MLD Duomid or Trailstar

[Dave T]

… spent the last two days in a bad mood.

[Phil Turner]

I think you'll be happy with it. Now yellow or grey….. :-D

[Luke Moffat]

I think I'm going to go to match my Supermid and go with the grey. Kinda partial to the drab colors. :D

[BlackHatGuy]

Have you considered getting it in Spinntex? Or would you consider that too fragile?

[Say Raow]

Why is the trailstar not offered in cuben? Does the design make cuben a poor fabric choice?

[Miguel Arboleda]

Why is the trailstar not offered in cuben? Does the design make cuben a poor fabric choice?

I read somewhere that the Trailstar design needs to be able to stretch for the design to work effectively. Cuben doesn't stretch. But I'm not really sure why it's not offered in cuben. It could be that not enough people are interested in the design. THere has never been much discussion about it here on BPL.

[Luke Moffat]

Being as this is an emergency shelter for mainly above brushline work in places like Kodiak and the Alaska mountain range I want to go with something that will last for a long time and be the toughest in the wind. So I think I'll stick with the silnylon.

[BlackHatGuy]

Miguel's right. I asked Ron about a cuben Trailstar, and he said the fabric needed to stretch for the Trailstar to be effective, so he wouldn't make a cuben version. FWIW.

[Travis Leanna]

I've never ordered anything from MLD before. What's their shipping time frame if the item says its in stock? I know that many orders Ron takes are for backordered/custom orders, which take longer. I put my Trailstar order in on Thursday, but there hasn't been an update on the order status.

I know they're really busy, so I'm not complaining, but I'm just curious as to their shipping times. Oh, and of course I'm antsy about getting a new tarp! : )

[BlackHatGuy]

Hey Travis,

You can probably expect to wait 5-7 weeks. I believe (and someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong) Ron keeps very little in stock by way of shelters/tarps/bivies (in fact, I've never seen anything listed as 'in stock'). The stuff he doesn't make — pots and such — he often gets out quicker. But I think he pretty much makes everything else to order.

And your order status will always say 'pending.' Even after it ships. Even after you have it! That part doesn't update.

But from my experience, when his site says 6-8 weeks, I usually get my order in 5-7! And when you do get it, you'll love it! Quality all the way.

FWIW.

[Richard Scruggs]

How long are MLD shipping times? What to expect? MLD has the following information posted on its home page stating that shelters (which seems to include the Trailstar since it's a "shelter") take "about 6-8 weeks to ship":

"******************ORDER INFO & NEWS: March 6 , 2010**************"

"Most orders for major items (packs, quilts, bivys, shelters) taking about 6-8 weeks to ship. Most smaller items (stakes, poles, line, Ti Pots, Mitts) ship in about 1-2 weeks.

"If you have not received your order after 8 full weeks, send us an email. Your order viewed online will always say "Pending" and that is normal. Please see our Shipping and Warranty Info Under the INFO link.

"Thanks for your patience while we build you Super Awesome UL Gear."

[Steven Paris]

I ordered my Trailstar in July last year and had it by mid-to-late August.

Just a note about the great customer service at MLD: when I ordered my Trailstar, the only available color was gray. When my shelter came, they must have received new silnylon b/c it was the olive brown. I thought the brown might be a little dark for me in the PNW, so I asked if I could exchange it for the yellow, which had become available again. Ron had the yellow one to me within 2 weeks.

[David Chenault]

We got our grey Trailstar in just about six weeks exactly last fall. I like the grey. A good stealth color, but still lets a bit of light in.

[Travis Leanna]

Hey, thanks guys. Those were the answers I was looking for.

So does Ron hand-make most things himself? Or ship the orders out to a third-party manufacturer (strictly overseen by Ron of course)?

And a bit of fun…. Taken from MLD's site: "Any gear involved in a sanctioned wilderness WPW event (World Porcupine Wrestling) can be repaired for a reasonable fee."

[Rakesh Malik]

"So does Ron hand-make most things himself? Or ship the orders out to a third-party manufacturer (strictly overseen by Ron of course)?"

Based on the interview that Henrik posted, I'm fairly ceratin Ron and his crew of craftsmen make everything in their shop. They don't farm out any of their custom stuff.

[Eric Beaudry]

My cuben stealth duomid took 8 weeks and a day to arrive.

The thing is amazing!

[Travis Leanna]

Ah, good things come to those who wait, I guess.

[Rakesh Malik]

Stop gloating! Some of us are still waiting on our MLD orders :)

[Ron Jameson]

It took over 8 wks to get mine. I've used it 1 night. I've got a WBBB & tarp coming now. The Duo may stay at home If I like the hammock.

Ron

[Hendrik Morkel]

Good decision on the Trailstar, though I'd go for yellow.

No sense to write OT here, rather keep it civil and reasonable.

Trailstar and Cuben DuoMid pitched on a recent trip.

[Steven Paris]

Hendrik,

That's the best comparison picture I've seen between the two shelters!

[Frank Steele]

OK, but did you pick a "bug" solution too?

[Steven McAllister]

Hi Hendrik,
Regarding:
"I'd go for yellow"

That would be good advice for people in many places, but not where some of us live. Camping is illegal in most of the US, especially where I live, so grey(gray) is by far the best choice for me.

Although hiking has been encouraged in many locations, backpacking is not and results in fines in many locations.

[Travis Leanna]

What are the bug options for the Trailstar?

[Luke Moffat]

Camping illegal?? Please tell me you are joking!! You can't camp on normal state and federal land?? Or is it just that a lot of the land down there is private and therefore you'd be trespassing? Man you guys got it rough down there!!!

As far as bug protection under the trailstar when I use it for overnight camping I'll be all cocooned up in my Ti Goat Ptarmigan bivy so it should be relatively bug free or thats the hope atleast. :D

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