EE Recon + MLD Duomid – first attempts (with photos)

[Andrew B]

My Duomid came in the mail the other day, and I had my first chance to try out my new LW shelter+sleep system this afternoon. I’m posting some photos to get your thoughts and general wisdom; and hopefully this will be helpful for anyone researching this combo: Duomid, EE Revelation, and EE Recon Bug Bivy (with a thermarest inside the Recon). Here it is set up for the first time (that orange thing in the back is a hammock):

OK, the first thing to say is that this was my first time setting up a tarp of this kind and I realized that I didn’t have a clear idea how to use the MLD LineLock. It is very simple but the instructions from the site were a little unclear (and I quote):
<p style=”padding-left: 30px;”>Cut four 18 in | 46 cm guylines. Tie a 2 in | 5 cm stake loop on one end. Thread the free end of the
guyline into the corner LineLocks on the shelter, then up through the rear LineLock slot/hole, over the bar and down through the front LineLock slot/hole. Tie an overhand knot with a 1 in | 2.5 cm tail to prevent the line from pulling out of the LineLock.</p>
This wording makes it seem like you do something (“Thread the free end of the guyline into the corner LineLocks”) before you thread them through the rear LineLock hole and then over the bar and down the front. But as far as I could tell, the first step is to thread it through the rear hole.

Also, after some fruitless googling I could not come to any certainty about what a “stake loop” (knot? Hitch?) is. If anyone has a photos of a standard staked-out corner of a duomid I would love to see it (this may be totally obvious but it’s not, to me).

Well, on to the compatibility with the EE Recon. It was a bit of a gamble mixing brands – You’d expect the MLD bivy to be more compatible with the MLD Duomid, but I liked that the EE Recon because of its enclosed foot. Also, I like that my bivy matches my quilt :)

My challenge will be getting and keeping the mesh off of your face. There’s cord at the top (head) of the bivy and as you can see in the below photos, I tried to work out a 2-point system by clipping the cord onto the inner tarp clip and then clipping the end of the Recon cord onto the zipper. The results you can see below:

By adjusting the length of the cord (on the bivy) and the location of its final destination (zipper) I could theoretically create a head space. However, I have not had a chance to sleep in it and see if this actually works overnight. The Recon has no other way to elevate the mesh, that I can see.

I will add that I am completely new to LW backpacking, tarps, bivies, and quilts. So if you have any suggestions looking over these photos or words, I would be grateful!

[Matthew / BPL]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Tie a bowline (or an overhand knot on a bight) in the lower part of the line in this photo and hook that on your stake. Pull the top part of the line to tighten it.

[Matthew / BPL]

Here’s a photo of mine. Is that loop called an overhand on a bight? I think that’s the correct name…

 

[Andrew B]

Matthew – Thank you! Your first photo shows what I had basically figured out, except that the MLD instructions say to add an overhand knot to the line going through the LineLock to keep it from slipping.

And your second photo helped me realize what is now obvious to me – that the LineLock is used to adjust the tension. I thought I needed to do a trucker’s hitch coming back from the stake, but a simple bowline or overhand loop (or whatever it is called) is all that is needed.

[Bob Shuff]

Is the duomid too short to be able to stretch the ridge of the bivy between the head and foot attachment points?  Maybe you could install a non-structural ridgeline (hammock speak) and then connect your bivy attachment points wherever they make sense.

I have a DuoMid XL and just picked up a used MLD bug bivy, but haven’t attempted this setup yet.  When  my son and I used the DuoMid XL on a recent trip (no bivy or inner), we ended up side-by-side with our feet at the door.  Maybe you need the XL to make that work.  The MLD inner (even the XL is a very small space for 2.  I think a longer pole – or 2-poles tied together and angled could either allow more room behind the pole or maybe angle it back to split the space better for use with 2 bivys, one in front and one behind.

[Bob Moulder]

The Recon and the MLD Bug Bivy 1 & 2 seem to be designed for a tarp set up in a center ridgeline configuration.

The sloping walls of a smaller mid do not permit full deployment of the bivy’s head and foot tie-outs, at least not when the mid is pitched low.

Also, I would advise strongly against anchoring the cord to a delicate #3 zipper!  Better to use some very light shock cord (1.2mm) to provide some stress relief in the tie-out loop and use a simple plastic hook (with no gate on it) to attach it to the mid’s side panel tie-out loop.

[Matthew / BPL]

…the MLD instructions say to add an overhand knot to the line going through the LineLock to keep it from slipping.

The overhand knot 1” from the end is to keep the whole line from coming out of the Lineloc when you loosen it up. It also ensures you will have something to hold onto when it’s time to tighten it next.

[Michael Schlesselmann]

I have a cuben duomid and just picked up the Recon. I haven’t gotten to pair them yet bit I realized that the configuration of the tieout at the bivy head end might not be conducive to attaching to a centerpole. I picked up a cuben tape patch with a mitten hoom from z packs. I am going to attach it to the inner mid panel of the duomid to try to simulate the position of attaching to an a frame. I’ll report back with pictures when I get around to it.

[Lester Moore]

There is a way to get a semi-taught ridgeline on the EE Recon under mids and shaped tarps. There’s a name tag near the end of the zipper toward the foot end of the bivy. The tag is folded over forming a kind of loop that you can thread a line through. Girth hitch a light shock cord line through the tag with the other end attached to an open ended hook to clip to the underside of your tarp. This would work much better under a traditional tarp with center ridgeline as Bob mentioned, but it’s works tolerably well under a shaped tarp too.

Bob’s right about anchoring a cord to a delicate #3 zipper – use shock cord for this and use an open hook. Also, make sure most of the tension on the top end of the bivy is held by the main tieout cord at the top of the head panel, not the zipper cord. Wish I had some photos of this setup but forgot to shoot any on my last three trips.

[Ryan Tucker]

Part of the fun of LW backpacking for me is the constant adjustment of gear. However, for a Duomid a recon seems like over kill. The MLD solo inner is a 2 ounce penalty for significantly greater living space and it will work with the Doumid shape a bit better. For an extra 1/2 ounce get the Solo XL. This is what I use in a Duomid and I love it.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Maybe I’ve got too much shock cord on it but my silnylon XL Inner is 292g which is more like a QP heavier than the specified weight of a Recon.

Totaly agree that it’s a nice space for just a few ounces more.

[Ryan Tucker]

I was going by the listed weights on the website. I assume the bivy has more cords on it when you use it just like the inner. Checked when I got home, my solo xl inner plus stuff sack is 10.5 though on my digital scale.

[Ken P]

EE would do everyone a favor if they added a photo of it under the proper tarp.

[Matthew / BPL]

I’m guessing they will do that after they have a proper tarp to offer us :)

[John Vance]

Think MLD Grace or Patrol – EE style.

[Andrew B]

 

Thanks for all the advice! I’m hoping to take all this out around Thanksgiving for a test-run, weather permitting.

Ryan – I agree, that looks like a nice set-up for not much more weight. Definitely something I’ll consider down the road. One reason I wanted the Recon rather than an inner net is to give myself the option to cowboy camp in the summer, but ideally I would have both.

Bob and Lester – thanks for the advice about not clipping directly to the zipper – hadn’t thought of that and will do as you suggested.

Lester – I’d been eyeing that EE tag just this morning, after wondering why they hadn’t put any other clips or hooks or cords at the foot of the recon. I will give your idea a shot and see how it works – just have to go buy some shock cord.

Michael – interesting idea – I look forward to seeing how it works out.

Matthew – thanks for the clarification of the overhand knot. Makes sense – I was thinking it was tied around the tight line.

[Anton Solovyev]

The MLD solo inner is a 2 ounce penalty for significantly greater living space and it will work with the Doumid shape a bit better.

I second this. Besides, I have owned a Duomid + inner for 4.5 years and in all this time have used the inner for 3 nights or so. Being outdoors with bad bugs is just not much fun, so I do not find myself in these conditions very often. Of course, your use case may be different.

The whole point of a pyramid tent is the large amount of livable space and lack of floor when you need that (cooking). A bivy or inner sort of defeats the purpose.

***

Speaking of which, I think a skirt of bug netting or simply fabric may be great for pyramid tents. I have never tried it, but a skirt would:

1. Prevent most bugs, except for edge cases.

2. Prevent rain spray from entering under the edges. This was a problem for me of all the places in Utan desert.

3. Prevent wind and dust from entering the living space.

I am guessing there are some downsides to bug skirt, or else everyone would be doing it.

[Bob Moulder]

Thanks for all the advice! I’m hoping to take all this out around Thanksgiving for a test-run, weather permitting.

Taking it out in crappy weather will really expose its shortcomings!  ;^)

IME silnylon is better for ice/snow, which don’t stick to it as they do to Cuben.

Freezing rain sloughs right off the next morning

[Link .]

. RECON BIVY UNDER A TARP .

[Ryan Tucker]

Again…nothing wrong with Recon under a Duomid. Heck, no more than I get out the trying of new gear is a huge part of my hobby. :)

The Inner can be set up for a cowboy style camp as well, but you’d still need a pole.

[Link .]

. DARWIN’S AZT SECTION HIKE USING THE RECON AND ZPACK TARP VIDEO .

he will be doing a full review soon but says he really liked the set-up, I used my Recon on a section of the PCT this summer(no tarp the weather was nice), it was very buggy and it worked great, best splash(water resistant) bivy I have ever used.

[Andrew B]

This is a follow-up after almost 3 years – in case it is helpful to anyone.

I ended up taking Ryan’s advice – almost. Rather than trying to get my Recon to work with a Duomid, I bought an inner net for the Duomid. He suggested the solo inner, but I went for the duo inner (or whatever it’s called – the full size version) because I wanted to be able to squeeze one more person inside. I figured it would be rude to make my wife or son sleep on the side of the Duomid without the inner net! I’ve only used this set-up once, but it worked well.

Then I bought a TarpTent notch, which I’ve been using almost exclusively for solo trips. I have found that at least here in the the PNW it can be difficult to find a good flat camping spot that will fit a Duomid when I’m in the forest, so the small footprint of the TT Notch works best.

I still have the EE Recon and should probably sell it, but I’m hoping to be able to bivy under the stars if I ever go on a trip to the Southwest.

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