Gossamer Gear The Two

[Andy Berner]

Gossamer Gear The Two  

$389 29oz and about the size of a duplex

[DGoggins]

Is 10d going to be enough for a floor? I have my doubts.

They should have kept copying the duplex and had a rainbow zipper and overlapping doors instead of zippers.

[JCH]

WOW that looks like a duplex!!!

…currently being discussed

[Ryan Smith]

“Is 10d going to be enough for a floor? I have my doubts.

They should have kept copying the duplex and had a rainbow zipper and overlapping doors instead of zippers”

Probably not 10d on its own, but most carry some sort of ground cloth so I bet they’re thinking it’s fine.

[Richie S]

I had the one and I was pretty paranoid about the floor. Certainly factor in some polycryo in your weight calculations.

[Sam Farrington]

Thought that these tents were single wall, but the diagram on the GG site shows dotted lines on all four sides of the tent, suggesting a full inner.  Can anyone point to info on their site or elsewhere that shows whether this tent has a full liner?   Thanks.

[Mario Caceres]

Sam, I have not seen one of this tents in person, but my understanding on the dotted lines on the diagram is that they represent the bathtub floor, which would be consistent with the rest of the pictures.

[bjc]

It is a single wall tent.

[Mario Caceres]

Sam, Definitely a single wall shelter.  If you click on the “Specs / Materials” tab and scroll down to the “Use” section, you will read “….Since The Two is a single-wall shelter to save weight, it is prone to condensation in certain conditions. More ventilation (staking the corners high, leaving the vestibule open) will generally minimize condensation…”.  (This is on the Gossamer Gear website, of course)

[James I]

Competition for the Duplex might suck for Zpacks but it’s great for us. Nothing like fire under the feet to inspire innovation and cheaper prices.  GG rocks, hopefully it’s bomber.

[J-L]

I think this could be a good alternative to the Duplex, although The Two is 8oz heavier. I personally don’t like rainbow zippers and I’d rather have a zippered vestibule than overlapping doors. The Two is also spec’d to use #4.5 zippers which should last longer than typical #3 zippers. There are positives and negatives about both cuben fiber and lightweight nylon.

The Two is really long though, at 117”. I wonder if that is correct. The Duplex is only 100” long.

The Duplex was one of the most popular tents I saw on the JMT this year, probably 2nd only to the Big Agnes Fly Creek. I saw only 1 Solplex and 1 Triplex, and maybe only 6 Tarptents. Many Duplexes were even used by people with more traditional gear (heavy boots, water crossing shoes, big packs). So people want large, lightweight tents :)

[Thomas Willard]

John- per GG’s site, the interior length is 89″.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

It is really similar to the Duplex, but the Duplex is hardly a novel design. That sort of design has been around for decades.

It’s nice to have a cheaper non-cuben option. Also nice to have the vestibule zippers. My Saddle 2 has the door clips and I strongly dislike them for a multitude of reasons, most of which I expect also apply to the Duplex.

[J-L]

Thomas, I was referring to the external dimension for length

 

[Jeffs Eleven]

Driftish- Dan you still dont like the clips?  Why zat?  I thought they worked well. We only got a few gusts of wind for a couple hours, no true storm, so maybe im missing something. But i thought they were quick to use and strong. I guess un-doing them from in the tent with a wet fly i got my arm wet, but other tents do that. You just dont trust it?

To avoid drift: after 11 days in SEKI i saw tons of BA tents, one duplex, only a couple of TTs, and a Salwea tent. BA was at least 60% of the tents i saw… easily 60.

Fwiw- Osprey DOMINATED the pack scene… prolly 70+ % of the packs i saw. ULA was the clear #2. I saw 4 Mariposas, and my wife had the only gorilla. I saw like 3 zpack packs.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Jeff: I’m working on a Saddle 2 review that will address this at great length, but there are a number of things I don’t like about the clips. These include:

– closing the clips is a 2 handed job, whereas closing a zip is a one handed job. So it’s more hassle to do the clips up – particularly if the vestibules are well tensioned. It means leaning out into the vestibule with your whole upper body instead of just one arm.
– Less adjustable. You have fewer options with regard to securing the doors part way open. Often I want to cook with the door half closed. TarpTent’s velcro gives a few options, but often these two fixed settings aren’t what I want.
– They rust, mine are already getting rusty because the chrome coating wears off. I’m at 100 days. By 200 days I expect they’d be ready for replacement.
– They fall open when the tent isn’t pitched, so I often have to re-clip them to pitch the tent. Again, more hassle.

Overall, they’re just not an improvement on a zipper. There’s more hassle and no real upside.

[Andy Berner]

I had the original The One and figured Id give this a try.  Figured it would be a good tent for the wife and I.

Some photos for size

A large and Regular Xlite

tapering down

2 large neo airs

The fabric is very tight by the poles. I think if i lower the height of the poles it might give enough slack but id be very concerned of the fabric if you rolled over into it.

Now flipping the pad makes it actually work pretty well I feel.

2 Large pads flipped

[brian H]

andy these r pix of the One, not the Two??

[Andy Berner]

It’s The Two.  I had The One years ago.

[JCH]

Andy – I like the poles sloping outward at the top design feature, similar to the SD Tensegrity. How does that work in real life?  Is there a noticeable increase in head/shoulder space?  Does is make for a drier entrance?

However personally, I prefer the rainbow doors and symmetric footprint of the Duplex as no matter the pitch, one can enter either side of the poles and sleep with your head at either end.  Pitch orientation DOES matter regarding wind direction however, as you want the overlapping door to be upwind.

[nunatak]

Looks like there might be room for a medium sized dog in Andy’s The Two.

[Gary Pikovsky]

I just got The Two in the mail and will be doing a review. Fabric looks very similar to last year’s. More support along most folds where the mesh connects – a welcome change. Much beefier zipper and a fully opening fronts and back door. Could not ask for more. :)

[Mark]

Difficult to see from the pics

 

When does the condensation from the walls drip?

Looks from the pics as if it would drip straight into the tent, maybe a new meaning for “bathtub” floor?

[Bob Moulder]

Looks from the pics as if it would drip straight into the tent, maybe a new meaning for “bathtub” floor?

This is a very real concern.

I have on several occasions observed condensation running down the panels of a Duplex and dripping through the mesh on the ends. Without this feature it would have ended up on the floor.

 

 

[Brad Rogers]

It looks like this is 30.6oz once you add in everything but stakes.  I wonder how it would compare the the 32oz double wall SMD Haven?  I’m not sure if the 32oz for the haven includes guy lines and stuff sack like “The Two” does, but I might be interested in one of these for the wife and I.

[Author]

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