Tarptent Thread

[Franco Darioli]

I see..
Still, if after a few years you find a problem with your tent most likely it wasn't a manufacturing fault.
BTW, regarding the Enan /Moment similarities I meant that both have the tapered end unlike the box end of the Akto/Scarp.
There are many tents around like those so not implying that one is copying the other.

[Warren Greer]

This. I really don't think that most who buy this or any other tent take that into consideration. But then again, that is just my opinion.

I really do like the Notch and have for a few years. Wish there were some way for it to be lighter though and I'd probably have bought it by now. But, four stakes, two trekking poles, double wall, mosquito-fighting protection, nice interior space, etc.. A beautiful thing except for the extra bit of weight it makes you carry.

[Sam Riggle]

So the warranties are only good for manufacturing defects? They won't fix blown out seams? They won't help resolve issues with leaky floors? I'm pretty sure they would. Even if it is for a nominal fee. I'd rather have them professionally do it with their equipment because they designed and built the tent in the first place. I've never read the warranty for Hilleberg. I just know that every time I see someone "explain" why they buy a Hilleberg tent, part of the reasoning was the "killer lifetime warranty".

[mik matra]

Spicers Gap Main Rang National Park QLD Australia

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Here's a joint TT and Gossamer Gear tent I borrowed. I did not actually like this tent. The flaps make you soaking wet when you go in and out and there's not enough headroom to sit up except in one small spot at the front. I'm only 5'3" so that's a pretty big complaint.

This is on a dirt road in the first section of Washington on the PCT.

[Tipi Walter]

Eric says to send in your TT pics "in action" and so here you go. These pics were taken on my various backpacking trips and belong to other hikers—

This is Don's TarpTent on the Brookshire Creek trail in TN.

I believe the back tent is a TT as I camp and hike with a BMT thruhiking group including Sgt Rock on the left.

Here's a TT set up on a mountaintop in a pesky cold rain.

I think this is the same tent in the same cold fog atop a 5,300 foot NC mountain.

Another mountaintop cold rain shot but a couple years earlier.

[Tipi Walter]

Now some reactions to this thread:

Benjamin Auer, I like your Cranberry wilderness pics! Southeast backpacking at its best.

And Mile J—Your quote will stir up the hornet nest:
"I feel I am able to safely state that Hilleberg materials, build quality, construction techniques and finish are all significantly superior to Tarptents."

Don't pile in on him, it's just an opinion.

Then Jimmer Ultralight comes in to dispute Mole J's quote. Got his hackles up I guess. He disagrees with Mole J's idea of better Hilleberg materials and construction and explains sarcastically that Petra's expensive horse hobby (instead of humble hiking) eminently qualifies her to know the shelter needs of the American hiker. NOT. Weird.

On the other hand, Henry Shires has no dressage horse habit. Weird. So he makes more honest, morally better tents. Weird. And of course Franco concurs with Jimmer.

Sam Riggle brings up the lifetime Hilleberg warranty. My example? I emailed a pic of my Keron inner tent with disfunctional elastic connectors and Petra sent me an email back for my shipping adress so she could send me a new inner at no cost. A $400+ deal for free.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Walter,

Those are good photos of Tarptents in varying weather conditions.

When I saw Don's photo of the Rainbow (Double Rainbow?) it made me think that this design may be the most "beloved" of all Henry's designs. Its owners really like it. The Rainbows are just so well designed and have such nice vestibules. And with their liners they are even more versatile when camping in "condensation conditions".

[Stuart .]

Last year Hilleberg were brilliant in responding to my concerns about a sagging inner tent on a Kaitum 3 that I'd owned for a while. Initially they sent me a replacement inner, but when that fit the same as the original, they offered to exchange the Kaitum 3 for any other shelter. I chose a Keron 3. The one I received was brand new.

[Tipi Walter]

Stuart—Hilleberg is sort of old school in this regard—exchanging for new items no questions asked. Exped is like this too if you send in the pertinent pics.

I remember going to a backpacking store in Boone NC (Footsloggers) back in the 1980's and bringing in any manner of worn out or broken gear (brands which they sold). One time I brought in a thermarest and got a new one free, right off the shelf.

Another time I brought in a Svea 123 which was "DOA" and they handed me a new one, sayonatra.

Nowadays it's like pulling teeth trying to even get an email thru much less a meaningful response or god forbid a new item.

[David Ure]

Tipi posts about Tarptent on a Hilleberg thread and now posts about Hilleberg on a Tarptent thread.

Any chance you can keep it to one or the other?

Google Fu: Search out the customer service on Tarptent and be prepared to be amazed. Far more long distance trekkers use Tarptent than Hilleberg, which provides a much wider sample size for what ever 'theory' you (Tipi) are desperately trying to develop.

Hilleberg's cost several times more than the competition so assuming there is one in ten that actually have to be replaced, it is a minimal expense to simply send out a new shelter. The consumer has already paid two to three times what they should have so they really aren't getting anything for 'free.' The consumer has 'prepaid' for a replacement up front; a significant Net Present Value!

What are the wage rates in Estonia anyway?

[Tipi Walter]

Dave, you need to read Mile J's quote before piling on. His Hilleberg words came way before anything I wrote on this thread. He or someone before him brought up the Hilleberg name.

Sometimes I wonder if you know what's going on here. Mile J's quote once again for those who think I said it:

"I feel I am able to safely state that Hilleberg materials, build quality, construction techniques and finish are all significantly superior to Tarptents." QUOTE BY MILE J.

Did Dave miss seeing this post? Did he miss seeing Sam Riggle's post on the Hilleberg warranty?

And yet Dave says
"Tipi posts about Tarptent on a Hilleberg thread and now posts about Hilleberg on a TT thread. Any chance you can keep it to one or the other?"

Will you please ask Mile J and Sam Riggle the same question?

Okay, my nitpicking emotionalism is over, return to your usual thread.

[Katherine .]

enjoy this pic of my new (to me) Stratospire 2 from the other night…

[Eric Blumensaadt]

When I see the Notch and especially the Stratospire tents I am just fascinated by the clever geometry which results in such great interior space and functioning vestibules.

Henry sure is a great "cloth stretcher" and knows a lot about just how much of a catenary cut is necessary for proper tension, how people actually USE a tent and how to keep the weight (and price) down.

** Now for a Shires true winter tent that will easily withstand a full gale… Tents like that REQUIRE staking out therefore one need not be fully freestanding.

[Sam Riggle]

I think the Notch is a great looking shelter. Really great price as well. Looks big enough for two when used without the net tent. I would love one in Cuben. ;) I wouldn't be able to afford it though! Lol.

(I only brought up Hilleberg and the warranty because of the posts about the Enan in comparison to the moment and why someone may choose one over the other. I have no experience with either so I have no dog in this fight. Not saying this is fighting, just using the analogy)

[Katherine .]

"When I see the Notch and especially the Stratospire tents I am just fascinated by the clever geometry which results in such great interior space and functioning vestibules."

I'd been wanting the SS2 for a long time. Using one in real life vs. looking at pictures, videos, I had a moment of awe at the geometry of it.

[Franco Darioli]

Regarding Tipi's photos, from top to bottom :
Rainbow
Contrail
Squall 2
Cloudburst 2
and a very badly set up Contrail*
(if your TT shelter set up looks somewhat like that, please contact me at [email protected], there is a cure for that…)

[Tipi Walter]

Thanks Franco for the model names—never did get that sorted out.

[David Cramton]

Moment on Mount St Helens:

On PCT:

Notch in Goat Rocks Wilderness:

[Todd T]

Franco wrote: "(if your TT shelter set up looks somewhat like that, please contact me at [email protected], there is a cure for that…)"

So what's the cure for a saggy peak line (between the poles) on a Notch? I've set mine up four times now and only managed to get it taut once. I thought I'd found the secret–not setting the end stakes too far apart–but after that one success it's been saggy against all my efforts.

[Franco Darioli]

Todd,
If you have set it up taut once you then know that it can be done.
Three major reason for a non optimal set up are :
1) ends too far apart
2) poles not perpendicular to the ground
3) poles set at the wrong height
I can do it with 2 and 3 the "wrong way" and still get a taut pitch but that is another story.

1) you already have identified that, but for some reason there is the temptation to pull the fabric taut end to end when setting up the second end triangle, just don't do it…(BTW common with mids and so are the excessive resulting catenary lines)
2) it's very easy to have the poles at an angle given that the door panels should be shut.
Set it up and then correct the pole angle.
3) the standard height (with the pole perpendicular to the ground) is 43" .
I can easily do several inches more or less but better to start there.

Watch carefully the Henry set up video on the product page and maybe mine too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJa5Mc36n7U
What you see in my video clip is not a doctored version to make it look good, I just set up the camera and put the shelter up (once…) as I do it in the bush.
looks like that every time.

[Todd T]

Thanks, Franco, sounds like I need to just keep trying to figure out the right end-to-end distance. I'm pretty sure the poles were vertical–if they're in the velcro loops and the floor is extended to full width they just about have to be, right? Also, I've only used the dedicated poles so far, so the length is what it is.

[David Ure]

Are you using the additional tieouts at each pole apex? If you do, the ridgeline becomes rock solid.

[Stephen Parks]

Todd, I've had the same problem with the Notch. Seems that I have to relearn how to pitch it every trip. For the saggy ridgeline, you already know not to stake the ends too far apart, but also try tightening the side tie-outs completely before tightening up the ends much at all. If the ends are even a little tight, it can be hard to get the ridgeline taut. That's my experience, anyway. Now, when I open a door, I usually still get sag.

And yes, using the additional apex tie-outs makes it easy to get the ridgeline taut, but you should be able to do it without them.

[Stephen Parks]

Here's a pic with a taut ridgeline without the apex tieouts being used. The stake on the right side is positioned maybe a little to far out, but I had trouble getting a stake in there at all.

Note that I'm finished and taking pictures while my friend is still setting up ;)

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