Companion forum thread to:

MLD SuperMid SpotLite Review

I like the MLD gear that I have, and I presume this would be just as well made.

But I have been down the road and back again with mids and don't ever intend to go there
again. Their one and only virtue is the simplicity in putting them up - stake down the
four corners and push up the peak with a pole -- it all goes downhill from there.

The darn pole is always in the way and ruins all the best real estate under the tent.
I can speak from experience having owned a Chouinard (not Black Diamond) Megamid.
(Yes, I go that far back). This is in essence a lighter version made of modern materials.
The fundamental concept is flawed. I have been much much happier with a Ray Jardine Tarp.
No pole in the center, not really much harder to set up, you can use trekking poles as-is
with a tarp instead of fussing around to join them together. Lighter, nicer.

The one place I think a mid might be better would be under heavy snow load - the steep walls
should shed snow well - so a hard core winter camper might contemplate a mid I guess.

Good points. With a smaller mid (i.e. MLD SoloMid or DuoMid) one can use an inverted 'V' approach to the pole structure which prevents the dreaded mid pole head bonk (at least for me). With a larger mid like this one, I am not sure what the solution is unless you tied two poles together and used two sets (?).

"With a larger mid like this one, I am not sure what the solution is unless you tied two poles together and used two sets (?)."

There are a few asymmetric designs out there that might be good solutions for this. They put the pole toward the front, leaving the back more open for sleeping and such. I have no personal experience with them as yet, but I'm curious about them partly because of this very issue, and hoping that BPL might be able to get them into their review queue. The ones I'm thinking of are the Seek Outside Backcountry Shelter and the Kifaru Paratipi.

Erin liked it too in 2010

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=35138&cat=Shelters%20%2D%20Tarps%20%26%20Floorless&cid=33

Thomas,

I agree with you. I still have my old Chouinard Pyramid and hated that pole in the middle, even for just me going solo. Plus the walls always iced up inside in really cold weather... but it could handle just about any weather condition, was easy to set up, and I had no problem cooking in it (with the flap partially opened). It was always a love/hate relationship.

I have a modified mid (zPacks Hexamid) and although I would not use it for winter conditions, the offset pole makes it a pleasure. If I was looking for a shelter to handle really bad weather, I would explore a full mid with an offset.

The pole can be angled to some extent. Or two long sticks can be used instead. But really, I like it fine with the pole in the middle most of the time. It's simple, works in a variety of conditions and on uneven ground, no problem to fit the whole family + gear, and doesn't weigh much.
I lived in one (well, several) for over a year, and still like them.
Though I do now use a heavier tent with a woodstove for extended winter conditions with small kids.

I have the supermid and really like the shelter. Me, wife, and our two 40lb dogs have real estate to spare. Unfortunately, my pole setup failed me on our first outing. I was using my BPL Stix w/ a pvc extension piece as pole and my overzealous dog torked the pole and snapped my tip off the pole. Luckily I only lost the replacement tip part and can repair the pole w/ no loss of length, but I had to carry a broken pole the remainder of the trip.