TarpTent Saddle 2 mods

[Bryan Bihlmaier]

<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>Wanted to share some mods I made to my TarpTent Saddle 2 which made me like using it even more. Hopefully it will inspire or help someone else. Most of this is subjective whether it improved over Henry’s design, but I like it better with these changes. </span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>(Note: TarpTent doesn’t make the Saddle any more, but I wish they did. I think it’s a great improvement over the basic A-frame design because it lifts the walls away from your face more. There’s a discussion of the Saddle 2 here: <span class=”s2″>https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/tarptent-saddle-2-arrived/</span&gt;. Some of these ideas will apply to the TT Notch, except that it uses PitchLoc struts at the ends instead of vertical poles). </span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>First, I much prefer the brightness, durability, and “handling” of Lawson Glowire over the stock TT lines, so I replaced all the guylines with that (2mm size). </span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>After having trouble pitching my Saddle 2 in some locations according to the setup video, I decided that I didn’t want to have to temporarily place two end stakes only to have to move them later. (Either they would pull out of loamy soil while guying out the ridge lines, or the ground was so hard I’d have to pound them in fully, only to pull them out a minute later). </span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>That gave me the idea to get rid of the cords running along the edges of both head and foot ends, and just use a cord at each corner through the existing LineLocs. The reduce clutter more than weight, I also cut off the mitten hooks that the line used to run through (8 total, weight savings negligible). Now I set it up more like a ZPacks Duplex, SMD Haven, GG The Two, etc. Having two or four corners staked out initially, very close to where they’ll end up, makes setting up the trekking poles SO much more successful. And I can’t observe any loss of stability or taughtness by not having the cords run along the rooflines.</span></p>

<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>I still use the short vertical poles/struts at each end, and find that the tent is quite stable with only the 4 corners and the apex ridge lines staked out, since the corners extend outward from where the struts support the ends. But to add stability in wind, especially if I mis-judge and get wind from the foot or head end, I attached lines to the plastic rings on adjustable ribbon at each end peak (Henry intended these for trekking pole tips to insert into, but they’re quite handy for attaching an extra guyline to). I likely won’t stake these out very often unless I’m worried about strong winds. (A side note – I wrapped the cord twice around the plastic ring before finishing it off with two half hitches, to help distribute the tension better along more of the ring. I was worried about the ring breaking if pulled from a single point. The same thing could be achieved with a larks head / cow hitch. I don’t know if it was necessary or not, but don’t want to do a pull test to find out!)</span></p>

<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>Then, I borrowed an idea from my SMD Lunar Solo tent and attached the vestibule guylines to the ridge line apex lines with a Prusik hitch. I left these lines attached to the LineLocs they were in. That allows me to tighten the vestibule panels by sliding the Prusik down the apex lines, but I can still pull the apex lines as far out as I need to because I can lengthen the vestibule lines with the LineLocs (something I wish I could do on my Lunar Solo). Now I only need one stake per long side, and lifting the vestibule to access my pack from outside the tent is quite easier than in-staking the vestibule. All I have to do is slide the Prusik up the apex guyline and I can easily reach gear under the vestibule.</span></p>

<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>The last mod I want to make, but haven’t yet, is to see an elastic loop to the floor mid-way along each long side. I want to attach them to my trekking pole handles to help the bathtub floor hold its shape better. But to be honest, once I have 2 sleeping pads and bags laid out, the floor takes shape pretty well. It may help wind from lifting the tent floor and hitting me in the face though – something I’ve experienced in a 4-season tent with inadequate stake-out points. </span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>So that’s it. Hopefully it helps someone, even though sadly the Saddle 2 is not sold any more. </span></p>

[Bryan Bihlmaier]

Sorry for all the embedded html code! I copied and pasted the text and those didn’t show up before I posted it >:-/

[Nicholas Meadors]

This is gold.

Do you notice anything negative about the vestibule being attached to the ridgeline guy as far as tautness or shape goes?

I always wondered if there was a reason for having the line running through those mitten hooks. I’m switching mine asap because getting those things square is by far my biggest complaint about this shelter.

Thank you thank you

[Todd T]

Hopefully these ideas will spur Henry to hurry up and fill the hole in TT’s Sleeps Two section–tallworthy, double-wall, double-door, lightweight.  :-)

[Bryan Bihlmaier]

Hopefully Henry took the Saddle 2 out of the lineup just so he can re-design the vestibule doors to open higher and not expose part of the tent floor when they are fully open.

I have not noticed any issues at all with tying the vestibule line to the apex line, assuming the apex line is guyed out far enough to not touch the doors. But it wouldn’t be very stable if the apex lines were that close to the tent anyway. (It also works well on my Lunar Solo, but not as well on that one mostly because I don’t think the bottom edges of the vestibule flaps are catenary, so they flap no matter what I try. The Saddle 2 is much tighter.)

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Love to see tent mods. Thanks for this.

I’ve modded my original single wall Moment, my Moment DW and my SCARP 2. (Moment DW photo in “Tarptent Thread” in this forum and SCARP 2 photo in “Winter Hiking”.)

Tent modding in sensible ways is helpful to other owners of these tents and “improves the breed”.

 

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