MSR e-wing as emergency shelter

Hey Diane,

Well you have definitely thought this through, that is nice to see.

I think the main thing that I would address is that all four of your well thought out questions are mostly nullified by the post topic, "emergency shelter".

If you are looking for an "emergency shelter" for most non-four season weather conditions, it seems as if all the questions you asked are just not even worth asking in the first place.

For example, if you are in a situation where an "emergency shelter" is needed, how many tie-outs a shelter is going to have, is probably going to be the least of important things – so long as a shelter stays up – be it with 12 guylines or 2 guylines, an emergency shelter is just an emergency shelter.

This pretty much nullifies questions 2, 3, and 4.

An emergency shelter really has the sole purpose of keeping you out of the worst of the worst in the worst of the worst conditions (and by that, the worst of the worst conditions may not be all that bad, but rather the situation that has come up might be a worst case situation, for example, falling into a near freezing river in a cold-wind condition — which would mean needing to get under a shelter to strip/dry/warm-up all while out of the cold wind).

So, really, IMO, I think the question here is should you keep your existing shelter at 6oz our spend $185 bucks to buy the 4oz ZPacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp.

I have spent somewhere close to 200 nights using the ZPacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp. It is a great shelter for those experienced with 0.34 cuben fiber and needing something that can handle most weather conditions — remember, it is beakless, so you have to do something about rain/snow on the front side if such situations come up.

When it comes down to it, IMHO, a rectangle tarp is going to provide more protection from bad weather than a hexamid w/o door. It gives you a much broader set of use. My 80-gram 0.34 cuben fiber shelter has more days of use than any other shelter I have owned.

I guess, to just close off my thoughts Diane, if you really are looking for a non-4-season "emergency shelter", as well thought out as your last three questions are, they are just over-thinking things. An emergency shelter can be just as simple as an AMK $20 shelter kit or bivy that is only $17-25 bucks and the same basic weight as the MSR/ZPacks.

Really what bugs me is the shape of the tarp. The hexagonal shape looks to me like it reduces the actual amount of coverage, and would be difficult to rig in a low, storm-worthy profile. A little lean-to over one's head isn't going to cut it in some of our rain storms.

I had no idea about the AMK SOL emergency shelter option. That might actually be the way to go, in terms of lightness and price-point. $185 for an emergency option just is insane to me.

This is what occupies my mind during the Super Bowl. Normally, I'd be out in the woods, but this year my boyfriend is actually interested, since the Seahawks are in it. Generally, Super Bowl Sunday is a great day to hit the trails!

If you are going to be in a sheltered forest, not above the treeline, then a fire is a valuable emergency tool. Think about how you can configure your shelter to protect you while being open towards the fire.

is the tarp big enough for you to lie down in it and roll yourself up like a burrito?

if youre in serious trouble you may not have the mobility and/or motor skills to set up a "proper" tarp anyways … not to mention youll want the partial VBL effect

if you can set it up "properly" and get a fire going, then yr just in da gravy

;)

It would seem to me that if you pitched the "back" lower and facing the wind you would avoid most of the rain getting in. That, or the "lean-to" pitch with the back into the wind seems like the way to pitch when it's raining.

But, as was already said, for an emergency it's all about keeping most of the rain off you, not being comfortable. It seems like more than enough for an emergency.

FYI, the E-wing is 16oz (unless MSR had an older, MUCH lighter model).

I think it would work just fine as an emergency shelter. I used one as my primary shelter for a couple of years. Still have it. Actually, it will probably become my primary shelter again for awhile since I sold my Echo 2 and am working on a MYOG shelter.

The most storm-worthy pitches would be a low A-frame, or low lean-to (emphasis on low). The tarp offers a good amount of coverage either way. The hexagonal shape does somewhat limit the coverage in A-frame mode near the head and feet, but you can lower one end pretty much to the ground for more protection. It is a pretty big tarp, almost a 2-person tarp IMO. Especially with the emergency bivy, I'd say no problemo.

EDIT: I just learned that there is an older, much lighter E-wing! They switched to the new model in 2011. While the old one is much smaller, I still think it would work ok as an emergency shelter, especially with the addition of the emergency bivy. Personally, I'd just use it and not spend the dough on something like the ZPacks Hexamid pocket tarp.

I like MSR , but during the last 10 years,most of their tarp shelter designs look like the results of an LSD convention. Very strange stuff.

If it were me, I would put the E-wing uo for sale, either here or on Ebsy and mention it being the older lighter model and sell it to some MSR fanboy. It should bring enough to get a good light silnylon tarp.

Then, do the smart thing and buy a 6×9 ft, 7 oz silnylon Jimmy Tarp on Ebay for $59 shipped. Its a screamin' deal for a tarp of that weight and coverage.

THAT tarp, will allow you to pin down one end solidly to the ground with two corner stakes. Prop up the other end low enough to crawl under with a pole , guy down the other two corners and its pitched. And with a heck of a lot better coverage than that stupid hex end shape that MSR came up with.

@Eric–burrito, sort of. There is a pocket at one end that is supposed to be a "hood" so you can wear it like a "poncho". BS. The designer clearly never tried to utilize his prototype. There is enough fabric to wrap oneself up in it, more or less, but the hexagonal shape means there's a lot less material around your feet, and it would be a fussy wrap.

@jimmer–that Jimmy Tarp seems like a potential solution that doesn't increase weight too much and a reasonable price-point. A square/rectangular tarp is just so much more coverage, I don't know what the heck MSR was thinking. On the other hand, a few years ago, there was an interesting Chinese thread on some blog, that showed dozens of pictures of the E-wing being used for shelter, but often as an auxiliary tarp. Can't find that thread anymore, but it had some cool photos of what folks had done with it.

@Erik–I'm betting that the one you have is much more usable as a shelter, because it has about twice the surface area that I have. The 6 ounce tarp was really convenient when it was compressed into the size of a soda can, but that doesn't mean it's worth using as an actual shelter. It was an impulse buy, on sale, that ticked a requirement on a list for emergency shelter, but in practice is probably not all that useful. The hexagonal shape with the far end lowered means that there is enough area to scrunch up under it, but just barely. Larry's comment about survival vs. comfort is one to pay attention to. I overthink stuff a lot, when what I should do is put it to the test, so I have actual real-world experience to balance the "what-if?" thoughts.

Bottom line, whatever I use, I've got to quit just throwing it in my pack, and actually practice setting the dang thing up!

Diane,

Here is the link to the Jimmy Tarp I memtioned. He does good work for the money and I think he is from up your way in OR-
http://m.ebay.com/itm/331331717586?nav=SEARCH

I am considering one of his 8×10' tarps as my primary shelter(along with a bug bivy) for a CT hike this summer.

I'd be thinking that an emergency shelter for dayhiking should be something I can set up when I'm exhausted, or stupid from near hypothermia, or injured – because otherwise I'm going to keep moving and get to the trailhead.
So I'd want something dead easy to set up, which makes me think simple rectangular pyramid – like a solomid. 4 stakes in the ground, stick the pole in and you're done and out of the weather. And the bonus is that being so easy to set up means it would be nice for lunch stops in foul weather.

Hi Diane,

If you're interested in an alternative approach, I would recommend checking out the Blizzard Survival Bag.

I actually posted a similar thread a year back or so and have decided to carry one on my dayhikes. It's not the lightest option at ~13.5 ounces, but I believe it's the easiest to deploy in a true emergency situation.

It's a waterproof/windproof sleeping bag in essence. Company website rates it at 8 togs.

Emergencies can obviously come in many forms, but since I mostly hike solo, I'm concerned with incapacitating injuries, (i.e. a broken leg) and in that case I'm most likely not going to be setting up a tarp, pounding in stakes, etc.

You just crawl into this bag and zip it up.

I've never removed it from it's original vacuum-sealed pack, so I can't comment yet how effective it is in the field. However, I read as much info/reviews as I could and trust a few of the people who wrote to me with their experiences.

I carry a poncho and AMK Heatsheets bivy for a very similar emergency shelter. I wouldn't bother replacing the E Wing for just emergency use. The poncho does cover the rainwear category as well, so I'll claim an advantage there.

In an emergency a poncho can be simply worn without pitching which could be difficult with an injury like a broken arm or dislocated shoulder. You can spend a night sitting up against a tree or rock and be completely covered in a poncho.

Of course you could wrap your e-wing around you in the same way. Don't get stuck on the idea that it must be pitched.