I have a couple of Henry Shire's tarptents, and am a fan. However, the Silnylon and sailcloth versions are all slippery devils, and I haven't found a good way of packing up the tent, especially when the tent is wet and more so when it's still raining.
I'd appreciate any advice or hints from anyone who has found a quick and easy way.
At present, I kind of just stuff it into the sack, as folding and rolling up in the rain is slow, just as wet, and it's hard to get it rolled up into the sack when wet.
Is there a better way? I suspect I may have overlooked an obvious here, so don't hold back if so.

craig

It seems that we are on the same page here :)

I personally just stuff the TT loosely either in my pack or in a Zpacks small-plus CF stuffsack that is much more rotund than the TT's og tall & skinny sack. I find this to be easier/quicker than folding or rolling.

Not really sure how I feel about Henry's og stuff sacks, except for their intended purpose of being able to easily pack on the outside of one's ruck. A PITA IMHO.

As for the stays that are in many TTs, rolling the TT around them seems to be the way to go if you aren't down with removing/reinserting them.

Stuffing always takes more space than folding/rolling.
Exactly how you do it depends on the model but the basic idea is to lay it down flat, fold it in lengthwise so that is as wide as your pole or strut/s, then use the pole and or strut to
roll it with .
Franco

With the Squall 2 and the Rainshadow 2 I fold to the width of the front strut and then roll, as Franco describes. It doesn't have to be folded exactly as long as the roll is the length of the ridge pole. The tent is actually quite forgiving!

I also have the Gossamer Gear/Tarptent Squall Classic (designed by Henry Shires and manufactured by Gossamer Gear), a smaller version of the Squall with no strut over the door. I also use the fold and roll technique, although it's easier with no over-the-door strut to deal with.

The tent I've had trouble getting into its sack is the Rainshadow. The stuff sack for the Rainshadow is identical to the stuff sack for the Squall 2. When I hold them up to each other, they are exactly the same size. However, the Rainshadow is a bigger and bulkier tent. The only way I can get the Rainshadow into its sack is to leave out the poles and stakes. This works out fine, though, as my 10-year-old grandson is now old enough to carry the poles and stakes.

I carry the tent in one of the side pockets of my pack. This allows me to get the tent up in a rainstorm without getting the contents of my pack wet. It also keeps a wet tent away from my pack contents in the morning.

Edited by hikinggranny on 08/04/2010 01:53:00 MDT.

+1 franco: I fold and roll.

--Mark

Mary is correct ...(again)

The Squall and Rainshadow do have the same stuff sack.
The Squall is on the top as it is from the factory, the Rainshadow is my re-pack.
Can't remember exactly how I did it but it can be done...
Franco
Bit of TT trivia. My wife came up with that name (Rainshadow) however some clever guy over there suggested the name first and got a free tent for his effort.

I have 2 Tarptents (Double Rainbow and Squall), and I just stuff them. I don't use the supplied stuff sack, but rather an OR sil-nylon sack that is shorter but larger in girth than the supplied sack. My poles get packed in a pocket on the outside of the pack. I find stuffing is the quickest method when it's raining.

I also have 2 other sil-nylon shelters, a Hillberg Akto and a MLD DuoMid. I stuff the DuoMid just like the Tarptents, but I actually fold/roll the Akto. The reason for this is that the Akto has integrated struts on the 4 corners, and packing it by folding and then rolling is a lot more efficient than trying to stuff it.

I personally set mine on top of the Neo Air and roll it up in the Neo Air So that it gives rigidity to the setup. Plus the slipperyness is gone once the Neo Air is completely consuming the TarpTent Moment I have. That is how I do it.

Do not use a stuff sack. Just put the tarp in the bottom of the pack first, no folding or compacting, just set it in the bottom, sopping wet is fine.

Then add a 2.2 oz trash COMPACTOR bag as a pack liner, and fill that with the rest of your gear. The down sleeping bag (also without a stuff sack) goes in first, and the rest of the gear on top.

The COMPACTOR bag keeps the dry and wet stuff separated.

Easy. Fast. Simple.

For my Squall 2 I've used a different stuff sack and kept the poles separately on the outside of the pack. I find this to be more convenient from both a packing and storage perspective inside my pack (or in the outside mesh pocket).

Mike,

re your packing order: east fast simple ... except, the tent is last thing to be ready to pack.

Personally, and especially when its wet out, I want to pack as much as possible in my tent, where it is dry, and not have to reshuffle gear around to accommodate putting the wet tent at the bottom of the pack. Also, if I want to set it out to dry during a break or lunch stop, if it's at the bottom of my pack, everything again has to be shuffled around to get to it. Drives me batty (-er, anyway)

I like the Cuben dry sacks, MLD makes one, but I can get a deal on the GraniteGear version via REI, so I use those. Keeps the wet gear separated, and I can keep it near the top so I can get to it quickly if I want to take advantage of some sun to dry the tarp.

"re your packing order: east fast simple ... except, the tent is last thing to be ready to pack. "

On my first backpacking trips I did it the other way around, because I was putting the tent at the bottom of the pack. So I stuffed my sleeping bag into a dry sack, then struck the tent, then packed. That combined with having more stuff than I needed (newbie syndrome) meant that it took a lot longer to pack than it ought, and I had all of my gear scattered around the campsite while I packed.

The last time, I packed everything else first, and the tarp last (I switched to a tarp pretty recently). That combined with having quite a bit less stuff to pack made the packing process quite a bit more efficient.

All of which is, I suppose, a long-winded way of simply agreeing with you :)

I also have to disagree with MikeC. (Usually we agree on everything except TP, so this is new.) I've had to pitch and/or break camp in a pouring rain too many times ever to want the tent (or tarp) down in the bottom of my pack. By keeping my tent in the side pocket of my pack, I can get it out without even opening my pack, set up the tent, then move inside to unpack. I do the reverse in the morning: pack up everything while inside the tent, close it up, move it outside, take the tent down last thing.

If you read BPL's articles (several of them) on techniques of coping with wet cold rain, they also suggest packing the shelter on the outside or at the top of the pack.

Franco, I'm glad to know I wasn't imagining about the Squall and Rainshadow stuff sacks being identical. The question is, why? It doesn't make sense!

thanks for all the suggestions and the promptness. I'll try some of the new ideas when I go walkabout next.

all the best
craig

Packing the Rainshadow 2 into its OEM stuff sack is simple.

Lay tent on ground, put bottom, top and sides of tent into the floor area. The floor area is an even rectangle. Fold one side of the floor to the middle. Pick up the other side and fold it up and over the middle to the opposite corners. (Tent should now be in thirds). Put poles and bottom end and roll towards top tightly. Put in stuff sack and your done. You can fold and roll this tent as fast as you can set it up with a little practice. It really is easy.