Hexamid Twin size

Not me, but many are. I'll try to find a link. I read on UL hiker blog where he and his wife did the JMT with the Hexamid Twin and gave it great reviews. Since the Hexamid plus is supposed to be big enough for two – and actually is – I'd wager that you'll find the HT Twin ample.

Depends how tall you are. The person at the back of the tent gets less length. My wife and I (5'6 and 5'10 approx) have no trouble in the Twin or the Solo+. We haven't hiked in areas with persistent rainfall, though.

Here you go: http://www.mountainultralight.com/2011/01/product-review-zpacks-hexamid-twin-tent.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MountainUltralight+%28Mountain+UltraLight%29

If I'm not mistaken Joe and his wife did a thru hike in a solo, check out his gear lists on his website; he talks about that.

My solo-plus is big for me, my big dog, and all our gear. I think it would be snug but perfectly doable for 2. The twin is a palace.

My wife and I have only used it for one 2 night trip, but it worked quite well. I'm 6'6" and she is 5'7". I played around with the pitch a bit and there is some flexibility with how high you can pitch the front, but I need to play with it more. There's plenty of room inside for 2 and even some gear. I'm at the limits for length, but I think I could stay dry in a good rain. We didn't have any rain so I can't accurately report that aspect. I've tended to use 2 person tents that had 2 side entries, which is nice when you need to get up in the night. But it wasn't too bad with the single entry on the Hexamid Twin, my wife could get in and out over me without too much trouble. And as she pointed out when I asked her if she liked the tent, she said she loved the weight! It's definitely a lot of room and protection (both bug and weather) for the weight.

I used a Hexamid Twin for 11 days on the trail this summer with another male hiking partner. We used the twin cuben floor and slept head to foot. I'm 6'1" and he is shorter and we both fit fine. I have three main issues with the tent. 1) The door entry is low so getting in and out requires extra stooping. 2) There is only one door so the person in the back has to crawl over the person in the front to get out in the middle of the night. 3) Head room in the back is low enough that getting dressed is best done by waiting until there is just one person in the tent and moving to the front.

Agree with all the above comments. In this case, size does matter and the Hexamid twin is good and big enough for a "regular size" couple…add in the weight and it's a no brainer. Have had some troubles with the skewer titanium stakes (hard ground at over-used campsites) and did replace them…Some drip down water at the edges in hard rain and all low pitched tarps will develop condensation in the right conditions. Good choice.

Its roomy enough in good weather.
In bad, it takes some work with 2 to stay away from the water
Since the mesh is attached at the edge, (instead of several inches back like it should be), water runs down the mesh. A lot of water.

If your groundsheet touches this, the water flows right onto it. You could wake up to a gallon of water on your floor in no time.

There are things you do. like putting water bottles , shoes, packs, raingear between the groundsheet and the mesh to keep this from happening.

Dont expect to store any gear inside in wet conditions, you simply dont have the room to move around with it with 2 people. You will want it across the opening to block splashback from the ground.

All in all, its a great shelter. But it is a minimal 17 oz shelter (w/groundsheet) , no bones about it. It is not a 5 lb 3 season tent.

Hi James,
Curious to know how tall are you? I'm 6'2" and this tent is at it's limits on length at my height. I do LOVE it very much!! I have had my twin for over a year now and it fits 2 perfectly. I can use my 25" wide pad with another 20" pad both neo air pads and they also fit perfectly. You will not be able to fit 2-25" pads in the tent. I have logged well over 200 miles with the twin on weekend hikes on the AT and it's performed flawlessly. I have the rain skirt that Joe has on his website and I use it as a door mat under the "beak" to store my gear on and also aid in keeping me and my hiking partner clean as you do have to crawl in the entry way a bit(this would be my only fault with the tent). But hey, the weight is awesome! I have a Gossamer Gear Murmur pack and I can pack it in the mesh pocket located in the center of the pack and there is enough room to store all my rain gear next to it also.
I prefer the V stakes that Gossamer Gear offers over the stakes that Joe offers as I have field tested both and GG's are superior. You do also want to purchase the cuben floor that is sold separately to help in keeping the water off your sleeping bags during rainy weather.
Never had any problems with my setup with it raining as all gear is in front of the opening in tent to prevent any side spray. One thing you will have to keep in mind, cuben fiber and direct sunlight don't mix. Meaning the life of your tent will last longer if you keep it protected from direct sunlight. Also the color white will help with this too. Hope my 2 cents has helped. I would purchase this tent again today if I didn't have it already!

Wow, So much great info came in today. Thank you all very much. We are getting very excited about the prospect of this tent. I expected the reviews would be a little more mixed but this sounds great.

Scott,
I am 5'10 and my partner is 5'7". We fairly slim people, she a little more than me.

I was considering making a bathtub floor for this my self. Seem like it would weigh in about the same and I like to make things. If I could find some of that lightweight silnylon like SMD use to use on their floor that would be even better. We both use Klymit Inertia pads so I think the width as far as those are concerned will be fine. I also use a MYOG cuben kilt so it seems like that will come in handy.

I guess we are going to go for it. I have a WTB post in gear swap and will see if anything turns up. I suppose if nothing shows up in the next month or two We will purchase one from Joe. If anybody hears of one in good shape please let us know.

Thanks again.

Thanks Brian,

That is a good review and the pictures really help. Looks good to me.

Did the JMT with my gf this past summer. @ 3:00 in part 4 of our JMT video documentary you can see us in the hexamid plus during a heavy rainstorm at lower palisade lake. Kept all gear in the shelter with us except bear cans during the trip. Had several days of rain and hail. No issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYl6aYQ-nac

edit: oh yeah and 4 people sitting inside the hexamid plus at 7:10

Jacob

I watched that video before, Jacob. Glad you posted it.
We don't have problems getting gear in with us. If it's waterproof, you can use it to block splashback, or drafts. A lot of it goes at our head and feet so it may depend on how tall you are. If I were buying again, I would look seriously at the Hexamid Long; I reckon it would give quite a bit more room for gear.
If you are buying second hand, be aware that older versions are only sewn, not sewn and taped. They also use cuben for reinforcing, not the cuben hybrid that Joe is now using.
Something else to be aware of is that Joe is off to New Zealand for about four months on 10 November (according to the website). Although the shop will still be open, they won't be doing custom orders, if you want alterations to the standard tent. Joe made us a neat peak vent, which is held open by a carbon rod, but can be closed completely if necessary.
Edited to add:
I have no personal experience of this, but I think silnylon on top of the netting floor will be very slippy. You could make a groundsheet from polycryo and it would probably come out lighter than a cuben one. You could also leave extra sheeting along the back and sides of the groundsheet for foul weather. This can be suspended from the fly using these: http://zpacks.com/large_image.shtml?accessories/tape/tape_loops_l.jpg

Re: "If your groundsheet touches this, the water flows right onto it. You could wake up to a gallon of water on your floor in no time." He makes a bathtub ground sheet in the Twin / Long size, $120.

"Re: "If your groundsheet touches this, the water flows right onto it. You could wake up to a gallon of water on your floor in no time." He makes a bathtub ground sheet in the Twin / Long size, $120."

I was referring to the cuben groundsheet. Do not think that it is sturdy such that you cannot EASILY push it into mesh on the rear side with water trickling down it. It is not exactly taught, and is only inches away from the mesh. It may almost lay against it even without anyone in the tent.

If you have ever had to camp where you dont have a flat spot, you know you will end up on the downhill side of your tent. Especially with a slipper cuben floor. You do have a high potential to slide downhill and push your groundsheet edge into the mesh during the night. If its raining, you can end up wicking water onto your floor.

Again, its a great shelter , primarily due to the unbeatable low wt for 2 people. When it gets tight with 2 people, you do have to be careful in hard rain near the rear side. Pitching low to ground, can help this , at expense of headroom and ventillation,(and a good pitch). Of course as you pitch it lower, you lose bathtub floor-ness too.

I can think of several ways to improve the hex twin. But they all would add expense, and weight, which is not the goal of THIS shelter.

I will be using the Solo + tent with a beak and the Solo + ground sheet for 2 this weekend on a hike with my wife. This will be interesting because I have only used it for myself so far… However, we will be at shelters on the AT, so if it doesn't work out ideally we can still use the shelter.

Also, I have never had any water come onto my ground sheet, even in rain. I typically pull the ground sheet as far to the back as it can go, using the cord locks to keep it pulled all the way back. This will pull the corners (and the center pull) of the ground sheet up and will keep the ground sheet from laying on the mesh. However, even when not doing this, I have not had any issues with water coming on the top (inside) my cuben ground sheet… I understand what you are saying, but it just hasn't happened to me.

I will say that if the corners are not sealed properly then water will soak through the stitching and then down the cords that are used to attach the ground sheet to the tent. This never resulted in water in the ground sheet with me, but it was too close to comfort, so I sealed the corners up good and tight! (However, this shouldn't be an issue now…for some strange reason Joe is now taping all of his seams! :) )

Jacob, great video thank you for sharing.

What are peoples thoughts on making a silnylon bathtub ground cloth rather than buying the cuben. The weight is not too different and I am surely capable of sewing the thing up. Does anyone have any pros or cons in going this route.

I think that a sil version would work just fine, especially if you added the tie-outs like what is on the ones that Joe makes. Then the tie-outs would hold it in place for the most part. However, as has been mentioned above, if you are on a slope you will more than likely tend to slide downhill a bit. I have found that this is just the way it is with floating floors.

Or, you could pick up a piece of polycro and just lay it inside. It would be the lightest option…

Chad, Do you think polycro would offer adequate protection. I see a lot of people mentioning that the bathtub design is important.

Hey James,

Hope this link will clear things up for you on polycro?!

http://gossamergear.com/review/product/list/id/164/category/15/

I used to use the polycro groundsheet when I had a Tartent Rainbow 3 person tent but sold it and my 6 Moons Design Lunar Solo to get the Zpacks twin. I bought the fitted cuben fiber ground sheet just because it was recommended but I think if you are on a budget, you could go the polycro groundsheet route and I feel you will be fine, just keep in mind that you will need to have a level campsite to guard against any sliding around on the net floor.

Also specs for polycro if purchased from GG:

Weight
3.65 oz. ( 104 g.) each
Size
72 x 96 in. (183 x 244 cm.) each

Also states that they are now sending out 100 gauge instead of 75 gauge as of 8/29/12 so it will be stronger than before.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Scott,

I think what I will do is order some polycro when we get the shelter and try it out. Might as well start with the cheapest lightest option. It will be great if it fills the need.

I ordered the tent last night. I also ordered some polycro from Gossamer Gear. Now I will wait for the mail.

I really appreciate everyone's responses. I'll post back with my impressions after I take it out.