Gatewood Cape for 6' Person

[TomN]

Looking for real world experience with the Gatewood Cape for someone 6' tall with and without the bug net. I read a wide range of opinions.

[TomN]

My question applies to tent mode more than poncho mode

[jimmyjam]

I used one with and without the net tent for about 400 miles on the AT. I am 6 ft tall and slender build (170#), and it was roomy enough for me. Not much extra room but enough. I kept my pack in the vestible. It worked great in the rain as a shelter and shed winds very good. It is ok as rain gear. If it's windy use a elastic cord around it as belt to keep it from blowing up. I sold it because I made my own version of it about 12" longer and a little wider and made it out of cuben.

[TomN]

Are there plans online to make one?

[jimmyjam]

not that i know of. i just sort of made my own. used a lot of geometry and bought some cheap material at walmart and made a mock up first.

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[Slo-go'en]

It depends on how you plan to use it. I've used one on a long (and fairly rainy) section hike. After that experience, I now use it only as an emergency shelter on short trips which have a low probability of actually needing it.

Since I still needed a bug bivy and ground cloth for the Gatewood cape, the over all weight and bulk was not significantly less then a tent and much more of a pain to set up and use. And then it only give OK storm protection. So, if your question is geared toward using one as a primary shelter on an AT thru-hike, I'd say get a real tent. And if you need rain gear, get a real rain jacket.

[daddytwosticks]

I'm 6 foot and used a Gatewood Cape with a long (6 6) WM Caribou sleeping bag. It didn't work for me. Too short to sleep under. If I tried it now with my 6 foot WM Megalite and a thin pad (Prolite), it may work better for sleeping. Did not like it in the poncho mode. Too baggy, long, and flappy, even when used with a strap around my waist. Just MHO.

[TomN]

I figured it might be too small as a primary shelter, it is just so appealing at that price and weight, maybe I will try a tarp.

[Slo-go'en]

I figured it might be too small as a primary shelter, it is just so appealing at that price and weight, maybe I will try a tarp.

If it were a choice between a tarp and the Gatewood, I'd pick the Gatewood. But if your hiking the AT, I still stay your better off with a tent.

[10-K]

If it were a choice between a tarp and the Gatewood, I'd pick the Gatewood. But if your hiking the AT, I still stay your better off with a tent.

I have a tarp and Gatewood Cape and I like the tarp much better.

Other than the dead of winter I'm having a hard time imagining getting back in an enclosed tent.

[shakey_snake]

I'm 6ft and the Gatewood is a fine shelter when I can pitch it high and the rain is falling pretty much straight down.

When it gets whippy, it gets lowered and it gets a bit claustrophobic. I probably should have gotten a water-resistant bivy instead of a bug bivy so I could keep it higher. But if I'm doing all that, then I really don't need a shaped tarp.

It's very easy to set up, as far as tarps go. 1. Stake the rear corners 2. insert pole and stake the door, 3. stake the three "midpoints" 4. stake out extra headroom (I use my 2nd trekking pole (at half-length) for this).



I only use it as emergency rain gear out west where I usually only carry a windshirt. The line I carry to pull the shelter out away from my headspace doubles nicely as a waist tie.

Back east, I always wear driducks. I'm not going to risk a snag on all the green stuff and ruin my shelter.

[TomN]

The new Serenity Net Tent has a 8" deep bathtub floor, wonder if that would be enough to allow a higher pitch even in windy weather.

[Slo-go'en]

The new Serenity Net Tent has a 8" deep bathtub floor, wonder if that would be enough to allow a higher pitch even in windy weather.

It would help. There isn't much of a buffer area between you and the edges. When pitched on hard packed dirt there is considerable back splash coming up under the edges. You also have to worry about water running under the edges or pooling up under it.

It's kinda a pain to readjust the tie off strings around the bottom for different heights (which you need to remove if you want to use it as a poncho, along with the spider web at the top which holds it up in tent mode). I just kept mine with the same clearance all the time, which was a couple of inches off the ground.

[shakey_snake]

Well, probably, but I believe the new Serenity (and I don't believe SMD's listed weight spec ever updated with the redesign) is maybe twice the weight of my MLB bug bivy (190g). Not to mention on the hot summer nights I'd probably roast.

I'd probably upgrade my tarp first if I ever felt too inconvenienced.

[handlebar]

I'm 6 ft and used the SMD Wild Oasis for my CDT chunk hikes. It worked out fine and the fringe of bug netting gave me some peace in the Winds and Yellowstone where the first mosquitoes of the year had hatched. I also had it out on my PA Mid State thru and it held up to the 18" of wet snow that fell April 22-23. It would sag (like all silnylon) as the snow accumulated and wake me when it touched my face. I slapped at the sides and pushed the snow out from where it slid off the tarp to maintain ventilation.

[LogHiking]

General consensus is this is too small for anyone over 6 ft correct? It doesn't appeal to me for anything of serious distance or when serious weather is expected, but for 1-5 day trips in bug season it strikes me as useful and light. But at 6ft 2in I fear it is a moot point.