"a stiffer pole about 110cm long which folds no more than 14" and a lot stiffer than the .344 poles is on my watch list. Any suggestions?"

Titanium Goat, Seek Outside, and Bear Paw make custom poles, so they might be able to get you what you need. There might of course be other companies that make custom poles, but those are the ones that I know of.

Please don't let my comments about the velcro dissuade you from considering the Notch; I think it's a great shelter, just an awareness of the delicate nature of the mesh is helpful to avoid user error. This is a very minor thing, though, and to my mind shows how well designed the shelter is: there really isn't much to complain about.

Aside from the velcro pole attachments on the bathtub floor (which, as FG suggested, can be attached to each other to prevent snags), there are two pieces of velcro that are on the exterior of the fly. These are used to hold the rolled up fly door. The mesh should be protected from them, but I would advise care in rolling the tent, to avoid contact with the mesh and these hook/loop closures.

Thanks Henry for the advice about realigning the mesh.

"My membership is due in a couple of days.
This thread, amongst others, is making me think twice.
The 'family' feeling that was evident before, seems to have gone.
I can't remember the forum having so many aRseholes before."

Don't let a small minority of nether orifices run you out of town Mike. If, one by one, the good guys drift away, BPL will soon be a community of, guess what...?

The best technique for dealing with them is to not respond to their ranting. If everyone does that, they soon get bored and drift over to Whiteblaze, or wherever.

My 2 cents.

+1, Tom


Just like at work or at the bar, I have a "Ignore/Filter" function that automatically kicks in.


I learned it from my wife ;-)

"I learned it from my wife ;-)"

Me, too; the hard way. :(

You guys are right about that. Having Tarptent employees cutting down other tent manufacturers on this forum is not very professional like Franco did on this thread and it's despicable:

Franco wrote:

"Now to get you up to speed, the Terra Nova Photon discussed here ,drips and all, IS a DOUBLE WALL tent, (the inner is mostly fabric)".

Honestly when a quick search shows that you have hundreds of unhappy users that are re-selling your products on the forums at a considerable financial loss how can you berate your competition saying that their tents drip Lol.... that's priceless.... especially when the number one complaint about your product on this forum is moisture management!

But if we can discuss tents again without reprisal I would really like to delve into the original question about Lightheart tents comparing the Solo to the Solong6 as somebody else mentioned on this thread and would like to know if anybody has used both how would you compare the two?
I have used the Solo and really like the large size and light weight but the Solong6 looks interesting too but what surprises me is that the specs show it as being a similar square feet to the Solo but also that it can accomodate a taller person.....even though the Solo is alot longer at least on paper?
Any replies appreciated.

Edited by breeze on 05/12/2012 12:07:54 MDT.

So, go start your 0wn thread.

It will be interesting to watch...

Trolling now...

Edited by mpl_35 on 05/09/2012 20:24:49 MDT.

"The best technique for dealing with them is to not respond to their ranting. If everyone does that, they soon get bored and drift over to Whiteblaze, or wherever."

Ah, Tom, if only folks would follow that advice. For a site who's members pride themselves on getting smaller and lighter, there's been a lot of trying to prove who has the 'biggest' lately, if you know what I mean.....

Sure would be nice to get back to cooing over Kat's hats and the many proud parent pics, and making fun of our foibles in a friendly, fun fashion. And, of course, alliteration. We need more alliteration.

Naught of the Notch nary numbs the nautical north'est... nay, ne'er knock TT, nor nurture nuptials nigh nerds neighing "No!" and noodling nooses niggled t'nether no one's noobs. 'Nough gnawed.

Always willing to oblige Doug, and on-topic, too! Boop boop be do!

I think that if Franco posted something that did not add up, he should have been asked to list his source, none was asked, so I'm guessing his comment was true. I saw no malice in his first post to start a fire over. I like the fact that so many cottage industry and smaller gear makers post here, if Henry can be considered a cottage industry anymore. :) I only have one of his products, goes back 8 years or so, still going strong. I don't read all the posts here, but I see other manufacturers chiming in more than Henry or Franco and they seem to have a good size market, are they money mongers of an ilk worse than TT? I only see Henry join a discussion rarely and usually with one post, so I see no self promoting from him. I also agree that he has some of the best CS that can be seen, but I can only go by the lack of negative feedback for my comment.
Duane
Not affiliated with anyone related to bping.

I have not used my SoLong 6 yet. Here are the weights of my not yet seam-sealed one:

tent 800 g
pole, spreader 50 g
sack, tent 15 g

Mine is silnylon, has the top vents, 2-zipper doors, 2-zippered flys, but no wedge.

Originally I purchased a Skyscape Trekker, but it was smaller than I wanted. (I think many ultralighter's would be fine with the space inside, but I wanted more space.) The SoLong 6 interior is much wider at the midpoint than a Skyscape Trekker, and it has much more headroom (about 6 inches if I remember correctly). Somewhere I have interior measurements of both tents, but I'll have to look for them.

I am looking forward to trying out the SoLong 6 in the field.

Judy Gross, the owner of LightHeart Gear and maker of the tent, seems very responsive.

"For a site who's members pride themselves on getting smaller and lighter, there's been a lot of trying to prove who has the 'biggest' lately, if you know what I mean....."

Oh, definitely, Doug. It sure sells a lot of monster pickup trucks. ;0)

You brighten up my day.
It really is hard to get this much publicity for nothing, so thanks.
anyway I thought you appreciate this shot :


that is me (about 30 min ago) seam sealing a Notch for a customer, the other is mine.
(I did mine a few days ago but it rained so I just left it there) .
If nothing else now you have a bit of an idea of what the Notch looks like.
Franco

Disclaimer for Mike: I am not a TarpTent employee, I do not receive any revenue from TarpTent, Henry Shires, Franco Darioli or for that matter, any other outdoor product manufacture I happen to mention (or not mention) in this post.

Whew!

OK, as to the original poster's question: I have only owned one of the tents mentioned, the Notch. I also have both mesh and partial mesh inners. It is my first TarpTent and I have found it to be perfect for my solo needs. I love the dual doors, large testibules and, of course, the light weight. I now actually prefer it to my hammock (Hennessey Explorer Ultralight with 2QZQ zipper mod) for most trips.

When I first received it, I tried using my Black Diamond Ultra Distance poles, but there just wan't enough pole adjustability to get the right pitch. I have since switched to Black Diamond Distance FL poles and found that, although heavier, I can always get a perfect pitch and easily make adjustments as needed.

So, not to take anything away from the other tents mentioned in this thread that I have no experience with, I can recommend the Notch as a solo tent because when I ask myself it I would buy another Notch if mine got stolen or destroyed, the answer would be: Yes, without hesitation.

Disclaimer for Mike, TT Notch bought new owner, TT Scarp bought used owner, Laser Comp bought new owner.

Phew.

Larry, so I had a single skin in the past when the dinosaurs roamed, and I'd never have one again only two-layers since. I see you have Notch mesh and part-solid inner and I was nervous with mesh option as I figured simply too cold. Have you played with the combinations enough to know:
- when the part solid is too stuffy, too warm and switch to all-mesh?
- when mesh is too cold and tried part solid and noticed the difference?

I know the Laser Comp was too warm in hot conditions, it was one of that tent's problems for me, I put it down to the single vestibule, low fly and only a little mesh on one side, I know the Notch has cooling options which is mesh both sides and higher fly, and two vestibules I can open, so I know its going to be better handle hotter conditions, but if you have yet any experience of mesh vs solid impact?

I used my Notch on the upper Dungeness a couple of weeks ago.

It was beautiful weather with little wind and no rain. Temps got down to about freezing.
It worked exactly as advertised and I am very pleased with it and impressed with the attention to detail.
I also own a Rainbow and have owned a floorless Squall. It may not be as handy as my Rainbow when camping on rock or when base camping if I want to use my poles during the day. On the other hand it turns out to be much easier to get in and out of than the rainbow because the top of the door is higher.
I bought it to save weight, to have vestibules on both sides and to be able to sleep with my head at either end. I seam-sealed the crap out of it and I know from my experience in the Rainbow that it will keep me dry in miserable weather.

Nigel,

I used the mesh inner back in January. Inside, I slept in a MontBell #3 on a NeoAir Large with t-shirt/shorts, no socks. I recorded a low temperature of 34F on both nights. The only time I got sightly chilly was when the wind kicked up strong enough that the mesh could not block it effectively.

I bought the partial inner to handle lower temperatures that we typically see here in winter, but also to block the dust that gets blown around at a lot of the established campsites we usually end up setting camp at.

I can easily see using the partial inner most of the year, only having to put the mesh in during the peak summer months (July/August) when it gets really hot here.

"I used the mesh inner back in January.... The only time I got sightly chilly was when the wind kicked up strong enough that the mesh could not block it effectively."

That's why I got the part-solid option. About 3 tents back I had a mesh upper between two roof vents, it only felt cold when I sat up, gave me some confidence.

"I can easily see using the partial inner most of the year, only having to put the mesh in during the peak summer months (July/August) when it gets really hot here."

That's my concern currently only owning the part-mesh. Surely though, if you had part-mesh and its hot, you'd pitch inner only? You expect rain in those high temps? Or you want the privacy?

So I guess then you used mesh, then bought the part-solid and not used part-solid in cold yet to know how much is improves in cold breezy then yet?

Although not the original topic some humans have discussed these 2 tents

I own both the Laser Competition and the Tarptent Notch.

The TN LC I own for several years and I have used it on many trips in Europe below and above the tree line and in all weather conditions except for snow. In my opinion it is a warm and very reliable tent that I can easily recommend. The major drawback as posted numerous times is it ridiculously bad ventilation which mostly results in a humid and damp interior. This can partially be resolved by raising the ends of the fly but this only helps sufficiently in windy conditions. I would recommend additional guy lines with the tent to pitch it in stormy conditions. Being 1m92 (6'4" for the non metrics) I just fit in it. I commonly covered my feet in my breathable hard shell to keep the end of my sleeping bag dry.

I would never buy the TN photon because of it height. I cant see how a normal grown up person would be able to sit up in this tent.

The Tarpent Notch (semi solid) I acquired recently to reduce the total weight of my gear. It was not my first choice though. I intended to order the Locus Khufu from Japan but the owner was so kind to let me know that I (1m92) wouldnt fit in the tent. This was confirmed by some Matlab simulations. I did consider but not order the MLD Duomid since I wanted a tent for this season and not the next one.

After having used the Notch only on a short, rainy and slightly windy trip in Luxemburg I can tell:
Below the tree line I would definitely recommend the TT Notch over the TN Laser Competition. Although the TNLC is warmer the Notch is lighter, roomier, much more comfortable, faster to Pitch, more versatile, etc. The construction of the Notch is super clever and Henry seems to have thought of (almost) every little detail.

Above the tree line? This is a big question-mark for me because I really have no clue how wind stable the Notch is when it needs to face a storm in the Pyrenees or Alps at an exposed spot above the tree line. If the Notch would have additional guy out points at the top of the poles and at the midpoint of the edges of the diamond shape it would without any trouble be able to cope with that task as well. With only 4 anchor points I'm not free of worries that my lightweight gear will get airborne during a severe storm though. (Please let me know if you have experience with the Notch in stormy conditions.)

#G.Watson
With my double walled (so so vented) Birdland Colibri I never experienced condensation issues in the interior. Probably because of a fine DWR treatment applied to the interior I guess

Edited by P9QX on 05/10/2012 11:39:53 MDT.