Tarptent Protrail

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I've owned a Contrail, a SW Moment and now a Moment DW.

To me the Protrail is a VERY basic solo tent. It's about as minimalist as it gets and still does a good job of protecting the camper.

For me a TT Notch would be a preferable "minimalist" tent because It's a side entrance tent similar to the Moment and I prefer that kind of entrance.

[Stephen Parks]

Not much weight advantage here vs. the Notch. I'm interested to know the reasons people would choose the Protrail instead.

[Franco Darioli]

Stephen,
Similar weight and stored size was the main reason for me to switch from the Contrail to the Notch, however it did not cost me any money to do that…
So ,not important to all but ,$209 for the ProTrail is already expensive for some and $285 maybe just too much.
There are other considerations.
For example the ProTrail can be set up with just one full size pole and a broken pole at the back (if you happen to snap one…) or just a stick or even just guying out the back to a tree or something like that.
In fact you can do that with the front too so in a pinch , no poles required.
It is the only TT shelter that has no built in struts so a nice feature for the ones that like to stuff their things into the pack (not me…)
Another point is that the first thing that tends to brake/malfunction in a tent is the zip.
We use the N5 on the fly doors (unlike the N3 used by some others) but they can and do fail with wear particularly in sandy environments.
The ProTrail has Velcro fasteners on the fly door.
That is also not foolproof but can do with less maintenance than zips.
Maybe for some just the look, after all aesthetics can be important too.
franco@tarptent
but with his own view on things…

[Nick Gatel]

Nice looking shelter. If someone wants netting and a bathtub floor this should be on their shopping list.

[Stephen Parks]

Franco,

Thank you for the reply. I see that simplicity certainly has it's advantages. And it does look good.

Is the Protrail's footprint considerably smaller than that of the Notch? I find that the Notch requires a surprising amount of space sometimes.

[Franco Darioli]

Different shapes but similar footprint requirement.
Some pole supported shelters are shorter but either don't take the taller ones or have much longer guylines , so you then have different problems finding the right spot.
I had the Contrail and the Pro Trail sitting up side by side on my small sub 12' wide lawn, I could only set up one of those long guyline shelters there and not all that easily at that.

[Brian Crain]

I've put ~40 nights into my Contrail and I just ordered the Protrail today – headed on a 10 day trek with LOTS of rain next week. Looking forward to getting this thing on the trail! GREAT improvements.

[Franco Darioli]

I shot a set-up video for the Pro Trail.
Two minutes done in slow motion.

[Tim Zen]

Looks like an improvement over my Moment "Classic". Saves a few ounces. It would be nice to loose the internal poles for easier storage and the threading the main pole. Better price too. Maybe next season!

[Nigel Healy]

I got 1 tent currently, the TT Notch had a few years and really like it, and I've just ordered a ProTrail. Now pondering when each is better for different situations. I could just trial+error but wondering if someone with experience can bypass. Got a question. Is that long unsupported length a bit of a flappy in wind? I can get the Notch really rigid via guys attached to the trekking poll and there's shorter fabric to the pegs, but the Protrail has a longer fabric length, even if its tight at the head apex and the optional 2nd apex near the foot, I can see it flapping? My assumption is the Protrail is for warmer weather and less windy weather, summer hiking, the Notch when I need 2 porches, or for more seasons (I can cinch it close to the ground all around or close to the ground wind-facing). Any experience of when each is better for different situations?

[Franco Darioli]

The longer the unsupported fabric panels are the more tension you need to make them work. That is why many have great success with A frames and tunnel tents , others not so much. The Pro Trail has two tie out points on the long side , those (with good longitudinal tension) will help minimising flapping. One of those tie out points can be seen used in this Swami (Cam Honan) photo :

[David Ure]

"The Pro Trail has two tie out points on the long side" I think it has 3.

[Franco Darioli]

Thanks Dave, it does have three. I should have remembered since I put a rope from the front one to the back one on mine so that one can have several tie out options.

[Nigel Healy]

I see it has a front a mid and an end tie down point? That makes 3? Comments imply a 4th? As to insulation, my TT Notch has 2 layers, mesh 2nd layer, the Protrail only mesh at the ends. Any comment on insulation? Notch is 3-4 seasons, Protrail is 3 season. Is this a snow loading point of the steeper slopes sheds snow better or the dual wall? Forgot to ask last time, it is odd, the Notch and Protrail are down as the same weight (nearly), but the Notch is dual skins all over and the Protrail is mesh just at the ends. Why such a small difference in weight with such a difference in how many layers?

[David Ure]

So there are two peg out points at the back end and two at the front. You require 4 pegs to set up the Protrail. Then you have an additional apex guy line tieout should you want to use it although unlike the Notch, I am not sure the Protrail really needs it but it is there as an option. Each side has 3 additional guyout points which means that you could peg this out with 11 pegs, although short of a hurricane, it wouldn't be needed. Insulation? If you are relying on insulation from a tent, then you are relying on the wrong thing. Your insulative clothing and sleeping system will keep you warm. If you are referencing the ability of a tent wall to prevent convective heat loss, then the Protrail will be fine. The mesh is not exposed per se and the foot end mesh can be covered with a flap. Why is the Noth only 2 oz more than the Protrail (on my scale) and yet is double walled? Because the Protrail forgoes the secondary 'wall' and instead, adds moreinternal space. I can put two 20" sleeping pads side by side in the Protrail to give you an idea. The two shelters are really more different than they are alike. Both are awesome.

[Nigel Healy]

Thanks for the clarification. The idea of an hurricane….. if I take my USA Protrail to UK then the wind can occur at any time of year, but the Protrail is more for California situations. I agree with the point the tent isn't for thermal insulation, as that leads to condensation, but I for one find the wind in my face just wakes me so a reasonable blunting of that works fine, the Notch has bathtub high enough that the Notch is low enough to get "airiness" but not "wind". 11 pegs! Wow. My Notch I get to 8 pegs. (2 each end,2 each porch, 2 off pole internal, 2 off pole external), I did try using external poll guys but the fabric pull failed. It's not so much needed to keep tent on ground, just to keep it quiet. I came from a TN Laser Comp which was literally wacking my face every minute even with 16 pegs (4 corners, inner+outer, 4 guys + 2 top+end inner+outer), the Notch a much rigid design, it just sits still.

[David Ure]

Clarification – the Protrail sets up with 4 pegs. 6 is probably ideal. I only mentioned 11 to say that you CAN add 11 stakes for rock solid design. You mention California situations. I have no idea what that means but I would think that in the High Sierra's it can get weather challenged. I haven't trekked there, however. My backyard is the Canadian Rocky Mountains where many use tarps without any issue in 3 plus seasons. It all comes down to how effective your pegging is.

[Jeremy]

My buddy and I ran into 30+knot winds in Iceland a few weeks ago. The wind was crushing his Protrail and actually started to tear where the poles attach.

[David Ure]

I assume he had the sides pegged out – 3 a side

[Jeremy]

They were pegged, the wind was just crushing it. Very little liveable space

[Franco Darioli]

Sometime it depends on how a tent is set up. A few year ago I took these two shots to illustrate the point. The first would fit well the tent crushing leaving very little space inside : in the same wind, set up a different way, you have a solid shelter with plenty of space inside (The ProTrail is very similar) : the trick here is longitudinal tension (front and rear guylines ) the side tie outs alone will not do it. To add, the four corner stakes are in the same place with the same tension.

[Nigel Healy]

So I've now got my Protrail, most excellent service from Tarptent, as usual, and such prompt replies to small questions. I've erected mine in garden to just get familiar with it, how to pitch, and coming from a Notch which I really like, I can see where some differences are apparent. TO use pros/cons isn't what I'm thinking just a different set of emphasis and features. I've read that "I'll never use a front entrance again" well I can see the benefits of two entrances, most so for 2+ people tents and a secondary advantage to cook away from the wind in the porch facing away as wind moves around, but as for entrance/exit, to be honest, the Protrail's size of exit is about the same as the Notch, and you can sit sideways and cook one-handed just as easily as in the Notch, so the only reduction for a 1-person tent is moving from 2 to 1 porches. If you're 1-person the only advantage of 2 porches, when that 2nd porch restricts your internal space, is wind-moving cooking resolving. So it depends on your situation. Space. The Notch has an adequate internal width and 2 porches, the Protrail has different proportion to give one smaller porch and more internal space, so that depends how you like to live in your shelter. Storm worthiness, so here I have a more complicated p.o.v. I've watched many tents fail since I began camping in 1983. The most typical is just bad T-shaped-pegs which swivel out the ground and the tent unstitches and flies away. The next is just not making a tight pitch and the tent bounces in the wind, and wiggles the pegs and then unstitches and flies away. All BPL members know that and so that doesn't apply here. So with good pegs and a taught pitch then I look from all the angles and I can see the Protrail has a bit more vulnerability to wind than the Notch in that the longest largest area doesn't have a guy resisting, only pegs at the "hem line". Then the issue is that it is hard in real-world to get all the pegs along the hem line perfect, there's usually some rock in a few places and so the guy line which can be moved much more flexibly over angle and distance can give a more consistently strong anchor. The closest method I've seen to protect hem line pegs is just to attach cord to that peg and "protect" it with a peg further out, that protector peg can be at any distant/angle and so it can resist the force on the hem peg. That method isn't perfect, it just lowers the peak force on the peg and makes the hem peg come out later but then the protector peg is still in the ground. If this sounds scsry, just remember the worst weather changes fastest, just lasting a bit longer can make the difference. Mention of the grommet being the failing point. How was the pole fixed? If the pole is in the grommet and the fabric of the tent is attaching to the ground then as the tent moves the grommet moves and pulls the pole with it, so you shouldn't get grommet failure, and as the tent moves it reduces the force on the pole so no pole failure either. If you GUYED the pole separately, e.g. a guy line through the vent to an external peg not attached to the fabric, THEN the tent fabric is being pulled by the wind but the pole is fixed not moving as its not being pulled by the fabric so causing grommet to move more independent of the pole. In my case, the Protrail is more of an easy pitch backpacking 1-wall in warmer climates where wind isn't so much the issue, and the Notch is more for bike touring (I keep my bike in 1 porch and entry/exit/cook in the other) and double wall (I go for part-solid) give more sleeping wind and more insulation effect and so more for cooler situations. But I'm glad to have the choice and both are great shelters. Protrail, it's a great price, if you have any memories of the tents in 1983….. Protrail is about the same protection and about ……. 25% the weight?

[Scott Kilcoyne]

I recently ditched my Big Agnes FCUL1 and decided to pick up a ProTrail…and couldn't be happier…and this is just based off me getting it in the mail today and setting it up in the yard! (I should also mention that I placed my order fairly late in the day and it was out the door with a tracking number in about 30 minutes and I received it in two days!) I'll be taking it with me next week when doing the Standing Indian Loop. Will report back..

[Eric Blumensaadt]

If'n it were me, a former Contrail owner, I'd put an extra stake loop on each side of the fly towards the foot of the tent. That would really help nail it down better and keep the fly from flapping in all but full on gale force winds.

[Franco Darioli]

Hard to see in the official photos but there are 3 tie-out loops on each side already.

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