TartpTent Stratospire 2 on wooden platforms (New England)

[Dan D]

I'm on the hunt for a 2 person tent to use alone for myself (6'4 so go diagonally often) and occasionally with my fiancee. The purpose for this tent is backpacking in New England, mostly NH, etc. Camping here for the most part requires the use of tent sites, many of which have wooden tent platforms.

Being that the Stratospire 2 is not a free standing tent, how much trouble is it to try and tie it out to eye bolts or stakes beyond the platform?

I emailed Henry and asked and he didn't advise it for platform use. I can probably avoid platforms.. 50-70% of the time, but there will be times that it must be on a platform. How big of a hassle would this be? I've only ever use freestanding tents.

Any advice from people who deal with platforms regularly?

Thanks a lot.

[BlackHatGuy]

You're not asking, but have you considered the Double Rainbow instead? Can be 'freestanding' with trekking poles, or staked without. Lots of room for 1, seems to be enough room for 2.

[Matt Dirksen]

Having dealt with a purely non-freestanding tent for many years, I never had any issues with platform tent camping.

As long as I had enough rope to rig the tent's stake loops out toward the corners of the platform, and knot it off accordingly. With a hitch or two, I could always create good enough tension on the floor of the tent. Certainly having confidence in knot tying helps immensely in this situation. (But like first aid skills, basic knot tying skills is another "backpacking 101 requirement" in my mind.)

While it's not as secure as a stake directly in the ground, I never found it insecure either.

[Franco Darioli]

Try at home to set the SS2 the way I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyQT9JHloQM
So you stake out the 4 floor corners first (you will need some extra guylines * maybe some hooks for the platform too)
Then insert a poles and guy those out, finally set the apex guylines.
Best if you try setting it up at home without stakes using guylines to anchor it to some ballast pretending that to be the side of a platform .
Something like this :

[Jeff W.]

Dan, I hike primarily in the Whites and run into the wooden tent platforms all the time. I refuse to give in to them and still use my non free standing single wall shelters. I carry a supply of eye bolts from the hardware store. Solves much of the problem.

[Dan D]

Thanks for the feedback, all. It sounds like a non freestanding tent isn't an issue for you guys.

Basically, i put the decision off too long and needed a tent for the trip to Acadia i'm taking tomorrow. I ended up getting an MSR Hubba Hubba NX from REI 25% off. It's pound heavier than the tarp tents, but it's quite roomy and very easy to setup. Once we get past black fly season i normally go "fast and light" style anyway. I'll give it a go and see how it works (likely a good rain test) this weekend. Ironically, i won't be on wooden platforms… hah

[Dan D]

I took the Hubba Hubba NX for its trial run car camping in Acadia Nation Park over the holiday. And a hurricane (Arthur) came. Well at it was a tropical storm at that point I'm sure, but never the less, we got a lot of wind and torrential downpours for a good 12 hours straight with scattered showers off and on before and after.

The tent worked well with my fiancee and I both in it. I'm 6'4 and could fully stretch out lengthwise. My NeoAir X-lite (25" wide) and her REI In-Camp (26" wide) just fit. The near vertical walls and head and foot made all the difference. We could also both sit up at the same time facing each other.

The tent stayed dry and we were snug as a bug inside. The fly was probably soaked for 48hrs+ straight, but nothing came through. The floor of the tent also held tight even though we woke up to about 1/2" of water all around us in the morning.

Airflow was good, no issues with condensation or general moisture which is great considering the obvious humidity. That was with the vestibules fully zipped up and staked out in batten down the hatches mode.

It felt stable in the wind, no noises, or flapping, etc, granted we were in pretty good tree cover. It was windy enough to knock down several trees in our area though.

So it did its job and I'm pleased.

[Author]

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