Episode 23 | Henry Shires of Tarptent

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Dec 26, 2019 at 2:56 pm #3624185

Backpacking Light
Admin

@backpackinglight
Locale: Rocky Mountains

Companion forum thread to: Episode 23 | Henry Shires of Tarptent

Andrew chats with Henry Shires of Tarptent about his design philosophy and process, fabrics, business journey, the importance of taking time away from your company to recharge, and much more.

Dec 26, 2019 at 4:54 pm #3624209

Monte Masterson
BPL Member

@septimius
Locale: Southern Indiana

Excellent interview. Henry mentioned not wanting to make DCF designs that produce a lot of waste. In a recent thread Henry stated that it’s a main reason for not producing DCF Protrails. Zpacks utilizes most of their DCF waste by making stuff sacks.

Tarptent needs to start offering a camo DCF option just like MLD, Zpacks and Trekkertent does. I’d be on board then.

Dec 27, 2019 at 2:55 am #3624251

Todd T
BPL Member

@texasbb
Locale: Pacific Northwest

Good interview. At one point Henry alluded to the question “what haven’t we solved yet” being one driver of new designs. I’ll offer one: 2-person, 2-door, 2-wall tent light enough and long enough for one tall dude, sorta like the Saddle 2 but not as discontinued. :-)

Dec 27, 2019 at 2:58 pm #3624293

Henry Shires / Tarptent
BPL Member

@07100
Locale: Upper Sierra Foothills - Gold Rush Country

2-person, 2-door, 2-wall tent light enough and long enough for one tall dude,

I hear you …

-H

Dec 27, 2019 at 11:47 pm #3624371

Matthew / BPL
Moderator

@matthewkphx

“what haven’t we solved yet”

I’m sure you’ve heard this before (meaning I’ve emailed Henry about it in the past) but the thing I want is a side entry tent that is either stuffable or has very short pitchlock struts. I want it to fit sideways in a small volume pack. That’s the holy grail, imo.

Help me, Obi Wan Shirenobi. You’re my only hope.

Dec 28, 2019 at 12:19 am #3624376

R
Spectator

@autox

No one seems to take advantage of the fact that many people sharing a 2 or 3 person tent cary 4 trekking poles between them. 2 person trekking pole tents generally use only 2 poles.

Seems like 4 poles could give you a more storm worthy structure with smaller panels and better tension. It could also offer more area with a high ceiling, especially above the face when laying down.

Dec 28, 2019 at 1:06 am #3624380

Henry Shires / Tarptent
BPL Member

@07100
Locale: Upper Sierra Foothills - Gold Rush Country

I want it to fit sideways in a small volume pack.

Yes, noted. Are you ok if the pichloc(s) is/are easily detachable and foldable (and stored vertically) ?

Seems like 4 poles could give you a more storm worthy structure with smaller panels and better tension

We actually did that for the Saddle 2. There are upsides (as you noted) and downsides (increased setup complexity/requirements). My feeling is that for large (3/4 person) tents the upside can exceed the downside.

Dec 28, 2019 at 4:49 am #3624547

Matthew / BPL
Moderator

@matthewkphx

Henry, removing the pitchlocks concerns me. I’d hate to drop them somewhere.

Dec 29, 2019 at 1:27 am #3624657

Dan @ Durston Gear
BPL Member

@dandydan
Locale: Canadian Rockies

Nice interview. I think a v2 of the Saddle would be pretty interesting. IMO, all of the downsides with the v1 were solvable.

Dec 29, 2019 at 2:55 pm #3624707

James Marco
BPL Member

@jamesdmarco
Locale: Finger Lakes

Thanks, Guys, a good podcast! Thanks!

Dec 30, 2019 at 7:15 pm #3624923

J-L
BPL Member

@johnnyh88

Good interview and interesting discussion. After the X-Mid came out, I thought we had seen basically all there was to trekking pole tents. And then came the Aeon Li. I’m still holding out for a non-DCF version :)

Shelters are an interesting optimization problem, and something I’ve gone round and round with as I’ve backpacked through different environments and weather conditions. I want a shelter to be light, but still durable and storm-worthy and easy to pack. I want it to have a small footprint, but still have room to live and be easy to set up. There’s a lot demanded from a shelter. I’ve come to the oft-quoted conclusion that there is no perfect tent.

Jan 4, 2020 at 10:15 am #3625505

David U
Spectator

@the-family-guy

I have owned several Shires creations and they have all been superb.

Thanks Henry for years of producing highly usable, light, and relatively inexpensive shelters. Both my wallet and feet thank you.

Jan 4, 2020 at 10:17 am #3625506

David U
Spectator

@the-family-guy

“I’m still holding out for a non-DCF version :)”

Me too. I bet the weight might be 3 or so oz more but be more durable and much less expensive.

Jan 30, 2020 at 1:14 am #3629287
Eric Blumensaadt
BPL Member

@danepacker
Locale: Mojave Desert
And I’m waiting for two things:
1. green (or tan) colored DCF in the Notch Li
2. silpoly fabric in one or two tents to see how well it works. Polyester is more UV resistant but most importantly much less stretchy than silnylon, especially when wet.
Jan 30, 2020 at 2:31 am #3629296

Franco Darioli
Spectator

@franco
Locale: Gauche, CU.

Years ago I posted that I did not know of any present or future (on the horizon) tent fabric that only has plusses and no minuses.

One of the resident experts got his knickers into a knot about that, funny thing is that I have not changed my mind.

But I’ll be blad when someone proves me wrong (in practice not just theory…)

Feb 13, 2022 at 7:27 pm #3740201

Bendrix B
BPL Member

@bendrix

I carry two Notch Li tents when there are two of us traveling together. Some claim I snore, I sure know others do. Setting up a few yards apart helps with that a lot. Another trick I’ve used is to carry a dcf tarp of 8X10, and set it up spanning the two Notch Li tents. Creates a huge space for hanging out, playing cards, boiling water, you know, when the weather sucks, or you just get lazy, or it gets dark too early. For me two tents is the trick, not a single “two man” made is truly as comfortable for two people as two Notch Li tents.

Feb 14, 2022 at 7:07 am #3740244

Paul Wagner
BPL Member

@balzaccom
Locale: Wine Country

I just want to add my voice here to those who think highly of Henry Shires and his tents. And I want to underscore that his customer service is also exemplary. It’s not a surprise at all that he is here on these boards, answering questions and taking notes. It’s how he runs his business. thanks, Henry.
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