Thanks, Jason. I've got a lot to work with thanks to the generous collective here on BPL. Will let you know what I decide. In 7 or 8 weeks it'll be mine all mine.

I pitch my duomid with two poles (titanium goat extenders) and I think it makes it stronger in the wind.

I had a cuben trailstar and didn't care for it at all.

but it's vanilla and chocolate, both are great shelters.

I think the duomid does a better job of keeping snow blowing sideways - horizontal out.

We have very positive experiences of the Trailstar in strong winds, heavy rain and sleet, far above the treeline in arctic/alpine conditions (short write-up + pictures can be found at http://outtherekids.wordpress.com ). Haven't used it in snow so far. We have the grey silnylon version of the TS. I wouldn't get the cuben version, based on recent reviews.

Our standard decent-weather pitch is at 125 cm, while for bad weather we take it down to 110 cm or so. Never had to take the entrance panel all the way down to the ground, but occasionally had to lower it to the belly-crawl level.

I always enjoy the fact that with the Duomid, you can unzip and step right in. No kneeling or crawling in the mud to get inside. Dignified. I'll probably get one for the third time.

I've used both this year (silnylon versions), sold the DuoMid after disappointing performance above treeline. I concede the point that there's crawling involved to get into the Trailstar in its low pitch, but once in, I feel it's more storm worthy than the DuoMid - at least for wind shedding. Snow is a different matter, and the Duo's steeper walls have the edge there.

This spring I purchased a cuben door shield from OookWorks for the occasions when the bad weather can't figure out which direction to blow. It keeps the worst of it out of the TS, adds a bit more privacy, but still allows good ventilation.

Hi Anthony
I am getting a duomid and already use AGPs, I was thinking about using an extention to make an A frame, so it is interresting to hear you are already doing exactly the same with the same gear.
How long are the poles overall when in the A frame position?
How long are the extentions and did you get them to make them specially?
I wondered about just getting a spare pair of lowers, which would act as ectentions and if I ever broke one, I would have a spare!
Thanks
James

I recently sold my Moment and was stuck for solo shelter options, and oddly all of my candidates were MLD. Solomid vs Duomid vs Trailstar. What follows is wholly my personal opinions and preferences, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Eventually I decided on the Duomid because what I was looking for was as close as I could come to an all-purpose 3-season solo shelter, and I thought the Duomid most closely fit the bill.

I chose it over the Solomid because I was willing to suck up a 3.5oz weight penalty for the extra room- I tested out both and found the difference in room to make a significant improvement in quality of life, and those paltry extra ounces were well worth it. Lots of space for contorting around to get into a bivy and bag, store shoes/pack/etc., or just get out of the rain and still have space to dress/undress (which came in very handy on my recent San Juan Wilderness hike). A solo hiker could certainly cook in it, too, though I have not yet tried this. And, of course, if you were hard-pressed it can fit two people if they are friendly.

The Trailstar, as many said, does not seem to be designs for any significant snow loading, which is potentially an issue here in the Rockies even in summer. I guess I thought that the Trailstar seems a bit more "specialized" than my "all-purpose" Duomid, if that makes any sense- it is THE tarp for wind. Even then I have a hard time believing that it is SIGNIFICANTLY more wind-worthy than a Duomid if the Duomid is fully staked-out. I do understand the appeal of it's simplicity, though. That did tempt me. But the Duomid has more headroom, too. Meh- pick your poison.

IMO the biggest advantage that the Solomid and Trailstar have over the Duomid is that the Duomid can't use a trek pole as it's center pole without a pole jack. That would be ideal- I'm into simplicity.

Edited by acrosome on 10/08/2012 12:25:56 MDT.

Dean,

I think there's a few poles that would work for the DuoMid without a jack, but it depends on how high you want to pitch it. The RutaLocura 3 piece poles go to 54", which should be enough unless you want to elevate the mid.

Another option is using 3 piece flick lock poles like Black Diamonds Alpine Carbon Cork, but replacing one of the bottom sections with the lower section from a Gossamer Gear LT4 pole (or any 2 piece pole of about the right diameter). This is what I was doing until I left the Alpine Carbon Cork poles at a trailhead, which was a costly mistake because I needed new poles and a new lower section for my wife's LT4's.

I use BD Contour poles and do not require the jack.