Gatewood Cape good in the PNW?

I've used mine through the high Sierra section of the PCT/JMT and on the Colorado Trail. Condensation has never been a problem, as long as I don't camp in an open meadow or along a stream, which will turn any single wall, and some double walls, into a condensation station. The PNW almost always has enough wind to ventilate most single wall shelters adequately.

For best ventilation and more interior space, I pitch it at least 47 inches high. My wife stitched line locks onto the stake-out loops and I added longer lines to facilitate this. I don't use mine as rain gear out here – too much wind makes the poncho billow and blocks my view of the trail in front of my feet. It is my go-to solo shelter.

I'll only take my Lunar Solo if I know I'm apt to have either weather or mosquito issues for extended periods. The optional Serenity Net Tent for the GC gives great bug protection, but has no room inside for my pack, and I'd hate to be stuck inside it for extended periods. The LSe has a lot more interior space.

The GC without the net tent erected allows the pack to stay covered beside me. I usually leave the net tent home and just carry a good headnet, but the net tent is only 7 oz and makes a good shelter by itself on warm but buggy nights when there's little or no danger of rain.

I love it! YMMV

I consider my cape to be pretty marginal. I like it, because of it's weight, not because of it's performance. I'd characterize it's interior size to be small, not roomy.

Whether it works for you will depend on you!

I consider mine roomy probably because I'm sort of small myself (5'6").

I've only had 4 nights in mine so far but that has included a full night of intermittent thunderstorms on a dry patch of ground in the swamps of North Carolina… this did get me plenty of condensation and (I think) a bit of misting, but considering how wet it was outside the shelter, I'm not inclined to complain. It was pitched to the ground, as well, so venting was pretty nonexistent.

Re: Bugs, on the inside of the shelter where the guy-out points attach there are two nice little snap-loops of fabric that end up being roughly over your head while you sleep. I just suspend a 4×6' sheet of noseeum netting (can't be more than a couple ounces) from whichever one is overhead, and it drapes to the ground and over my sleeping bag enough to keep out the bugs without being restrictive.

I used a Gatewood for the PCT in '08. My setup was a Gossamer Gear Sleeplight Sleeping Bag, a BPL Vapor Bivy and BPL Torsolite pad.

I was using the Cape as both shelter and raingear. We hit 17 days of rain in WA right after Goat Rocks to the Border. Most of the time it was just light rain but the sun never came out.

The main problem I had was in Glacier Peak Wilderness with the 'blowdowns'. It is just really hard to 'bushwack' with a Cape.

Other than that you just have to take time to have a real good secure setup with it. I know I had a tendency to wake up at night to pee and find out later I pulled out a stake.

Works for me and we're neighbors. There is condensation, but no more than any other single wall shelter. If the weather isn't stormy, it pitches with the bottom edge off the ground, providing ventilation. If it isn't raining, the door is huge.

An apples-and-apples comparison should be with any other poncho shelter, where the Gatewood comes out on top for tarp tent-like coverage. It does suffer in the same way that other ponchos do– bushwacking as mentioned and wind. A little cord around the waist helps in wind. The Gatewood is a cape, so it doesn't have the open sides that a poncho does. On the plus side, you arrive at camp with your pack dry, inside and out.

The strength in using the Gatewood is getting rain gear and shelter in one package and weight. 11 ounces is great for a shelter weight, but getting rain gear for the same weight drops your base weight in a hurry. I think it makes a fantastic emergency shelter option for day hikes.

If you don't want to use a Gatewood as rain gear, I think you would be better off just buying a nice UL tarp to replace your poly tarp, or stepping up a little for another SMD single wall tent or other single wall shelter.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I'm 6 foot even and I was concerned also with the length I'll have to sleep correctly without touching the sides. How much space do you think I'll have at my head and foot? Also, I was thinking of getting a inflatable mattress but wondered if that'll put me too close to touching the ends?

And do you find that there's enough room to wait out the rain? It does rain here quite a bit and I may need to hunker down for a couple hours. Would I have enough room to move around and stretch?

Roominess will depend on how you have it pitched. If it's a perfect high pitch, you'll just barely be fitting when lying down. If it's a less than perfectly roomy pitch, you'll be touching the walls. Personally, I only recommend this shelter to people who are using short sleeping bags, or regular bags if it's a niche shelter that's unlikely to get a lot of use. You'll have length at the head and feet, but the shelter wall is very low towards the edges. If it's been raining or it's a high condensation night, and the shelter walls are sagging, I bet you'll be touching the wet walls a little. Are you in a regular length or long sleeping bag? As for sitting up and liveability. I think that it's OK. Plenty of volume in the shelter, just not a lot of length, not height around the edges.

It's not an 8×10 tarp, but has 35sf inside, which is a lot for a solo shelter. It is not a long tube like many solos, so you have all the vestibule-like room on the outboard side for pack, boots and gear. There is the back apex about even with your hips too. I'm fine at 5'10". The long dimension is 105" (8.75 feet).

I'm also a 6-footer and love my GC. I don't use a bivy and pitch it as high as the weather allows. If it looks like we'll have lots of wind and rain I'll pack a 13-gallon tall kitchen trash bag to put over the foot of my sleeping bag. That way my feet can touch (or even extend out of) the GC without me having to worry about getting wet. I'd rather have a little extra room around my head.

I have a Wild Oasis, and agree with Jack's comments.

You say you have used a 8' X 10' tarp in the past. Cuben versions of similar size are around 5 – 6 oz. Even with a net inner, you would be under the weight of a GC. But would need a separate rain jacket.

Ponchos for rain protection have pluses/minuses. One is you are wearing your shelter in the rain when you need to set it up. That is tricky. A little easier to slip into a poncho in the morning when breaking camp in the morning.

I'm 5'11". I've used mine in bug and rain season in the NE. I use it with either the recommended Serenity bug net or the Meteor Bivy.

I think it protects better and a little more comfortable in wind and blowing rain than your typical, 5X9 poncho tarp, but not as roomy or flexible as an 8X10 tarp.

It deflects wind quite well and bombproof as long as the ties/stakes are very secure. If one should be pulled out by the wind, you have a collapsed shelter

I use a regular length sleeping bag and I have plenty of clearance and can sit up without issue.

If I think I'm going to have to spend much more time in my shelter, cooking and futzing, not just sleep time, I go for a bigger shelter like my 8X10 rectangular or Alphamid.

I've been thinking about getting one too but I'm not sure that it's really all that better than my current minimal set up which is a 7×9 tarp plus poncho used as a ground cloth.

So what does everyone use for ground cover in the GC?

"So what does everyone use for ground cover in the GC?"

I use three different things depending on the hike:
Serenity Net Tent
Meteor Bivy
Polycryo sheet

I'm 6'1" and pair mine w/the Serenity. There is enough room, esp when I tie out the head & foot mid-panel tie-outs.

Quite an amazing shelter, really.