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joke_explainer
Dec 28, 2011


what tent do you own or use?

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SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

I'm :canada: so I have an MEC Tarn 3 for backpacking and car camping. I also took it paddling through Canyonlands when I went to Moab and now it's stained red. I love it.



Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2

Snug but fine fit for me and my wife and good for 1 person. I might buy a Tarptent Double Rainbow if I could do it over again though...double side entry doors and a bit bigger for less weight (at the expense of being a single wall tent)



joke_explainer
Dec 28, 2011


I've heard great things about the UL2 but the material seems so thin it kind of spooks me. Have you had to patch it at all?

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
Not really. I somehow got a very small slit in the floor but mcnett tenacious tape fixed it up fine and keeps it from getting bigger. Haven't put any holes in the sides or the rain fly

Killing Flies
Jun 30, 2007

We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.
This one if I'm alone.

Otherwise some Wenzel 3 person I picked up somewhere. No complaints about either. I figure as long as you find one with the right features, like tub pan bottom, etc. then you can pretty much make it work. The cheaper one I had to spray thick with repellant to make it water tight. Only problem is its not super light but if I'm travelling with another person to necessitate it then it's no trouble to share the weight.

best bale
Jul 4, 2007



Lipstick Apathy
Eureka timberline 2. Fits wife and I plus scaredy-cat 60 lbs dog. Had it for years, don't take the best care of it but I love it and never had a problem.

Edit: they come at an awesome price as well.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal
Save yourself the cash and skip the tent--all the cool kids are using hammocks these days :smuggo:

Free Market Mambo
Jul 26, 2010

by Lowtax
If I'm not too worried about weight and it's fall, spring, mild winter, I use a Nemo Morpho 2P, it inflates and is really adaptable, the airbeams are actually stronger than poles when it comes to wind.

Summer? siltarp with a bug bivy underneath.

Cold or above treeline? Hilleberg Nallo 3P. Nordic pitch 4 lyfe, double walls provide insulation, nice big vestibule for equipment storage, easily stormproofed. Every time I set one up I am impressed by how well thought through the pitching and guying process is.

The one downside with all these setups is that they aren't freestanding, so I guess I might have a hard time pitching on concrete or a salt pan. Then again, I am not Hobo Nick.

Blitter
Mar 16, 2011


Picked up a Mountain Hardware Lightwedge 3 so long ago, that it was teal and purple. Bought a footprint for it and have treated it reasonably and I keep on taking it out. Really quick setup, and the fly/vestibule can be cinched in tight enough that it sees around zero use comfortably.

It has a surprisingly large window on the vestibule (their SVX window was brand new, iirc), which is really amazing; can see the sky if you sleep with your head at the front, and the weather of course.

A friend got one of these and after using it on a trip, I immediately bought one. MEC Mantis - It's essentially a tarp, with netting on two faces, and a sleeved pole. You tie it off to a tree (or use/fashion a pole) and peg/tie off the other end upwind, and have a pretty huge dry and bug free zone. Batten the front down lower, and with it oriented correctly, you can deal with significant winds and rain comfortably. I found a footprint (from some other tent) in a clearance bin that fits amazing well. For one canoe trip we cooked, ate (drank!sung!) and slept 6 in that thing.

Annoyingly, MEC no longer sells the mantis at all, and Mountain Hardware doesn't put windows in anything but their expedition tents, boo hiss. Discontinued gear makes me feel old!

Blitter fucked around with this message at 07:09 on May 28, 2016

Canna Happy
Jul 11, 2004
The engine, code A855, has a cast iron closed deck block and split crankcase. It uses an 8.1:1 compression ratio with Mahle cast eutectic aluminum alloy pistons, forged connecting rods with cracked caps and threaded-in 9 mm rod bolts, and a cast high



Here is my hexatwin tarp on the Florida Trail a few years ago. (also in the photo is a friends double (?) rainbow and a zpacks hexamid poking up in the rear)

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Blitter posted:


Picked up a Mountain Hardware Lightwedge 3 so long ago, that it was teal and purple. Bought a footprint for it and have treated it reasonably and I keep on taking it out. Really quick setup, and the fly/vestibule can be cinched in tight enough that it sees around zero use comfortably.

It has a surprisingly large window on the vestibule (their SVX window was brand new, iirc), which is really amazing; can see the sky if you sleep with your head at the front, and the weather of course.

A friend got one of these and after using it on a trip, I immediately bought one. MEC Mantis - It's essentially a tarp, with netting on two faces, and a sleeved pole. You tie it off to a tree (or use/fashion a pole) and peg/tie off the other end upwind, and have a pretty huge dry and bug free zone. Batten the front down lower, and with it oriented correctly, you can deal with significant winds and rain comfortably. I found a footprint (from some other tent) in a clearance bin that fits amazing well. For one canoe trip we cooked, ate (drank!sung!) and slept 6 in that thing.

Annoyingly, MEC no longer sells the mantis at all, and Mountain Hardware doesn't put windows in anything but their expedition tents, boo hiss. Discontinued gear makes me feel old!

Goddammit, here I was all excited about a cool thing. Fuckers.

The Slack Lagoon
Jun 17, 2008



Ems sugar shack 2 for car camping since it's like 7 lbs and a fly Creek 2 for backpacking

HarryPurvis
Sep 20, 2006
That reminds me of a story...
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2








About 3 lbs. Super comfy for solo trips. Can fit a second person snugly. Dual doors and vestibules. Have had it in wind, hail, and snow with no problems.

Jenny Agutter
Mar 18, 2009

Tarptent double rainbow. The double doors and vestibules are great. Very lightweight and big enough for a couple tall people to sleep in snugly.

waffle enthusiast
Nov 16, 2007



REI Quarter Dome T1 or w/e their solo tent is nowadays. The sleeping space is fine, but I could really use a better vestibule situation. I also have the Half-Dome T2, but IIRC it's pretty heavy for solo missions.

You people who sleep in hammocks, is it possible to sleep In any other fashion than "on your back"? Seems like one of those fads that's going to go away in a couple years, though my buddy from NE swears by 'em.

best bale
Jul 4, 2007



Lipstick Apathy
You can sleep on your side. The trick that's not often mentioned is to sleep at an angle instead of perfectly in line with the hammock.

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010







Kelty Trail Ridge 2


The verticle siding makes it feel so much more roomier and the mesh allows for some pretty baller views and breezes to come through.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Dangerllama posted:


You people who sleep in hammocks, is it possible to sleep In any other fashion than "on your back"? Seems like one of those fads that's going to go away in a couple years, though my buddy from NE swears by 'em.

It's already been mentioned, but sleeping at a diagonal is key to comfort because you lay flat and your body is caressed equally with no pressure points. At home, I'm a stomach/side sleeper, but in a hammock, I have zero issues sleeping soundly on my back, which I can't do in a regular bed. I sometimes roll over on my side or downward diagonal to change it up, but I'm otherwise perfectly content on my back in a hammock.

Also seems like every time I go out, I see more and more hammocks represented. Hammocks are win win win, less weight, superior comfort, more exposure to the outdoors while being isolated from rain runoff and ground bugs/critters, easier to find a site, plus you can cook breakfast and coffee in bed. Never going back to a tent.

Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Aug 8, 2016

Cannon_Fodder
Jul 17, 2007

"Hey, where did Steve go?"
Design by Kamoc
We're shopping for an inexpensive 2 person tent.

We're most likely not going to do any above-the-treeline camping, but may deal with rain. Any suggestions?

waffle enthusiast
Nov 16, 2007



OSU_Matthew posted:

It's already been mentioned, but sleeping at a diagonal is key to comfort because you lay flat and your body is caressed equally with no pressure points. At home, I'm a stomach/side sleeper, but in a hammock, I have zero issues sleeping soundly on my back, which I can't do in a regular bed. I sometimes roll over on my side or downward diagonal to change it up, but I'm otherwise perfectly content on my back in a hammock.

Also seems like every time I go out, I see more and more hammocks represented. Hammocks are win win win, less weight, superior comfort, more exposure to the outdoors while being isolated from rain runoff and ground bugs/critters, easier to find a site, plus you can cook breakfast and coffee in bed. Never going back to a tent.

Solid. My buddy is coming with me on a trip in a couple of weeks. Aside from the obvious tree-line related issue (I live in CO), I'm pretty interested in seeing how this thing works.

Lynza
Jun 1, 2000

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
- Robert A. Heinlein

Dangerllama posted:

Solid. My buddy is coming with me on a trip in a couple of weeks. Aside from the obvious tree-line related issue (I live in CO), I'm pretty interested in seeing how this thing works.

The coolest thing about hammocks imo is that you don't need trees, necessarily. Got some big rocks? Figure out a way to hang between them. Cars? Hook em up between them. Hammocks are rad if you're good at Macgyvering stuff.

Cannon_Fodder, any tent that has a rainfly and isn't a total garbage bag ought to work just fine for you. Most tents come with rainflies in my experience, but if you have one that doesn't, buy one separately or use a tarp.

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?

Cannon_Fodder posted:

We're shopping for an inexpensive 2 person tent.

We're most likely not going to do any above-the-treeline camping, but may deal with rain. Any suggestions?

Are you looking for a backpacking tent or something geared more towards car camping?

What's your budget?

The rei passage 2 (the tent I've had for years and I can't recommend enough) and half dome 2 are good choices for $100-200. There are actually a lot of options at that price range and I think backpacker magazine just did a writeup of best gear for specific prices, most will weigh around 4-5 pounds. Over 200 and they'll start to approach 3-4lbs. Kelty Salida also comes to mind, but really pretty much every brand makes a 3 season 2 person tent around $200.

Verman fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Aug 10, 2016

dZPnJOm8QwUAseApNj
Apr 15, 2002

arf bark woof
I've spent the last week cycle touring with a Vango Mirage 200. Plenty of room, quick to set up, and discrete in the wild. Too heavy for backpacking but seems about right for this kind of travel. The inner separates but can't be pitched on its own; it's useful to have the two separate so I can take down and stow the inner without exposing it to rain. I'm in England and even the dry nights are wet.

Stanley Goodspeed
Dec 26, 2005
What, the feet thing?



I picked up a Mountain Smith Morrison 2 for me and my girlfriend when we first started backpacking since it was so cheap and I haven't been able to justify upgrading it yet. It's a bit on the heavy side (around 5 lbs with body / fly / poles / stakes) but split up it's fine. Similar size to the REI Half Dome 2, a little easier to set up and possibly a little less durable but I haven't had issues yet. Goes on sale on Amazon frequently and can be had for under $100, though a more "normal" price is closer to $120. If you're new to backpacking and need a good general purpose tent for two on the cheap you could do a lot worse than this.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Mein Eyes! posted:

I've spent the last week cycle touring with a Vango Mirage 200. Plenty of room, quick to set up, and discrete in the wild. Too heavy for backpacking but seems about right for this kind of travel. The inner separates but can't be pitched on its own; it's useful to have the two separate so I can take down and stow the inner without exposing it to rain. I'm in England and even the dry nights are wet.

That's the best part of ditching the tent and going to a hammock (or just plain tarp & sleeping pad)--setting up the tarp is so quick and easy, and you can do all your set up and tear down underneath without getting exposed to a downpour. Then, when you're ready to go, just roll up the tarp while it's hanging, slip over the snake skins, and latch it to the outside of your pack to dry.

Tents are terrible things

best bale
Jul 4, 2007



Lipstick Apathy
How do people in this thread stay warm in a hammock? Last few trips I've been too cold to sleep. I can't afford an under quilt, but would a normal foam sleeping pad help?

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

bale. posted:

How do people in this thread stay warm in a hammock? Last few trips I've been too cold to sleep. I can't afford an under quilt, but would a normal foam sleeping pad help?

Sure, a blue ccf pad works great. Before I bought an underquilt, I just used my inflatable ground pad, let a little air out so it would cradle me better, and that's all I ever needed. Some hammocks even have two layers so you can slip a ccf pad in between. If you don't want to buy a top quilt, just use your sleeping bag unzipped as a quilt, or fully zipped if it's really cold out.

I've used a blue foam pad and my 20° bag down into the teens quite comfortably.

Stanley Goodspeed
Dec 26, 2005
What, the feet thing?



For hammock camping, what's some suggested setups to get into it? Any reccomendations for best brands / models, or warnings for things to stay away from? Can you do well with the included hardware in most cases, or will I need to buy additional straps / ropes / cords / a bunch of caribiners / I don't even know?

My current setup for is sleeping pad, poncho liner or sleeping bag, and bivy sack (<1 lbs.) or half a tent (~2.5 lbs.), depending on weather. Total weight ranges from 4 - 6.5 lbs. depending on what combination of stuff I bring. Would a hammock be fairly competitive with this?

Are most parks pretty chill with people using hammocks? I've heard a few places don't like them because they have the potential to damage trees. I'm also concerned since a lot of the backpacking I do is at established sites that often seem to lack decent places to hang - either no trees in a lot of the coastal locations or the site will be a clearing in a bunch of underbrush so accessing trees can be difficult. What do you do in situations like this?

Hammock camping sounds pretty cool but I'm worried that if I try things out myself I'm going to research a ton and then still end up with multiple iterations of gear as I find poo poo that works / doesn't, and I'd like to minimize expenditures as much as possible. Sorry for this long, rambling question post and thanks in advance for any information!

best bale
Jul 4, 2007



Lipstick Apathy
To save trees use webbing instead of ropes. Eno makes a decent setup. Check out the hammock forums, they have really good information for every level of hammock-er. Some popular companies are Dutch Ware, byer of Maine and grand trunk. You'll obviously get varying opinions but even the cheap parachute ones in Amazon are pretty decent and often rebranded bigger name stuff.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Hammocks are an endlessly customizable rabbit hole. Hammock forums are a great start with lots of helpful people, but my main takeaways would be:

Find one that's the proper length for your size. Wider is also more comfortable, eg don't get the eno single, get the double. Second key to comfort is bottom insulation, and any ground pad will work fine, along with your sleeping bag for the top. Mesh snakeskins are a great investment for your tarp. A hex silnylon tarp is probably the best compromise between weight and coverage. Hang pitch is also important, you want 30° and a proper length ridgeline well help you get it right every time

Hennessy is a good starting point for all in one system. Kammock is thoroughly uncomfortable (in my experience). Blackbird warbonnet is probably the most generally recommended/liked, and made in amurica. If you're just trying it, you can go as cheap (10$ nylon taffeta table cloth, x2 5$ climbing cabiners, and some amsteel blue cord to whip the ends plus x2 10' webbing straps for suspension) or as pricey (I've got nearly 600$ in top/bottom quilts alone) as you like. Grand trunk is another cheap one I hear recommended a lot.

It's a bit of a learning curve, but totally worth it. If I were to start again from scratch, I would just spend the money upfront for an all in one system, so you know the tarp, bugnet, etc are all compatible, rather than trying to piece it together bit by bit. If you're buying from a backpacking specific manufacturer, the hanging hardware should be sufficient, but I like my own thing, which is a diy version of the Dutch buckle (using his titanium buckles. Really, in fact, I would order one of his hammocks, everything else I've bought from him has been top notch, and super cheap, including his winter hammock sock, which cuts out the wind. Basically you need a hammock, suspension, tarp (and tarp suspension), bugnet, and insulation.

To answer your other question, it's a lot easier to find a hammock site than a tent, and trees only a couple inches thick can hold a surprising amount of weight. Guarantee you can find a spot nearly anywhere below the tree line that's not the desert. Hammocks can be as light as you want, sacrificing ounces for comfort, but my sweet spot is very much on the comfortable end, and less than five pounds overall.

Hope some of this helps!

Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Aug 13, 2016

waffle enthusiast
Nov 16, 2007



Welp. Anyone have experience with the polyurethane delamintaing off a rainfly? I just set up my Quarter Dome T1 to prep for a trip later this week and the fly is sticky as hell. As far as I've been able to research, this means the PU coating has basically melted off the surface and is irreparable. The tent is 8 years old, but I've used it exactly once. :smith:

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?
Ouch. That sucks, I'm guessing you can't purchase a new rain fly either. I've never looked into individual pieces other than footprints.

best bale
Jul 4, 2007



Lipstick Apathy
Have no idea if it would work, but since you have nothing to lose, could you use a seam sealer and just spray it down?

waffle enthusiast
Nov 16, 2007



Yeah, you can't just buy a fly from REI. I'm going to take it in tomorrow and see if they'll treat it as a warranty issue rather than a "return" since I'm perfectly fine with a repair/replacement. Interestingly, the Half Dome 2HC I got from them something like 13 years ago is still in great condition, and I've used it a ton.

Edit: The good news is — and I didn't know this before — old purchases are grandfathered in to REI's old über return policy. The bad news is that REI's "warranty" is essentially their return policy. Based on the new 1-year return policy, I asked the guy if they warranty their tents for any longer than a year. He said no, if anything fails for any reason after a year, you're SOL. Something to think about when tent shopping. :shrug:

waffle enthusiast fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Aug 15, 2016

Fall Dog
Feb 24, 2009
So I'm making a transition from car camping to backpacking and I've realised my bivvy bag and tarp set up isn't as practical as I'd like. My bag and liner are both left sided zippers while the bivvy is right handed zipper and it makes getting in and out of a total drag.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a 1-man tent? At the moment I'm considering either the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 or the MSR Hubba NX, with more leaning to the UL1. I'm not interested in a hammock or tarp tent style set up at the moment so if you guys have experience with either tent or can suggest others, I'd love to hear it.

I'm also trying to find a lightweight camo tarp to try to make where I camp a little less obvious if I can.

waffle enthusiast
Nov 16, 2007



Just got back from a two day trip with the Cooper Spur UL2. Got to sit through everything from 60° and sunny to torrential hail. The tent held up like a champ. It's significantly lighter and more packable than any other tent I've used so far (it's replacing the Quarter Dome T1 mentioned above for solo use). The only caveat is that there's no way in hell I'd feel comfortable using this tent without a footprint. Other than that, it's got tons of pockets, tons of space, and travels very well.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Dangerllama posted:

The tent is 8 years old, but I've used it exactly once. :smith:

I wouldn't be too broken up over it, sounds like you should try and get out more anyways

waffle enthusiast
Nov 16, 2007



I have two kids. We generally use a different tent.

waffle enthusiast fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Aug 21, 2016

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stinkypete
Nov 27, 2007
wow

To possibly fix the rain fly scrub the fly with a bathroom type stiff brush to remove all of the flaking factory waterproofing. Then apply 3 light coats of 3m scotchgaurd making sure to dry between coats. It's worth a try before trashing the tent. Scotchgaurd outside I made that mistake of laying dropcloth inside in winter and waterproofing inside and almost ended up camping out on my front porch. I have used this method on some old army parkas in snow weather before I could afford my new snow gear. Plastic sheeting is cheep also.

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