Try before buying?

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There will be lots of different tents you could look at/get in/try at the GGG/SOCAL in Apr.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=86779

It is a problem for many that so much of the gear we use is from cottage manufacturers preventing you from just walking into a store and seeing the stuff up close. Then again the cottage manufacturers are very good about returns if you order something and decide you don't like something (within reason…).

If you can make it to one of the GGGs (check it out in search bar), you'll see about every shelter imaginable there.

If you have difficulty trying out the shelter you're interested in, BPL is tremendously helpful in this regard. At 6'3", I'm too tall for some of the shelters out there and didn't know anyone locally who had the shelters I was interested in. I found the reviews on the Hexamid Twin for tall people here at BPL were very useful to help me make the decision to purchase it.

Again, try to make it to the GGG if at all possible. I believe a Socal GGG is in the works.

Edit in other words, what he said above ^^^.

You could def post in gear swap. Say you will pay shipping plus $5 for their time.

If you had to drive to rei it might take 5 or 10 dolars in gas so it's not a huge loss.

Another thing to consider, search the gear forums for the tent you are considering. Then you can find out a reasonable resale price you might expect should you not like it. Consider the difference between retail and purchase price, the tryout price.

There is some risk to this (your resale price is not guaranteed), but it will help you get a handle on how much would really be out if you didn't like your purchase.

I've never had tarptents turn down a request. You might try emailing them. They're not in it for the money so I really enjoy their helpful nature and sincere appreciation of their customers.

I've never had REI deny a return even 2 years later on a backpack…

Good luck and remember most of this stuff isn't very durable so be careful testing things you don't own.

Another option is always make your own since you sound like you want custom gear at the Walmart price. (Who doesn't?)

I've built about 10 shelters out of one old ripped up spinnaker sail that did not make it through the nationals S2 7.9 races one year. It is 0.8oz/yd spinnaker fabric for pennies on the dollar versus new fabric. Reuse recycle reduce all that jazz. The spinnaker sails I've purchased watching for the sponsored guys to rip them up will last me and everyone I know a lifetime and I make a couple hundred bucks selling my shelters versus the $20/pop most "professional builders" can rake in.

I worked in a sail loft for years and a lot of the guys are sponsored and will take practically nothing for a $2,000 worth of material $8,000 spinnaker. I mean it has to be pretty well shredded but every once in a while I find a dirt cheap steal of a deal. Typically these sails are just used as patching material in the future anyway for guys like me that name their spinnaker "patchy Mcgee" lol

Prototypes are easily made out of polypropylene cloth or spun bound olefin from cconstruction sites.

Just something to think about in future since you seem like a diy guy to me!

As others have mentioned, the BPL Gear Swap forum is a great place to find and sell cottage, or obscure gear. Living in the SE US, there is really no way to actually see/use/test the kind of gear in which I'm interested prior to purchase. The solution is simply to purchase it, use it (carefully!) until you can decide whether you want to keep it.

I have tried a lot of gear this way and always been able to sell what I chose not to keep on Gear Swap for a price that worked out to $25-$50 loss. Honestly, my travel time and expense would have been that *IF* a place to see the gear could be found. Many of the folks who frequent these forums are all doing the same thing…constantly searching for that small improvement. What doesn't work for one may be perfect for another.

Thanks gang, some good ideas here. The GGG SoCal event is only about 30 minutes away so I will definitely plan to take a walk that weekend.
JP, that tape on the floor trick will probably happen on my back porch, although it might make me a little less popular at home.
Ian, I am 6'2" and also have problems fitting into the advertised dimensions of things.

Glad I joined.

JeffH

Painter's masking tape is ideal for working out floor plans and even 3d type frames.
Cheap and it does not leave a mark.

( based on a manufacturer's given dimensions so the overlapping mats should have not been a surprise.I did that to illustrate why with a similar given square foot area one shelter had more usable space than another)

I suggest also to do at least a basic 3d version by placing your sleeping bag over the mat and a line to simulate the space lost from wall slope.
(your current tent is a good example of that)