I made the change

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

For me this was the biggest jump in faith I have made to go truly UL :-)

Photos are from the trip I got back from today. My new Anti Gravity Gear trap tent (the 10 ft size) saw 3 nights use in 3 environments. It weighs in at 19 ounces, plus George made a vestibule/splash guard for it that weighs a fraction of an ounce. It showed up in the mail an hour before I was to leave.

To put it mildly: I LOVED IT!!

[EndoftheTrail]

19oz? That's pretty amazing, with full rain and insect protection! Very nice!

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I took the tarp with me on a truly blind leap. I opened the box up, tossed my double wall tent in the back of my truck, and put the tarp bag in (along with stakes). I recently retired my old trekking poles and got a pair of Leki Ti poles. so this was nice.
At the TH for our 3 1/2 day trip this weekend:

[Pamela Wyant]

Nice photos.

[Ryan Luke]

Nice photos! I recenlty purchased a TarpTent and I am going to use it this week for a 3 day trip. Did you use a groundsheet (George sent a TyVek sheet along with it)?

[EndoftheTrail]

Sarah barely got her new tarptent and she's already 'updated' her avatar! What a showoff! :)

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Ryan, I didn't use anything under it. I did though make sure I tossed any pine cones and rocks though!
One thing I need to do is put the stripes on it inside. I slip and slided all night for three nights on my Prolite on the silnylon ;-)

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Hehheh! I love the photo :-D
If you look hard you can see some of my tattoos. I don't show them often, but it was in the 80's and hot!

[Ryan Luke]

Sarah,

Thanks! I will put some of the stripes inside before I depart. I am glad to see someone else using this shelter. I think it is really well made and George was AWESOME to deal with!

[Donna C]

There's a few initial reviews on the tent at backpackergear.
This is just one. Look under recent reviews.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Shelters/Tents/AntiGravityGear%20TarpTent/Test%20Report%20by%20Andrew%20Mytys/

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I enjoyed the reviews! Glad to see others are liking it. The tent was well made.
Mine came with all guylines attached and seam sealed with the storm flap. Literally I read the directions in the fading twilight, and set it up in the dark-in a car campground first night!
George called mine silver for the color, it was to me more a silver moss. A very pretty color-and it let so much light in the morning. I love that.

[EndoftheTrail]

Sarah wrote, "A very pretty color-and it let so much light in the morning. I love that".

Letting in so much light — isn't that technically transluscent? I'd be careful dressing and undressing in that tent, esp. when there are teenage boys roaming around. And yes, many teenage boys look like they are in their 50's or 60's. :)

[Donna C]

What??!! You're not on the trail at dawn's early light???!!
; )

[EndoftheTrail]

.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Hehheh, I have to say that yes, I am usually up before dawn or right at. And yes, Ben, it is pretty much see thru ;-P I did notice that one! Clothes will be changed after dark. You can see my pink Prolite a good 30 ft away in the daylight thru the walls.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I know the feeling. I've recently purchased a Tarptent Contrail 1-person tent. It's going with me again on my Paria River (UT) trip next week.

Ya gotta love UL gear when you're watching others on the trail struggle W/ 45 to 65 lb. loads of "traditional" gear while you enjoy a 25 lb pack loaded for a week's trip. And ya gotta love it even more when it does its job well at camp.

P.S. Don't forget a small closed cell sit pad.

[Donna C]

Just make sure the light in your tent is off. Or…maybe not!
: )
I learned about that with my tarptent while camping with a group. !

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Eric, I carry a Prolite sit pad (which, yes, isn't as light as I could go) and it works well as a "pillow" on top of my Prolite pad. I was shocked how well it worked as a pillow this week :) Fully loaded for 3 1/2 days I was in the low 20's. Could go lighter with no issues at this point also! Yay!

[todd]

Sarah,

Thank you for all the info. Could 2 six footers be truly comfortable?

Thanks, Todd

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

In all honesty, I don't think so. I know I could sleep in it with my son (who is nearing 5 ft) but not with my husband. The issue would be how wide shoulders on men are. It would cause one person to be jammed into the back wall, which isn't very high.
But, at the weight, one could carry two of the tents and still be ahead! :-D

[George Matthews]

Hi Sarah,

I'm happy to hear about your tarptent. Fantastic pics. I also transitioned to a tarptent recently (Contrail). I have not experienced a rainy night yet, but I will before long.

Was that a 'BPL' tatoo? That'd really show dedication.

Looks like our next step is a tarp and bivy : )

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

No BPL tattoos ;-) Someday soon I hope to have hiking treads though! (I have 4 at this point).

Not sure if I can do the tarp and bivy. Maybe next year. It has taken me forever to go this far. I don't like bugs on my face :-(

My friend Ldyblade, who I was out with, was using her OR tarp she recently got on a great buy at the OR store here in Seattle:

She slept under it with a ground cloth (garbage bag) and her sleeping bag.Then again, she grew up on the Olympic Peninsula outside of the Hoh Rain Forest.

[Brian James]

This seems to have a similar design to the SMD Lunar Solo; the major difference being the option of a "vestibule" that's a poncho! How cool is that.

Also, I note that it's in a similar weight class to a Gatewood + MLD Bug Bivy, but looks much more livable. (While that poncho is probably not as useful in raingear mode as the Gatewood of course.)

How much can the pitch height be varied on the bathtub floor model?

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Brian,
What I noticed over the 3 nights is that my trekking pole was never the same height, so I had fun having a higher ceiling some nights, etc. It was fun to play with. If I did it too high, then I had less bug netting to tuck under the bathtub floor.

[Dirk Rabdau]

Sarah –

Congratulations for making the leap. I think you'll really enjoy the change. I am gradually making the transition to UL myself, but find that all assumptions have to be re-examined.

It has been my experience – and most here have far greater experience than I – that it certainly is advantageous for weight considerations to carry the tarp-style tents. The tents perform admirably. I have several and love them.

You mentioned sharing the tent or carrying two. While space is the primary issue I think there are other advantages to using your own tent, particularly here in the Pacific Northwest. The condensation issue, which affects all tents but more so single-wall shelters, is particularly acute in Western Washington during shoulder season. Cold, driving rains in spring and fall can promote condensation quickly, especially when there isn't a breeze and your tent is in storm configuration. With one person in the tent, I don’t find condensation is that much of an issue – inconvenient, perhaps, but not a huge deal. Add another person and it generally requires vigilance and management, particularly on multi-day trips where the constant wetness is a threat to the downy goodness of your sleeping bag (if you use a synthetic sleep system, you can be more restive).

I can attest that these tents can take a surprising amount of abuse. I've sought shelter in them during driving rainstorms with howling winds and my tarptent withstood it far better than a reasonable person would have expected. I was for the most part dry and happy to be out of the rain.

Of course, by eschewing the big tent you can always use a bit of the space/weight savings to bring a UL camping towel with you to wipe down the walls of your tent.

Have fun! Great pics!

Dirk

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