Methinks the guying is way too tight if the vertical tent pole is bowing! A pole snap waiting to happen?

Methinks the guying is way too tight if the vertical tent pole is bowing!

'tis the cost of getting a taut pitch for the picture ... tends to happen with my beloved HS TarpTents too and I would expect that the same pole would behave the same way used with all the competitors. With very careful tensioning, HS TT's can be taut with a straight pole. Perhaps a larger diameter (but a bit heavier) Easton pole would do better.

SUL DOES have it's compromises, after all.

A pole snap waiting to happen?

Perhaps ... I joined the trekking pole users (for the normal other reasons) so I don't worry about bowing poles any more.

I own a TT Contrail. In that tent the sleeper's head is at the tallest point in the tent...so you can actually sit up W/O moving your body.

In "The One" tent your head is at the LOWEST point of the tent. Hmmm... not to my liking.

Eric

But the Contrail weighs eight more ounces than this shelter. Glen - who is in the video - is a very tall man. Granted he isn't in a sleeping bag in the video but he seems to fit decently in it. I presume that this shelter won't be perfect for people not wanting to have sleeping bag rub on the inside of the shelter though - - that often seems the nature of this shape of shelter.

In terms of waterproofness of spinnaker vs. silnylon there is very little to worry about with spinnaker. The psi required to force water through any silicon impregnated fabric is quite high. Spinnaker also rules in it's lack of the sag-factor when wet.

Speaking of small lightweight shelters. I was checking out Six Moon Designs site and found that Ron will soon be offering the Serenity NetTent as an inner mesh tent with floor for the Gatewood Cape.

Cape = 11 oz and NetTent = 7 oz for total of 18 oz. And, of course the cape can be your rain gear, too.

The One is very intriguing, however, if not a little pricey.

Ah! to save a few ounces- What Price?

-Mark

Edited by markhurd on 02/04/2008 19:38:20 MST.

I believe that the video shows how to use the optional poles. They are inserted through guides, hence they are supported at four points along their length and not just "hanging out in the breeze" supported only at the top and bottom.


There are two poles - one in front and another in the rear.


Glen van Peske is 6 feet 3 inches tall so looking at the video you can properly guage how he fits in a 7 foot length.

Edited by wandering_bob on 02/04/2008 21:52:20 MST.

Nice shelter.
Since the inevitable comparison with the Contrail has already started, I just like to point out a couple of things.
The One ( the The ONE ?) is lighter however effectively it is also shorter. Both are 84" long, except that both ends of the Contrail are vertical, the The One has a fairly acute ( read unusable space) angles.
Another point is the great pitch variation available with the Contrail. It can be set high for headroom and ventilation but can also have the fabric all around touching the ground (except the beak , it misses by about 1" ) and anywhere in-between.
This is pure conjecture, but I suspect that the Contrail will stand up better to cross winds.
Nevertheless, the lighter weight and non "elastic" fabric will appeal to some, and why not ?

Franco
At the end of the clip Glen sets up his shelter in about 25 sec,more than twice as fast as my Contrail World Record (58 sec) I must get a faster camera

Edited by Franco on 02/04/2008 23:26:00 MST.

OK, Henry - maybe it's time for a spinnaker version of the Contrail.

Personally, I prefer the maximum peak heighth to be over my reclining head so I can just sit up in my sleeping bag and start cooking in the vestibule. That's one thing I miss when moving from my Contrail to my Double Rainbow.

Oh well, it's always too hot or too cold or too dry or too wet or too something else wherever I go. I've learned to suck it up and try not to complain too loudly. Doesn't always work.

"the The One has a fairly acute ( read unusable space) angles"

This is incorrect. The ends have (more than) vertical mesh hanging from the fly - teh distance between the floor and the fly is more than enough unless you have a really, really big head (looks like 12-14 inches - i.e. Akto).

As far as stability is considered, I would think the shape of this would repel water and even very light snow better than the Contrail (less unsupported fabric). We are all also aware of feedback on the Contrail struts in very soft soil - sinking.

The 'bomber' mode of the Contrail is attractive, however, although spending two nights under an A-framed tarp set up with two poles enduring 3 inches of snow I must say that it worked really, really well (never ceases to amaze me what UL gear can do in the field).

Edited by FamilyGuy on 02/05/2008 09:05:58 MST.

> OK, Henry - maybe it's time for a spinnaker version of the Contrail.

I can only speculate what the fabric is in this Tarptent prototype photo, but it sure looks white like spinnaker to me.

Edited by sharalds on 02/05/2008 10:44:52 MST.

>"I can only speculate what the fabric is in this Tarptent prototype photo, but it sure looks white like spinnaker to me."

The caption below that photo, or a similar one, on Ron Moak's blog said it was a prototype made from Tyvek. Apparently Henry brought it on a trip he took w/ Ron & GVP.

Edited by Hiker816 on 02/05/2008 18:35:02 MST.

Hi David
I had another look at the video, a 1 hour download on my dial up modem...., and you are correct, there is some vertical space at both ends.
I know that Glen uses his ThinLite mat but for the ones that use a thicker mat, particularly the tubular types like the MaxThermo , there would be not that much space above the head if you are of Glen's size . (could be ideal for me and I wish all of those abnormally long people would stop winging about tent sizes).
One point to consider is that most of the condensation comes from one's breath, so the closer your mouth is to the fabric, the more condensation you will have. However looks like there is plenty of ventilation there. Of course people will complain about the wind whistling through....
As far as rain is concerned, after my experience in Nepal where rain was thick,hard and lasted for hours, I really cannot see any problems with the Contrail. Never had snow on the Contrail but a layer of frost over it . Using my mid rear pole guyout it was still taut in the morning , so no sagging there. But it was not designed as a winter tent.
Franco
Congratulations to Brian Van Peski. Great production.Informative ,entertaining and nice close-ups.Still looks good on full screen.

I would like to point out, for the ones that don't already know, that since I use and like the Tarptents I am biased towards the brand ( really ?, no kidding !) but then again Glen would not sell the Squall Classic if he did not like it....
And, yes, I do think that the One could be THE ONE for many.But the year is young...

Edited by Franco on 02/05/2008 20:22:13 MST.

This was an early prototype without the pole loops. --Glen

According to the website it's available on the 15th.

We could also compare this to the MLD SuperFly with floor... which comes in at around 20 oz... but sleeps TWO! Not a "true" bathtub floor though. The only thing I'm not so sure about with the SuperFly is the idea of having those poles in the middle of my shelter. Would be awesome to have all that room though! That shelter is HUGE inside. No vestibule though. Which I guess is fine if you go with the floorless version... you can just keep your muddy shoes inside.

Anyway... for a full protection shelter... The One looks like it can't be beat. It does have those angled walls... but it's not as "bad" as the SMD designs with one pole inside to form a pyramid. With the two poles (on the outside... which I like) on The One... at least two of the four sides are vertical. With the SMD designs... all of the walls angle in.

Damn nice shelter. VERY tempting :)

Edited by davidlewis on 02/08/2008 19:33:39 MST.

WRT the post above about SMD offering the Gatewood with the Serenity bug tent... I assume you mean Ron's Serenity bug tent? How would that work... since the Gatewood is a pyramid and the Serenity is an extruded triangle? Will it be redesigned specifically for the Gatewood?

The Serenity NetTent is a new SMD product that's in the works and that's designed specifically for the Gatewood Cape. It was discussed in this recent thread:

SMD Gatewood Cape Bug Net

Thanks Ernie! Ron maybe should have called it the Tranquility or something though so as not to confuse it with the MLD Serenity. Then again... I think MLD had the Serenity taken off the site for the past 2 years or so. They just put it back on the site recently.

Edited by davidlewis on 02/08/2008 20:06:03 MST.

Yeah...two bug tents named Serenity made by two guys named Ron could prove to be very confusing! I didn't know that Ron Bell's Serenity Shelter was available again until your post sent me to check the MLD website.

Hey Bob... WRT to a Spinnaker TarpTent... I don't know. I LOVE my Spinnaker gear as much as anyone else, but to me, TarpTent is like the Rolls Royce of UltraLight. Pure luxury. And still crazy light compared to mainstream gear. To me... a Spinnaker TarpTent wouldn't be a TarpTent. I think Henry is right to do his thing... keep the "luxury ultralight" niché and let MLD/GG/SMD battle it out for the title of lightest shelter, smallest pack, fabric most likely to be mistaken for rice paper... etc. LOL :)