Narrow shelter options?

I used the BA Fly Creek years ago and unless you fully guy out the fly, you are going to get wet from condensation, especially if you are in a narrow, enclosed site.  The inner tent walls will get wet and it is a really small space to be in.  It will require a minimum of 11 stakes (up to 14 if recollection serves) to provide effective air flow and external wind resistance.  Not to mention you WILL get wet getting in and out in a rain because of the angle of the inner door and the poor drip line on the fly.

It is probably one of the worst, most enduring designs available.  There is a reason that you see so many for resale.

@David

I used the BA Fly Creek years ago and unless you fully guy out the fly, you are going to get wet from condensation, especially if you are in a narrow, enclosed site.  The inner tent walls will get wet and it is a really small space to be in.  It will require a minimum of 11 stakes (up to 14 if recollection serves) to provide effective air flow and external wind resistance.  Not to mention you WILL get wet getting in and out in a rain because of the angle of the inner door and the poor drip line on the fly.

It is probably one of the worst, most enduring designs available.  There is a reason that you see so many for resale.

I appreciate the advice. I think finding a creative way to deal with a side vestibule may be a better idea should one choose a freestanding vs the High Route.

Keep in mind that side-entry tents will always require more “actual width” than a front entry of an equivalent size. So if you really need options for a narrow site, wedge & tunnel tents, and even tarps may do just fine.

Wow, my experience with the Fly Creek was nothing like David’s. I rarely had condensation inside the tent inner…like, never…and didn’t have bad condensation on the fly most nights. David speaks as if staking out the fly is odious and a real fault of the tent–no, it’s how the tent is designed. don’t all tents require the fly to be staked out in order to perform in wind and in venting? Granted, this tent requires a fair number of stakes. But it’s easier to set up, imo, than my Zpacks solomid.

this tent was bomb proof for me. Very reliable. I was in bad storms in it; always sailed through. Handled wind well.

Yama Cirriform 2P or Slingfin Portal 2. For sandy areas, I’d opt for the Yama in dyneema.

@JS Scott.

Please re-read my post again.  I said that unless you guy it out, you will get wet from condensation.  That was my experience in both the rain and on many a still night.  Keep in mind, however, that this tent is incredibly small and I am not.

If you do not guy out the tent with the 11-14 pegs, you will not get the wind performance that you expect (and even then it is marginal.  Please see the Stratosphire from Tarptent to see excellent dual skin wind performance).

This thread is about narrow sites.  If you are using the Fly Creek in a narrow site, how would you effectively guy out the 11-14 lines?  And if you could tie them off effectively, how laborious do you think that may be?

Yes, I understand your point about guying out. I rarely guyed this tent out and still also rarely had condensation issues; and never (?) enough to penetrate the mesh/fabric inner wall. In fact I never guyed it out for condensation reasons; I probably should have in Lyell Canyon, where everyone wakes up to a wet fly.

It IS a small tent; I think any narrow tent will be small. Many people don’t like this tent: I myself hate the #3 zippers that tend to fail due to tension mainly. This isn’t my top choice either but I think it’s a good shelter.

I think people who dislike this tent are irritated at its popularity.

I can’t make a recommendation but this is what most Alpine tents are designed for, so most any of the HA tents should work but at a price penalty and with very little resistance to rain but you could add a small extra Cuben fly for not much extra weight

I used a Fly Creek for years and liked the narrow profile.  It allowed me to squeeze into spots that nobody else could use.

While BA supplies a ton of stakes with the Fly Creek, my standard setup used 6 stakes.  Very easy to use the corner and side stake-outs for both the inner and the fly, eliminating a bunch of stakes.

I never had any issues with condensation but it’s sil-nylon, so it has to be kept taught.

Keeping dry while entering was never an issue for me because when it was raining, I just didn’t unzip the zipper fully.  Partially zipped allowed me lots of room to enter and exit.

Mike
A very good example of minimising the problems and maximising the benefits .
I like that.