Tarptent Notch vs Lightheart solo vs SMD skyscape trekker

[Brett Ayer]

I am neither young or impressionable and I don't work for someone who is.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I like hearing from people that have actual experience with the gear we talk about. That Includes the people that make it and the people that sell it.

I especially appreciate it when the designer and manufacture of a product jumps into the conversation, so if that's you please keep doing it.

What annoys me somewhat is when people with no personnal experience with a spicific product jump in and act like experts, or take the discussion off track with a personnal vendetta. This is a discussion board and there is always room for that kind of stuff, just not in the middle of a gear thread :)

I am leaning toward the lightheart but am still very interested in the Notch. So if you have actual experience with either please let us know.

[Wes Kline]

This is getting tedious, but I'll chime in.

I love my TT Notch and think it's a fantastic tent, and I appreciate the helpful advice that Franco and Henry give on the forums, as well a Judy from Lightheart, Tim from Enlightened Equipment, and the many others who post on here who are innovating and selling gear.

Let's maybe give this a rest and move on.

[Randy Nelson]

Yeah, I'm done. I won't respond to any more of his comments.

[Wes Kline]

Regarding the Notch, the design is smart, efficient and functional. As others have said, it is extremely easy to set up in the field, and I've had no condensation problems, even in the humid semi-tropics of north Florida. The one thing that I'm not entirely happy about is that the mesh seems somewhat fragile (more so than the mesh on my Lunar Solo perhaps?) – it seems to snag easily. Not a major issue though.

I would also change the fly ties from velcro to something that is less apt to snag on the mesh, or even a simple loop closure. I'm not a fan of velcro.

But that is a small thing, and I find the tent to be very functional, light and efficient.

[Mary D]

Mike, I'm probably of an older generation than you (unless you're well over 70!). I have no problems with any cottage manufacturer's coming in here to discuss their products. I enjoy reading their input.

Please do give it a rest; you're alienating folks here to the point that they might just buy a Tarptent because you're working so hard at telling them not to!

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

We use 0.7-ounce nylon no-see-um mesh for the Notch interior. It can snag somewhat easily but if you look closely what you'll see is that the threads are displaced not broken. If you think of the thread pattern as like a tennis racket, sometimes the strings get displaced and you have to maneuver them back into position. Try pinching and pulling the surrounding mesh in several directions. You should be able to realign the threads as desired. Either way, no bugs will get in.

Henry Shires
Tarptent, Inc.

** A commercial entity devoted to making as much money as possible from all encounters with the outside world **

[David Drake]

+1 Mary D.

[David Ure]

So far I have nothing bad to say about my Notch. It works and works well. Two buddies have recently purchased the Notch based on my experience and they appear to be really liking theirs.

With respect to the mesh, the only comment I have is that the mesh does not like velcro much. The only velcro that could become an issue is the the two side velcro straps that fit around the poles. The solution is simply to attach them together when stuffing the tent so that the mesh will not snag.

[Nigel Healy]

Wes, the snagging, where is it occurring? Do you have the all-mesh or semi-solid inner? I went with the latter figuring it more flexible.

Thanks for the tip on the velcro, hadn't thought of that. Sounds like you'd get the same velco-mesh snagging on the semi-solid also then?

FG – thanks for the warning on velcro when packing.

[Diplomatic Mike]

My membership is due in a couple of days.
This thread, amongst others, is making me think twice.
The 'family' feeling that was evident before, seems to have gone.
I can't remember the forum having so many aRseholes before.
The 'good guys' know i'm not talking about them.

[Rakesh Malik]

"a stiffer pole about 110cm long which folds no more than 14" and a lot stiffer than the .344 poles is on my watch list. Any suggestions?"

Titanium Goat, Seek Outside, and Bear Paw make custom poles, so they might be able to get you what you need. There might of course be other companies that make custom poles, but those are the ones that I know of.

[Wes Kline]

Please don't let my comments about the velcro dissuade you from considering the Notch; I think it's a great shelter, just an awareness of the delicate nature of the mesh is helpful to avoid user error. This is a very minor thing, though, and to my mind shows how well designed the shelter is: there really isn't much to complain about.

Aside from the velcro pole attachments on the bathtub floor (which, as FG suggested, can be attached to each other to prevent snags), there are two pieces of velcro that are on the exterior of the fly. These are used to hold the rolled up fly door. The mesh should be protected from them, but I would advise care in rolling the tent, to avoid contact with the mesh and these hook/loop closures.

Thanks Henry for the advice about realigning the mesh.

[Anonymous]

"My membership is due in a couple of days.
This thread, amongst others, is making me think twice.
The 'family' feeling that was evident before, seems to have gone.
I can't remember the forum having so many aRseholes before."

Don't let a small minority of nether orifices run you out of town Mike. If, one by one, the good guys drift away, BPL will soon be a community of, guess what…?

The best technique for dealing with them is to not respond to their ranting. If everyone does that, they soon get bored and drift over to Whiteblaze, or wherever.

My 2 cents.

[Greg Mihalik]

+1, Tom

Just like at work or at the bar, I have a "Ignore/Filter" function that automatically kicks in.

I learned it from my wife ;-)

[Anonymous]

"I learned it from my wife ;-)"

Me, too; the hard way. :(

[Mike Sobr]

You guys are right about that. Having Tarptent employees cutting down other tent manufacturers on this forum is not very professional like Franco did on this thread and it's despicable:

Franco wrote:

"Now to get you up to speed, the Terra Nova Photon discussed here ,drips and all, IS a DOUBLE WALL tent, (the inner is mostly fabric)".

Honestly when a quick search shows that you have hundreds of unhappy users that are re-selling your products on the forums at a considerable financial loss how can you berate your competition saying that their tents drip Lol…. that's priceless…. especially when the number one complaint about your product on this forum is moisture management!

But if we can discuss tents again without reprisal I would really like to delve into the original question about Lightheart tents comparing the Solo to the Solong6 as somebody else mentioned on this thread and would like to know if anybody has used both how would you compare the two?
I have used the Solo and really like the large size and light weight but the Solong6 looks interesting too but what surprises me is that the specs show it as being a similar square feet to the Solo but also that it can accomodate a taller person…..even though the Solo is alot longer at least on paper?
Any replies appreciated.

[Greg Mihalik]

So, go start your 0wn thread.

It will be interesting to watch…

[Michael L]

Trolling now…

[BlackHatGuy]

"The best technique for dealing with them is to not respond to their ranting. If everyone does that, they soon get bored and drift over to Whiteblaze, or wherever."

Ah, Tom, if only folks would follow that advice. For a site who's members pride themselves on getting smaller and lighter, there's been a lot of trying to prove who has the 'biggest' lately, if you know what I mean…..

Sure would be nice to get back to cooing over Kat's hats and the many proud parent pics, and making fun of our foibles in a friendly, fun fashion. And, of course, alliteration. We need more alliteration.

[Miguel Arboleda]

Naught of the Notch nary numbs the nautical north'est… nay, ne'er knock TT, nor nurture nuptials nigh nerds neighing "No!" and noodling nooses niggled t'nether no one's noobs. 'Nough gnawed.

Always willing to oblige Doug, and on-topic, too! Boop boop be do!

[USA Duane Hall]

I think that if Franco posted something that did not add up, he should have been asked to list his source, none was asked, so I'm guessing his comment was true. I saw no malice in his first post to start a fire over. I like the fact that so many cottage industry and smaller gear makers post here, if Henry can be considered a cottage industry anymore. :) I only have one of his products, goes back 8 years or so, still going strong. I don't read all the posts here, but I see other manufacturers chiming in more than Henry or Franco and they seem to have a good size market, are they money mongers of an ilk worse than TT? I only see Henry join a discussion rarely and usually with one post, so I see no self promoting from him. I also agree that he has some of the best CS that can be seen, but I can only go by the lack of negative feedback for my comment.
Duane
Not affiliated with anyone related to bping.

[Paul Hatfield]

I have not used my SoLong 6 yet. Here are the weights of my not yet seam-sealed one:

tent 800 g
pole, spreader 50 g
sack, tent 15 g

Mine is silnylon, has the top vents, 2-zipper doors, 2-zippered flys, but no wedge.

Originally I purchased a Skyscape Trekker, but it was smaller than I wanted. (I think many ultralighter's would be fine with the space inside, but I wanted more space.) The SoLong 6 interior is much wider at the midpoint than a Skyscape Trekker, and it has much more headroom (about 6 inches if I remember correctly). Somewhere I have interior measurements of both tents, but I'll have to look for them.

I am looking forward to trying out the SoLong 6 in the field.

Judy Gross, the owner of LightHeart Gear and maker of the tent, seems very responsive.

[Anonymous]

"For a site who's members pride themselves on getting smaller and lighter, there's been a lot of trying to prove who has the 'biggest' lately, if you know what I mean….."

Oh, definitely, Doug. It sure sells a lot of monster pickup trucks. ;0)

[Franco Darioli]

You brighten up my day.
It really is hard to get this much publicity for nothing, so thanks.
anyway I thought you appreciate this shot :

that is me (about 30 min ago) seam sealing a Notch for a customer, the other is mine.
(I did mine a few days ago but it rained so I just left it there) .
If nothing else now you have a bit of an idea of what the Notch looks like.
Franco

[Larry M]

Disclaimer for Mike: I am not a TarpTent employee, I do not receive any revenue from TarpTent, Henry Shires, Franco Darioli or for that matter, any other outdoor product manufacture I happen to mention (or not mention) in this post.

Whew!

OK, as to the original poster's question: I have only owned one of the tents mentioned, the Notch. I also have both mesh and partial mesh inners. It is my first TarpTent and I have found it to be perfect for my solo needs. I love the dual doors, large testibules and, of course, the light weight. I now actually prefer it to my hammock (Hennessey Explorer Ultralight with 2QZQ zipper mod) for most trips.

When I first received it, I tried using my Black Diamond Ultra Distance poles, but there just wan't enough pole adjustability to get the right pitch. I have since switched to Black Diamond Distance FL poles and found that, although heavier, I can always get a perfect pitch and easily make adjustments as needed.

So, not to take anything away from the other tents mentioned in this thread that I have no experience with, I can recommend the Notch as a solo tent because when I ask myself it I would buy another Notch if mine got stolen or destroyed, the answer would be: Yes, without hesitation.

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