View Full Version : SMD deschutes tarp
Anyone here used one? I see they are on sale and I was thinking about giving the sil version a try. I don't see much at all in the way of reviews posted anywhere. Surely someone out there has used one.
Thanks
Many nights in mine. Great light shaped tarp. Can set it high or for better venting or low for rain . I use a nano bug net and window shrink film for a ground cloth. I use a piece of pex tubbing to extend my trekking poles to the correct length. Total weight of all w stuff sack is 1lb 2.7oz. Would buy again. The pluss version would b a good choice.
Thom
MuddyWaters
12-21-2015, 07:45
I used a cuben deschutes this year for about two dozen nights, including pretty good rain.
Ive used it with serenty inner tent, and with a zpacks solo cuben bathtub floor.
Things I like:
Good design, stable with one pole.
Sheds wind good.
7.7 oz with 0.74 canopy
Works with my 135cm max poles. A lot of tarps with one pole require 145 or extension (or rock)
What I dont like:
The large stiff plastic mitten clips snd large plastic rings are hard to put together for attaching inner tent . Darn near impossible in freezing conditions with cold fingers. Need to use something easier.
SMD
Ive had issues with several items from SMD. This one is no different.
I received a defective product. After contacting rhem with photos, they wanted me to ship it to them at my expense so they could look at it. Not replace, look at.
Now, this was the last cuben deschutes in stock, anywhere. Short of another production run (which just happened ~ a year later), there wasnt going to be a replacement option. I knew that.
So my option was to ship it at my expense and they would only be able to repair it, or just repair it myself and save ship cost. Duh..I just repaired it myself. I wanted the tarp, not a refund.
This is the problem with smd . poor customer service. Some bad gear designs. Yearly production runs where nothing is in stock.
The tarp I odered had a tear thru it at one edge, brand new. It had been sewn that way obviously, the torn cuben (before mfg) had actually been folded over at the edge seam, and stitched. I repaired it with cuben tape, same as they would have.
Same tarp, they elected to sew big smd patch on canopy. Did not tape the stitching. Huge needle holes. I had read of others online the previous year that complained of this too. Incredible. I taped that too.
Design flaw. Some moron decided to fold/sew the front seams wirh elastic strips for tieing the front flap back inserted all way thru the folds so it wicks water in and leaks. A third grader wouldnt have done this. Its not much, just glaring stupidity.
Lastly, decision not to use waterproof zip was stupid imo. But I knew that so cant fault them on saving money there. Im considering putting waterproof zip in.
In a nutshell, SMD has both design and mfg issues. They supposedly make the cuben in house so they can control quality... but really do a pretty bad job of quality control imo.
Design flaw. Some moron decided to fold/sew the front seams wirh elastic strips for tieing the front flap back inserted all way thru the folds so it wicks water in and leaks. A third grader wouldnt have done this. Its not much, just glaring stupidity.
wow ! U should have returned it . "Moron ,third grader, glaring stupidity." Strong words for "not much."
Thom
MuddyWaters
12-21-2015, 09:24
Design flaw. Some moron decided to fold/sew the front seams wirh elastic strips for tieing the front flap back inserted all way thru the folds so it wicks water in and leaks. A third grader wouldnt have done this. Its not much, just glaring stupidity.
wow ! U should have returned it . "Moron ,third grader, glaring stupidity." Strong words for "not much."
Thom
Minor , will run down tarp like condensation, and other than these few things its a great tarp.
I will point out, I have not had any such similar issues with my other cuben gear from other vendors. Other vendors put more thought and quality control into items they charge $$$ for.
Thanks for the feedback.
I have never purchased anything from SMD because of the issues Muddy Waters mentions. I went ahead and ordered one anyway. 130 bucks for a SIL tarp isn't a huge risk but I don't know if I would dare buy a cuben item from them.
Cheyou, how does the nano net work with and fit under the tarp? I was looking at the plus, but went with the regular since I hike frequently in heavy bug pressure and would use a full net or hike after the bugs all freeze so I wouldn't want the netting. If I like the tarp I will need a net.
I ordered this thinking it would be a good way to get back into tarps. I haven't been under one in a while and as I grow older and more stiff and sore I toss around a lot. Hopefully I wont have problems with waking up outside in the rain.
Thanks for the feedback, hopefully there will be nore
U could always make it a pluss if u wanted. The nano is ok . U could check out the web for reviews. It's Very light and could use it in a shelter if needed. I'm not much for shelters. The window shrink film is not 2 slippery so I don't slide much. $130. Is a good deal. The cuben is to much for my pocket book. It does take up more space then sylnylon . Send us some winter weather if u got extra
Thom
SWODaddy
12-21-2015, 22:11
I used a cuben deschutes this year for about two dozen nights, including pretty good rain.
Ive used it with serenty inner tent, and with a zpacks solo cuben bathtub floor.
Things I like:
Good design, stable with one pole.
Sheds wind good.
7.7 oz with 0.74 canopy
Works with my 135cm max poles. A lot of tarps with one pole require 145 or extension (or rock)
What I dont like:
The large stiff plastic mitten clips snd large plastic rings are hard to put together for attaching inner tent . Darn near impossible in freezing conditions with cold fingers. Need to use something easier.
SMD
Ive had issues with several items from SMD. This one is no different.
I received a defective product. After contacting rhem with photos, they wanted me to ship it to them at my expense so they could look at it. Not replace, look at.
Now, this was the last cuben deschutes in stock, anywhere. Short of another production run (which just happened ~ a year later), there wasnt going to be a replacement option. I knew that.
So my option was to ship it at my expense and they would only be able to repair it, or just repair it myself and save ship cost. Duh..I just repaired it myself. I wanted the tarp, not a refund.
This is the problem with smd . poor customer service. Some bad gear designs. Yearly production runs where nothing is in stock.
The tarp I odered had a tear thru it at one edge, brand new. It had been sewn that way obviously, the torn cuben (before mfg) had actually been folded over at the edge seam, and stitched. I repaired it with cuben tape, same as they would have.
Same tarp, they elected to sew big smd patch on canopy. Did not tape the stitching. Huge needle holes. I had read of others online the previous year that complained of this too. Incredible. I taped that too.
Design flaw. Some moron decided to fold/sew the front seams wirh elastic strips for tieing the front flap back inserted all way thru the folds so it wicks water in and leaks. A third grader wouldnt have done this. Its not much, just glaring stupidity.
Lastly, decision not to use waterproof zip was stupid imo. But I knew that so cant fault them on saving money there. Im considering putting waterproof zip in.
In a nutshell, SMD has both design and mfg issues. They supposedly make the cuben in house so they can control quality... but really do a pretty bad job of quality control imo.
Well, that's disturbing to read. I was about to buy a haven tarp...think I'll do a little more research.
Well, that's disturbing to read. I was about to buy a haven tarp...think I'll do a little more research.
I have a Haven tarp. No issues, except hanging the net tent from the tarp takes a bit of contortion. The mitten hooks are a bit stiff. No issues with quality of construction. But, its a shaped tarp. Not a lot to it.
Have had a Wild Oasis for years - great tarp, very durable, great design. Sorry to see they have abandoned it.
MuddyWaters
12-22-2015, 09:54
Have had a Wild Oasis for years - great tarp, very durable, great design. Sorry to see they have abandoned it.
Pretty much what the deschutes plus is, with added room and wt.
A lot of people loved the wild oasis.
As cuben has lured the crowd looking for light wt, other products need to have a more mainstream appeal to stay viable. At least if you invest $$ to have a chinese factory make 300 at a time for you. Vendors that actually make tbeir gear in house dont have this issue.
I received my Deschutes just three days after I placed my order. Pretty impressive considering it was the three days right before Christmas. I have slept under the tarp the last two nights, pitched in my basement on the carpeted floor. So far I can see no issues with anything. Materials, workmanship and design all seem good but I wont know until I can get it outside this spring.
CenAZwalker
12-28-2015, 22:20
Archie or anyone else, have you weighed your silnylon Deschutes?
I have not. I cant find my scale. I just had it a week ago. I have no idea how one loses a scale in a week.
I will post a weight when I locate my, or any, scale.
OK, it's a larger version of the Gatewood Cape.
I used the Gatewood Cape for 400 miles in VA in 2010, and was quite happy with it. I even spend some nights under it in violent, raging storms with heavy rain, lighting, and nearby tornados. Did just fine although a little bigger might have been nice, and this is what you will get in the Deschutes tarp.
I would go for it if you are a fairly rough and ready type. It's not for everybody, however. You always lose something when you trade function for lower weight, and in this case it is some stability, and in some cases you might have creepy crawly visitors on your groundcloth although if that bothers you, you better not hike.
CenAZwalker and anyone else interested,
I weighed my 2015 Deschutes tonight and it came in at 12.75 oz, (360 grams) for the SIL tarp and stuff sack.
CenAZwalker
01-01-2016, 11:54
Thanks archie, nice to see it come in under spec.
Has anyone recently purchased a Deschutes Plus tarp? I got one this winter and was only able to set up it up now, and there's no grommet for the trekking pole tip on the edge of the bug netting - only a reinforced piece of webbing. Did this happen to anyone else? I have an email out to SMD, but I figured I'd ask here.
I always put the tip end down on mine. Works great
I always put the tip end down on mine. Works great
Right, but there's supposed to be a grommet there for the tip. Mine doesn't have one.
I have only seen pictures of the plus, but there should be a grommet as far as I can see. Up date when you hear from SMD please, I am curious to hear how they handle this.
left52side
03-26-2016, 18:24
I just set my SMD deshutes plus tarp up for the first time and I noticed I did have A gromit to put the end of my trek pole into at the bugnet.
I also noticed some sewing errors on this tarp which was nothing major just sloppy work,I need to seam seal it as I can also see daylight through some of the stiching at stress points.
I ordered this tarp as an upgrade from my SMD scout tent and to save weight etc.
But I think I am going to look at light heart gear next time for my tent.]
Seems SMD is slacking on there workmanship as of latley.
I have only seen pictures of the plus, but there should be a grommet as far as I can see. Up date when you hear from SMD please, I am curious to hear how they handle this.
Forgot to respond to this.. I contacted SMD, and they were very apologetic about forgetting the grommet. I was going to try to send it in before a trip I went on this past weekend, but it wouldn't have been enough time to ship it back to the East Coast. I took it on my trip anyway, and used a rock to hold the mesh down. Not ideal, but it worked. I'm going to send it back to them in the next few days, and they'll add the grommet and send it back for free. Overall, great customer service from SMD.
Anyone else find the Deschutes to be a little close-quartered? I'm just over 6' tall, and the foot of my quilt was touching the side walls even with the exterior side walls guyed out. Not too much clearance for my face. Pretty heavy condensation, but that was mainly due to the fact that there was zero wind the first night, and then snow the second night.
left52side
04-08-2016, 15:11
I myself have not noticed that in the deshutes plus shelter,or are you talking about the plain deshutes,(either way I think the specs are the same).
I just had mine out on an overnight and was the first time I took it out and was quite happy with it.
I myself thought there was plenty of room for me and my pitbull pooch .
We stayed completely dry all night even with the shelter set high(at 49 inches).
It was quite A rain storm in the middle of the night but my shelter kept us completely dry.
I again am only 5"8 so that mifght have something to do with me having more room but I am happy with mine and the amount of room.
I find it quite roomy though I am only 5'7". I also have not slept under it in the outdoors, only in the basement. If it ever warms up I will test it out on the trail.
CenAZwalker
04-08-2016, 18:56
"Seems SMD is slacking on there workmanship as of latley."
I agree with this statement, based on some shelters I have seen over the past year. Plus it is not technically "their" workmanship, but an overseas manufacturer. I would also say their quality control is lacking.
Again, this is just my opinion, based on shelters I have seen, online testimony and a personal experience. I know a lot of people are happy with their SMD products . . . to each his own.
follow up a year later:
I have used the Deschutes maybe 50 nights, including a Colorado Trail thru. I find it quite roomy if it is pitched correctly and especially roomy if the extra tie outs are used. I am only 5.7 so keep that in mind.
the pitch is easy, but getting it perfect is quite finicky but that holds true with most shelters of this type. if Im not too fussy I can get it set up in under two minutes with ease, and have done it much quicker with hail and thundersnow threatening.
I find it very weatherproof for this style of shelter and have weathered some very harsh storms and stayed very dry. As with all tarps, site selection, proper pitch and a little trial and error are helpful but there really is pretty good coverage all the way around.
The quality of the materials is good, but the workmanship and design have several minor issues I feel are flaws. stitching mistakes, loose threads, unraveling threads etc are numerous, but are easily repaired with seam seal. the storm fly on the zipper is poorly designed or made and is next to impossible to operate without getting the zipper snagged. I may cut the flap off as extreme care must be used while zipping and unzipping. The storm door attachment using the prusik is fine, but the hook and loops that are used to connect the doors to the line are difficult to use at best. I made this work a little better by using two small d rings but it is something that should be redesigned.
I emailed SMD about the minor defects and received no response, which seems typical for this company in recent years
Overall I am happy with the tarp. I will continue to use it as I think it is a good value and a good shelter. I would be upset if it was a much more expensive cuben tarp and had all these little issues and no customer service, but for 135.00 I think its a great lightweight SIL tarp.