Mike - you are missing my point. You indicated a 50% increase in size, which is wrong because you are ignoring the volume. You can have a wide base that meet at the top in a point which means decent room when laying down but very little room while sitting up. I am not saying the Lightheart is like that, but it is important not to get to hung up on the dimensions of the footprint because it ignores the slope of the walls.

This has nothing to do with being a fan of Tarptent. I suspect it is an easy cherry pick of a rebuttal but it does the OP no good.

Quite frankly, the OP has already made up his mind. He wants the Lightheart so I suspect he should go with what he wants.

I think we had a misunderstanding of square feet vs. cubic feet. When I mentioned the LH having more sq. ft. I was going by the usual and customary measurements of floor area as seen on the websites. You were thinking sq. ft. of overall volume which is not normally used and difficult to quantify. Using unusual cubic metrics was misleading for everybody on the thread and bolsters my prior feelings of prejudice. The LH is 50% larger by normal metrics as posted on the websites.

The fact that folks should know who is giving advice and why will help them to make a better decision when purchasing gear and that is why folks jokingly refer to this portal as The Tarptent website because of all the insider posts which is commonly known except for the new folks that are trying to get unadulterated info about shelters. This is easy to see and verify so no sense in pretending that Franco makes $ directly from the owner but has no vested interest- that is typical and utter obfuscation of facts and shameful. In fact I think the site owner should make all commercial posters make known some way that they are out to make money directly on gear they are giving advice on just for transparency and honesty just like many other sites do as $ can cloud ones decision making process even if subconciously. Read Francos old posts and see what a shill he has been for every model TT ever made calling each the best thing since sliced bread and toting the party line per se for years....

There is a required disclosure when someone has a vested interest in a product. Everyone knows who has a vested interest here.

"others will disagree..a smaller footprint is not a negative."

A huge +1 It is one of my prime criteria when selecting a tent, Tarptent or otherwise, but that is due to the type of backpacking I do.

Mike
I will post this again and please read it slowly and carefully because I DO NOT APPRECIATE having my honesty questioned especially when I spend a lot of time explaining stuff for no return, and not just on TT or tents (but I do enjoy it except of course when people like you are involved) .
OK here it is :
I get a commission for every TT sold in Australia.
As far as I know, Gerard would have not purchased a shelter in Australia , therefore no commission for me.
Nevertheless the points I raised are valid regardless of that.
If this is not clear to you , it is just the same as if a London based MSR retailer commented on an MSR item to someone that will purchase that in San Francisco.
Now , if someone here in Australia read those comments and thought they had some merit and ended up purchasing a TT , well so be it...
BTW, would you like to point out a comment I made that is purely "commercial" and not factual ?
Franco
And as I think about it...
If other people feel the way Mike does, please let me know because I am quite happy to find something else to do...

Edited by Franco on 03/11/2012 18:53:37 MDT.

Simply put in your avatar or signature who you are and who pays the bills and man up already and stop hiding behind your internet persona of "Franco the average camper" and just be honest with the folks. We appreciate and value your opinion (honestly) just like Mr. Shires and everybody else and you must see the direct conflict of interest.....everybody else does and have mentioned it before on the forum. Honesty is the best policy!

It's like not letting people read new legislation until after they vote on it. It may not be illegal but it smells bad.

I doubt that commissions on Tarptents in OZ pay any bills.

Floorspace alone is only meaningful if you are one dimensional.

Hey Mike, why don't you chill. Franco is a respected and valued member of this community, not sure very many people would accuse him of any dishonesty, and his affiliation with Tarptent is well known here. He's helped countless people here over the years on a variety of subjects (including you when you were trying to figure out how to use a center strut on your Contrail awhile back).

So why don't you man up and admit you're simply off base accusing him of financial gain when there obviously wasn't any to be had from the OP, so there was simply no conflict of interest, direct or otherwise.

It's like accusing Obama of not being a US citizen because you don't like what he has to say. It may not be illegal, but it smells bad....

What a rediculous comment!

Franco has been posting replies at BPL re: shelters in general and Tarptent in particular for over a year. He even announced when he became financially involved with TT as an Australian rep.

Get over yourself, Mike.

+1 for Franco -- even if he is a foreigner! :)

Edited by ben2world on 03/11/2012 19:56:03 MDT.

:-)

i agree w/ mike's first post however. both henry and franco giving OP advice without disclosure is kind of weak. people say "everybody knows they are TT guys", but that's hardly true. only people who've been around and have read these kinds of posts are in the know. i had a point like 6 years ago when i got angry w/ franco for blowing tarptent smoke on EVERY shelter thread on a different website. so i understand where he's coming from...

What is so ironic here is that Franco has made evaluation of all the tents he has analyzed something much more than numbers on paper-he has insisted on 3D mockups to demonstrate what's really going on in a specific tent. Your rhetoric is offensive and presumes suspicion of financial interest which I welcome for business interests focused on profit above all. But I don't find that to be anything resembling the world that is the case around here. This place is founded on passion like it or not. I haven't seen profiteers make it here even back in history. And believe me the collective memory here is deep although recent searches don't show anything but the tip of the iceburg. Have a good hike.And by the way I have never owned a TT , but I am partial to tents.

Edited by Meander on 03/11/2012 20:31:53 MDT.

Screw it, I'll be that guy. Just because Franco seems like a cool dude and you...don't.

Mike...for a dude who is really bashing Tarptents, you sure were 1) a fan of them and 2) at one point, pretty hellbent on getting one.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=26322

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=30537

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=27325

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=34633

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=35733

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=36412

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=37184

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=42462

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=41407

Thanks for all your input, this is an important investment for me and I appreciate the help. Franco would the Notch have just enough space at the feet of the tent for a small backpack? I see it as maybe a foot an half for my height. I factored the SS1 out because with the vestibules open it looks like it makes a big foot print. I still love the idea of two doors and just enough for one person.

Its kinda a pain to pull the trigger on one tent especially without seeing it or trying it out in person. But the pics and videos i find online are definetly helpful. Im still on these two tents. Love the ability to take off the rainfly. I see that for the notch a new screen is being made to deflect water splatter, can that extra mesh be taken off or is it built into the net itself? (kinda takes out the view)

Im not taking either of these tents out of the picture just yet. I like the reputation and innovation Henry incorporates into the line of tents. The more experience results in amazing stuff. I also like Judy's tent, 1 solid design that many people are also happy with. Its a tough one :/

"And believe me the collective memory here is deep "

Delightfully understated.

And lighter yet in recognition.

So anyways TT Notch or Lightheart Solo Wedge

What's the difference between the two?

"Simply put in your avatar or signature who you are and who pays the bills and man up already and stop hiding behind your internet persona of "Franco the average camper" and just be honest with the folks."

You're stinking the joint up. Enough already.

Franco - Even if you do take upside down pictures, keep up the good work. One jerk doesn't speak for the community.