I've narrowed down my new tent purchase to a solo+ or a twin. My considerations are... I'm 6'3" (read: need a longer option), I like going lightweight (stratospire is beautiful, but it's heavier than my purposes require, same with solong), I hate mosquitoes with a passion rarely rivaled (love the bug netting, don't see myself preferring flexibility of tarp + net-tent).

All this should make the Solo+ the clear choice. It says 1 person, it's a 1.5 person kind of deal, which by size I rightfully am... The only thing is that I read that it has the same footprint as the twin. So, at that point, there isn't a terrible amount of difference from what I see. The twin requires 2 poles/sticks (fine as if I'm bringing one pole I'm likely bringing 2), recommends 2 more stakes (.6 ounces'ish). Solo+ has 4 more inches of peak height (weird, right?). Twin lists a rear height (solo+ just doesn't list it). Twin with screen w/out beak option adds .3 ounces compared to the solo+.

With that slight difference, I feel like i may as well go with the twin with the idea that I can take the girlfriend along in it sometimes. I had planned on getting something else for this purpose (or more likely keeping my old heavy tent) on account of the lack of privacy/her dislike of meshy-creepy-crawly-bump-in-the-night factor of not being fully enclosed on the floor via a solid piece of material. At this weight difference/footprint-difference though, why bother getting a solo+? Am I right?

Is the beak worth it? I wish I could play with both options, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around this just in theory.

Also on a silly side note, anyone have any color recommendations? I've never owned cuben before. I'm both partial to the clear see through idea, and the blue.

Thanks for reading my nitpicky post. It's a lot of money to plop down, and I'd hate to do it twice.

I recently went through the same dilemma as you though with different requirements. I was looking for a two person tent and really couldn't decide between the Solo+ and the Twin. In the end I went for the Solo+, basically because I preferred the simplicity of the design (which I think may make it easier to get a good pitch).
I find the Solo+ fine for two people (but I'm only 5'10", and neither of us is broadly built). The main problem would be if you have a lot of condensation and the person at the back moved around a lot in their sleep. In that case, it would be a little easier to avoid touching the back wall in the Twin (I would think). I've yet to have condensation in the Solo+, but then I haven't used it in very wet weather yet, and I got it made with a peak vent. Incidentally, the Solo+ needs 2 more stakes than the the Twin, not the other way round.
I've now solved my dilemma, because I like the Hexamid but wanted to get something a little stronger for trips where I'll be spending some time above the treeline so I'm having a Twin made in .74oz cuben. If you wait until July, I can give you a direct comparison:)
Whichever you decide to get, don't forget that you can get it made with all sorts of options that aren't listed on the website. If you think there's anything that can make it more suitable for you (e.g. your girlfriend might prefer it with a sewn in groundsheet), then ask Joe if it can be done.

This is good information - I am considering it as well but the number of stakes required is a bit of concern in regards to the solo+. Personally, I find that tiny titanium stakes to do a much less than ideal job - William, can you comment on this? I generally use more substantial stakes, which adds weight. Given the number stakes required, I imagine this could make the tent much heavier.

Dirk

The Solo+ needs 6 stakes. The other 4 are for guylines which are mainly to pull the walls out for a little extra interior room, though I suppose they hope to add stability in wind. Where I camp, the ground is usually hard and stony. I use a mixture of MSR Groundhogs, Vargo Titanium Nail Pegs and GoLite V Stakes. For the four guylines, I use 6g titanium shepherd hooks. The total weight comes to about 112g. I find the shepherd hooks adequate for the guylines. Maybe they would be for the 6 main tie outs as well but I tend to be cautious, plus I sometimes find myself camping on dry soil that doesn't hold so well. Your needs will depend on where you camp, obviously, but I can't imagine that there are many places where you need more, except on sandy soil.

I am curious if anyone compared a Hexamid Plus tent with beak to a Six Moons Designs Skyscape X. Hexamid Plus tent with beak weighs 10.8 oz, plus 0.5 oz. for seam sealing (per Zpacks). Some kind of groundsheet is needed for a Hexamid; if a Zpacks cuben Hexamid Plus size groundsheet is used, add 3.3 oz. for a total of 14.6 oz before stakes (varies by user).

Skyscape weighs 15 oz., per SMD double taped seams do not need seam sealing, uses fewer stakes and is 80% double wall. Dimensions seem reasonably close.

Hexamid Plus tent with beak is $380.00; with Zpacks cuben ground sheet, add $105.00 for a total of $495.00 versus $450.00 for a Skyscape X.

Per Joe at Zpacks, he will sew a cuben groundsheet into a Hexamid Plus tent for $25.00 reducing total weight by about one and half ounce, for a total of 13.1 oz. before stakes, but Hexamid requires more stakes.

Please let me know if I missed something in my comparison. Zpacks and SMD are both great companies!

I checked out the dimensions of both on Joe's website and did a mockup with string and masking tape, with a little support from living room furniture. (Thank you, Franco, for this wonderful idea!) This trial convinced me that a Twin would be roomier enough to be worth the few tenths of an ounce and relatively few $ more. Of course I have a 70-lb. dog with me. With the Twin, I can add a grandchild, too, although that won't work once they hit adolescence and start growing. Hopefully by then they can carry more weight so I won't mind having to take the Tarptent Squall 2! The Twin has a lot more room inside than the Solo+ for sitting up, squirming around, changing clothes, etc., thanks to its dual poles providing more headroom. I suspect from my experience with other tents (mostly Tarptents) that the higher ceiling will translate to less condensation, too.

I got the "olive green," which is about as close to "silnylon gray" as cuben gets. I prefer to be inconspicuous when out in the wilds. I just checked Joe's website; the Solo + actually needs 2 more stakes (10) than the Twin (8)!

I definitely recommend the beak, although I'd like to see an easier way of getting in and out when it's deployed (such as a zipper, although of course that would add weight). It depends on how much "horizontal rain" there is where you backpack!

I plan to use the Hexamid Twin for backpacking this year and will decide late next fall which I like better, the Hexamid Twin or my Gossamer Gear/Tarptent Squall Classic. One of them will then have to go up for sale. Preliminary results are that it's going to be a difficult choice! I love the design of the Squall Classic (a Henry Shires design, of course), but I also love the lightness and airiness of the Hexamid Twin.

Edited by hikinggranny on 03/29/2012 15:03:32 MDT.

Also, the Zpacks Hexamids are (usually) made with .51 cuben fiber while (I think) the Skyscape X is made with .75 CF. That might have an effect on shelter choice.

+1 for the twinn with beak over the plus. I'm 6'2" and frequently camp with my wife. The plus was not going to do it for us. When I'm solo, it's luxurious. Haven't found pitching it a problem. Keep all my stuff dry...check. Room to move around... check. Bugs...check.

Frank

I'm a longtime lurker here at BPL finally making my first post. I recently ordered a ZPacks Hexamid Solo Plus tent with the extended beak and wanted to ask Mary D (hikinggranny) if she ordered her Twin tent with a Cuben ground sheet. (I have also read your comments on Portland Hiker.) If not, what will you use on top of the floor net?

I did not get a Cuben ground sheet as I just couldn't plunk down that extra $105 for it. I do have a piece of Tyvek (from my Squall 2) and a sheet of that window insulation from Home Depot (worked well under my BA Fly Creek UL2 last year - incredibly light but difficult to keep in place in windy conditions).

What do most people use as a flooring/ground cover with these Hexamid tents? Maybe I should bit the bullet and ask Joe at ZPacks to sew in a groundsheet?

Recommendations?

Edited by DustyDeva on 03/29/2012 16:16:59 MDT.

Tyvek, too. Could not justify the cost "on the floor". Maybe if I save up...

Folded up, Tyvek is a reasonable additional frameless pack stiffener.

Frank

I got the groundsheet from Joe, I did not want to mess around with fitting my own, I can buy just the twin tarp and use it in either. The tent for early season hiking, and tarp when it dries out and Mosquitos die off.

I previously had the ZPacks cuben groundsheet which I had bought to use with a tarp. The tarp experiment didn't work out because my dog was awake and wanting to prowl half the night! In a tent, he figures he's in his crate and happily goes to sleep, but with the tarp, he was really restless. I had had my eye on the Hexamid anyway and, after talking to Eric of "Balls and Sunshine" fame, who highly recommended it, I decided to bite the bullet. So at least the cuben groundsheet wasn't wasted, hee hee!

What we dog owners do for our beloved hiking partners...

@ Jim
Apparently the Hexamid is now bonded/taped and so doesn't need seam sealing. The website doesn't seam to have been updated to show this. I don't know if it has affected the weight.

@William,

You are correct. Per e-mail from Joe at Zpacks: "As of a couple weeks ago we are taping the seams and bonding the tie outs. No seam sealing necessary. It adds about 1 ounce to the posted weights of a tent w/ beak, but the SilNet would have added about the same weight.

I haven't update the site yet- I'll do that this weekend."

Thanks Jim. When I seam sealed the Solo+ I ended up adding more than an ounce, but maybe that's a reflection on my lack of seam sealing skill!
I was interested in what you wrote about the SMD Skyscape X. (A nice looking tent, by the way). The figures look similar, but from the photos on the website, it looks to have quite a bit less room than the Hexamid Solo+, which fits 2 sleeping pads side by side. I wonder if anyone has seen both in real life? As for the stakes, the Skyscape uses 5, all for perimeter tie outs. You could set up the Hexamid using only the perimeter tie outs too, in which case you'd need 6 pegs.
Regarding the groundsheet, anyone looking to save money could make a polycryo groundsheet pretty easily. Tape up the corners into a bath tub, reinforce them and the center of the back section with tape and punch holes, attach thin bungee and mitten hooks to attach to the loops in the tent. It would come in lighter too, but wouldn't last as long (probably).

This is a pretty frustrating topic, but thank you very much for all your replies.

I'm still debating, but now the debate is whether to get this tent at all. Joe informed me that I'm pretty much the limit of the tent size-wise, but offered to try to help me out with a bit of custom work, which I appreciate but might not be able to make work in my 2-3 month time-frame(not his fault). If this thing was 3 inches longer this would be SUCH an easy choice. I'd get a twin, no beak (maybe get one for privacy, hmmm), netting, polycro or tyvek groundsheet (cheaper).

As is I feel a bit silly blowing about $420+ for a tent I'm not sure I'd be happy with at the end of the day.

Back to the drawing board...

Maybe the solong drawing board? The tarptent drawing board? hmmm

Thanks for the responses for my groundsheet quandary. I like the idea of forming the polycro sheet into a bathtub structure and will start with that when I get my new shelter. If it doesn't work, I'll try the Tyvek, and if that doesn't work, then I'll bite the bullet and buy the Cuben groundsheet!

I wonder if pre-ordered shelters on the waiting list will get the new seamed seals....

"I wonder if pre-ordered shelters on the waiting list will get the new seamed seals...."
E-mail Joe and ask. I suspect they will.

For the sake of posterity:

If I would have bought one, it most definitely would have been the twin. Marginal price/weight difference, same footprint, more space, especially in the max-headroom-area category.

Joe at zpacks said, "At 6'3" you are pushing the limits of the tent. The Solo-Plus size has the most space above your head and feet. Normally there will be enough space that your bag won't touch, but if it is windy that will blow the walls in enough to touch your gear probably. One thing that can help with that is if you prop up the sides like this:
http://www.zpacks.com/large_image.shtml?shelter/hexamidtwin/hex_twin_pole_l.jpg"

So, I took that as not what I wanted. Joe was kind enough to offer to play with the design to accommodate me the taller person, but I needed something a bit quicker, and more resellable.

I started taking a long hard look at the lighthearted solong 6. It's 27 ounces by default un-seem-sealed. I thought, gah, why? It's like 27 ounces. I'll just go with a hexamid with a beak/netting for like 11. Well, it turns out I bleep'ing hate my feet and head touching. I enjoyed how light my poncho-tarp/bivy setup was, but man, when I wore out my knee on the JMT last year I didn't really love having to lift it into my wiggle bivy. I didn't really love not being able to sit up and read, or move around and be able to have my breath not condense to the side/floor. I hated having to retreat from mosquitoes into such a cramped space. So, in the end, it's worth an extra 12 ounces (well more including a new umbrella) over the poncho/bivy for me to have a tent I don't have to wiggle into and/or have my head/feet touch the mesh on. This isn't even to mention the huge cost of getting a solo+ + beak + cuben floor + sewn in custom option? + the whole shebang. My wanted setup seemed to ramp to about $600 in a hurry.

I also took a look at some tarptents, including the notch which Henry thought would work, but leave me touching the mesh with my feet. He said that wouldn't be a big deal, but, after having done this for years, I didn't want that. He recommended the The Rainbow and StratoSpire 1 as a better fit, but said it'd be added weight.

So, yay! A lighthearted solong 6. $300 spent. I get to stretch out, which is pretty much the most exciting bit. 26 ounces. One happy dude.

Hi Michael,

Sounds like you made a good choice. I have had a duo for 1.5 years and love it but unless your girlfriend is a midget at 6"3 you really will not be fitting her into it. I am 6"2 and at first struggled with this shelter when on a 3.5" mat but found by far the best option is to get an inner net (Joe makes them custom) with nice big bathtub walls (I got mine in 1oz cuben). This way you can pitch it really high (lots of head and foot room) and windblown rain does not get past the bathtub walls. With pegs though, this system is about 16 oz.

Hope this helps for any other tall users that may be interested!

Cheers,

Jeremy.