Tarptent Squall 2

[2tall]

Hi,
maybe a user of the Squall 2 can answer my questions, please:

- I've read about the occasional "misting" with silnylon tarptents.
Somebody said that it's better to apply some kind of silicone spray to the tarptent. What would you recommend?

- My wife and I both are very tall, I am 200 cm tall (which is about 79 inches?). Do you think we'll both fit in the Squall 2 including our packs (we use 2 GoLite Jam)? Is it easy to extend the floor to its maximum area? In which weather conditions do we have to put the sides of the bathtub up (and then minimize the floor area)?

- Does the Squall 2 have additional lines/loops on the long sides to use additional stakes to pull down the sides in heavy wind?

- Any tipps from experienced users? (It's going to be my first single wall tent!)

Thank you for answering,
Mark

[bigcranky]

My wife and I have used several different Tarptent models, including the Squall for one night (borrowed from a friend.)

Misting: not a big deal, only happens in VERY heavy rain. Had this happen once in eight years of using Tarptent brand shelters. I would not change anything.

Height: The Squall we used (original, not the version II) was pretty tight for two people. It's probably long enough for you at 2 meters (wow!), but we didn't find a huge amount of interior volume and headroom. Having used the Squall and spent many nights in a Rainshadow, my personal preference is for having the doors on the long side, like the Double Rainbow or the Six Moons Designs Lunar Duo. That design also provides more headroom.

(For really tall people, I'd take a look at the SMD Lunar Duo; we switched to that last year and it's awesome. Huge amounts of interior room and length.)

Tips: bring a small pack towel dedicated to the tent. Use it in the morning to wipe down any condensation or dew on the both the inside and the outside of the tent. These tents dry out very quickly, so if it's really wet from rain or dew I often take it out at lunch and let it dry.

Maximize ventilation to reduce condensation. Leave the "beak" open (rolled up) unless it's actually raining hard enough to come through the netting. Make sure the sides of the tent are off the ground to allow any breeze to come through.

The Squall sets up very quickly even in the rain, and you'll have a dry shelter. Just practice a few times before you hit the trail.

[2tall]

Thanks for your input!

I've already had a look at the Lunar Duo, but my problem with this is the fact that the interior is only 137 cm wide! I think that's too little for us - what are your experiences with the width?

The Squall 2 has a floor that's 157 cm wide and that is even adjustable to 177 cm wide if you don't need the sides of the bathtub floor put up.
That's just what I read from the datasheets... I don't have the possibility to check the sizes in real life, because I don't have a dealer who can show me these tents here in Germany.

I've also had a look at the Rainshadow 2 Tarptent, you mentioned that you spend a lot of nights in one of those. Could you please comment on the Rainshadow please? Is it worth the higher weight and price and bigger footprint compared to the Squall?

I don't think we really need to have the two entrances at the long sides, we've always had tents with one entrance, that's ok for us.

Leo

[Turtle2]

I have the Squall 2 and use it solo. There is plenty of room for 2, however, I am not sure about people plus the packs. That might be a bit tight, especially for your height. (I am 60 inches tall)

[bigcranky]

OK, three things to note:

1. The Squall has a width of 157cm at the head end, but only 107cm at the foot end. The Lunar Duo is 137cm the entire length.

2. The Lunar Duo has more usable storage space because you can reach down to the foot end to put stuff sacks, extra clothing, etc. It also has two vestibules for packs and shoes. The head room inside is also larger - in the Squall the highest point is at the trekking pole in the front, and it slopes down from there in all directions.

3. We had the Double Rainbow and used it for two years, then traded it for the Lunar Duo. We found the Double Rainbow just did not have the interior room that we wanted in a 2-person shelter. Otherwise it is a very nice shelter, well made and easy to use. In my opinion it's a better choice for two people than the Squall2. But you have to take the extra weight into consideration -- it's worthwhile for us, maybe not for you.

Having used several multi-person tarp-tent shelters, here they are in rank order -- my opinion only, of course:

1. Lunar Duo. Best interior room, best for really tall people, great weather protection. Harder to set up. ~40 ounces.

2. Double Rainbow. Good interior room, but long walls slope in, reducing headroom. Very easy to set up. ~40 ounces.

3. Rainshadow II. 3-person shelter, awesome space, easy set up. I'm not fond of the door at the head end. ~40 ounces.

4. Squall. Smaller and tighter inside than the others. One door at head end. Not much room for gear, very little head room. But it's ~32 ounces, which might be enough of a weight savings to make it worthwhile.

All this is just my opinion having used these shelters. (I also own a Tarptent Moment for solo use -- my favorite solo shelter so far.)

Good luck.

[2tall]

Hey, bigcranky,
thanks very much for your thoughts.
One last thing, could you please comment on the adjustable bathtub floor in the tarptents?
How easy is it to put the sides of the floor down? How much space do you get from that? In which weather do you need to put the sides of the bathtub up?
Best regards
Leo

[10-K]

I second everything said about the Lunar Duo. I have one and has plenty of room for 2 tall people.

My son is 6'3" and I'm 6'2" and we can both stretch out (and I mean stretch out) with our packs in the tent with us and still not feel cramped.

The vestibule is big enough for boots and to cook under.

As for weather - I spent the night in Virginia as a tropical storm blew through and stayed completely dry.

It's easy enough to figure out how to pitch but 2 years later and I'm still finding better ways to put it up.

I don't think you can find a better 2 person tent at any price.

[4Bears]

If your in doubt about the size of the tents you can always tape out its shape on the floor then you and the Mrs. can lay out your gear inside the boundries to see if there is enough space, also extend a hiking pole to the max hieght of the tent for that perspective, it might help with your decsion.

[2tall]

Thanks for your posts.
I still wonder why the width of the Lunar Duo isn't too small for you...?
The length of the tent is important for me, of course, but I also think you have to have space to your sides... and, you know, we tall people tend to need more space in this direction, too, don't we?

[10-K]

Thanks for your posts.
I still wonder why the width of the Lunar Duo isn't too small for you...?

I can't stress enough that the Lunar Duo has more than enough room for 2 people.

But, remember - we are talking about tents here. No tent is going to have as much room as a hotel suite.

[bigcranky]

Thanks for your posts.
I still wonder why the width of the Lunar Duo isn't too small for you...?
The length of the tent is important for me, of course, but I also think you have to have space to your sides... and, you know, we tall people tend to need more space in this direction, too, don't we?

You are fixated on the width of the floor at ground level. However, on the Squall the walls slope inward very quickly, same with the Double Rainbow. That width goes away. On both of those tents, my wife and I cannot sit up side by side at the same time. (On the original Squall I can barely sit up at all, unless I press myself against the pole.)

On the Lunar Duo the side walls are straight up and down, so you keep the 137cm width all the way to the top. It makes a surprising difference in the interior size and volume.

[Franco]

2tall
Since you are concerned about lateral space inside as well as height and length , the Rainshadow may be a better shelter for you.
Have a look at my video, it may give you a better idea of what it looks like inside :
http://www.youtube.com/user/francodarioli?feature=mhum#p/u/5/GNf837Dl1B0
(I'm only 172cm tall..)
Franco
BTW if misting becomes a problem , take a look at this :
http://www.youtube.com/user/francodarioli?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/GBnkGIz9cco

[2tall]

Hi,
it's been a long time since I posted this thread, but I just want to give you some feedback about my decision and how it came out during our section hike.

We bought the Squall 2 because of the low price and weight and we weren't disappointed. We seam-sealed it before the hike and is was water proof along the way. We had two very wet nights on the trail. One night it was raining very hard the whole night through, but we remained completely dry inside the Squall2. We had to fiddle with the bathtub floor quite some time to get it stable where we wanted it to be. But it was ok. There were a lot of other people in tents who didn't stay dry that night, although they had an expensive fully equipped double-wall tent! We just had to wipe away the water that was condensed on the inside of our tent roof and walls, but that was a matter of a few minutes.

There's really not so much space inside the Squall2, we didn't keep our packs with us in the tent. There's just no luxury, but I was happy every single day when I put on my pack because of the low weight! And then we spent a lot of nights in a shelter when there was enough room.

Bottom line: Great value for price, very low weight for a two-person tent, stays dry inside even in hard rain for hours, bathtub floor a little bit fiddly, exactly enough space for the two of us (very tall!), but no luxury!

I would recommend the Squall 2 to a friend and I would buy it again.

Did I mention the nice communication with the manufacturer and the smooth transaction sending the tent to Germany?

Take care and happy holidays
2tall

[Lilred]

Not to mention it makes a great pillow when staying in the shelters.....

[pepkbell]

i sold my squal good tent