Tarptent for Himalaya?

I've spent time in the Himalaya and the Andes. I brought my Rainbow to Nepal last year, but decided to use something more substantial. I'd recommend something more robust for camping at 18,000ft.

As for swapping to a sturdier Tarptent, I'd say don't bother. A wind that is going to blow down a contrail is likely also going to blow down a rainbow or moment.

It depends a lot on how you set up the Contrail. If you wake up after a stormy night and still have the Contrail up nice and taut , than you will be fine.
If on the other hand after it rains your Contrail sags, you either need to learn how to prevent that or get another shelter.
Around the Annapurna circuit in Nepal most tea houses had some flat camping area nearby or you could organise to camp in a nearby empty rice paddy.
My Contrail did just fine in October as we were getting some good post-monsoonal storms.
This is an early morning shot after a night of heavy rain. Most likely I got up to have a pee…
(that mountain range was not visible the night before)

Keep in mind that we were relatively low , below 12,000', so yes it depends where you want to go…

Franco

The last time that I was in Nepal, I was using a North Face VE-25. For one person, it was a palace. A porter carried it.

–B.G.–

Carry the extra pound and a half and get something that is more wind resistant and wind reflective.

Franco,
Have never been in the Himalayas, but have used three different tarptents, and would not use any of them well above tree line in the Rockies; nor would I use my favorite tent, a remodeled (lightened) REI bug dome with a Wilderness Experience fly and carbon poles, there either. So I vote with Jack, Bob and David.
Sam

I'm planning a thru-hike of the Colorado Trail in August with someone else.. I presently have a MSR Carbon Reflex 2 which might be a tad too small for the two of us (two guys).

I was thinking of a 2-person Tarptent or similar such tent by SMD .. it will be monsoon season with storms almost every afternoon but I thought these would be able to handle it.

So if you wouldn't use these above treeline in the Rockies, what would you use?

Thanks for the responses – this is such a great site.

So that's zero votes for an 'upgrade' to a different tarptent – I'm glad that's out of the way.

I'm now thinking of taking the Contrail and just seeing how it works out during weekend trips. Thimphu is around 2400 meters, and the surrounding mts. are 3K – 4K, so it should work, and after a few months I'll know whether I want or need something tougher for other excursions.

Franco, do you have extra guylines installed, coming out to the side from the front corners of the tent? If so, do they add much stability?

I think that's probably a good idea. You'll have plenty of opportunities to utilize an ultralight shelter out there. And you'll have more of a feel for when it's not appropriate.

Your relocation sounds awesome! Good for you. Mind telling us what you'll be doing over there?

I'd take a pyramid type tarp.
The Golite Shangri La 3, Oware or other make.
The local porters used pyramids to camp on the 10 day hike I did up to 5000m, and it worked for them.
Have a great time!
cheers,
fred

I have a Tarptent Moment, and I love it, but I would not recommend it for sustained winds above 25-30MPH. It is a fine three season shelter for the Northern California Sierra where I go backpacking, but except for the center hoop, it has no internal structure to prevent deflection and you have to rely on only two tent stakes at either end to keep it nailed down. If either stake pulls out it is a hassle. I've had the 6" Easton needle stakes that came with it pull out in high winds. That hasn't happened since I switched to MSR Ground Hog Stakes. Personally, I would want a bomb proof tent for a harsh environment like the Himalaya. I would recommend the Integral Designs Wedge eVent bivy just reviewed by BPL. It has numerous tie outs, a low profile, and is good in the wind according to reviewer Doug Johnson. It is expensive though!

Bruce you can contact me at :
franco at tarptent dot com

(not the strange link posted before, I must have been breathing as well as typing at the same time. Can't do multitasking …)
Franco

I don't yet have a lot of experience in stormy or rainy conditions in my Moment. However, I feel confident in my tiedown system.

I use the blue stakes that came with the tent, but I have extended the staking points out a little farther from the tent by using longer cord lengths. This affects less upward pull on the stakes yet can be shortened if needed for any reason that might crop up. It also, if at the right length, causes the inverted "V" end poles to spread apart(rather than be squeezed together)and provide a more stable width.

I also use the center pole side tiedowns with an inverted "v" cord to two stakes on each side. A 90 degree cord spread seems to provide the best combination of lateral and longitudinal rigidity.

I'm hoping for some sort of Shires/Caffin hybrid for colder weather. Single wall, higher vents, simple stake out options with other genius touches thrown in for good measure. Oh, what the heck! Make that a Shires/Caffin/Darioli hybrid while your at it! ! ! !!

Thanks for that but I am not really doing anything special with my tents.
All I do is to use the features provided.
With the Contrail there is a guyout point at the apex and one in the middle of the boxed end, so I use them…
(as well as a tie down points on the long side)
Having added the center strut (slightly higher than the side ones) gives a bit more leverage to that guyout point and recreates the same kind
of tension you have in an A frame shelter. In fact not that different from the typical tarp set up…
The Moment is shipped with guyout points on the main pole, that gives me the idea that in foul weather they should be used, the same as
all shelters of this design. Nothing new here either.
Same for the stakes. TT ships the short Easton and those are good enough for the typical mild weather set up. It is always wise to carry beefier pegs just in case .
The peg review here (BPL) clearly pointed out the advantage of using longer stakes, particularly the Y type. Of course also helps if you put a rock or two on top of
them if needed. (yes, replace the rocks afterwards..)
Franco

I'll echo that the Easton, blue, short stakes that tarptent provides are garbage. I've broken about half of the ones that i've use and won't rely on them ever again. Personally, I suck it up and carry Y-Stakes. They're worth their weight. I also use rocks if needed. And I LNT to a high level for sure.

I haven't used the Moment yet. I'm bringing it tomorrow on my CDT hike. Pushing on it's weak points with my hands (a great test for tents), it seems weak in the wind. i've tied extra cords on the attachment points to avoid a collapse. I plan to carry six stakes for it as well. I'm still concerned about it's windproofness though.

Hike on,

Jack

Out of curiosity, does the 2-pole setup of the Sublite make it a little more stable than the Contrail? I like the side entrance and general design, and probably would have got that instead of the Contrail if it had been available.

Jack, I'm going to teach at a new college – I was looking around for something in a mountainous region or a Buddhist country, and came across this. The salary is Bhutanese, but I will save the $200 / day tourist fee they charge! I'm really looking forward to it.

Franco, I sent you an email but it bounced – probably I haven't figured out the right address: yourname @ yourname dot com dot tarptent?

Bruce
All lower case
franco at tarptent dot com
or franco dot darioli at gmail dot com
sorry I immediatelly got spam last time I put the link…

and just realised the absurd address posted before. Maybe I should start drinking.

Franco