Dipole 1 DW (green silpoly)

[Monte Masterson]

I haven’t been excited about any new tents in awhile but with its max livable space and not exceedingly large footprint, the Dipole 1 DW looks very tempting. Reasonably priced too at $299. Packed trail weight 32.5 oz. https://www.tarptent.com/product/dipole-1-dw/#tab-id-1

[Roland]

Yes, for  a moment I thought, that’s it for me, but then I read floor length 84…and then, Nope.  I ‘m 6’4 tall and 250 lbs, and a long quilt, I and I think I won’t fit in there. Will there ever be a lightweight tent for me ?

[Monte Masterson]

But with the way the ends of the inner are designed Roland you’re looking at more headspace than other trekking pole tents. Not so sure I’d rule it out.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

Roland, you easily fit. Have a look at the 3d models with scale 6′ and 6’6in  humans inside –> https://www.tarptent.com/product/dipole-1-dw/#tab-id-5

Floor length tells you almost nothing without also understanding the geometry surrounding the floor.

[JCH]

That looks like a very nice design.  I particularly like the “reverse taper” of the floor.

[Alex Wallace]

Looks good!

Side note: TarpTent wins the “how to showcase your tent on a website” award. Quality photos with gear for reference from multiple angles, setups, etc. Video fly over, 3-D rendering with human model, and packed in stuff sack with ruler. Straight forward setup video from the maker himself. Informative specs & features clearly written. Kudos, TarpTent. Other manufactures should take note.

[Todd T]

Floor length tells you almost nothing without also understanding the geometry surrounding the floor.

Truer words have never been spoken (about tents).

…but then I read floor length 84…and then, Nope.  I ‘m 6’4 tall and 250 lbs, and a long quilt, I and I think I won’t fit in there.

I haven’t compared the specs of this silpoly version with the Li (DCF) version (maybe Henry will summarize?), but I’m 6’5″, 205 lbs, and the Dipole 1 Li is far and away the most comfortable one-man tent I’ve ever had.  It feels better than even the Rainbow (88″ floor) because wet (condensation) end walls of the latter are easier to slide into out near the corners.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

Thanks Alex. We try..

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

Re: comparing to Dipole 1 Li, here is a side-on graphic with the Dipole 1 Li and Dipole 1 DW interior overlayed inside. The interior isn’t actually green but is colored that way here to help it stand out.  Note that the key difference is the end strut length.  It’s 21 in (foldable to 13in) on the Dipole 1 Li and 18in (foldable to 11in) on the Dipole 1 DW.  Peak height above the floor end is about 17.5in in the Dipole 1 DW and 20in in the Dipole 1 Li.

[Charlie Brenneman]

The end vents are reachable from inside. Is there a small zipper on the inner mesh to allow you to access those?

[edited: Actually I see in pic 13 on website. Looks like the doors are alternating directions so you can get your arm all the way to the long end of both sides of the inner to access the vents.]

[Brad W]

This looks like a real interior improvement over the Notch Li-where the mesh is almost on your face and feet.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

> Looks like the doors are alternating directions so you can get your arm all the way to the long end of both sides of the inner to access the vents

Yes, the zipper extends almost to the floor end for exactly that purpose.

[Rowland G]

Looking forward to seeing more feedback from use in the wild, in different weather conditions.
I’d narrowed my lightweight shelter list to: X-Mid 1 / Notch, then, THIS! :)

 

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

> Looking forward to seeing more feedback from use in the wild, in different weather conditions.

You can query some UK users here –>

https://www.trek-lite.com/index.php?threads/tarptent-dipole-1-dw.11822/

[Rowland G]

Yep – already haunting that thread. Thx

[Todd T]

I have a Dipole-1 Li, which I  bought shortly before the DW became available.  I’m 6’5″ and find the Li to be overall the most tall-friendly lightweight one-man tent I’ve ever used.  Two things I wonder about:

First, the specs make the DW seem less accommodating of tall folk than the Li.  It would be interesting to hear from both Henry and any trees who may have tried on both.

Second, the DW’s end vents look like they might be a little more foolproof in windy storms than the Li’s.  Thoughts?

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

The Dipole 1 DW absolutely accommodates 6’5″ people . We have some 3D model videos here –>

https://www.tarptent.com/product/dipole-1-dw/#tab-id-5

https://www.tarptent.com/product/dipole-1-li/#tab-id-4

The Dipole 1 Li is even larger inside — no separate interior walls — and fly end vents aren’t really comparable to the integrated vents on the Dipole 1 Li. It is true that you can leave the fly end vents open  in the rain on the Dipole 1 DW because of the offset from the interior.

[Chris K]

Has anyone had the chance to use a Dipole 1 DW in the field?

I found myself comparing the Dipole’s fly-only mode to a traditional one-pole mid (MLD). The Dipole 1 DW looks compelling against these two shelters. Setting aside aesthetics of one pole vs two poles and struts vs no struts, consider the following:

Dimensions:

• 60″ x 94″ x 46″ (Dipole 1 DW)
• 54″ x 110″ x 55″ (Solomid XL)
• 68″ x 110″ x 55″ (Duomid)

Weights:

• 17 oz (Dipole 1 DW w/ line)
• 16 oz (Solomid XL w/o line)
• 18 oz (Duomid w/o line)

The weights are comparable. The Dipole dimensions could be friendlier to small campsites, while presenting a lower profile to the wind. (Granted the higher volume at the top may catch more wind than the single pole mid, but the Dipole has smaller and more faceted panels overall.)

Maybe Henry or another user can comment on how well the Dipole 1 DW works in fly-only mode. Can it pitch close to the ground? If so, do the vents still function well? Do people think this tent fly could compete with a traditional mid in the wind?

[Sam Farrington]

So glad to see a transverse A-Frame with ample space for head and feet, especially when sitting up.  (Though have no use for a second trekking pole.)  Looking forward to more replies from HS to your latest inquiries.  It was interesting to compare this DW one with Ryan J’s video of the DCF version.  Interesting that he found less inner condensation on silpoly than on the DCF areas.

Thanks to BPL for the past forum posts about transverse A-frames and hoops.  Hope for new tent designs is renewed.  Am glad Henry did it, because he and his team also know how to address the little things.

[jscott]

Maybe it’s so obvious that no one has commented: but the large opening at the ends of the tent to allow air to flow through, coupled with an interior flap to zip close those same openings, is really innovative. I mean, that would seem to allow a better amount of air flow through the tent to address condensation, while also allowing for storm closure, or for cold temperature closure. Those openings are far larger than vents placed at the top of the tent.

I suppose that zipping down the door of a double wall tent allows better air flow without letting bugs in. But having cross flow, front to back, would seem a better option.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

> Maybe Henry or another user can comment on how well the Dipole 1 DW works in fly-only mode. Can it pitch close to the ground? If so, do the vents still function well? Do people think this tent fly could compete with a traditional mid in the wind?

I have added a couple more photos to the Dipole 1 DW product page to show the low pitch to ground and fly only mode.  As is the case with the Dipole Li series, each corner can be staked directly to ground provided you also tension the adjoining strut to ground.

The end vents function is independent of pitching position.

Fully staked–corners, struts, and apex lines (with connections to vestibule doors)–the Dipole 1 DW is bomber.

[H W]

I think this tent will be a winner. Notice how many Aeons, Notch, Strats are available on BL gear swap and ebay? I’ve Strat 1 and 2 enjoying both on many outings, BUT the strut length is problematic when it comes to packing. I always remove struts but reinstalling before pitch after a long trail day is becoming increasingly annoying. The Dipole solves this has nice new features, however, the vestibule is not as deep which may be too restrictive for my 85 pound lab. So, almost perfect.

[Charlie Brenneman]

Back from my first trip with the Dipole and it was great. So much room in this shelter. The first night I set it up really well and it is as stable as advertised with just 4 stakes. A few observations and questions and minor nitpicking:

1. On my second night, one of the “V” end panel lines wasn’t as tight as the other and I thought I had a good rectangle and the corners and struts pretty tight. Perhaps trekking pole height was off? Even with this sloppy initial pitch I was able to tighten it up by adding lines to stake out the end struts.

2. I’m not sure why the inner shock cord has to connect at the corner guyline loop instead of the tarp webbing corner. It makes the inner nice and taut but puts a lot of pressure on the corner guylines when setting up and just gets in the way. It pulls them back toward the tent when I’m trying to stake at 45 degrees out. Couldn’t I tie the shock cord to a shorter length from the corner of the inner to the corner of the tarp?

3. I think I’m going to replace the apex peak guyline setup with 2 sets of cordage. Some at the door so I can widen the vestibule – on its own – and to help with opening and closing the zipper door. The hook is hard to get on and off the door; maybe a system like the Mid 1 line loc clips would be easier? If I really need to guyout the peaks as well I can use the same stake since it would anyways in the current setup.

4. In fly only mode does the bottom of the end strut just go into the ground? If so, is it necessary to put the bottom of the end strut in the O-ring and pouch that is connected to the inner? That seems to lengthen the inner to its max, but is one more thing to fiddle with especially if it is raining or really cold. I guess it would make it easier to reach the end vent shock cord from the inside if you wanted to open/close it from there.

5. I wish the door zipper was shaped differently so the trekking pole doesn’t block it or so you don’t have to tilt the pole, like Z-Packs did with their Offset Duo. Not a major quibble because it wasn’t too hard to open and close as it is. The biggest issue was no small piece of cordage on the zippers to grab and pull. I will use some pieces from old stakes.

6. The guylines at the corner/end struts are a bit too short. I know if you place the stake too far out it raises the tarp up too high, but I need a little more length to be able to grip and tighten them. There seems to only be a couple inches of slack leftover when all is tightened at the line locs.

7. Because of the struts you can’t really choose a smaller stuff sack like the X-Mid uses so it appears way larger when packed away although in reality it can be squished smaller once inside your pack.

8. Finally, what is the buckle clip from the apex peak to the vent? Is that to adjust the opening there? I didn’t get a chance to mess with this on my trip. It already has velcro to be able to close the vent so not sure what this is for. I found I had to unclip it from the outside when putting my trekking pole in through the vent since it was somewhat in the way, especially when I was trying to heighten and tighten the trekking pole from there.

Overall I really like this shelter and I think it is my winner for conditions when I need a tent and I am not attempting to cowboy camp. It is an amazing package of durable materials, livability, and storm worthiness at just under 2 lbs before stakes (18.1 oz seam sealed w/ stock guylines/stuff sack, 11.90 oz inner, and 1.4 oz struts).

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

Hi Charlie, glad the first trip went well.  Have a look at the photos below  to help with setup. Tight is the answer. You won’t break anything and the goal is 4 taut sides at ground level. Note the tight end, the centering of the strut connection at the other end, and then holding that position while tight staking the adjacent corner. If you do that you are guaranteed a regular (90 degree corners) rectangle and then you just can’t go wrong.  Also note the best corner angles for lines — they split the 90 degree corner angle.

Some quick responses to your points (but please feel free to call/email if you need more assistance)

1 -> See photos.

2 -> To maximally tension the floor. The tensioning won’t work as well if you change the angle and run it up the fly edge.

3 -> Agree on the hook to loop connection although one you’ve used it a few times the webbing crunches/softens and it gets much easier. Could also just tie in a cording loop.

4 -> Yes, to ground. Place a flat rock under the tip if the ground is loose.

5 -> The Zpacks Duo has a vertical zipper because the structure is asymmetrical which pushes the pole closer to one end of the tent but it’s a tradeoff because asymmetry is inherently weaker. You certainly don’t have to angle the pole if you dont want to but angling it does offer a larger entry/exit.

6 -> Not understanding this. Have a look at the pitch photos below. Sounds like you need to release some cording from the tighteners.

7 -> The packed length is 11 in because that’s the length of the folded poles.  You can certainly fit the fabric bundle into a smaller diameter than the sack we use or a shorter one if you remove the struts.

8 -> Yes, buckle clip allows for tweaking the vent opening and vestibule door tensioning.

 

[Charlie Brenneman]

Thanks Henry, I think I just need more practice than 2x at the end of exhausting days!

#2 makes sense, I might just try to loosen them a bit so it isn’t so tight. When I was staking out one corner the shock cord slipped out of the plastic connector on the inner and caused the whole inner net to snap back into the tent. My pole strut was attach to the bottom pouch and went with it. I thought I had lost it until I looked inside, ha!

Re #6 I was thinking maybe 60″ of corner cordage instead of 54″, but looking back at my pics I did have a bit more slack after tightening that I thought. I guess I just remembered it being less and harder to grip and tighten at first.

I also see the folded struts fit into one of my zippered ditty bags so might use that and look for a slightly smaller stuff sack for the tent. Thanks again!

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