Tarptent ArcDome Ultra

Late August, per email from Henry a week or two ago.

^ Thanks!

Looking like September sometime now

Will this tent have condensation issues because of the fly being so close to the ground or would the mechanisms added to barely open the fly near the bottom be able to be enough ventilation?

I’m a Tarptent and Durston fan. Have some each. Only so many ways to deal with a simple dome. The British cottage brand Trekkertent has a different take on a full length vestibule. I understand they custom made so wait time is many months long

https://www.trekkertent.com/home/home/35-saor.html

That Trekkertent Saor looks strikingly similar to the Hilleberg Unna.

https://hilleberg.com/eng/products/tent/Unna

I just used one of those Unna’s on Mt Baker about 4 weeks ago as part of a mountaineering class.

https://www.tarptent.com/product/arc-dome/

Do the inner doors only unzip partway, or is that just how they’re shown in the video?  I’m concerned that it presents a low opening that one has to crawl in and out of to get into the tent.

I’d agree the Saor and the Unna are very similar; well except the Saor is ~ 2 lbs lighter :)

Looking at the ArcDome specs with aluminum poles (sorry don’t trust carbon poles in the winter) a guy is looking right at 4 lbs all in.  That’s what my Hille Niak weighs.  If I was looking for a true two person tent, I’d grab the Arc Dome- larger floor space, two doors/vestibules (vs one) for the same weight BUT what I’m really looking for a roomy one person tent (that weighs less than the Niak).

If Henry visits this thread again, maybe he can let us know if there is an Arc Dome I in the works—thinking w/ a little smaller floor and one less door/vestibule, probably would shave ~ a pound, so 3 lbs.  That I would snag.

The sale page is now live

https://www.tarptent.com/product/arc-dome/

Oops, didn’t realize I was only looking at the first page of this thread. Is it possible to delete comments? Oh well.

What is the deal with the door though?

Compare to a BA Copper Spur UL2:

The door on the ArcDome appears to be half the height of the doors on the BA Copper Spur 2

Even the StratoSpire 2 door seems huge by comparison.

That photo is of the original prototype. We’ll be updating photos next week but a more accurate photo showing the door opening is here –> https://www.tarptent.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024may_ArcDomeSample-1-6-1030×579.jpg

If Henry visits this thread again, maybe he can let us know if there is an Arc Dome I in the works—thinking w/ a little smaller floor and one less door/vestibule, probably would shave ~ a pound, so 3 lbs.  That I would snag.

If Henry visits this thread again, maybe he can let us know if there is an Arc Dome I in the works—thinking w/ a little smaller floor and one less door/vestibule, probably would shave ~ a pound, so 3 lbs.  That I would snag.

:)

Henry,

The updated photo looks much more reasonable.  Thanks.

Jeff

Are we gonna see any reviews of this tent?  Ryan?

Sounds like a Solo version is in the works.

It says polyester version is the works as well; I’m assuming polyester = dcf?

No.  Polyester means silpoly.  DCF is DCF.  The most common tent materials these days:

• PU Coated Nylon
• Silnylon
• Silpoly
• DCF
• TNT Ultra

With Silpoly quickly replacing silnylon in a lot of UL tent maker’s lineups.

^ Thanks

Not a very thorough review but still gives you a first look. I’d love to see Ryan do a deep dive on the ArcDome, especially during a winter storm.

Sounds like a Solo version is in the works.

That’s got my interest!

Here’s another video.

Anyone else get their hands on one yet?

Looking at the side entry tents that have become popular, am wondering about the composition and weight of the pegs, and how many are needed to keep the tent taut.  That can buck up the weight, depending.  The criss-cross pole design is nothing new.  Am working on a free standing design with poles that cross on the ends of the tent about halfway up, and use elbows to connect the pole ends to each of two peaks.

Have also spent a lot of time looking at weight and performance of carbon shafts used for tent poles.  The goal is to make the tent as taut as possible without a lot of pegs, and use just four pegs to anchor the tent, while the poles are there to keep the tent taut and wind resistant, and minimize flapping.  The carbon tubes turned out to weigh .47 oz per foot.  Found that the flexible light poles almost fully compensate for additional pegs, which can boost up the carry weight significantly.

Of course, whatever the tent shape, the design must be as aerodynamic as possible; meaning that except for a convex shape at head and foot, there are no barriers in the shape that exceed a 45 degree angle slant to the ground.  So the tent must be designed to place the low spaces closest to the ground as much as possible to avoid useless space.  One approach is to place access at the front of the tent, and use the back wall only for storage and/or pets.  The elimination of a rear entry also cuts down weight with absence of zippers, etc.  And an even greater slant is presented with the tent rear facing the wind.  Works well for a solo.  Granted, a duo would need to be a differently shaped design, certainly longer at the rear.

In any event, hope that tent designs are possible that are original, and do not look like what has been around for many years.

Sam,

Are you thinking of a single door side-entry tent or a single door front-entry tent?

I shared a Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 with a friend once and decided then and there that I hated front entry tents.   I didn’t like having to crawl into the front opening like a dog and then flip around my body so that my head was near the door while trying not to kick my partner.  The earlier Fly Creek 2’s were also flawed in that when the door to the fly was open, there was no overhang and rain would drip down into the inner.

My first DCF Tent was a ZPacks Hexamid Twin back in 2012.  It was basically a 2-p side entry tent with only one door.   Think “Plex Solo Classic” but deeper, and ussing a 2nd shorter trekking pole in the back so that the back had enough headroom for the 2nd person.  My wife and I hated it.  Whomever was in the back and was in need of a pee break at night had to crawl over the person in the front to get out the door, or the two people had to coordinate their pee breaks and getting into / out of the tent.

MSR had a 2P side entry tent with 1 door called the Missing Link.
Since discontinued, here’s an REI link  An acquaintance of mine had one back around 2010 and I remember him bringing it on a weekend trip we did where he used it as a 1P tent.  He has since gotten rid of it.

In a recent Youtube interview with Dan Becker, Michael Glavin said he’s working on a revised version of the Missing Link he’s going to release through Zen Bivy.

I’m with Jeff on the undesirability of end entry.  I guess I can see aerodynamic appeal of a single end door but hey, it would be even more aerodynamic if it had no door.  And and end-entry tent is closer to a no-entry tent than to a side-entry in my book.  :-)