Golite Shangri-La 2 Shelter: Keep it Simple Stupid

Black Diamond is selling Betamids for $79 thru 11/9 with free shipping. A little heavier than the Golite (36 oz vs 26 oz), but a super deal for a sturdy design.

Edit: the SL2 is apparently 23 oz per the specs and the 26 oz includes the stakes. My point was not to knock the SL2, but just to point out that the Betamid is a similar great design at a super price, albeit heavier.

The 2009 Shangri-La 2 shelter/stuff sack (no guylines/stakes) weighs 22 oz.

Betalight weighs 19 ozs without stuff sack, but no upper venting when compared with shangri la 2

The Shangri-La 3 (2010) fly only is 25 oz. I think it would hold up much better in wind and snow, and has more room. I think it's a better selection than the SL2 for only 3 more ounces.

John, I think you mean the 2010 Shangri-La 2. The 2009 version was heavier. I just bought the 2010 version and it weighs 22.5 oz., with no stakes or guylines.

I think the SL2 will hold up just as well as my old Hex 2. Basically it is two, low pyramids joined by a bridge of material, so it is inherently a very strong design. Its lower profile will give it some advantage over the taller teepee, though the teepee does have less flat cloth facing the wind. I decided to get the SL2 because of its smaller footprint and easier setup. Also, when I use it for two people there is no pole directly between us at our head end.

Hi Miguel. I just bought a 2009 version and weighed it at 22.4 oz. It has the tougher fabric, lower height, and is rated by golite for 4 seasons. The 2010 version has lighter fabric, higher inside height and is rated for 3 seasons.

The one discussed in the article is the 2009 version, but his weight seems taken from the website and including 6 stakes. Will read further.

Hi John. That is very strange. The 2009 version is lighter than the 2010 version? Everywhere the information says it is heavier, but your scale and mine obvious prove it otherwise. Kind of disappointing, too, since I would have bought the 2009 version if I had known it was lighter… the heavier, stronger material would have been welcome.

One thing I do prefer about the 2010 version are the extra guyline loops mid-panel on the sides. This will help stabilize the tent in strong winds and keep the long, flat sides from bowing in in strong winds.

Thanks for that link, Eric. I've had my Shangri-La 2 out in 40-mph winds; it's good to know it can handle 60.

John and Miguel, my 2009 version also weights 22 oz. even, including the stuff sack. This was one of those unusual occasions when the specs. provided by the company actually overstated the weight of the product. The side tie-outs are a nice feature of the 2010 version.

For maximum wind resistance, I've found it useful to think of the Shangri-La 2 as an eight-sided shelter rather than a four-sided shelter. The three panels on the sides can be set at slightly different angles to the wind. To do this, first set out the shelter in a rectangle with as square corners as you can make them. Then ignore the instructions and pull out each of the middle guy points as far as they will go and stake down. Then pop it up with your adjustable trekking poles. This will give you slightly less height but a little more width across the middle and a more wind-worthy shape.

This is where I bought my 2010 SL2 from. As you can see the owners of the site weigh the gear and give accurate weights for what they sell, plus list the manufacturer’s listed weights. On the site the listing is a little lighter than the shelter I received, which I weighed exactly (this time without the stuff sack) at 600 g or 21 oz. The 2009 version of the shelter is listed on the site at 708 g or 25 oz. Now how can the newer 2010 version, which has exactly the same dimensions as the 2009 version, but has a lighter material be, 100 g lighter on the site, but be heavier by 28 g when weighed? That doesn’t make sense. How can a heavier material weigh less than a lighter material for a shelter that has the same dimensions (as the site states)? Something’s screwy.

Anyway, that doesn’t detract at all from this shelter. I’ve been looking at many shelters for a long time, but this may finally be something that I’m happy with. My very first thought when I set it up the other day was, “Wow! I’ve come full-circle since the days of my floorless orange A-wedge tent when I was in the boyscouts.

Dondo’s reviews of the shelter on his blog are what got me really thinking about the SL2. Actually, a lot of Dondo’s reasons for the gear he has settled for closely resemble mine. The SL2 may not be the lightest shelter out there, but it fulfills what I am looking for in a shelter.

Dondo, I’ll give your method for setting up the shelter a try. I’ve still got a lot of things to learn about its capabilities.

i looking at a pyramid shelter … likely Duomid

the SL2 seems to be a bit heavier … is it better though?

Miguel, the similarity in weight between the 2009 and 2010 versions despite using different weights of fabric has puzzled me as well. My 2009 version weighs 21.6 oz. without the stuff sack. Your 2010 version weighs 21 oz. One would expect there to be a difference of a least a few ounces instead of just 0.6 oz. I'll try an email to Golite to see if they can explain.

The difference is likely the PU coating (waterproof fire retardant) on the 2010 version making it similar weight to the 2009 silnylon without PU coating.

The 2009 version has 49 square feet of space while the 2010 version has 45 square feet. Not sure I trust that spec either.

The 2010 version has taped seams. The 2009 did not. The 2010 version also has midpoint guyline tieouts which would add a couple of ounces.

The 2010 version has mid wall guy points and also it appears like the peak vents and especially the eyebrow vent covers are quite a bit larger. Not sure about the fabric being the same weight though since I have a newer golite poncho tarp that weighs about 8 oz compared to 10 for the older one so the fabric is definitely lighter.

I actually expected the 2010 version's real weight to be quite a bit less than what Miguel measured since all the golite shelters I own (older Hex3 and 2008/2009 Shangri-la 4 both measured quite a bit less than the advertised golite weight.

Here's the reply from Golite:

The lack of weight savings in this case, I guess) is due to additional guy points, nest toggles, updated vents and (overall) slightly different materials/construction for anything not flysheet. Additionally, the big difference is that the 2009 was NOT TAPED and the 2010 IS TAPED. So, any fabric weight savings from changing fabrics was lost with that feature upgrade. It's about 0.5-0.75 ounce difference per 1 yard of fabric. An SL2 uses about 9 yards so the difference fabric alone would have been no more than 6.5oz all things being equal.

Also, I'm not sure of where your numbers are coming from but my records show that the 2009 and the 2010 both have the same weight – 1lb, 10oz. Some of the weights listed in the BPL link vary significantly from that. AND..all scales have a margin of error so, unless they are using many scales and normalizing, they may be getting weights inconsistent with ours.

There is no doubt that this is a good shelter for conditions.
The very minor gripe I have is that I think the skin is a little heavier than it needs to be. Cuben, Spinnaker and silnylon would also hold up well in strong winds.

So why make the skin so heavy? I guess for durability reasons. I know I have a Golite Hut 1 that I like a lot in hard conditions.

Maybe I should work for Golite.

Just for your considerations: the new SL2 has a smaller nest, instead using the space it once occupied under the fly as a vestibule. The older SL2 had a ~18" (?) space from door to trekking pole, now the pole is pretty much at the door.

Be careful mixing model year nest & tarps. If remember right, the older 2008 and down nests are a little shorter and when used with the new SL-2 makes a nice vestibule area.
I am sure an e-mail to golite can get the specs of the different SL-2 nests so you can pare & tailor a SL-2 to meet different needs.

Oops, this just repeats the info Brad is presenting.

Regards,
John

My 2010 SL2 weight is exactly 609 grams (21,48 oz.) w/o stakes, stuf sack.

I remember that when I was considering SL2 2009 vs 2010 I have put them on my scale before the purchase and 2009 version was much heavier than 2010.

Piotr, my 2009 version weighs exactly 21.6 oz.(612 grams) without stakes and stuff sack.

Dondo, thanks for taking the time to write to GoLite asking the question about the tents. It looks like the GoLite representative was right about weights being the same. But the reports here keep coming up conflicting, don't they? Wonder what is going on.

Maybe there are different production batches during a year ?

Hi Ron: my pm set up is all messed up so I'm posting here in hopes that you see it: thanks for the offer but I already bit the bullet and bought this pack direct from GG.