shelter for taller folks?

Well, that didn’t go well, and I don’t see an edit button; hopefully this one’s readable:

I’m having difficulty finding a light shelter for taller folks.  I’m 6’ 4” (193 cm), with a large MLD SuperLight bivy. Estimated use is 80% three season, 80% west US, 80% solo, but want winter capability and ideally “one shelter for all needs”.  Long ago used a Chouinard Pyramid in winter (excellent, but we stomped down snow) and an ID Silshelter in summer (so-so).

1. SoloMid XL (285 cm):  The only mid long enough?, but even Ron says OK for 6’ 4” person “if you’re not sleeping on top of extra thick sleeping pad with a pitch super tight to the ground”.  Others fend for themselves.

2. DuoMid XL (265 cm):  First choice but shorter than SoloMid XL.  All other mids apparently too short: DuoMid (280 cm) – curiously longer than DuoMid XL, advertised to 6’ 3” (191 cm) person, SuperMid (275 cm), Hapi (270 cm), Khafra (280 cm), Ultamid 2 (272 cm).

3. Tarps:  Ray Jardine’s kit (unknown cm) is long – advertised to 7’ 2” (218 cm) person, Grace Tarp (one model 290 cm) long but open.  More exposure risk.

4. DIY mid:  I’m tempted – my wife is an excellent seamstress :) .

Today I’d either take a chance on the SoloMid XL or make a Ray Jardine tarp and deal with winter later.  Thanks for any experienced advice.

Some other options discussed here,

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/current-state-of-tents-for-the-very-tall/

I’m “only” 74 inches tall and frustrated trying to figure out which tents might work before spending up to $800. Here’s some of what I’ve had to work through.

You’ll want to consider more than interior length. Is sitting height important? Stretch-out room, like changing a shirt inside? Don’t like the foot of your quilt or sleeping bag getting wet from touching the lower wall? Detest crawling on your hands & knees to enter and exit? Many shelters have problems with most or all of these, especially single pole mids.

Rule of thumb: your sitting height is half your standing height, 38 inches for you – without a pad. Inflated pads add from 1 inch to 4 inches. Sitting in a steep shelter with fabric touching your nose isn’t fun, so add another 2 to 4 inches. Now you need a shelter with up to 46 inches of interior height.

Oh wait – many spec sheets show only the exterior height, or pole height not accounting for catenary cut between poles. And you can create other problems by pitching variable-height shelters too high, like shrinking the floor space and letting more wind and spray under the overhangs.

And as Ron hinted, your lying down height makes a difference, too. Pad plus size 12 feet plus a thick quilt or sleeping bag means you could have 20 inches at the far end trying not to get wet touching the wall.

And on and on.

Best strategy is to look for detailed reviews by tall people, using different search engines & phrases and YouTube’s search. And make sure they’re reviewing the latest version – a few shelters went through major redesigns recently without a name change.

Good luck. Let us know if you find something that works. It would probably fit me, too :-)

— Rex

Trailstar excels with long people.  I’m about 6’5″ and have more than enough room.  It can comfortably hold 2 people my size with room to spare.

Correction: SoloMid XL length was advertised as 112”, web just corrected to 108”. Same length as SoloMid (275 cm).

Opinions vary, but all mids seem too tight for me. Wife has agreed to make a tarp. Thanks for your advice!

Fun fact: 14% of US males are 6’ plus (and 60% of US CEOs).

Correction: The lengths of MLD SoloMids and DuoMids quoted in my original post are inaccurate. Ron says dimensions on their web will be corrected this week. All SoloMids and DuoMids are the same length, 108” (275 cm). The advertised lengths were differing up to 8”.

With this new information I’m rethinking my choice.

I’m the same height as you and have come to a similar conclusions on mids, which is a bummer because they are pretty cool. I was attracted to them both functionally and aesthically, not to mention the four season capabilities.

LightHeart Gear SoLong was on my list, but I just got in on the Mass Drop X-Mid which rereleased today. Doesn’t ship til end of May, but it’s 2+ lbs lighter than my old Clip Flashlight and the price is right.

Floor length is 219cm and some change.