Evan - hope the Laser Comp works out for you !

I received my Notch last week and though it hasn't been used in anger (just set up for seam sealing), I was very happy with the ease of set up, roominess and vestibule size. I went with the semi solid inner which I'll use to extend its life into winter. I'm planning a walk in central Australia in a couple of months where it may well be dusty so the inner should also work well with these conditions.

Disclaimer: I'm not employed by Tarptent, owns shares or have any other financial interest. I also don't think I'm a member of the Tarptent Police, although if there's a cool Silnylon uniform - maybe I could be tempted :-)

Edited by dwhitton on 05/08/2012 20:03:01 MDT.

Randy,

Just read all the negative posts they have made recently in the last few TT tent discussions and you will change your mind- guaranteed. Nobody can deny they use this forum as a springboard for their tent business to the detriment of the folks asking for honest advice as it's here in black and white for many years just do a search.
Re-read this thread and it will be clear what I said and what they said in retaliation.

They recently removed the TT affiliation from their signatures again to better hide behind the "average joe camper" internet personas after being embarrassed into it just a couple weeks ago and it didn't last long.

Recently they said that he shouldn't have to identify himself as a business entity on the forum because everybody should know who he is cough cough but most folks coming to the forum with questions are not born with TT tattoos on their knuckles and have no earthly idea who he is or who is posting and this is the ugly side of the business model I think should be brought public for obvious reasons and they resent me and attack me for that specific reason as you can see on many recent threads.

Edited by breeze on 12/10/2012 07:31:38 MST.

So this thread starts with a simple question and devolves into some giant tarptent conspiracy? Geez.

Anyways, back to the original question. I have had my Notch out for a few weekend trips and have been really impressed. The setup is quick, the tent is quite wind worthy, and the semi-solid inner does an excellent job of blocking wind and blowing dust. Henry also added extra tie-out points for no charge.

...and obviously, I'm not associated with tarptent.

Aaron, did you use trekking poles?

I got mine with the optional Easton poles, its a quick pitch for sure, but it does sway a fair bit in fake wind (my hand pushing the tent), I got some trekking poles, some Black Diamond FL Distance, and it was a lot sturdier, but again if I made fake wind it was tending to pull the pegs out the ground, so I'm thinking the guy attachments and some longer pegs will solve that but I then ran out of time to play. I quite like the idea of traveling light and was thinking of getting stiffer poles but not as heavy as trekking poles, I notice Easton do some stiffer ones, its just an idea.

I bought a used Scarp and will be trying that too, I got the Notch new as it seems to be the best match to my needs but having see how much it moves in the wind, as a fallback, I got a used Scarp which I can obviously sell for roughly what I paid as a low-cost trial.

"Randy,

Just read all the negative posts they have made recently in the last few TT tent discussions and you will change your mind- guaranteed."

Sorry. It didn't. I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt even though I spend way too much time reading here so I'm generally up to speed on what's being posted. But I had some time to kill while waiting on some work to be finished so:

Disclaimer: I've only owned one TT product so far. An RS2. It was awesome for what I needed it for but my needs have changed as my pup has a long coat and is always wet so I wanted a sizeable floorless shelter so I sold my RS2. So I do not own any TT products.

I decided to go look at Henry and Franco's posts to look for this greedy behavior. But I didn't find it. Anyone can click on their name and see their posting history. (If anyone has any doubts go look for yourself.) The claim of greed on their part does not stand up. In fact, I even looked at Franco's last 100 posts. If it wasn't for defending his posts and TT against you, 74% of those posts have nothing to do with TT at all. There were 12 posts offering advice to people who had asked specific TT questions. 2 posts MIGHT be construed as being a proponent of TT. Hardly the greedy picture you are painting.

For Henry, the vast majority of his posts are answering questions about TT products. Sometimes that does occur with a thread about shelters that includes TT vs other products. But I can't see anything wrong with him correcting misinformation about his products. I haven't seen him say truly negative about competitors products. Again, nothing to back your claims of greed.

I know I'm not going to change your mind, but there's absolutely zero evidence of some great, greedy, TT conspiracy.

Nigel,

I do in fact use BD trekking poles, so that may make my notch setup a good bit sturdier than one using the optional easton poles.

Aaron, I'm busy (boring work) but I will get around to looking at some stiffer poles, but if anyone has done the research I'd appreciate any advice. I had already decided to use trekking poles for hiking anyway to take weight off my feet and help knees in descending, so that works well with the Notch's use of trekking poles, and a 700g dual-wall shelter with all that space is a treat, but I had also hoped to use the Easton light poles for bike camping so I'm a little disappointed with the poles bendiness, so a stiffer but still compact pole option would be good to know. When I'm biking, and not using trekking poles, I'm not weight focused but I am volume focused, a lot of cyclists are like that, so 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?

I have 2 weeks in England in September and will be using the Notch then. I also got a Scarp, not sure if I'll be using the Scarp, with the solid roof I'm concerned it will be too warm, but its got a good reputation in the wind, and snow loading, which the Notch isn't really intended for.

Randy,

Sorry but if you don't want fair and honest disclosure from commercial posters on the forum that pose deceptively to the new posters as regular campers please keep it to yourself as there are young and impressionable folks reading this and we have dropped down too many notches as it is. Luckily this kind of deception is illegal in many other matters like health and financial matters for obvious reasons and if you condone this kind of activity please keep it to yourself for their sake.

Ask somebody from the previous generation their opinion on this matter and unfortunately it will be very different from your own..... I can assure you.

Honesty is the best policy!

Look inward Mike. Please

The world is NOT out to get you

Randy,

"Sorry but if you don't want fair and honest disclosure from commercial posters on the forum that pose deceptively to the new posters as regular campers please keep it to yourself as there are young and impressionable folks reading this and we have dropped down too many notches as it is."

So only your (paranoid) opinion matters on this subject? Telling someone on a forum discussing gear to keep their opinions to themselves? Good luck with that! Sorry, but the "young and impressionable" will have to think for themselves. You sure don't give them much credit for being able to do so. BTW, at what age do you feel people are smart enough to be able to think for themselves? Perhaps there should be an age restriction to access BPL so young people won't be led astray and buy the wrong gear?

"Luckily this kind of deception is illegal in many other matters like health and financial matters for obvious reasons and if you condone this kind of activity please keep it to yourself for their sake."

No. But I will point out your BS for their sake. OK, really it's now just for the fun of it.

BTW, there are plenty of cottage business owners posting on here without identifying themselves as such every time they post. Yet, you're only going after the TT guys.


"Ask somebody from the previous generation their opinion on this matter and unfortunately it will be very different from your own..... I can assure you."

Which generation is that old timer? :) Yes, whatever generation you are referring too is just pouring out of the woodwork to agree and support you. Oh wait, it's just you.

"Honesty is the best policy!"

Reality is a good one as well.

Edited by rlnunix on 05/09/2012 09:11:18 MDT.

I am neither young or impressionable and I don't work for someone who is.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I like hearing from people that have actual experience with the gear we talk about. That Includes the people that make it and the people that sell it.

I especially appreciate it when the designer and manufacture of a product jumps into the conversation, so if that's you please keep doing it.

What annoys me somewhat is when people with no personnal experience with a spicific product jump in and act like experts, or take the discussion off track with a personnal vendetta. This is a discussion board and there is always room for that kind of stuff, just not in the middle of a gear thread :)

I am leaning toward the lightheart but am still very interested in the Notch. So if you have actual experience with either please let us know.

This is getting tedious, but I'll chime in.

I love my TT Notch and think it's a fantastic tent, and I appreciate the helpful advice that Franco and Henry give on the forums, as well a Judy from Lightheart, Tim from Enlightened Equipment, and the many others who post on here who are innovating and selling gear.

Let's maybe give this a rest and move on.

Yeah, I'm done. I won't respond to any more of his comments.

Regarding the Notch, the design is smart, efficient and functional. As others have said, it is extremely easy to set up in the field, and I've had no condensation problems, even in the humid semi-tropics of north Florida. The one thing that I'm not entirely happy about is that the mesh seems somewhat fragile (more so than the mesh on my Lunar Solo perhaps?) - it seems to snag easily. Not a major issue though.

I would also change the fly ties from velcro to something that is less apt to snag on the mesh, or even a simple loop closure. I'm not a fan of velcro.

But that is a small thing, and I find the tent to be very functional, light and efficient.

Mike, I'm probably of an older generation than you (unless you're well over 70!). I have no problems with any cottage manufacturer's coming in here to discuss their products. I enjoy reading their input.

Please do give it a rest; you're alienating folks here to the point that they might just buy a Tarptent because you're working so hard at telling them not to!

We use 0.7-ounce nylon no-see-um mesh for the Notch interior. It can snag somewhat easily but if you look closely what you'll see is that the threads are displaced not broken. If you think of the thread pattern as like a tennis racket, sometimes the strings get displaced and you have to maneuver them back into position. Try pinching and pulling the surrounding mesh in several directions. You should be able to realign the threads as desired. Either way, no bugs will get in.

Henry Shires
Tarptent, Inc.

** A commercial entity devoted to making as much money as possible from all encounters with the outside world **

+1 Mary D.

So far I have nothing bad to say about my Notch. It works and works well. Two buddies have recently purchased the Notch based on my experience and they appear to be really liking theirs.

With respect to the mesh, the only comment I have is that the mesh does not like velcro much. The only velcro that could become an issue is the the two side velcro straps that fit around the poles. The solution is simply to attach them together when stuffing the tent so that the mesh will not snag.

Wes, the snagging, where is it occurring? Do you have the all-mesh or semi-solid inner? I went with the latter figuring it more flexible.

Thanks for the tip on the velcro, hadn't thought of that. Sounds like you'd get the same velco-mesh snagging on the semi-solid also then?

FG - thanks for the warning on velcro when packing.

Edited by nigelhealy on 05/09/2012 12:42:46 MDT.

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.
The 'good guys' know i'm not talking about them.