MLD Duo XL Innernet in a Supermid?
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I own the Supermid cuben, no netting.
The Duo XL innernet is meant to asymmetrical, one half of the Supermid, on one side of the pole only, I believe.
I sort of mocked up this use last summer with a cheap $20 hanging mosquito net meant for tropics or cabin use. It basically did one half of the Supermid for two. I used polycro for floor and it worked okay as a test. But it was fiddly and imperfect and unsustainable for the long term, hence the need to buy something now. We had other half for gear and shoes and whatnot. You can sort of make it out in the photo.
Here you see my set-up last summer with both put to use for four.
Oops….I made a mistake…I thought the duomid XL innernet was for the whole size of the duomid xl (so 3/4s of a supermid) but its only for half of a supermid, so 2 people.
Well, with that in mind, if you were thinking between a duomid XL vs a supermid inner….the supermid inner is the no brainer in my mind. double the size for 3-4 oz weight penalty? Absolutely!
That way….if there is a particular trip where you only have 3 of you total, you'll still be able to use the supermid innernet in style.
Now….I used a sil supermid with a bearpaw pyranet 4 with my family of 4…pictured kind of blurry here ->
It was plenty comfortable with my wife and I (in the middle on either side of the pole) with the kids on the farther sides. Kids were 5 and 7 there, though having them older wouldn't have been a problem either.
With 4 though…especially if they are preteens/teens, there isn't much, if any, space inside the innernet for gear. Most you can have in there is a bit of clothes items or shoes (though we normally kept our shoes right outside the innernet between the inner and outer fly…just enough room for shoes. Now, if you had 3…..no problem at all…all gear/packs, etc can come in with you.
Usually packs would be more or less empty at the end of the night….food would be hanging up, you are using your tent, sleeping bags, etc, so even if it was raining, I would just have them stacked up on a log or rock and have a poncho over them if raining….again, even with 4, you could have extra clothes inside the inner net with you.
While we are talking about cuben supermids and perimeter netting…check out this picture of what came in my mail yesterday!
Isn't the picture a beaut?
Ordered these two cuben supermids on 9/16/14….and got them 1/16/15, due to the "great MLD cuben fabric shortage of '14".
Construction quality is of course awesome with all MLD items. One of the supermids does not have perimeter netting (mine…I ordered a supermid innernet with a cuben floor that should be arriving in the mail on Tuesday), and the other does have a perimeter net (purchased for another forum member who allowed me to set it up just so I could take this picture).
Anyway…now I can compare how MLD does their perimeter net with how HMG does theirs.
First…about the weights. My supermid came in at 19.05 oz…which is about 8% overweight from the stated 17.5 oz listed on the sales page. Grr. But, the other supermid with the netting weighs 23.4 oz. Which….the mid was made at the same time as mine, so if assuming it also weighs 19 oz without the net, the net only added 4.4 oz. MLD states the perimeter net would add 8 oz. (maybe they used a heavier net before and haven't updated the site?).
So…I think the other user really lucked out on adding a perimeter net. Barely added any weight. MLD also adds a net vent covering that velcros into the vent, which was nicely done.
Comparing to an HMG Ultamid 2 that I had that had perimeter netting…its quite a bit different. MLD simply sews in 18" of netting while making the bottom perimeter hem. They also have snap buttons in the opening.
Compared to HMG…which adds a strip of cuben fiber tape 2-3 inches above the bottom hem, which angles the perimeter netting into the mid, and has a buckle type opening for the door.
And..the vents always have netting that has a cuben fiber "door' that Velcro closes shut.
The HMG system is probably more functional…but…not by much, and its definitely heavier with using the tape.
I think if you have adults primarily using the supermid, then the perimeter netting can be a good option (though it can be fiddly at times with the wind). Its definitely more minimal, and gives you lots more headroom.
However, it doesn't protect you from site drainage problems like an innernet would (like, if your site starts flooding a bit), so its almost like you still need a bivy.
Also, I like innernets better b/c it helps corral the kids. They move around so much and don't "fix" their position like an adult would during the night, so without an innernet they seem to start migrating so they are sticking half out of the tarp.
To continue the thread…and if you were wondering what new MLD innernets look like, here are a few pics. Just the other day I received my cuben supermid innernet. I was really impressed by the functionality and build quality. I wasn't impressed by the weight…16.55 oz, from the stated 14 oz.
However, after talking with Ron, they have now changed many of the weights on their site. Including the cuben supermid weight (17.5 to 19), and most of the innernet weights 1-2 oz. (like they changed the cuben supermid innernet from 14 to 16). I still think they are a bit optimistic on the cuben supermid innernet…mine weighs 16.55, but I have a jzipper on it, whereas new ones comes with inverted tzips, which weigh more (ron said they would be about 1oz more), so I would think new ones would weigh 17+ oz.
They changed the weights b/c of added features, like struts in the corners.
Anyway, on to the pics ->
The corner struts work surprisingly well. Very sharp corners. The mid panels also have mitten hooks, and I have a loop of shock cord on those, which pull the sides up. As soon as you have weight by the sides, it also keeps the sides up in a bathtub fashion by several inches.
You can see it better here….the shockcord keeps the side up to about the same level as the corners. As soon as you are "in" the innernet, the bathtub gets formed in the middle of the sides.
Unmentioned on the site mesh pocket…nice touch. I would rather have the pocket on the backside of the innernet though (where I would keep things like flashlight, camera, etc). Ask as an option if he'll move it.
Floor has cuben reinforcement instead of dyneema (no stitching). Very tough..several layers.
Going up the sides, where the mesh panels are joined together, MLD puts a layer of cuben fabric that is stitched with the mesh for strength.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pics!
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