Can’t make up my mind on a tent!…… I’m at an impasse! HELP

Thanks for the advice.  I will likely go with the Stratospire Li with the solid mesh – for the space and a little more warmth.  It would be used in the fringe/shoulder seasons if the weather forecast is poor.  I have a bomb-proof winter dome for base camp and generally use tarps in other winter trips.

Yeah I am more and more leaning toward the Notch Li as of right now due to it being more versatile and having better weather performance.  I really do like to have some more livability inside this tent but it might be fine.  The duel vestibules and the ability to just pitch the rain fly like a tarp might lessen my worries.  I reached out to Henry Shires last night and told him his next DCF tent in his line-up should be the Stratospire 1 and I would write him a check today!  It would literally be my dream tent….If there is such a thing. LOL

“I also “bounced around” between the Aeon Li and Notch Li but Ryan’s winter fail experience  in the Aeon Li changed my mind.”

Eric I think if I’m not mistaken the tent he had that failed was the HMG Dirigo not the Aeon Li.  I did see that video though and that was some wicked weather.  Thanks for your response and nice job on doing some upgrades.  Taking notes and thanks

I just looked up the floor dimensions for the Notch and Aeon and was surprised how cramped the Notch was. I use a ‘large’ pad (I’m 5’ 11” and a rotisserie sleeper) and would not be a happy camper if basically nothing else fit inside the liner than my pad.

While a full liner has its place (I always brought my Solomid nest for the Duomid) you lose a lot of interior volume between the fly and the liner. I’ve spent some rainy nights in the Aeon (for example minute 6:05 of this video) and had no condensation problems. The outward sloping noseeum mesh perimeter is genius. [Note: I would not take the same stance with a silnylon shelter. DCF condensates ‘sheet’ while silnylon creates an insane lawn of micro droplets. I can’t stand silnylon for non-hot-tents… but I digress.]

I have none of the above.

But often the shelter I select to take has attributes that are geared toward the location I’ll intend to use it.

One shelter usually wins out.

Might be footprint, might be something I’m willing to spend a day or two hold up in in prolonged rain, might be ability to pitch just the canopy to ride out brief thunderstorms….etc.