Henry Shire Notch vs. Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis

[Shonryu]

Im an UL backpacker and I've been using hammocks for years. Currently I use a Dream Hammocks Darien UL at 13oz and a custom Hammock gear Cuban fly from Hammock gear 5oz but im wanting to experiment around a little with tent camping. After seeing my brother on our last trip set up his tent in under 5 mins I was a little envious vs. Hanging my hammock, getting the fly up, and using my UQ.

So I've narrowed it down to two tents that im interested in going with. A Notch or Wild Oasis and im looking for some feedback based on your experiences with both. Im also 6'2 so space is important.

[daddytwosticks]

I'm 6 foot and sleep on a full length Prolite. I have a Notch and love it. Started with an Eureka Spitfire solo and that was nice too. In between, I've used a Gatewood Cape, 10 X 8 silnylon tarp, Contrail, and a Lightheart Solo. In the summer, I now tend to use a poncho tarp and bug bivy as a lightweight system. I absolutely love the Notch for all of my non-summer hikes.

[q-tip]

My experience with the Wild Oasis is not good. After a three day rain front, it seemed like it was raining in my WO. the tarp has little air flow and the condensation gets really bad. Also, the design has my WM down bag hitting the tarp wall (I am 5'6"), and the increased condensation soaks the foot of my bag. Also, when raining, the mesh gets wet and the assists the splashing into the tarp. I was and am very dissapointed with this, and I spent $200. Back to my TT Contrail for good.....

[hypno66]

I use a Warbonnet Blackbird set up in the summer time. I have the Notch for the rest of the year and I'm VERY happy with it, best tent I've ever owned.

As a small bonus, my Notch is green instead of the Grey Slate that they show on the website = )

[handlebar]

At 6'2" I think the WO would be too short for you. I'm 6' and just manage to keep the foot of my bag off the walls. Ron has updated the Lunar Solo, on which the WO is based, to be longer. Don't know if he has plans to extend the length of the WO as we'll.

i found pitching my WO a little higher at 130cm than recommended helped with both the condensation and issue of my head or feet hitting the silnylon.

[Lucy Lulu]

I am 5'11 and used the WO on the CDT. It held up well in some crazy weather, but the foot of my bag did get damp from condensation where it touched the tarp. I just laid my rain jacket over the bottom of the bag at night. I switched to the Hexamid Solo Plus w/beak this year on the AT. It is roomier, and also easy to set up. The biggest plus is the full net floor to keep out the critters. I've not used the Notch.

[Praha4]

I have not tried the SMD Wild Oasis, but I have a TT Notch and love it. I've also tried the TT Contrail and Moment, but the Notch is my favorite of Henry's solo shelters. The Notch offers more versatility than the Moment, and I prefer the side entry feature of the Notch over the front entry on the Contrail. I'll probably continue to use the Notch on many hikes, but for most 3 season AT hikes in the future I now own a Mountain Laurel Designs Cuben Fiber Patrol tarp. After using a Cuben tarp, I really prefer it to silnylon, lighter weight, doesn't absorb moisture like silnylon, doesn't stretch or sag like silnylon. Good luck!

[mudsocks]

Leave your TQ in and UQ attached to your hammock to save time. It doesn't need to take more than 5 to setup your hammock + tarp.

Good luck with your tent setup. It will undoubtedly be faster to setup.

[LuckyMan]

I am 6'2" and fit in the Notch. It sets up easily and quickly, and I recommend it.

[English Stu]

I have the WO and have used the Contrail and the Moment. I sold the Contrail as I am happy with the WO. I have added some extra tie outs to the WO as it can be a bit windy at times in the UK; the weight is great. If I hadn't previously invested in the Moment and the WO I would have bought the Notch.

I don't get much of an issue with condensation, it is affected by plenty of other things like ventilation,site selection,storing wet gear nearby,camping on grass,ground cloth.

[Another Kevin]

I haven't tried the SMD Wild Oasis, because the reviews I've read suggest that I'm simply too big for it.

I'm 6'1" and own a Notch. It's served me well so far. The itty-bitty ridgeline vents help a lot with condensation. I was just out for a few nights, on one of which I saw the thermometer reading 18F inside the tent (so it must have been single digits outside) and the tent stayed dry on the inside. Got a couple of inches of snow on it, and all but a half inch slid right off while I was sleeping.

I got the version with the half-height inside panels. I would imagine that the full-mesh version would have been COLD in the wind.

It's big enough for me. I really like having the double vestibule. I can put boots and gaiters in the 'front door' and come in and out through it while my stuff is in the 'back door' and I don't need to climb over it.

The floor accommodated a K-mart blue foam pad under my Prolite.

Don't bother paying for the little widgets that go over your trekking pole grips and let you put the poles point down. I found them too fiddly. Putting the poles point up was fine, even in mud and snow, even with poles that have cork grips. By the way, I really like a trekking-pole-supported tent, not only because it's light, but also because I can adjust the pole height to vary the pitch slightly. It helped with warmth to drop the windward pole and tension the tie-outs on that side to compensate.

If you expect a lot of wind, it's probably worthwhile getting a length of 1/8" reflective Spectra cord and some additional pegs. The tent has a couple of additional cord tensioners so that you can attach wind guys.

My only complaint about it so far has been that the stuff sack that came with it simply isn't deep enough (although it's plenty wide enough). It's not as deep as the little struts that hold up the head and foot of the Notch are long. Predicably, last trip, one of the struts poked through the bottom seam. I haven't written to Henry yet about the issue, but plan to. Knowing him, I'm sure he'll have some way to help me out.