Contrail or Notch or ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIt1Oezq2GQ

This is Franco Darioli's comparison of the Notch, Contrail, and Stratospire 1.

Side entry vs. end entry are personal preferences. I like more room over my head so the Contrail would be my preference. Inside square footage and vestibule size would be another personal consideration. I suspect from the shapes, but not having used the Notch that the Contrail might do better in the wind. I don't think you can go wrong with either, it's just a matter of what you find comfortable.

" I saw the Notch, which looks like a more pleasant space, and has the option of using the net or fly separately as conditions permit. 30-ish ounces (seam sealed) does seem like rather a lot of weight when compared to simpler options. . ."

The Notch weighs an ounce-and-a-half more than the Contrail, 26 oz vs. 24.5. Seam sealing adds about an ounce to each. Notch is a pleasant space, but it's a smaller living space than the Contrail. Advantage of Notch is that it's double-walled, so you're not going to be brushing up against moisture condensation on interior of fly, like you could in certain conditions with Contrail. And likely none of the single-wall "misting" with Notch, either, which some have complained of with Contrail.

You could ask Henry S., and both do reasonably well, but my guess is that Notch is slightly better in the wind than Contrail. My main reason for thinking that is that Contrail has pole(s) only at extreme end of tent, which leaves long unsupported span of fabric. Notch, on the other hand has poles in the middle, splitting the length in half, shorter stretches of fabric between supports.

Either are good choices, IMO.

The Contrail is a great shelter, and if it fits your style, then you wont go wrong with it. I own and prefer the Notch for the following reasons:

Storage – Yes, the floor area inside the netting is small(er), but there is a great deal of protected storage in the dual vestibules. Throw a piece of polycro under one (or both) and your gear is as good as being inside. Dual vestibules mean you can store your gear in one, and use the other for boots/water bottles and ingress/egress. Never underestimate the value of not having to crawl over your gear to get in or out.

Entry/Exit – I addition to the point above, I find a side entrance much easier to navigate. I'm 6'2" 220lbs and not particularly flexible. The Notch style of entry (like the MSR Hubba) is simply the most natural, easy entry/exit I have found…no crouching, stooping, squating or gymnastics. The Notch's side entry also protects the net inner from rain so if the storm is light to medium you can actually leave one of the downwind vestibule doors open or at least partially unzipped.

Double-wall – as mentioned in the post above, no rubbing against the (inevitable) condensation on the underside of the fly.

Room – I prefer the peak height to be in the middle of the tent. When I sit up, that is where my head is. In the Contrail, or similar designs, you must scoot toward the door as you sit up to keep your head in the peak. I do not touch the netting of the Notch with either head or feet when lying down, and have plenty of room on each side to store things I want to keep close.

Weight – I switched from the Hubba (which I dearly love), to a tarp/bivy, and then to the Notch. By the time I had all guys, stakes, groundsheets, etc to make the tarp "weatherproof" enough for SE US thunderstorms, the package was only 3.5 oz less that the total Notch package…and less comfortable IMO. So in the end, I cut my shelter weight in half with the Notch.

Wind – While I have not had the Notch out in wind above 20mph, it seems to be such an efficient shape that, properly staked, I would not fear anything under 40-45 mph. Get at least 4 long stakes, I use 4 Ruta Locura 9" carbon for the main four points and 4-6 TI shepherds hook stake for auxiliaries.

I value comfort and security. A light pack equals comfort, but comfort in camp is also important to me. These are two competing and often contradictory goals. My summer base weight is ~13lbs, while my winter base weight is ~17lbs. I have recently developed the following "lightweight" backpacking realization:

"I am unwilling to reduce my current comfort level simply to shed weight, thus my goal is to increase comfort WITHOUT increasing weight."

All of my gear decisions are guided by that philosophy. Good luck in your search for an awesome UL kit.

I owned and used the Contrail for several years. Very nice tent. I sold it and now own the Notch. I prefer the Notch, primarily as I like the side entry better. Notch floor space is a bit less but not a problem for me. I find I have been able to get a tighter pitch on the Notch than was usually the case with the Contrail. The Notch packed dimension is a bit longer than the Contrail but not by much (the Contrail in packed mode is better than any other tent I have seen.

You guys are great, thanks for the helpful replies and detailed usage notes. Looks like the Notch is winning out. Has anyone pitched the fly or net separately? Pitching just the net looks a little bit fiddly (the part about taking the mini-poles out of the fly), and it isn't clear to me if the fly could be quickly added on top if conditions changed. I'll send Henry a message to see what he says about it.

-Stephen

"Has anyone pitched the fly or net separately? Pitching just the net looks a little bit fiddly (the part about taking the mini-poles out of the fly),"

Pitching fly separately is same as pitching fly with innernet. I've never pitched innernet by itself but you're right it is a little fiddly. You could easily use sticks instead of mini-poles but still fiddly.

" and it isn't clear to me if the fly could be quickly added on top if conditions changed."

No, it's not a simple operation. The good thing, though, is that there's probably not much reason to pitch the innernet by itself. In particular with the new apex guyouts and dual doors on both sides, you can easily pitch fly and inner together but have it basically wide open. To do this roll up both doors on each side. Just about only fly coverage in this setup is directly above the inner, you would still have plenty of stargazing and of course ventilation is great. If it starts raining just unroll the doors and zip them up. Here's pic with both doors rolled up on one side, but you could roll both doors up on the other side too:

I agree with Herbert.
Fly only works really well if you can/want to cook in the rain.
This is me eating an egg for breakfast with a nice cup of hot coffee nearby :

Adding or taking off the inner is very fast and easy.
The other way , adding the fly to the inner, is neither fast nor easy because it is an integral pitch tent, so not designed for it.
However as Herbert pointed out , you can open up all four sides so in my mind I can't see why one would set up the inner only if there is a chance of rain (or wind, or snow…) when you can have a full view and air-flow with the fly in place.

I had my Notch in winds approaching 50mph and was impressed at how well it did. I got the partial solid interior and was glad I had it that night.

Thanks again for the insights. I'm even more confident now that I'll be happy with the Notch.

-Stephen