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MLD SoloMid XL Set-up Tips&Tricks


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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • #3535954
    Chris S
    BPL Member

    @chris12

    Hi Everyone,

    I was wondering if anyone has some tips and/or tricks to get a perfect pitch when setting up the MLD SoloMid XL with or without the innernet. I’ve set up the shelter numerous times now, but find that my consistency in getting a good pitch is lacking. I’ve already read the set-up instructions on the MLD site, but am hoping to get some more tips from you guys/ladies as to how you achieve a perfect pitch (almost) every time. Specifically,

    1. If it’s not possible to find perfectly flat ground, do you have a preferred shelter orientation?
    2. When staking out the shelter, besides ensuring that the guylines come out of the corners symmetrically, do you aim to achieve anything else?
    3. Do you use one or two poles? How come?
    4. How much pole offset do you aim for and do you adjust it left/right based on anything?
    5. When tightening the guy lines, how do you decide which ones to tighten? Does this depend on whether you had to pitch on a slight slope?
    6. How do you ensure a great InnerNet set up?
    7. Do you have a preferred method of packing the shelter+/-InnerNet to ensure a fast setup?

    Thanks in advance for all your help! The amount of knowledge and advice on this site continues to amaze me every day.

    Chris

    #3536069
    Alex Wallace
    BPL Member

    @feetfirst

    Locale: Sierra Nevada North

    Disclaimer:  I’ve never used a SoloMid XL, but do have experience with a DuoMid.

    1. I try to keep my head pointing up slope if I can. Side to side is annoying because you end up against the center pole or back edge of the shelter during the night.
    2. 90° corners. This, above all else, seems to affect pitch the most.
    3. 1 dedicated center pole. I’m not a trekking pole user, so from a weight standpoint, 2 makes less sense for me.
    4. I’ll push the pole out towards the door a bit (1 or 2 inches) to create extra space in the back of the shelter since that’s where I sleep. If the shelter starts to droop a bit during the night, I’ll sometimes straighten up the pole to make the shelter taut again.
    5. I usually have about an inch slacked at each of the 4 corners during setup. I don’t adjust these after that, but rather adjust the height of the pole to take up the slack. Then I stake out the back and front (door) center hem guy. I shoot for about 1-2 feet away from the shelter, but will adjust accordingly if a stake won’t go in. Once staked, I tighten these up pretty good. I rarely use any other guy lines unless there’s rain and/or wind. For precip, I also tighten up the head and foot hem guys similar to the back and front ones described above, but I don’t apply as much force when tightening. For significant wind I’ll then use the front and back mid panel guy lines staked out from the shelter to create 45° angles, give or take. I tighten these only to where it barely begins to pull, but no more. They’re just used to minimize deflection, which encroaches on the interior space.
    6. I use a ’14 MLD solo innernet, which doesn’t have the corner struts of the newer versions. Otherwise, I think they’re about the same. I attached short lengths of small dia. cord, maybe 2 inches, to the back corners of the inner and those terminate to a bowline knot. The loop of the knot clips into the corresponding mitten hook of the DuoMid, which is sewn into the bottom edge of the corner. Similar to the back, the front is connected to the DuoMid’s corresponding mitten hooks in the front (door side) corners. Obviously this length of cord is much longer, maybe 2 1/2 feet, and I add an adjustable grip hitch so I can adjust tension if needed. The top of the inner has a 4-5″ loop of elastic cord attached, which attaches to the inner apex mitten hook of the DuoMid. If I need to adjust the tension here, I just re-tie the loop smaller or bigger as necessary.
    7. Once the inner is clipped in, you can leave it there during setup/take down.

    #3536337
    Chris S
    BPL Member

    @chris12

    Hi Alex,

    Thanks so much for the very informative input. I’m still relatively new to using a ‘mid, but a lot of the things that you said (e.g. using the side mid-panel to prevent deflection into the interior space) resonate with what I’ve experienced so far.

    One thing that I’ve noticed is that when I set up the shelter with only one pole (deflected slightly to the front door), the two rear ridgelines are often slack and nothing that I do is able to get them taut. Have you experienced something similar and/or know a good way to deal with that? I’ve just been using a second trekking pole with an extender to compensate for this which works well.

    You mentioned that you keep your inner attached? Do you find it is more difficult to store in your pack this way? I’ve just been unattaching it which can get annoyingly time consuming.

    Thanks again for all your help!

    Sincerely,

    Chris

    #3536453
    steven green
    BPL Member

    @mrgreen4

    Hi Chris, I have a Cuban Solomid XL. I don’t have a Inner net yet, it’s on order (I may have to designate an Heir).

    I find the solomid easy to setup, BUT it doesn’t seem symmetrical when it’s up. In particular the front doors wouldn’t line up tight at the bottom. I even called MLD and spoke to Ron Bell, who seems to be a very nice, helpful guy.

    So far the best pitch for me is reversing the instructions, that is- I set the two front corners first, then the two rear corners. Keeping a 90deg angle at each corner. I use the carbon pole from MLD.

    I have experience with other ‘mids and they’ve been square and easier to setup, I don’t know why. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m very happy with the Solomid- it just has a negative effect on me to watch the bottom of the doors flap when everything else is taut.

    #3536986
    Ken P
    Spectator

    @tyro

    I have a couple suggestions that might be helpful. First you can’t practice too much. Second I like a ten inch pole jack. I find the 6 inch jack MLD talks about too short to accomplish the pole lean I like. I can make the pole only so long but I can make it shorter if need be. This seems to be more flexible.

    #3536993
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    I too like a longer than recommended length. So much flexibility in the pitch. I peg the sides of my XL first as I am able to pin down both corners at once. Leave it loose. Insert pole, add the pegs for the front and back and snug it all up. Practice makes it easy.

    #3537166
    steven green
    BPL Member

    @mrgreen4

    KenX2 what pole jack do you guys use?

    #3537185
    Brad Rogers
    BPL Member

    @mocs123

    Locale: Southeast Tennessee

    I have one from Bearpaw Wilderness Designs that I like.  I also have the CF one Zpacks sells, but it didn’t fit the tips of my Locus Gear pokes well.

    #3537253
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    I use a Ruta Locura pole or my Locus Gear pole, no jack.

    #3537258
    steven green
    BPL Member

    @mrgreen4

    Ken T, thanks.

    What size did pole you go with from Ruta Locura? Adjusters?

    By the way, that Locus Gear tent pole looks like a work of art!

    #3537309
    Paul T
    BPL Member

    @ptourkin

    I use this Ruta Locura pole with my SoloMid XL:
    4 Section 54″-48″, 450 Adjuster, add shock cord.

    I purchased it for another shelter, but I believe it’s also perfect for this one.

    #3539419
    MM
    BPL Member

    @chairmanmallard

    Locale: SF Bay Area

    I just got my cuben Solomid XL recently and took it out for 5 days in the Marble Mountains last week.

    Like Steven mentions, the one thing I haven’t quite been able to figure out with the pitch yet is how to get the front doors of the mid to be completely taut. I can get every other side of the asymmetrical mid to pitch taut, but still have some flapping at the bottom of the front doors.

     

    #3539425
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Front panels have to be pulled out. Not possible to get an actual rectangular footprint with mine.

    #3539650
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    Mids are mids. With a little practice they are easy to pitch.

    The bottom sides of my ’80s Chouinard pyramid are over 7′ long.

    Here are some thoughts. Keep in mind that high desert winds are not uncommon for me, so I am not looking for a “nice looking pitch,” but a pitch that will stay secure in high wind. A pitch that stays secure will also look nice.

    So here’s what I do, and it is just my opinion.

    First you have to lay the shelter out on the ground and get everything symmetrical, e.g, “square” the corners. Leave the door zipper closed if you have one. Now loosely insert your corner stakes with enough slack for adjustment… the amount of slack will depend if you want a higher pitch for ventilation or want it close to the ground.

    Now insert your center pole. Get inside and tension the pole tight. Unzip the door and exit, then close the zipper.

    Tension the corner stakes — tight! You need lots of tension. You may have to reposition a stake — it happens sometimes.

    Now stake out all the guylines — all of them!  Tighten, tighten, tighten.

    You need a STURDY center pole. I don’t use trekking poles. Usually I bring .600″ carbon poles by Ruta Locura. Sometimes I bring a jack, sometimes not. With silnylon, jacks or adjustable trekking poles are best because the material has a tendency to stretch during the night, and usually cranking the height a bit takes care of most slack.

    Stakes: There is a lot of tension on the stakes, especially the corners. Use strong stakes… not skinny shepherd stakes. Normally I use 9″ Easton stakes on the corners and MSR Groundhogs on the rest.

    LineLocs: Yes, I use these and they add a tiny bit of weight. But I can really pull on these to get LOTS of tension on the guylines.

    Guyline diameter: I switched out all my thinner guylines to 3mm to fit in my LineLoc 3 tensioners. Again, I cannot stress how important lots of tension is. And with lots of tension you need sturdy stakes, guys, and pole. I found thinner guys, even 2.5mm would slip a tiny bit under tension over a period of time.

    Cuben is harder than silnylon to get a perfect pitch  because the material doesn’t stretch. The key with Cuben is to follow the steps I’ve outlined, especially laying out the shelter on the ground and getting the corners “square.”

    I’ve never owned an inner, so I can’t comment on that.

    Here’s a couple links to my blog where I discuss a lot of these points (poles, guys, stakes, etc).

    Deschutes CF

    TrailStar

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