Silnylon sidewall extensions on inner tent, good idea?

[Pigeon]

<span style=”line-height: 1.8;”>Bearpaw Wilderness Designs offers a 10 inch silnylon extension beyond the bathtub floors of their net tents. I don’t really see many people mentioning these, either from Bearpaw or other companies. Anyone use em?</span>

<span style=”line-height: 1.8;”>I ask because I have a well used Pyranet 1.5 with partial sil walls. It’s fine but I’d like to replace it with a bigger inner designed specifically for my GoLite Shangrila 3, and John at BPWD has the exact half-net I want in stock, with sil-walls but without the normal extra charge. </span>

I’m leaning toward the normal full net walls to allow breezes in warm weather, but I’d love to hear what others think.

 

 

Thanks for any help.

 

 

[Roger Caffin]

Would be a bit more storm proof, wouldn’t it?

Cheers

 

[Pigeon]

Thanks for responding Roger. I agree, but wouldn’t the fabric really stifle the airflow if it’s hot out? I’m thinking the option to cinch the fly down if it’s bad out is enough to be stormproof.  I should clarify though, I’ve never slept under this tent…

 

[Hoosier T]

I would say that under an A-frame tarp, the extended is a no brainer. Look at the Yama bug tent, HMG Echo ii inner (which I own), and the MLD Serenity. They all have taller side walls with some form of closed or extended front and rear panels. This setup is more common than not. I think for a tarp with beaks, like the patrol or the Yama Cirriform, lower side walls would be fine. What tarp will you be using?

 

Edit: Sorry, I guess I should read. I see you’re using a Shangri-la.

[Pigeon]

You’re right, Hoosier. the Echo II has pretty high walls even though it can be closed. The MLD Cricket inner has a very similar setup in front, but with ripstop nylon.. Mine will be a half inner for a GoLite Shangrila 3 so it’s very sealed up

[J-L]

On a tent like the GoLite SL3, which can be sealed up very well, I don’t think you need silnylon sidewall extensions. A breathable solid fabric for the sidewalls should be sufficient and would be lighter than silnylon

[Roger Caffin]

wouldn’t the fabric really stifle the airflow if it’s hot out?

Dunno. That would depend very much on the details of the tent design and how it ventilates at the top.

I run two tents anyhow: a winter tents for the snow and a summer tent for more pleasant weather. They are both tunnels, but the summer tent is a single-skin with netting between the bathtub floor and the fly, while the winter tent is a full double skin. The summer tent has 100 mm walls on the bathtub floor, and the fly comes down to about 50 mm from the ground outside that. But I have had splashes from heavy rain hit the netting above the bathtub wall and come through slightly. So I am in definitely favour of walls on the groundsheet.

Cheers

 

[Mole J]

design is important here. Vertical ish walls ok. But, you really don’t want impermeable fabric walls on Pyramid inners where it might be sloping over your face or feet – significant condensation can form – even if mesh higher up – have seen it on friends inners made like that. It’s hard to avoid rubbing against it if you are tall.

Given that breathable ripstop with DWR as light/lighter is freely available, I don’t even see the point.   Just have a decent height bathtub, then go breathable (fabric or mesh) – like almost every commercial tent manufacturer does?

[Eric Blumensaadt]

This question is why I’m a tenter and often a double wall tenter.
My Moment DW and Scarp 2 have all the protection I’ve ever needed, regardless of season.

[Randy Nelson]

Eric,

If you live in the desert why do you need more protection than a tarp? I live in the Rockies and have never needed more than an SL3 fly. I’ve had an inner and I have one with a mesh extension that extends to the ground. I sold the inner and the one with the extension will have that removed when my current one is no longer usable. And there are definitely mosquitoes here but no matter how heavy they are, when I get in the SL3 and close the door, there’s a few inside that fly up to the vents and stay there. So for less weight than the DW (34 oz), I get 2-3 times the protected space in the SL3 (30 oz including a tyvek ground sheet, trekking pole extender and stakes). I’m glad that the DW works for you. Can’t see why I’d ever want one though and why you think think it’s a superior shelter. I previously had an Rainshadow 2 and that was a great shelter but I no longer see the reason, where I live, to have a heavy enclosed shelter. If I lived somewhere else, I’d have to reconsider my options based on those factors. But the desert is the least buggy environment you will find. Why have an enclosed shelter or an inner?

[Author]

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