View Full Version : Tarptent Info... Please
DrewNC2005
12-09-2005, 10:24
I own a Black Diamond Mega Light and love it. But, once I add the floor or bug shelter, it's over three pounds. I considered a Tarptent at one time but opted for the enormous amount of space the Mega Light gives. I often take my wife and dog so if the dog jumps in a creek (as she's known to do), she can sleep on a completely different side of the tent.
My question is for you Cloudburst or Rainshadow users. Could you elaborate on the interior space of the tents? Could I fit another person, our gear, and a dog in a Cloudburst or Rainshadow? What is the condensation like in these? How do they hold up in strong winds? Some have mentioned the ease of setup...are the guylines a hassle? Do they retain heat inside very well?
Phew...lots of questions - I'd appreciate your feedback.
dje97001
12-09-2005, 11:00
Not in a cloudburst. Ours sleeps two comfortably--but both can't sit up at the same time. We only keep a small amount of gear inside--whatever we need for the evening and our boots/crocs. It is actually longer than we seem to need, but I don't think you could fit a dog in the space left over.
justusryans
12-09-2005, 12:03
I agree, Cloudburst is a excellent 2 person shelter. but it is a 2 person shelter.
If you have two people and a 3 lb shelter, that is 1.5 lbs per person, which is plenty light. Two people plus gear plus wet dog would be a bit much in a rainshadow.
The virga (which is what I have all of my practical experience in) is very similar to the rainshadow. Condensation is bad if you pitch in a bad place (open meadow, for example). On the AT it won't be much of an issue because you don't get the same violent swings in temp that you do in the west. Any semi-enclosed sil-nylon structure will suffer from condensation, however. Pitched properly, they hold up very well in wind (say, below 25 mph sustained). No heat retention.
The Rainshadow 2 will easily sleep two with gear and dog. My wife and I fit us and our stuff and our 95-lb lab in the shelter. Not a problem.
The Rainshadow 2 with two trekking poles (or two of our poles) up front is very stable. It has lots of ventilation but does not retain much heat because of interior volume and airflow.
Henry Shires
Tarptent
DrewNC2005
12-09-2005, 15:16
Can both you and your wife sit up with the dog inside? Does the dog have enough room to move around that he/she is not constantly touching you? Thanks Henry for your help - I guess I could have emailed you, huh?
orangebug
12-09-2005, 15:28
I, for one, would not consider it mercenary if Mr Shires posted his website. I'd be keen to see it, also.
tarptent.com
The two I have (Virga and Cloudburst) and excellent, and the customer service is, if anything, even better.
Yes, we can both sit up and the dog has room to move around. I'm 5'11", my wife is 5' 6" and "Tioga" is just, well, big and happy! The Rainshadow 2 is a lot roomier than the Rainshadow because the strut and roof panel adds quite a bit of headroom as well as increase the wall steepness.
I see that the cross-section specs on the website didn't get updated for the Rainshadow 2 so I'm doing that now and will post it in the next few minutes. Click on "Height" or "Width" from the Products page.
-H
http://www.tarptent.com
justusryans
12-09-2005, 19:58
I, for one, would not consider it mercenary if Mr Shires posted his website. I'd be keen to see it, also.
www.tarptent.com
I cannot imagine the successful union of a silnylon floor and a dog's sharp toenails - unless you fit the creature with camp slippers of course.
Cheers,
PKH
Well, I can verify that the union is successful, at least in the case of a 95-lb Labrador retriever with sharp claws. I think the key is that silnylon is slippery and gives under stress. Unless there's some kind of pre-existing tear in the floor, there's just nothing for a nail to catch on and the fabric is strong enough to resist penetration otherwise. We have never seen a floor come back for repair, for any reason, and there are enough hikers with dogs out there that if dog claws were a problem, I would have heard about it. I have heard a report of a rambunctious dog running through the back netting window but that's it. We'll gladly replace any Tarptent with floor damage caused by a dog.
-H