I've been trying to hunt up a Shangri-La 2 fly for a friend at a good price. Yesterday, the fly was listed at $99 on the Golite site but temporarily unavailable. Today, the fly and nest are only listed bundled together as a tent. Calling a Golite store just now, I was informed that the components are no longer available separately. To my mind, this is a bad call. But recognizing that the kind of backpackers who populate this site are only a tiny sliver of the entire market, I could be wrong. What do y'all think?

edited for spelling

Edited by Dondo on 02/29/2012 20:54:33 MST.

This is a tough call. I've wondered about this in the past when I saw things like a floor or net inner for some no longer produced shelter on Sierra Trading Post. From Golite's POV it's gotta be tough to swallow a bunch of mis-matched stuff. From my POV, though, I would have never bought my SL5 if I had to pony up for the inner part which I have no need for. I'll be curious to see how this plays out. Personally, I think they should do a manufacturing run of extra flies and then maybe charge some extra margin on them, so folks still have the option to buy just that part while reducing their risk somewhat. No doubt that reducing SKUs saves them a ton of money and hassle, though.

Not sure it is a bad call because the pricing (MSRP) has fallen to where the $199 would have only gotten you the fly but now you have the bug inner too.

From Golite's perspective, they have minimized mismatched inventory that they would have to blow out at a massive discount at the end of the year and from the customer's perspective they are receiving more for less. The inners will work for a variety of tarps and they can always be re-sold.

It's no secret that GoLite's philosophy has always been to get more people outdoors. They've sought to do that by offering durable and attractive lightweight gear and apparel. Early in their days they were offering what was at the time very lightweight stuff. Now, things have gotten a little heavier (maybe a lot to those of us who wring our hands over 2 oz), but it's not that they've abandoned us; it's that we've moved on. It's not them, it's us.

I admit, though, when I look at the new line, I can't help but think, "Wow. $230 is a darn good price for a 20 deg quilt. Maybe it's worth the extra couple ounces. That Katabatic Gear quilt is almost twice that price." For all the people like me that will sit and debate that, there are five for which that decision's a no-brainer. They don't care how much weight GoLite could have saved by opting for 850 FP down (v. 800), or by using Pertex instead of 20D nylon.

So, back to the original post, the tent systems are really about the value proposition. I have an original SL1 and love it, but there are many people out there that will want the bug nest. I hike primarily in the Colorado Rockies where bugs aren't really an issue most of the time, but GoLite sells to a national customer base, and people on the AT or in Montana most certainly care about bugs, and they don't want to have to buy multiple tents for different conditions. Instead, GoLite is selling 3 tents for less than the price of many single-walls or tarp tents.

What does this mean for me? I see myself buying less and less GoLite, but it doesn't stop me from recommending their gear and clothing to friends and family.

Thanks, guys, for the various perspectives. After reading your responses, I can see how the change does makes sense for Golite. Living in Colorado, I've been spoiled with relatively few bugs and access to deep discounts on Golite products. At $249 and 3.2#, the complete tent is about twice as expensive and heavy as my friend is looking for. We'll be checking the Gear Swaps.

I think the SL-2 used to be ~$200 and the inner +$100 right? Well this way you get both for a savings and no hassle. It also cuts down on customer dissatisfaction (I'm sure plenty bought the shelter and then were upset that only "half" showed up and they had to pony up for the inner). I do think they need to list the inner/outer weights separately so as to encourage leaving the inner at home if it's not too buggy.

Hey Dondo, you could always sell him yours. I haven't seen a trip report in quite a while so you must not be getting out much. :)

You won't get down to $99 but he could buy the tent and sell the floor and nest to reduce his cost. I'm assuming they're compatible with previous versions.

Thanks for rubbing it in, Randy. :-D I've been working too much and playing too little. Last overnighter was back in September. Itching to get out again with my SL2.

A couple years ago I bought a SL2 from REI for $130 for trips when snow was expected, thinking that if it didn't work out, I could return it. Surprisingly,it's become my all-season shelter. Since then, I've seen it at Golite stores for about $100 and was hoping to get my friend a similar deal. We'll see if we can do it.