Stratospire Li(mitations)

The Strat Li and Notch Li are popular in Scotland, if windy and wet are part of the game. An alt to the Strat would be the Durston Xmid 2 – not DCF but pretty darn good for half the price. Dan releasing DCF Xmid 2 but not for some time.

…if windy and wet are part of the game.

Both are possibilities.

Scotland, wind and rain.

Yes, I remember UK folks telling me that the wind blows the rain sideways.  Didn’t really believe it until I experienced it.

I love my Strat Li.   I have had it in some pretty heavy winds  (45 mph) and rains and it has performed well.    I did have a raccoon (?)  decide to chew on it a bit and it was torn up.    It wasn’t too bad as I was asleep inside and I did not wake up    The folks a Tarp Tent patched it up quickly and well.    Henry runs a good little company.

Didn’t really believe it until I experienced it.

I’ve seen that kind of thing before and it’s unreal when it happens; I’m glad to know you’ve had one in that kind of weather.

  I have had it in some pretty heavy winds  (45 mph) and rains and it has performed well.

45mph is getting stout; I don’t like being out in that kind of wind.  That’s when branches start coming off trees and the particles in the air aren’t just bits of microscopic dust.  I’m anticipating some exposed campsites, so good wind performance would make me feel all warm and snuggly at night.

The folks at TarpTent patched it up quickly and well.  Henry runs a good little company.

Very glad to hear that; I like a company that really tries to stand behind their products, and whom will repair things as quickly as they’re able.

I don’t know about the SSLI, but the SS2 does fairly well in the wind in terms of the outer (rainfly) part of the tent. If pitched well it’s nice and taught. The inner tent attaches to the outer tent in only 8 places. So, it is kinda floppy/loose. So, when the winds get strong the inner tent starts to flap around and make noticeable noise. I should mention that the newer SS2 (2020) has a more taught inner tent, less loose fabric, and is a little bit better behaved in windy weather than the pre-2020 SS2. I have a wind gauge because I know that our subjective sense of wind speed tends to over estimate by a lot. So, @ 30mph I would feel confident in the SS2 if I could get the tent stakes well-placed. I might not sleep so well due to the flapping noise of the inner, but the tent would survive the night. 45mph…well that is an awful lot of wind. If anyone has spent the night in 45mph winds (and has actually measured it) it is absolutely ferocious, scary. 45mph is serious.

Love the tent!

45mph…well that is an awful lot of wind. If anyone has spent the night in 45mph winds (and has actually measured it) it is absolutely ferocious, scary. 45mph is serious.
It all depends on the tent.
If what you have was designed for summer use in forested low-lands, then even 30 mph might be scary.
If what you have was designed for winter use in high winds and at high altitude, then you can sleep well. See
https://backpackinglight.com/when_things_go_wrong/
We slept well in a storm at >100 kph (62 mph) – but in a tunnel tent designed for it. Had to crawl around in the morning getting the tent down: could not stand.

Cheers

45 is bad; I’ve seen 60’s and have no desire to do that again unless it is absolutely necessary.  I also don’t expect winds quite that high, but any exposed section can get iffy in the wrong conditions.

It got up to ~150 kph on the next ridge, and we had to get out of there because my wife Sue could not stand upright.

I think the top recorded windspeed in that area is about 234 243 kph, so what we were experiencing was not uncommon.

Cheers

150?  No thanks: we gave at the office.  I would not trust any tent in 90mph winds; that’s literal hurricane-force.  I’ve seen that kind of wind take entire buildings apart; hopefully I’ll never be caught in that.

A specific question on the subject of the SS-Li: how well does the floor hold up?  I’ve never gone full DCF in a tent so I’m still lacking a bit of nollij on the subject of floor durability.  I don’t have a lot of data on the ground conditions of the trip in question, but I would expect rocks and some light scree in the less-manicured sites.  I guess I could carry a groundsheet, but if I’m paying $300 to drop 15 ounces from the SS2 weight, I would hate to pay more to add that weight back in.

Second question: anyone use their poles tip-down?

Perhaps I should have said the National Park Service told us when we came came back down the the wind gusts were 45 MPH.    We found this information unsurprising.

>Second question: anyone use their poles tip-down?

The Stratophire had grommets in the cups that hold the pols in.    You could easy, and successfully,  go tips down, (I have never tried it) but the grommets make fore a snug and secure fit when tips are up.

You could easy, and successfully,  go tips down, (I have never tried it) but the grommets make fore a snug and secure fit when tips are up.

The reason I ask is because both I and my partner carry Leki trekking poles with a rounded pommel, and we almost always keep our hands on top of the pommels…so keeping that surface intact is very important.  I’m not eager to put it down on the ground and then use it for a support base, unless that’s necessary.  I considered using a couple of small, dense foam squares as a pad for the pommels; hopefully, that would protect them from the worst of the ground damage.

My expectation is that the SS Li is better in high winds than the SS2. That’s because it’s a bit smaller and because DCF has much less stretch which makes the shelter more solid.

If you go tips down it works fairly well, but the handles can escape the peaks along the ridgeline so I’d at least have some of TarpTent’s handle adapters on hand that tie the handles to the peak grommets.

As for floor durability, this is a more contentious topic but my opinion is that a 1.0oz DCF floor is less durable than the SS2s 30D nylon floor. I think it’s durable enough for most usage when used with care, but I do see it as a tradeoff in durability to save some weight because abrasion isn’t a strong point for DCF.

Thanks for the insight, Dan.  I know that TarpTent considers the Li stronger than the 2, and I wondered if it was due to both the low-stretch DCF and the slightly smaller size, which makes for shorter ridgelines and smaller panels.

I think it might be smarter for me to go with the tip-up configuration and just carry a couple of squares of foam, but the handle adapters would be a definite add if I should go tip-down.  I like the fact that they tie everything together.

I’m in the middle of the BPL masterclass on DCF, and although I already knew that DCF isn’t necessarily the best material class for abrasion, I wasn’t aware of exactly how bad it can be in certain situations, nor was I aware of the processes used to make it more abrasion-proof.  Interesting info, for sure.  I wonder, though: would it be lighter and simpler to just make the floor out of nylon or silpoly, rather than carry an entirely separate piece of material that does nothing more than protect the DCF floor?  Is there just no demand for that kind of option, or is the difference between the heavier-filmed DCF and the silnylon/poly just too negligible?

“I wonder, though: would it be lighter and simpler to just make the floor out of nylon or silpoly, rather than carry an entirely separate piece of material that does nothing more than protect the DCF floor?”

In my opinion that’s a better way to go. A nylon or silpoly floor can weigh very similar to 1.0oz DCF yet the woven floor can offer greater durability, greater waterproofness, lower cost, and a smaller packed size. So you are seemingly getting a better floor for less money, but it depends on how you evaluate it (e.g. DCF would have the higher tear strength while the woven floor won’t delaminate or form pinholes and has likely higher abrasion resistance). TarpTent originally offered their DCF tents with both of these floor options, but have since gone to only DCF floors in their DCF tents. Perhaps there is a counter argument to my view here, or perhaps people buying DCF tents just like the idea of it being all DCF. Gossamer Gear does spec woven floors in their DCF tents.

Well, the smart thing to do is to try out the DCF floor before it’s time to absolutely rely on the material in more serious conditions.  I may well find that it’s more than durable enough for my use.

Follow-up question: mesh or solid interior?

I was defaulting to the mesh, but after realizing that a few of our planned trips are to more exposed, drier areas, I’ve been thinking on the solid option…but being based in the Southeast US, I’m now justifiably terrified of solid tent interiors.

Thoughts?

I’m a big fan of the net tent. We specifically went w/ the SS LI for it’s stargazing abilities, and although we’ve only had it out on 2 trips so far (13 nights total), we haven’t had to pitch the tarp a single time. Last week we were in Sequoia watching the Persieds and it was a blast. Catching sunrise – also awesome. It’s like we regained an extra hour of “outside time” that we were previously losing.

I will say that the net tent is a little delicate (compared to the tarp) and tricky to pitch on its own, as you’re tugging more on the mesh; but it’s totally workable.

If you need  the solid inner for the expected conditions then by all means, go for it – but from a strictly “fun factor” perspective, the net tent is sweet to have!

I do like to do some stargazing, so…solid point on that front!  I don’t know that I need the solid interior…and I could always add that later, if I like the tent well enough.  Or vice-versa.

All this business about watching the stars at night . . . I dunno, but by the time we have made camp, cooked dinner, washed up, cleaned our teeth, etc, we are ready to shut our eyes and go fast asleep. So we do. YMMV.

Cheers

We try to make camp early enough to have a nice cup of tea before sleep.  Please note that “a nice cup of tea” may here refer to things that are not, in fact, related to tea.

One downside to the net interior is blowing sand. I took my Notch w net interior on a High Sierra trip in June. There was quite a bit of wind and the decomposed granite/sand would blow inside even with the fly fully zipped closed. Besides having sand all over my sleeping bag, I found it a bit disconcerting that it was on and under my air mattress… this is not sand like at the beach, nice and rounded grains from wave action; no, this is angular decomposed granite that could potentially pierce the air mattress :((((

I bought the net interior to set up without fly to view stars also. But it was cold, windy, so I wanted the fly on… and I was tired and went to bed before it was dark enough to see stars anyway… But on nights with no wind, I did leave the fly open and could still see some stars out the doorway…

just sayin’….

I’ve had sand and dust blow into all-mesh interior tents before. Not fun at all. We always go for partially solid inner when we can. Also, all-mesh inners let condensation drip through at times, whereas solid or partially solid fabric inners generally do not.

I had not thought about the condensation issues; that’s a very solid point.  I can heal with humidity, but being soaked outright is misery.