HMG mid 1 tarp

[Ryan C]

Anyone have experience with the tarp only version of this yet? Love to hear any thoughts.

[Ron Bell / MLD]

I think I saw one of these back in about 2009 and a prototype version with an integrated bugnet + floor when I was a guest guide on a Skurka WV trip in about 2016. Let me think for a minute…

 

[HkNewman]

Anyone have experience with the tarp only version of this yet? Love to hear any thoughts.

With their mid solo tarp w/no netting, HMG just released it .. so wouldn’t expect any beyond testers to have experienced it.  Camped with one of their testers once, so they do get field experience feedback though proprietary.

It uses their “DCF 5” which is 0.5 DCF if you sniff around their website.  A bit taller/same length vs. the Zpacks Hex Tarp and maybe cat cut?

…thoughts?

Anyways it’ll probably be the same experience as any other 0.5 mid … think Z-packs is the only other decent sized manufacturer making those anymore?  Probably a reason hardly any other shop makes these but maybe HMG can make it work..

However it also has a 54” height and every other “net inner” maker has a max height of 47” for their solo inner nets = lose some of that height advantage of using a lower net inner.

[Monte Masterson]

The DD Hammocks Superlight Solo Mesh Tent would fit perfectly under the HMG Mid 1. It’s heavy at 15.8 0z (without pegs and lines) but it is a true half pyramid and that is closer to what the Mid 1 is (not exactly but almost). The DD Mesh Tent is 53″ high, 94″ long and 36″ wide. Price is cheap at $77 USD https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/dd-superlight-solo-mesh-tent/

[Murali C]

Zpacks had a Altaplex tarp for 7.5 oz which they discontinued. This is more of a Altaplex tarp competitor than Pocket tarp…..its a shame that Zpacks discontinued it. HMG Mid1 tarp is better (like Altaplex tarp) as it has more entry/exit height than the Pocket tarp….more space as well. At 8.8 oz, it is attractive if you pair it with a bath tub ground sheet (Zpacks) – 3.5 oz. I think this is a much better offering than the Gossamer Gear recent tarp offering. I own the Altaplex tarp and like it a lot….maybe once it dies, I will definitely consider this if it is still around. And with a 20% discount they like to offer, it is a bargain….

[baja bob]

As Ron’s sarcasm alludes, this is almost an exact copy of an MLD Solomid XL. The dimensions are almost identical other than the HMG is 3 inches shorter. Same width and height. Looks like about the same pole orientation offset from center judging solely from photos. HMG uses lighter DCF and has two peak vents. Funny all of the comparisons I’ve read seem to go straight to Zpacks, and not MLD.

[Murali C]

https://backpackinglight.com/life-in-the-dog-house/.

Half pyramid tents have been around a loooooooong time. Saying someone is “copying” is a slippery slope when it comes to tent shapes. If say company B introduces struts like Tarptent, then you could say company B is copying Tarptent. Or if say company B has the same torso adjustment/arch frame of Zpacks, then again you can say company B is copying.

I doubt HMG considers MLD its competition. HMG has been offering new tent/tarp designs to compete with Zpacks recently.

MLD’s Solomid XL is 14 oz – sure it is a heavier fabric. But, if you know what you want and how to use it and how not to use it – then 7.5 to 9 oz is damn attractive if it can do the job a heavier tent can do – isn’t that what Ultralight is all about?

 

[HkNewman]

MLD Solomid XL ..

To paraphrase Murali C’s post, MLD uses more durable fabric, so think the buyers would be a bit different.

Almost all the 5lb baseweight gear lists I’ve read use a Zpacks 0.5 DCF tarps to make the weight w/cowboy camping planned most nights.  Think the HMG tarp more fills that void for those wanting something a little more 360°-ish (say, for the 2 out of 100 nights a rain fly is required).   Then again gotta ask why did all those other 0.5 DCF mids vanish?

My thoughts are this is more of a [discontinued] Altaplex tarp competitor … plus all the other discontinued 0.5 mids.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I’m surprised they kept mesh in the vents because it really kills air flow/venting. Kind of made sense on the Mid 1 tent because it would let bugs inside (but still would have been better to have a single larger vent on the door wall without bug mesh, such as MLD).  Now with this tarp version there’s really no need for the mesh. A larger non-mesh vent on the door side is simpler, lighter, and more effective – but it’s easy to snip out the mesh.

[Ryan C]

I don’t think I’ll buy a new tarp just to vandalize it on day one. I looked at the MLD stuff just don’t wanna wait 6-8 weeks in this case. My own prob but a prob nonetheless.

[Ryan C]

Thanks for all the thoughts. I am mostly curious because I previously owned their flat tarp and carried a borah bivy with it. Seemed like a decent modular setup to have this mid 1 tarp combined w the bivy. But by that point I’m basically at the same weight as an xmid pro 1 or a mid 1. Dilemmas. I also prefer to use only one pole bc I don’t use trekking poles.

[Charlie Brenneman]

Used X-Mid Poly w/ Z-Flick poles would be just over 2lbs for a comfortable (low-cost) shelter during bug season and then the Mid Tarp/Bivy for modularity the rest of the time. Z-Flick poles go to 131cm and Mid Tarp says: “Pitch: Sets up with a single trekking pole at 135cm +/- 5cm” so cutting it close to use one of those for the tarp.

[Murali C]

I mostly use tarp + ground sheet (3.5 oz). If you backpack in cooler places, then you will be cocooned inside the sleeping bag except for the head which can be protected with a bug net. So, 9 oz + 3.5 = 12.5 oz most of the time. But, if you backpack in a hot place like Arizona, then, it may not be possible to have the sleeping bag on you when you go to sleep due to warmth. In those cases, having a bivy will help protect against any bugs….but having a proper tent is awesome in such conditions. While doing AZT, I just had the tarp and groundsheet/bug net – and I was jealous of the folks with tents as they could strip to their underwear and just lie down on the sleeping pad protected from all bugs. mice scurrying around etc.

[Ryan C]

I enjoyed the flat tarp but in any sort of storm at all, once I battened it down, it just didn’t have much space at all. Almost always would be against it somewhere. For that reason I’m thinking an enclosed shaped tarp or tent may be better for my part of the country where it seems to rain just about every time we’re out.

[Murali C]

Yeah – I don’t like those open tarps which requires lot more planning where to camp etc. This HMG Tarp and Zpacks Pocket tarp/Altaplex tarp provide 360 degree protection with a bathtub – which I usually attach to tarp using the Zpack stickies.  The zpacks bathtub is great to prevent rain splash and any streams that form underneath…

[Ryan C]

agree. it’s always been fine, but i’m also always nervous about having access to an adequate site the whole time leading up to a trip.

[Sam Farrington]

Agree with the need for a bathtub, especially these days, although made my own, used mini-snaps, and kept the bathtub walls slim, just high enough for the tarp to overlap them.   Maybe there is a need for the tarp to be much larger than the floor to provide enough ventilation, but found that can be addressed by attaching the floor walls only at the tarp corners.

If the larger DCF bathtub weighs 3.5 oz, that is large enough for 3.5 square yards of one+ oz 6.6 ripstop sil/nylon, which would weigh no more, be more abrasion resistant than DCF, and be much easer to pack.  Much cheaper too.

[Monte Masterson]

Actually the Liteway Pyroramm Duo Half Mesh would be the ideal innernet for the Mid 1 tarp. Weighs 9.7 oz and is 51″ tall, 90″ long and 34″ wide. $192. Combined weight of tarp and innernet would be 18.5 oz.  https://liteway.equipment/shelters/pyraomm-duo-half-mesh

[Gary Pikovsky]

I got the mid 1 a few months ago and tested it in the elements at this point. Liked it so much, that I immediately got the mid 1 tarp as well. Tested it last week. It’s fantastic – w/o the mesh you can angle the pole out further and get roughly 40% more room. Lots of space with a long wide 4″ air pad and pillow for people that are slightly above 6 feet and below. You can probably get two people under it as well, if one is short. When staked down close, there’s no room for rain spray to come in. This tarp will be my shelter of choice in the mountains going forward outside of the mid-summer the mosquito season. As a photographer/designer, it’s also just a beautiful tent.

One somewhat disappointing bit – HMG does includes the cord for front, side and back guylines in the package, but does not include it in the listed weight. For this tarp to be truly stormworthy while still having good room for people around 6ft, you will need and front and two side guylines. Back guylines  are not necessary unless in an epic storm. This adds about 1 ounce to the overall weight, making the total weight 9.8oz. Still very good weight for this much space and storm protection, but it’s not 8.8oz that’s listed on the site. I think the right think for HMG would be to update this weight on the site.

[Charlie Brenneman]

Would love to see an X-Mid Pro1 Tarp, open vents, two doors (w/buckles?), sub 10oz?

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

An X-Mid Pro 1 tarp is in the works. It could be used solo and would be sub 10oz, and could pair with our regular inner tents to make a doublewall tent. We’re still early in development though so it’s a while yet.

[Charlie Brenneman]

Awesome thanks Dan!

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Someone already cut out the inner of an X-Mid Pro 1 and reported it at 9.1oz.

[Charlie Brenneman]

MYOG’ers remorse after you launch the tarp.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I have a suspicion that the Altaplex Tarp, Pocket Tarp with doors and now this one with the mesh still in the vents are actually extra tent parts that they rebrand as standalone tarps. This would explain why the tarps seem to be discontinued and then come back for a while. It also gives me an idea that if someday I wanted a new pyramid tarp I could buy someone’s old tent that has mesh or floor damage and cut that part out to make a tarp.

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