Tarptent Notch vs. Zpacks Hexamid Long

I can't really "vote" for the Notch, as I haven't used a Hex Long, but I will recommend the Notch for sure.

I'm 6'5", and I find it plenty roomy.

The cost difference was a factor for me, it may not be for you.

The ease of setup is what really wins it for me. I don't like to fiddle with gear. 4 stakes, 2 minutes, and you have a nice bombproof doublewall shelter. You get a lot of room for a really small footprint.

I find it very airy, I can't imagine needing more ventilation. Variety of setup options to suit the weather. Setting up just the inner net is great on clear nights.

I'm glad I chose the Notch, but I'm sure you will be set with either one.

Something to consider, condensation. I had the solo Hex tent this last summer, no condensation at all that I noticed, maybe the color hid it well as my old Squall you could see where you touched the inside if there was condensation. My old TT floorless Squall had some light condensation now and then, maybe more than others would experience due to no floor, just a narrow gc. The Hex with pole, stakes weighted 12.5 oz. That was nice. However, I'm shooting for a smaller footprint, may not find that. I have not heard how the Notch handles condensation. Single wall silnylon can do well except around drainages, but the inner for the Notch may take care of that. I'm also looking to save weight along with a small footprint. No fiddling would be nice, the Hex had to have stakes spaced just so, but was not a big issue, easily repositioned. A good point for silnylon, at least what Henry sells, it stands up very well, cheaper. I had my old Squall for about 9 years before selling it this last month. The fabric was still perfect.
I'm still looking for a UL setup again, I have the winter to decide.
Duane

I have the stratospire 1 (somewhat larger cousin to the notch) and I recently sold my hexamid solo plus (because of dog issues…he was tearing up the mesh like crazy!). I now own the SS and a cuben duomid with the solo innernet.

First let me say that even though I don't really NEED the SS, I can't bring myself to sell it. Henry's work is simply wonderful. It is a beautiful, functional tent that makes me feel good to use it. I have to say it is my favorite…I just wish the darned thing weighed about 10oz less (which would be the notch, by the way…but that's too small for my 80# pooch and I).

Second of all, I am crazy for cuben fiber. The hexamid was an amazing shelter, and I so wish it had worked out for me. I was not a fan of the condensation issues, which did occur even with the beak open and a high pitch (depends on where you hike…I imagine the dry Sierra wouldn't have been as bad). But if I didn't have the dog rubbing all over all the walls every morning, then doing a quick shake once he was fully wet, perhaps it wouldn't have been as bad. But I never had the chance to hike with it without him, so I can't say. I also didn't care for the tiny entrance…but I'm getting older and a tad stiffer these days, so that might not be an issue for you.

Cuben is crazy light, when it gets wet in a rainstorm you can simply shake the darned thing off and it's pretty much dry (as opposed to all my silnylon shelters, which seemed to absorb it like a sponge and weigh soooo much more…). I know some people worry about durability, and some of my very thin cuben ditty bags are wearing holes in them. But cuben has been around a long time as shelter material and you just don't hear of all this floor or wall shredding after a year or so. Besides, cuben can easily be repaired with tape…silnylon can't.

Honestly, what I really want is the SS (or the notch) in cuben. But so far no luck on that. The zpacks duplex and solplex come awfully close……

That probably didn't help you at all.

But all things being equal, and money not really being an issue, then go cuben all the way.

(Edited to add my actual vote. Since you are counting)

Jennifer, thank you for your PM's a few weeks ago. For me, the now sold 12.5 oz. Hex tent I had may have been my best UL option. I'm afraid it is my standard for weight now. Sold the "X" over the weekend, so down to a car camp tent and a winter tent. Money jangling in my pocket now.

I am dogless at the moment, so maybe having that extra breathing machine inside caused issues. What little I've read up on cuben, lower if any condensation issues. Of course on my Hex tent, I did not go with the beak.
Duane

I am 6 ft 5 and I can vouch for the Hex long being a palace. I have the fully enclosed net tent with ground sheet version that you are looking at. I love it, I spend most of my time in the Sierra, and this is my go to shelter when the bugs are out and I need livable space in a bug free environment for the evenings. (when the bugs go away I use a Cirraform tarp)

In my experience the shelter has been completely condensation free, (mine is made from White cuben, not sure if this would impact it or not)and I have never had a challenge setting it up as I find ti to be very easy to work with. I do not use line locks, I simply tie my loops where I need them. Line locks would add a small weight penalty and convenience for sure, but my system works well for me.

I have not used it in a major wind storm, however I have spent a night with moderate gusts and simply set it up with the “back” pinned to the ground and had no challenges.

As far as comparing the 2 shelters, I have no experience with the Notch, however I have spent a lot of time in the Moment V1.0. I loved this shelter and found it to be extremely well built. Henry does a great job. I lean toward cuben as once it is all set up, it does not develop the sag and need to be re-tentioined. For most this is not a big deal, I just like the plug and play that cuben offers, not to mention the weight benefit.

If you have any specific questions that I can help you with, please feel free to send me a PM

Best,

Jeff

I have the Hexamid long and really like it. It's footprint it pretty big but that hasn't caused me any issues yet. And the offshot of that is it is very spacious inside- which going into winter is a good thing. In the summer it will be a non-issue but it's still lighter than my last tent so I don't think I'll mind. I had it out last weekend in a wind storm and it did very well, no issues at all and it survived the ice bombs dropping from the trees flawlessly which I was quite concerned about.

I second Jeff's comments. The Hex long is very easy to set up..no fuss nor fiddle factor involved. In my opinion the cuben is the best tent shell material available: no stretch, dries very fast, lightweight, and easy to repair (fortunately I have not had to repair it yet!). The only downside is the cost. I have not tried the Notch which I am sure is a fine tent. To me the comparison of a sil and cuben tent is apples and oranges.

If you can handle the extra weight, the Notch is better in every way.

Better stability.
Double walled to manage condensation better.
Dual storage and dual doors (again – to manage condensation better).
Sets up with 4 pegs in less than a minute.
Modular.
Fits tall people without issue – no sloping walls.
Can handle a bit of snow easily.
Optional fabric inner for cooler conditions.
Less expensive.

The only con is that it is heavier.

I agree with most of what Dave has said, although some of it can be argued. One other con for the Notch would be how the silnylon is going to soak up water weight when it rains. Not sure how much though. The old Refuge I had seemed to gain 3 lbs worth in a light sprinkle. :)
With that said, I plan on giving the Notch a try at some point.

Ryan

Some of the issues we complain about, may only happen once in a few years. But if a dew issue, you'll have to pack that weight all day. :) I sold two of the more popular shelters I bought new this year because of their footprint being to big for me. But I did not have any issues this year, so that in itself was something I should have lived with. I lost some money, but now I'll have to get something by next warm weather bp season, snow camping will be fine with my BD tent this winter.
Duane

Thanks for all the comments! What is your experience with the weight of a the Tarptent Notch (silnylon) when wet? Does it add a lot of carry weight when hiking?

Silnylon doesn't absorb water. The water clings to it. So you have to shake the water off as best that you can. A pack towel can assist with any condensation with any fabric and will take all of 3 to 4 minutes to wipe. It is really not a big deal.

With the Notch, unclip the inner and pack it away dry. Then wipe down the outer fly and pack it separately.

I concur with Dave, having used the notch for a couple of weeks in Lapland, as well as in Denmark and Sweden, I always wipe off the excess moisture, inside or out before packing it away. The removable inner does allow you to have a dry inner when you erect the shelter at the end of the day, and if it is not raining any remaining moisture on the outer quickly evaporates.

"Silnylon doesn't absorb water. The water clings to it. So you have to shake the water off as best that you can."

That may work when you're breaking camp and it's not pouring the rain I guess.

Ryan

I own a hexamid and have travelled with a friend with the notch. I think both are great tents but I will only comment on the hexamid.

Pros
Light
Easy to set up
Solid in wind and surprisingly dry in rain
Easy to sit up in the middle
Dries quickly
Bug free! It's really nice to have a mosquito free zone for getting ready in morning or night

Cons
Condensation when soil is wet because of the net floor. If you're in a damp site try to get under trees. It's really a tarp. This is a problem because there isn't a lot of room above your head and feet

This won't helpl: I think they are the two best options for my needs and would happily buy either of them.

Just me but the noice of the Cuban drove me nuts..It was like the neo air, every move is like popcorn going off in the microwave..Yes it is light but I just lighten up my other gear and compensated for the Notch weight and I’m in Hog Heaven sleeping..My 2 cents..

The Notch is the perfect tent in my opinion except it is a bit heavy and it is 16+ inches long when packed because of the struts. I find it hard to pack in a smaller frameless backpack because of this.

Ryan said Silnylon doesn’t absorb water and I think he’s probably correct (I’ve owned 4 Tarptents).

So… Maybe a good DWR on the outside would help with that apparent attraction of water to silnylon. I’ll try Granger’s SXT Spray, tested to be the most durable DWR so far. (See the thread here on “A Good Alternative to WPB…” where the chart on various DWR brands’ durability show XT Spray to be the best.)

I’ve very lightly coated my Scarp II with a 5:1 odorless mineral spirits/silicone mix and it seems to not hold water on the surface like my Moment DW which I have not coated. By lightly coated I mean I rolled the coating on with a low knap roller and then immediately wiped it off with blue paper shop towels. leaving a very light coating. I’d experienced mist-thru with my TT Contrail in a heavy Yosemite downpour and thought all silnylon was like that. Glad to see Henry has improved the coating.

But of course by coating it I added at least 2 oz. to the weight of the Scarp II. I wish I’d known that henry had increased the hygroscopic head of his silnylon when I bought the Scarp II and I would not have bothered re-coating it, except for the floor.

I love these necro-bumps, but okay I’ll play…  ;^)

Related to old comments about water weight, about a month ago I tested a HMG Echo II tarp (.74 Cuben), which with guylines weighs 10.67 oz. I was testing it with a bivy in quite rainy conditions on one of my quick overnight test trips, and the following morning I shook it out fairly thoroughly, as I normally would when packing up. When I got home I weighed it and was astonished when the scale read 14.82 oz!!

I don’t know how silnylon would have compared, and it would be interesting to see if somebody could do the same exercise to find out. Maybe somebody has… I haven’t really looked for it.

Referring to Cuben noise, goes to show that people are different and that something that irritates the hell out of one guy doesn’t bother the next in the least. I’m happy to be a Neanderthal in this regard because some of the things that people complain about mightily just don’t bother me: the noise of Cuben fiber, crinkly and sticky air mats, the smell of Esbit and DEET… I swear, they just don’t annoy me the slightest bit.

Bob,

Years ago I did a rain test with tree tents, one in polyester , a silnylon and possibly Epic for the other.

Having left them out for a few hours under heavy rain, giving them a vigorous shake  before packing, the polyester one gained about 60% of its weight, the silnylon about 40 % (like your Cuben shelter) but I can’t remember the other one.

I suspect that Cuben will start to retain more water after several uses , however most owners ,not having done any tests,

seem to report zero weight gain.

BTW, some of that weight gain will be in the cordage .

however most owners ,not having done any tests seem to report zero weight gain.

lol and indeed, that’s what prompted me to weigh it… and this was a new tarp, so not attributable to the increase in free fibers from abrasion! Obviously, there’s still quite a bit that clings to the surface.

There is no free lunch. ;^/

One of the members here got all upset when I pretty much stated the same thing sometime ago ( there is no perfect tent fabric) but the point remains , you pick your poison.

Franco, you and I are of a similar mindset.

Time and again I notice that a lot of folks operate on assumptions when a straightforward, stupid-easy test is readily available. I still remember well and love your video of the Big Mitten Hook Caper. :^)

But the assumption that Cuben gains NO weight when wet is ludicrous. That’s why I weighed it and was astonished at the huge variance from “conventional wisdom,” lol. Another myth crash-and-burn.