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Tarptent Protrail
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Jan 16, 2015 at 11:27 am #1324637
The Contrail…revised.
Jan 16, 2015 at 12:07 pm #2165229I like the updates. I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm ready to trade in my Contrail, but it is tempting.
Jan 16, 2015 at 5:12 pm #2165325Really like the design, wish Henry would make them in Cuben!
Jan 16, 2015 at 6:29 pm #2165346I have a Contrail, but the Protrail design is a really nice evolution. I like it.
Jan 16, 2015 at 6:57 pm #2165354I have a stratospire 2. My experience is : great weight reduction. Love the lack of weight. If going in an area without bugs, ditch the bug screen. Goofy to set up but that is the price you pay for such low weight. Very hard to set up in windy conditions. Bring one very large stake for the wind side. No problem with rain. Tarptents are for serious, experienced people only. But if you are, you will like, not love them. But your back will love them. Without the bugscreen they are almost weightless. Get good tough hiking poles. I dont count hiking poles as weight because they are not on my back. You cant use flimsy lightweight poles because they are the backbone of the tent and must be rocksolid. My 2 cents on tarptents.
Jan 16, 2015 at 7:40 pm #2165366Theodore,
take a look at my set-up clip.
You might just change your mind about the goofy set up :BTW, this really does apply to all TT shelters.
If it looks odd/difficult maybe there is another way of doing it.Jan 16, 2015 at 7:50 pm #2165370Now that's the Tarptent I've been waiting for. If it were offered in cuben it would tick every requirement in my list, but I can't be too picky, and will be eagerly awaiting availability to swoop one up. Love the simplicity. I'm an a-frame tarp and bivy user 90% of the time, and this is almost simpler, and roomier, at a smallish weight gain. Really like that there's no struts involved (not that they're bad, just personal preference). I'm sure this has been asked a million times but, has Tarptent ever considered doing small runs of cuben versions in any of their tents, or as a custom order option?
Jan 16, 2015 at 7:53 pm #2165371+1 Matt.
I would also add that I personally really appreciate the work that Henry (and Franco) do on the existing designs to continually improve them. Burning the midnight oil while the rest of us sleep in our quilts. Thanks guys.
Jan 16, 2015 at 8:17 pm #2165375I'd kick myself if it was never made in cuben due to lack of interest, so here is one +1 for this baby in cuben! Maybe just the fly? Looks great
Jan 17, 2015 at 5:16 am #2165418I like the idea of cuben tarp (light, strong, no stretch) with syl floor (more durable)…wonder if the weight/cost tradeoff would be worth it?
Jan 17, 2015 at 6:10 am #2165424John, I like the idea of a cuben canopy and a sil floor. I feel like it uses the best suited materials in the best area's. This is why I really liked the Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform SW tent I had. If I hadn't been spoiled on side entry shelters, I would have happily kept my Cirriform tent. It is very similar to the Contrail, but with a bit more room (maybe like the Protrail?), yet less weight due to the cuben canopy. I will say though that I wish Gen would make them with 0.51 cuben as opposed to 0.74…
Jan 17, 2015 at 6:17 am #2165425At the current weight and price point this great design should sell very well!
I absolutely adore the Duplex, but I must admit I winced a bit over the cost when clicking on "Submit Order"…
Jan 17, 2015 at 7:25 am #2165444Apart from some of the perceived benefits of cuben over sil, the weight difference probably would not offset the increase in cost for many. The Yama Cirriform according to their website weighs 20.6 oz without pegs and requires 9 (am I right on this?) to set up. The Protrail is 26 oz with 4 pegs. Some of this weight difference may be due to design, however. Regardless, the difference in functional weight is probably less than 4 oz or so. With the cost at $241, that is $60 an ounce.
For some it would be worth it; for others not a chance.
Jan 17, 2015 at 8:03 am #2165446Yeah, the price point is pretty significant. When I bought mine it was at a preorder price, which I think was around $390, so not cheap by any means… However, I think it's pretty evident here that many of us are not afraid to bite that bullet, although, that doesn't necessarily make it any easier to swallow… :)
As for weight, mine came in at 19.9 oz, and I carried 8 stakes with a cuber stake bag, which brought the total weight to 21.7 oz. So yeah, I agree with you, the weight difference is little, but to be totally fair, it's there… Also, I enjoy cuben for a few more reasons than sil. I like that it is somewhat transparent. I love lying under my white cuben tarps at night and looking at the little blurry stars, and somewhat larger blurry moon, through the tarp. I also like that I can shake it dryer than the sil tarps I have used when it has been raining on me all night. I like that there isn't any stretch to the material. When making a list, for a canopy, cuben checks off more boxes for me personally than sil does. So of course, this is why I am willing to spend the extra for something I know that I would want… I get tired of buying something less than what I want, then end up buying what I wanted to begin with…
However, I really do wish that he would use 0.51 cuben over 0.74, or at least make it a choice. Of course it weighs less, so it would overall drop even ore weight from the shelter, and likely even make those blurry dots at night a little less blurry too! But, personally, I am perfectly fine using 0.51 and think that it is all that I need for a canopy. I see no reason to need 0.74… but if the design is right, I would rather go with it than sil…
Also, for the record, I am saving for a cuben Duomid. I was >this< close to biting the bullet and ordering a sil version a couple of weeks ago to take on my most recent hike, but at the last minute I decided not too… why? Because I know I want the cuben version, so why spend my money twice?
(And before this gets into a sil vs cuben war, I want to just say that I personally prefer cuben over sil. I understand that others are the opposite, and that's fine too. Whatever works better for us…)
Jan 17, 2015 at 9:10 am #2165473I like it. The only thing I didn't like about the Contrail when I owned one was the end struts. This new design takes care of that. Should be able to pack it much smaller too without the struts.
Jan 17, 2015 at 9:57 am #2165489Like.
It'd be awesome to see it in a 2P.
Jan 17, 2015 at 1:27 pm #2165530Henry does have a double designed ,sooner or later it will come out.
Jan 17, 2015 at 2:12 pm #2165540This SHOULD be the successor to the Contrail. I had a Contrail & got a Moment instead B/C the Contrail was not "wind-worthy" enough.
The PROTRAIL looks like it will be much better in the wind.
For me the Moment DW fills all my needs but if I did a long trail the PROTRAIL would be a great choice.
Jan 17, 2015 at 4:48 pm #2165579Franco, any estimate of what the weight and width would ,measure up on the double design?
jimmyb
Jan 17, 2015 at 5:21 pm #2165587Hi
I could give you an educated guess but it is just one of several designs that Henry has tinkered with in the last few years so if and when it will come out I don't know.Jan 17, 2015 at 5:26 pm #2165588I would imagine, a double Protrail would be a few ounced less than a Squal 2..about 34 ounces..
Jan 18, 2015 at 11:32 am #2165756Are there guy-out loops midway along the long edge of the tarp ?
They would be nice in the wind to prevent flapping, and in the rain – to pre tighten the sides so they don't say inward too much when they are soaking wet.Jan 18, 2015 at 11:41 am #2165757Yes, there is John.
Jan 18, 2015 at 12:25 pm #2165769> Are there guy-out loops midway along the long edge of the tarp ?
There are 4 each side, not including the ones at front and rear corners.
-H
Jan 18, 2015 at 12:53 pm #2165780They would be nice in the wind to prevent flapping, and in the rain – to pre tighten the sides so they don't say inward too much when they are soaking wet.
I found out with the Contrail that the key for a taut non flapping/sagging fly of a shelter of that design is longitudinal tension and that is why I added the strut at the back to work with the front (apex) guyline.
A common mistake (from my perspective) is to pull those side guylines too tight therefore deforming the shelter reducing room inside as well as wind resistance.
This is one of my Contrail set ups :
I like this Pro Trail photo :
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