Hi foks,

I have a trip coming up with Ike Jukowitz and I am am thinking the sight of me carrying my normal winter shelter (Hilleberg Soulo) will give him a shock as he uses a cuben duomid, so I am wondering would my Tarp Tent Stratrosphire 1 be up to the task?


Cheers,

Stephen

Edited by stephenm on 02/14/2013 11:37:19 MST.

Are you going fly-only for this trip? If so, I'd take the Soulo without a second thought.

Depends on you! (and weather).

Some people can deal with draftier shelters better than others. If you don't mind a little draft, then as long as you're not hitting a blizzard, your Tarptent should be fine. I use a Double Rainbow or a Trailstar in winter. Both can handle moderate snow loads, but I sometimes have to bang the Trailstar walls to knock off the snow. I also build a little snow wall around the perimeter of the floor to minimize drafts.

All that being said, there are times where I wished for a free-standing, draft free tent in winter.

To come full circle, it depends on your tolerances for drafts and the ability to minimize them.

Hi Stuart,

Not sure yet mate, I do have a semi solid inner for the Ss1.

>Not sure yet mate, I do have a semi solid inner for the Ss1.

Oh! Then you're good with the SS1.

Cheers Travis,

Was just replying to Stuart when you posted, as mentioned above I have a rip stop inner for the SS1 so drafts would not be an issue, my main concern would be getting the tent to pitch properly on snow or even frozen ground.

I dont mind carrying extra weight in but on a trip in November with Ike his bag weighed half that of mine and I pack fairly light.

Edited by stephenm on 02/14/2013 12:17:46 MST.

Cheers Travis,

If there is a heavy snow or crazy winds forecast I will pack the Soulo.

To be honest, I've never seen an SS1 in person. But I think you'd still be fine as long as the ground is fairly level and you stomp out a snow platform. That not only creates an easier pitching area, but it warms you up!


In frozen ground, but very little snow, this is what I do:

I lay out my shelter and begin pounding my stakes partially into the ground with a rock. I use MSR Groundhogs because they can take quite a beating and will penetrate frozen ground. Just be sure to hit the stake squarely. At first, I don't really pay attention to exact stake location because often I have to move a few. That is why I only pound them in partially. As the shelter takes shape, I can pull up the stakes and re-set them where necessary. Once I'm happy with their location, I finish pounding the stakes in. Most likely they will freeze into the ground by morning. To remove them, you have to break the ice bond by giving the stake a good solid whack with a rock. Hit the stake further into the ground instead of at an angle or from the side. I've broken a stake doing that. They will pull out once you break that ice bond.

Edited by T.L. on 02/14/2013 12:29:33 MST.

I'd forgotten you had the semi-solid inner for the Tarptent. What does Henry say? - the SS1 is good for light snow. The Duomid's fast to pitch with its four main guylines, whereas the SS1 needs a minimum of six stakes. If the snow's deep enough it probably won't make much difference between the two, but if you're on frozen ground I'd go with the freestanding Soulo.

Let me say for the record that (a) I'm not easily shocked, and (b) could care less about gear.

Since you brought me into this though, I think you should leave the tent behind completely and just sleep out under the stars.

Not to be nosy, but where are you guys going? UP?

You wanna come play Travis?

Ike,

I would love to bivy :-) I think my bag was way heavier than yours due to cheese :-)

I have only used the solid inner once on a 3 day trip before Xmas in Canuckland.

Henry says is will be in light snow.

In Michigan there is so many trees they act as a windbreak :-)

I will keep all that in mind Travis, I will also look out for a rock in the evening to use.

Would love to come, but I doubt I'll be able to get away. Where ya headed and when?

Edited by T.L. on 02/14/2013 13:00:17 MST.

We would love for you to join us.

We are heading on Monday 4th March, it will be somewhere in the UP.

Easy - Ike doesn't care about gear so given he has a DUO Mid, the two of you should share that.

The invite is most appreciated. However, weekdays are a no-go for me. You guys ever head up for a weekend, send me a PM!

Hey guys,

Rather envious of your trip north while I'm stuck home with the kids while the wife is in Europe for two weeks. What are you doing and where and for how long?

Stephen, you won't need anything more than a tarp or a rainfly up there. A tent would be definite overkill, for sure. Kevin and I had the foulest weather up there a couple weeks ago and we were fine with a tarp and snowblock wall. The wall didn't take that long to build and kept us toasty.

Hope to catch up with you guys soon. Hockey season is nearly finished! Have fun.

I've got personal space issues, and Stephen snores.