Echo ii vs trialstar vs duomid

I think you'll find that the Trailstar is the most room, but with a lower ceiling than the duomid. There is a good thread comparing those two on here that I recently bumped and got a lot of responses to. I think – though have not researched it – that the Echo II is going to be the smallest in interior room if you use the inner tent. The duomid, is generally decried as being nice for one, but with two someone by the door is getting wet during entry and exit. For two, of the three, I'd personally go with a silnylon trailstar (seems to pitch better than cuben for some reason) and get a nice, light two-person inner with a cuben floor. Bearpaw Wilderness Designs makes a couple of styles of "penta-net" inners specifically designed for the TS.

Brian – I'm contemplating the same thing and have been looking very hard at the Echo II. I like the idea of the beak and inner net depending on weather and bugs. I don't think that you can go wrong with any of the choices and I guess it depends on how fast you want the product.

Thanks for the advice Brian, I was looking at the penta 2 with cuben floor like you suggested. I am curious about why the non cuben pitches better is that because it will stretch?

Daniel you are right i dont think you can go wrong with any of them. My wife likes the trialstar and duo best bc she says the echo ii is to open and she will feel more secure with the tarps pitched closer to the ground. I am curious how the echo ii holds up in a storm.

I have a cuben trailstar and really like it because of the large footprint. If you're stuck in a prolonged rain, the extra room is really nice. I suspect the cuben is a little harder to get tight because it doesn't stretch, but I have not had any problems getting it tight.

Th other I considered was a hexamid or the twin sized shelter from Zpacks. Light but a bit smaller than the trailstar.

If it helps, I've got a cuben Trailstar I'd sell, so there would be no wait…..

"Daniel you are right i dont think you can go wrong with any of them. My wife likes the trialstar and duo best bc she says the echo ii is to open and she will feel more secure with the tarps pitched closer to the ground. I am curious how the echo ii holds up in a storm."

John Abela (hikelighter.com) reviewed the Echo I a while back, and here's a quote from him about the shelter: “the most bombproof cuben fiber tent in the industry".

I have an Echo I tarp/beak, have yet to try it out in any bad weather though.

Douglas I sent u a pm. Thanks for the web page on the echo I'll look at that as soon as I get home.

I haven't had my Echo II in a storm, but I've had it out in less than desirable weather a couple of times. It's not as open as you'd expect if you rig it up with both the beak and the inner. The inner has a solid Cuben back, so it does close off the back pretty well. Also, to use the beak you need a pretty low pitch with the sides of the tarp about 2 inches from the ground. That combined with the relatively high bathtub walls on the Echo makes for a pretty closed up shelter. Plus the vestibule is quite large. I can fit my entire McHale SuperSARC in one side of it, though when I use it solo I keep the pack inside the shelter for convenience.

It is true however that you'd get more space in a Trailstar, and it's also true that the inner in the Echo isn't that high. It's ok for me at 5'10, but barely.

If you happen to be anywhere near the Seattle area I'd be able to give you a first-hand gander at an Echo II and a Trailstar…