-colored harness thingy that snaps into the neck that it would be VERY confusing. Were you missing it, or something?

I think it's just genius.

Nothing like a nice level-headed and unbiased review… EMO much?

Condensation is not necessarily a design flaw, but the nature of single wall tents. Temperature, dew point, and how the shelter is set-up play a part. The most important factor is how it is set up, which is tied to the experience of the user. I get condensation in cold conditions, which is expected. Not having a lot of experience with single wall tents, other than a Chounaird Pryamid I owned many years ago, I did expect and was prepared to deal with it.

Bottom line, the SMD tent is not my favorite tent, because I don't care for tents in general. But it has a use in my gear inventory, and does an excellent job on those trips I use it.

Ian,
wow.

I just spent 6 drenched days and nights hiking the River to River trail in Southern Illinois with my gatewood and a simple bug bivy to keep the quarter sized mosquitoes off me. All I can say is that I pitched my gatewood in the dark, with lighting every where and pelting rain hitting me and it was tight was a drum. Too bad it rained so hard that our whole camp flooded, but that was poor site placement not the gatewood's fault.

After using a Golite poncho-tarp I can say that the gatewood is the simplest tarp I have ever used and I'll never switch. I am thinking about adding the serenity though. it was save me a few ounces over my bug bivy.

I am almost 6'3" and on the big side (260#)and just enjoyed a couple cold nights under my SMD cape a couple weekends ago. Love the small size and weight of this product as well as the SMD Essence pack and the starlight pack for winter use.
I did find that if i extended the pole from the inside and made it longer i was able to lean the trecking pole off to one side theirby guving me more room to get in and out of. And i was also surprized to find i was able to situp and get dressed without touching the sides much. But i also never noticed any condensation but that might of been from the cold wind! In the northwest one might still want rain chaps simply because of the wet foilage that lays over the narrow trails sometimes. The cape also came in handy while backpacking over snow while the wind was blowing. The cape definetley helps block some of the wind as well. The only problem i have and this is mostley because i don't have the guyouts adjustable is finding a place to push my titanium stakes into! Damn tree roots and rocks are naturaly always in the way….LOL.
I did get smart the second night and staked the end that was into the wind directly onto the ground and this helped allot with the wind. And i used the hood vent sinched down about halfways if anyone was wondering. Was worried about tearing the cape as i had to hike through some real prickly underbrush but never had any problems.
One has to remember most of this lightweight gear is made light so it's not made bullet proof for crosscountry expeditions……!

Sorry you had such a bad experience but I've had one since at least 2007 and it has been through a lot with me in the rockies to the desert to the AT. I love my G.C. Best multiple use gear item I have. Never had a problem pitching it.

I usually pitch it per the directions and then end up moving two of the stakes to dome it over a little better. I will say I've never quite gotten that string thing to work like it says in the directions so I just run it out, stake it, and then stake down the door flap with the pocket on it – works great for me and much more taut than the other way (to me).

I got a GC a few days ago and i got to try it out on the ard last night
first off i really like the weight of the GC and that it also works as raingear
the only problems i had was Condensation,but i feel that had to do with the way i had it set up …so tonight i'm going to try to raise it up some to get some more airflow
and size…i'm 5'11" and if i rolled i would touch the sides…i'm going to try to use the side pullouts tonight…and mayb rig up my 2nd pole to pull the backside away more….i'll let ya's know how it workd out tomorrow…
but so far for the weight it's a cool shelter if i had to goto the ground …
i used a neoair size med and a JRB Hudson river with it last night at 60 degrees i was nice and toasty

I have 18" lines for my SMD Gatewood Cape…

Try pitching it higher and see what the condensation is like. I also usually sleep with the door open unless it's actually raining which really helps.

The Gatewood was my first shelter that wasn't a freestanding dome(except for some tarp camping as a kid).

I never used the freestanding dome since. And eventually sold it.

I have since used other tarp type shelters and have been very happy with all.
On night in a gale that snapped other peoples tent poles and the Gatewood shed the wind with only minor flapping compared to others.

Condensation has only been minor for me and I hike mostly on the wet North Atlantic Coast of the US.

I usually use mine with either a bivy or the SMD Serenity net tent. The combination is like a double wall shelter that is lighter and more flexible.

Thanks Kevin i'll give that a try tonight …
i'll let ya know how it worked out

I find the Gatewood vents well through the hood opening, even when pitched fairly low with the door zipped. The hood opening is the size of a stove pipe, 8 inches or more in diameter, right at the peak. Only when I hear rain do I pull the hood over, still trying to leave a covered vent hole to the side that won't drip. In really bad weather I tighten the hood all the way – no leaks – a little condensation is a small price to pay to keep dry. Pitched high, with the door open, and the top vent fully open, the side pull outs rigged, especially over my face, I find it vents very well.

Rigged with the Net Tent, the mesh walls help keep me and my gear away from the Cape walls, and tend to catch any spray coming off the Cape walls.

Hey i did try what you told me Kevin and it helped out …
i really like the gatewood cape …i think it's a really nice UL shelter
i do more hammock camping then anything but it's nice to have a shelter i can use on the gound when needed