About to pull the trigger on a Tarptent Contrail.

No problem Chris. Go for it. I've made my decision. I'm getting a Notch.

Good choice… me too!

Thanks for the info, folks. I'm pretty set on getting a TT now. I scoured the site and really like what the Rainbow and Moment offer. Just need to figure out which.

Chris, one thing you might want to think about when choosing between those two designs: will you ever use an extra-wide pad? Pretty much all mass-market 25" wide sleeping pads are also extra-long, measuring 77-78" in length. The Moment's floor tapers to 20" at each end, and therefore it doesn't accommodate mass-market wide pads well. The Rainbow, in contrast, has a rectangular floor that's 40" wide, and has no trouble with a 25" wide, 77" long pad. Just something to think about.

The Moment's roofline is more sloped than the Rainbow's as well; it has plenty of headroom in the center, but the slope makes it feel "tighter" inside than the Rainbow. If you're claustrophobic or if you anticipate spending a lot of time awake inside the tent, you may be happier with the Rainbow. The Rainbow can also sleep two people in a pinch, while the Moment is strictly a one-person shelter.

Whichever you choose, I think y,ou'll enjoy itt!

One thing I failed to mention is that I am 6'2" so I think that makes the Rainbow look even better.

So first it was the Contrail. Then I decided to go for the Notch. Now….I'm thinking the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL. Slightly heavier than the Notch and/or Contrail, but it is what I am used to. A double wall shelter. I understand that during my CT hike, I won't be doing much but sleeping in my shelter, but for some reason I'm terribly worried about wind/rain/possible snow in a Tarptent.

Paul,

Part of 'packing less and being more' (BPL slogan) is letting go of what you're used to. Understanding that your attachment to the comforts of what you're "used to" is really an attachment to a perceived reality rather than actual reality, is tough to do. This isn't a criticism of you at all. Learning to let go of our fears is hard.

To relate to the shelter, you're still 'afraid' of wind/rain/snow that you may encounter in a Tarptent, but you only have your experiences in a double wall shelter to relate to. It's simply the unknown that is keeping you from trying something new.

When used in their intended application (3+ seasons and moderate 4 season for some) Tarptent and similar shelters don't garner great reviews for no good reason. There really isn't a horrible shelter made by one of the cottage guys. I'll repeat that. Nothing is bad or substandard and they all work, but you will find differing opinions and criticisms of certain details, because what works for one person doesn't necessarily fit the bill for the next. Yes, the shelter may be too small, too heavy, use too many stakes, not have a large enough vestibule, be condensation prone, allow bugs in, etc…, but that is because each person has an exact set of standards which we obsess over here on BPL. Often these criticisms are relatively petty and not indicative of real shortcomings of the shelter (many may disagree with me on that). Standards are just different for everyone.

And don't forget knowledge. Knowledge is king. A moron can walk into a knife fight with a gun and still lose while someone who knows what they're doing can walk into a gunfight with a knife and win. Learn your limitations and the limitations of your gear. Then learn how to expand those limitations.

Bottom line, Tarptents will serve you great in 3+ seasons. Bug protection? Check. Protected vestibule? Check. Built in ground sheet? Check. Proven durability? Check.

As long as you find a shelter to fit your needs and not your fears, you'll be just fine!!

The Notch is a double wall shelter. It's going to be a lot better than the Seedhouse in the rain. The Seedhouse lets rain fall directly in the door whenever you open it, so it lands right inside. The Seedhouse also needs to be pitched inner first, so if it's raining the inner gets wet. The Notch pitches all at once with the inner safely inside, so it's a much better design for wet conditions.

Travis–extremely well said. I for one can speak to the appeal of mass-market gear and the fear of letting go of old assumptions, especially if ones that served me well enough for many years. Letting go of hiking boots was one if those things, but once I did it, I have never regretted it.

Heavy, overbuilt tents like the Seedhouse are easy because you set them up, then never worry about most problems. But the price you pay for that is weight. Like Travis said, one of the things that really drew me to BPL was the slogan–"Pack less, be more." Skill and discipline are what separate ultralight hikers from traditional hikers. That's the difference between a 30 lb. base weight and an 8 lb. base weight.

Whether or not you choose a TarpTent is more or less irrelevant. Henry makes excellent shelters that deliver both exceptional quality with light weight that only require a marginal level of skill to use very effectively. That's why I recommend them to people new to UL or those like my wife, who humors my obsession but refuses to sleep in a floorless tarp.

But most important is the level of comfort you develop with the wildness of a natural world, not because you have bombproof (i.e. heavy) gear, but because you learn skills that help you survive–even enjoy–a wilderness that is utterly beyond the boundaries of human civilization. I may be overreaching here, but this is a connection that I find to be mystical and communal. I become more not because of my gear but because of me. (Of course, as inherent tool-makers some gear is obviously necessary.)

If your shelter can do that–or begin the process of taking you there–then it is worth it.

Darn it gentlemen. All very valid points. I guess I'm ordering a Tarptent Notch on Monday.

There is a TT Notch in gear swap now.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=59002

That is an awesome price on that Notch seeing as how it is basically new and has been seam sealed already.

Paul, maybe it would help to remember that when it comes to TarpTents, you basically can't lose? Henry sells his tents with a 90-day return policy; you can order the TarpTent, set it up in the backyard a few times, and if you still don't like it, send it back for a refund and get another tent instead. Or if you pick up a used TarpTent, you can always resell it (on the Gear Swap forum here, or elsewhere) for a decent price if you're not happy with it. You're not making an irrevocable purchase here!

(And the others are right about the flaws of the Seedhouse. If you do decide to go with a traditional double-wall tent, consider the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 1 or UL 2 instead. It's more expensive, but a better-designed tent.)

There is nothing wrong with any of these choices. Sure… the Seedhouse is heavier but I spent years carrying a similiar weight shelter and enjoyed every minute (ok.. most minutes).

The Seedhouse has more support and is less dependent upon staking out and I wouldn't worry about the rain coming in the door. As I said… spent literally years in a design with those very same attributes. The people here tend to obsess, me included. I wouldn't assume you are giving up safety for carrying the Notch. It is just a classic tradeoff using lighter materials, utilizing trekking poles & stakes vs. dedicated pole structure and less dependency upon staking.

Pick what you are comfortable with and go.

I had a Seedhouse when they first came out. I really liked the packed size but did not like:

-the small volume of space.
-the finicky set up (you even have to clip the inner to the outer fly to maximize width).
-the use of 13 pegs for a tight pitch (freestanding?)
-small entry and climbing over my pack whenever I had to do a midnight run.
-rain that entered the tent and contents of the vestibule whenever I opened the door in the rain.

I also had a Contrail and for me, it was superior in every way, not to mention a lot lighter. YMMV.

Thirteen stakes!? That would be bad luck… I'd use the 14th just to avoid that unlucky number. :-)

You do have to think mat+bag+shelter as a system.

In a wind the Notch's bathtub side finish low enough and through-wind will make the inner more marginally warmer than outside the tent, ensure your sleeping bag is rated for the forecast temperatures.

In a solid inner tent say Scarp1, the inner can be warmer inside than outside even in wind and so you can get by with a slightly warmer-rated bag.

With a single-skin with mesh around the floor in wind it will be the same temp inside as out and the wind straight hitting your bag. In warm weather that's fine, and what you want, in cold weather it can be unpleasant.

In general, for any given weight, a warmer sleeping bag is lighter than a warmer tent, because you're focusing the insulation in a much smaller volume, so if starting out buying all new kit err on the side of a warmer bag and consider single-skin or mesh-inner tents if they are lighter. When looking at reviews of sleeping bags and what temps they were comfortable in, look at if it were a tent (more airy) a Tarptent mesh-inner (less airy) or a solid inner (least airy).

My bad is a 0C rating, with 300g of 800fp in a 600g bag with a water-resistant bag, that then tolerates moderate dripping/misting from above, in a two-skin solid-inner tent in UK you either get cool wind or cold still air and so I can use that bag with that tent in external temperatures down to about -5C or at at stretch -10C with some clothing. In warmer temperatures, instead of a warmer sleeping bag, I can go a single-skin with some mesh around the base and if the temps are higher have less of my body inside the bag. Note that the sleeping bag new costs more than any of the Tarptents mentioned new due to the high quality down. The lower the cost of the bag for a given temp rating, the larger and easily ends up swamping the size of the shelter in cooler temps.

Most new starters think of the shelter first and then the bag, I'd do the opposite, bag, then shelter for the conditions. Oh and the mat underneath too as the insulation of a bag squishes to very little underneath. NeoAir All Seasons / Xtherm , Exped Downmat, etc. In summer a Neoair / Xlite.

The mat+bag+shelter is your system.