MLD Patrol Shelter Duo

[David Halterman]

Thank you, that third photo did the trick. Any chance you're in the Portland area?

Edit: Seattle, indeed. Thanks Link, didn't delve that deeply.

[Link .]

Whalen's profile says he lives in Seattle

[Joseph Bernier]

Great thread. A few shots of my DUO Serenity Shelter. I thought about selling this, but after reading this thread I think a DUO Patrol Shelter is in my future.

[Joseph Bernier]

A waterproof zipper in the middle of the beak would be cool . . . so you could roll back one or both sides of the beak when not needed.

[whalen e]

I received my Serenity Duo yesterday, thought I'd put some photos up. I ordered it with a few modifications: 90" length and all net on the front and back, instead of the all sil back and the half sil front. It'll help with air circulation and I wanted a full view, to be able to see outside even if the Patrol Shelter was lowered in storm mode. I think the front beak will offer enough protection a majority of the time and when I need a little more I can always use my umbrella or cuben rain skirt.

We all know the craftsmanship of MLD, but man it still pleases me to see how well the items are made. I liked the Duo so much that I ordered a solo with the same mods.

The Serenity pairs well with the Patrol Shelter. In addition to the mitten hooks on the front, back, and bathtub corners, it also has a mitten hook on the ridgeline and on the sides of the floor. I really like the new floors with the struts.

For overnighters and short trips, I don't use trekking poles. MLD states that PS Duo needs sturdier poles than the carbon ones they sell, so I ordered a pair of Cascade Mountain Tech (right here in Snoqualmie!) quick lock poles and stripped the handles, wrapped the ends in duct tape. They are sturdy carbon poles with the benefit of being adjustable. Without the handles, it brought the weight down to 5.5oz per pole. Not as light as GG poles, but less fiddle factor. You could get them even lighter if you removed the tips, but I left them on just in case I did need poles for a river crossing. The poles cost $50 but you could probably get them cheaper if you just order the individual replacement sections instead of all the extras that come with a complete set.

As far as size for two people, it could work but would be a little tight towards the end. I forgot to bring a second mat for display. I'll try to remember this weekend when I set it up again.

Overall, my enthusiasm for the PS Duo has not waned and I think the Serenity shelter completes the set up. The real test will be this summer when I thru-hike the CT. There will be plenty of wind and rain to test it. It'll be interesting to compare it to the other two cherished sheleters I had: Duplex and Solomid XL.

Cheers

[John Eyles]

I too am using the Lawson stuff with my new MLD Speedmid line-locs, and it works fine.

[Joseph Bernier]

Got my DUO Patrol Shelter today . . . really like the brown sil . . . although a cuben version would be awesome.

[Steven McAllister]

I still love my classic Patrol Shelter.

I can see the duo as a real good choice for the person who hikes with a dog or child, or a partner who only joins a hike from time to time, or only certain sections of a hike.

Or maybe just solo when you feel you want a lot of room. The weight is real good considering the amount of space.

As mentioned earlier, entry and exit is much easier when you unhook one front corner tie-out.
It allows a sort-of easy side entry.

I prefer this to having zippers to fail.

[Russell Hann]

Hi, i know this is a pretty old thread but i’m wondering if anyone has a longer term review of the patrol shelter? I have a Solomid XL at the moment but like Whalen i want something lighter (in cuben) without a zip to fail. I live in the UK so wind and rain protection rule out a more open tarp i think. Do people think the added 3oz of the duo is worth it for the extra space? I’ll be using this solo but sometimes in the Scottish rain space is nice.

Whalen i think you sold your duo this xmas after your CT hike. Was there something you didn’t like about it?

 

Thanks

[whalen e]

Yes, I did sell my Duo Patrol Shelter, but I really liked it, and still think it’s one of the best shelters available. It offers near-full coverage in bad weather, only a step down from a mid, and when staked in storm mode, I found it to be roomier than a mid, whether it be a Solomid XL or Duomid. (I’m a big guy and in a mid I could only sit upright in the center, whereas with the Patrol shelter I could sit upright virtually the entire length.)

I liked that it did not have any zippers, although I’ve never had a zipper fail on me. It’s got a subtle cat cut, which I enjoyed, not as aggressive as a Grace Duo or as loose as a flat tarp in an A frame. I loved how simple it was to set up, wonderfully easy, and the mitten hooks lined up perfectly with the mitten hooks on a Serenity shelter. It was easy to keep them connected for faster set up.

In the end I decided to let it go because it was, in my opinion, a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. In good weather, when lying down at the end of the day, the front beak blocked the open sky and I found myself missing the wide open view of a cat cut or flat tarp. With the fixed shape of the back triangle, the shelter is limited in how much you can spread it out on sunny days.

And when I headed out in poor PNW weather, I always reached for my HMG Ultamid. The beak on the Patrol Shelter does a good job of blocking rain but in blowing wind you still have to be vigilant or your bag will end up wet.

However, if I were to choose only ONE shelter, especially for something like a PCT thru hike where the weather will be good for the most part, this might be the one. Pair it with a Duo Serenity bug shelter, and you’ve got a combo that checks nearly all the boxes.

Hope that helps.

[Russell Hann]

Thanks for that- it is helpful and confirms that the Patrol is the right shelter…I just need to figure out whether i need the duo or single. My biggest question is sitting up space in the single when in storm mode and staked tight to the ground. Any feedback would be great.

[James holden]

from what i hear about “scottish conditions” you folks get quite a bit of windblown heavy rain from any direction

how will that front gap without a door handle it?

;)

[whalen e]

Russell, for the weather it sounds like you’ll be in, I’d get the Duo. I think it’s worth the extra weight, especially in foul weather. The back triangle is 32″ tall in storm mode, the solo is 25″. So I’d find out how tall you are when sitting upright, from floor to top of your head. That will give you a better idea of how low the tarp will be in the back in storm mode. I can’t remember how much it slopes up from there to the peak.

Again, I think it’d be worth it to get the Duo.

[Russell Hann]

Thanks for the extra info guys.

I know what you mean Eric and the entrance is a bit of a worry of mine- i was thinking of using a rain skirt to block rain if gets to that.

 

Whalen- i think the height of the solo would be ok except when using the bug net as that is only 36″ at the front and i need about 39/40 to be able to sit up.

 

I think i’ll try a patrol and see how it goes- no shelter is perfect. Thanks for all the help though!

[James holden]

russell have you considered trekkertent in the UK?

i just ordered a stealth tent from em …

all the reviews seem to like their tents, the biggest issues seems to be wait times as each piece is custom

i ordered a stealth 1 in a “bomber” configuration, basically a light 4 season tent …

but he also produces lighter sil versions and cuben … with many options

;)

[jimmyjam]

Russell, I attached a piece of elastic cord with a mitten hook to each side of my Parcho. This lets me put my hood over the top of the front hiking pole and hook the mitten hooks to the front corner tie outs blocking any rain from coming in the front of the tarp. I’ll post a picture when I can find it,

 

 

[jimmyjam]

Found the picture:

 

[Russell Hann]

Hi Erik,

Thanks for the tip. It does look good but it doesn’t mention anything about Cuben on the website- i’ll drop him an email. Ordering from the uk also means i don’t have to pay tax on an imported one!

My main thing is that i want to move away from a zip as this has always been my worry on the Solomid XL. It looks like the Stealth doesn’t have one- but its hard to tell from the pics.

Thanks for the photo Jimmy- Thats exactly what i was thinking of doing and it looks like it works pretty well.

The other option is going for a Altaplex as there are lots of reviews from scotland/england and it seems to work in this climate pretty well. I was just wanting a modular system ideally. Though i could always order the tarp version and add a custom inner.

[Doug Wolfe]

Digging up dusty bones.. haha! How are you guys liking the patrole shelter? Im up in the air between the grace shelter and the patrol shelter. I like the idea of the extra rain protection but at that point im close to a trap tent by the time i add tyvek ground cloth and bivy..

[whalen e]

Glad to see there’s still an interest in Patrol Shelter! I’m still fond of it and wouldn’t mind having one for a season again. However in the end, whenever I used a tarp in the summer, I wanted an open front view. I settled on a custom Grace Duo with 10ft ridgeline. That way it offered a little more rain protection for me as a tall hiker, I could use a net tent if I wanted to, but I still got a more open view than with a Patrol Shelter. If it’s nasty weather or shoulder season backpacking, I’ll go with a mid.

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