Ultamid 2 pitching

[Sean]

I recently purchased an HMG Ultamid 2, and I have a couple of questions about the corner guylines.

When below treeline, how typical is it to use the corner guylines?

When you do use the corner guylines, how far out do you stake them?

Thanks

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I haven’t used the Ultamid, but generally with mids the main consideration with the corner guylines is how high do you want to pitch the mid.

The corner guylines basically function as an extension of the canopy, so if you pitch it with long lines the shelter will end up pitched up in the air (floating) and thus require a longer pole. This adds ventilation, but also breezes and rain splatter. I usually pitch my mids pretty close to the ground (so short corner guylines) as I like to minimize breezes and I’m not too worried about ventilation since there’s always a bit of a gap and the vents do more anyways since they vent hot air from the top. But I know some folks really like to pitch them high. So I pitch my guylines with just an inch or two of cord out so I have a little bit of room to tighten it up later should the need arise.

The other consideration is just achieving a nice pitch. If the ground is perfectly level, then you want the corner guylines all about the same length or the shelter will end up wonky/tilted. On uneven ground, you can actually vary the length of the guylines to even out the pitch – so if one stake is going into a dip use a longer line there so it doesn’t pull that corner down relative to the others.

[Matthew / BPL]

I was unclear on the OP’s question about using corner guylines but now that I read Dan’s response I think you are asking whether to use guylines or just stake through the loop. If that is your question, I use guylines all the time but typically just a couple inches but useful to have more length ready to go on uneven ground.

Dan raises the ventilation issue. I like to achieve ventilation by leaving one or two base sides a little loose and then using the guyline between the corners to eyebrow the long side up a little.

[Adam G]

In response to this, I’m having difficultly pitching it on snow. I usually get an OK pitch, but when it snows, the very bottom of the mid will sag and accumulate snow. It’s not a huge deal, but when I go dig it out, it’s not entirely clear where the tent ends and the snow begins. As such, I’ve punctured a few holes drying to dig it out and accidentally hitting the tent.

I’m not talking about a bit of snow falling overnight. I’m taking 1-2 feet.

[Jerry Adams]

mids have a problem with falling snow, in my experience.  The snow stays on the walls.  After a while the weight pulls down the side.  I’ll lose a foot of floor area all the way around.

Not that difficult to tap the walls from the inside, or sweep from the outside and get the snow to slide off.

A tunnel tent has walls that are vertical at the bottom so the snow slides off by itself.

[R]

If you can locate the corners of the mid, then you can draw the straight line where the edge of the mid ends.

Using skis/poles as markers when you pitch is one way.  If those aren’t available, try digging for the corners by hand before shoveling off the walls.

[Author]

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