Any reviews on the Tarptent model Hogback...4 person tent?

[Daydream Believer]

I was browsing their site and saw this tent:

http://tarptent.com/hogback.html

I can hardly believe the space for the weight and I love the design. Our BA Seedhouse (3 person size) is 1.5 lbs heavier. That would be like having a mansion to camp in for a couple and save on weight! Heck invite some friends over! ;)

Has anyone seen one or have any experience with this model?

[toenail]

nothing that big...it's HUGE!

[Foyt20]

That's what she said....

[Daydream Believer]

Yes, It is huge...and light. What an amazing tent. I know I shouldn't even consider it for two people, but wow!

[toenail]

That is HUGEEEEE!

[thelowend]

yeah foreal.. look at the cloudburst 2.. it looks roomy as hell.. its not like your gonan be dancin your but off in your tent after a hard dday on the trail.. you just need room to lay down and a spot to lay your packs (vestibule). i showed my mom the hogback for her car camping endeavors because thats how they roll (she can load up an entire minivan for two people for one weekend) but i think this is a little more than what you need.. especially if you are doing a thru.. I haven't done any LD hiking to date but i could imagine i would begin to regret those extra 2.5lbs after a few hundred miles..

[Reid]

It's about 4 pounds and looking right for the money too. If I had more use for it I would be intrested too but don't usually have that much company with me. Looks good if your tall too.

[skinewmexico]

Might check on BPL, lots of Tarptent guys over there. Haven't really seen any reviews on the Hogback yet though. Fantastic company to deal with.

[Sailor (The other one)]

If Henry had this three years ago I'd have bought one for Mudpie and I instead of the Double Rainbow, which is an excellent tent but too small for two old fat people and their gear.

[Daydream Believer]

Thanks All! We're not thru hiking yet...just section hiking...but kind of serious about it. We also do like some creature comforts...we are both pushing 50 and I can tell you that a bit of extra room without extra weight would be welcome. We also prefer our own tent over using the shelters... a bit of privacy if you will.

Our Big Agnes seedhouse is a good tent but the 37 sq ft in that is not all usable (I can't imagine how you'd put three people in that) and the vestibule in front of the only door is way to small for anything but your shoes and then you'd block yourself in if you tried to put more stuff there. Our packs have to sit out unprotected.

The seedhouse is also a pain in the butt to take down in a downpour without getting the interior wet. You can't take the screening and bathtub bottom out leaving the fly up as you then lose what is holding the support poles in place (the footprint) and the whole thing goes splat. Our one experience with taking down that tent in a downpour was not good. I love that this tarptent can stand alone without the footprint or screening.

Right now, with the heavier Big Agnes we are keeping our pack weights down to reasonable amounts. Mine is about 25 to 27 lbs and my husband is carrying a bit over 30 (he carries the tent.) On a thru that might be too much I guess but for a section hike, it's not so bad.

RBrownkatz...have you been fairly happy with your Double Rainbow? That is one that caught my eye also but it did look a bit smallish.

[bigcranky]

The Double Rainbow was a bit small for the two of us, but I've been happy with it as a solo shelter. Might sell it and buy a Moment.

We bought a Lunar Duo for our hikes together. Lots more room than the Double Rainbow, and more than enough for us and our gear. Same 2.5 pound weight. The downsides are that it requires a lot of room to pitch properly, and it's probably not as stable in high winds (but I haven't tested that yet.)

[Sailor (The other one)]

RBrownkatz...have you been fairly happy with your Double Rainbow? That is one that caught my eye also but it did look a bit smallish.

Yes and no. The quality of the tent is excellent. I'm 6', 210 lbs, and there is a lot of extra head and foot room. I'd ujse it if I soloed. But for the two of us it is too narrow. One can sit up in the middle no problem, but it gets tight having two sit up. I don't like leaving our gear in vestibules - too little coverage, too often has gotten wet. We spent 24 hours tent bound on the AT in an all-day rain once, with our gear stuffed in the tent with us, and that was a long day. Mudpie is a little claustrophobic, so for the two of us its cramped. And we're too old for a lot of low crawling to get in and out.

We now carry an 12' x 10' silnylon tarp that we set up with part of it over the DR. Huge vestibule, room to stand up in, change clothes, etc.Lots of room for our gear. Sometimes in good weather we sleep under the tarp.

The DR's a palace for one person. Good for two skinny young people who just use it for a bedroom.

Hope that's helpful.

[Daydream Believer]

RBrownkatz, It sounds like between the tarp and the Double RB, you probably are carrying as much weight already as a Hogback. That was very helpful! Thanks!

Big Cranky..thanks also!

[Sailor (The other one)]

RBrownkatz, It sounds like between the tarp and the Double RB, you probably are carrying as much weight already as a Hogback.

More. The DR with its lines, stakes, tyvek footprint and inner liner (making it an almost double wall) comes to 3 lbs 11 oz. The tarp with its stakes, lines, Tyvek ground cloth, ground cloth stakes and stake bag comes to 2 lbs 5.2 oz. The tarp poles - which are way-too-heavy 7' tall fiberglass - are 1 lb 11 oz, which we'll cut back on when we finally get trekking poles. That's like 7 lbs!
Split between us, this isn't so bad. With water and three days of food, my total pack weight is 35 lbs and Mudpie's is 25 for autumn on the AT in Georgia. We love having the tarp. It lives in a mesh pouch on the back of Mudpie's pack. It's the first thing up when we camp, so no matter the weather, we have a protected place to drop our packs, set up the DR and settle in, and always a dry place to store our gear and cook out of the rain.
Even with the Hogback we'd probably have some sort of tarp. What we're thinking of now is a pyramid with a tarp, each made of Cuben fiber. Four season tent, lots of headroom, lots of space, advantages of the tarp. Just need a million dollars to buy the Cuben and pay someone to build it.

[skinewmexico]

REI Quarterdome T3 is a great tent for 2, and you can get it below to 4.6# if you leave the stuff sacks. I rarely use mine. I agree, I only use my Double Rainbow as a solo tent. I'll probably quit that now that I have a Moment. The Lunar Duo is probably the best compromise between the DR and the Rainbow. You should also look at the Tarptent Rainshadow if you don't mind a front entry.

[Megapixel]

Hey Daydream, the Rainshadow 2 is a great lightweight Tarptent option if you use trekking poles...room for 3 and a lb. less than the hogback...not quite as roomy but may be enough for what your looking for.

[Daydream Believer]

Thanks! I'll go check it out! We do use hiking poles...won't go out without them!