I've noticed a lot of Tarptents on the used/2nd-hand market. Are buyers dissatisfied with them? Are they transitioning to flat tarps or hammocks? Or are they going back to freestanding tents? (can't imagine willingly adding back pounds to one's pack).

Heather,

where are you seeing all of these TT for sale?

I recently sold one because I had acquired too many as a result of buying each new model as it came out. Decided I didn't really need a Virga, a Virga-2, a Rainbow, AND a Contrail.

I sold a Contrail earlier in the year. An awesome tarptent that I had a hard time parting with. But I needed to cut weight because I carry camera gear.

Ended up going with a Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape vs. a flat tarp + bivy.

Edited by pappekak on 08/15/2007 09:02:11 MDT.

I would repeat the question, where are you seeing a lot of used tarp tents for sale? There have been very few this year on the gear swap forum (more people looking to buy than selling). Most of the people selling gave reasons... which had nothing to do with them being dissatisfied.

The reasons given (or I have seen in the past) in order of frequency that I recall:

1) Someone who owned multiple tarptents and is downsizing to just 1 or 2 :-)

2) Switching to poncho tarp or flat tarp in the quest for even less weight.

3) Switching to something larger for a family. GoLite Hex or other pyramid tarps seem popular for this.

4) Switching activities and so they are selling backpacking gear.

5) Switching to a hammock

I guess "so many" is relative... I've seen several here, a couple on Ebay, one or two on WhiteBlaze. Might be that I see them because I'm looking for them!

My guess is because Henry is constantly putting out new models and updating existing ones. I have 2 tarptents for the sole reason that I bought one (Squall), and Henry came out with another model that fit my needs better (Double Rainbow).

I got a Cloudburst a couple months ago, and really love it. If you ask Henry to seal the seams he'll charge you an extra $15 bucks . . . which is more than worth it! He does the ridge lines, front and back hoops, the two side pull outs and even paints a cross hatch pattern on the floor to help you pad stay put.

Interesting observation. I thought that there were lots of Gatewood Capes on sale considerig the initial reviews that could be found on BPL. Do people think that the GC and small tarps are traded so much because it's at the lower end of people's comfort zone and just didn't work out for those particular people? Maybe BPL memebvers were waiting for the penultimate tarp before making the leap.

Thoughts?

I'd add that there are also just a LOT of them out there. They are a VERY popular tent... so it makes sense that you will see a lot of them for sale second hand as people get new gear, upgrade, etc.

About the only non-positive aspect of the two single wall tents I've used (a Six Moon Designs Europa and Lunar Solo) is that in cool humid conditions, you can get quite a bit of condensation. I sold the Europa because my girlfriend didn't care for the minor condensation she found upon awakening (and it was an older model).

I wouldn't trade my Lunar Solo for anything (except a lighter, even better option, which isn't likely any time soon).

I highly doubt this is why you're seeing many for sale.

Wow! I've got three -Squall 2, Cloudburst 2, and Contrail. I use them, lend them out and generally love them. I've had the Squall the longest ( a couple years ) and it shows no particular sign of wear. Henry makes great tents. I also have a Lunar Solo which is a super tent, too. These are all well made tents, so I don;t think people are "unloading" them for any quality issues.

-Mark

This reminds me of a particular camera that had a bad reputation as far as it's reliability. For a over a year whenever a few salespeople gathered inevitably someone would mention how bad it was because they had so many back for repair. So I did my own research and established that the breakdown rate during the 1 year g/tee period was pretty much the industry average (about 5% at that time) the reason that so many came back for repair was simply because that model represented about 40 % of the total Aussie market at that time.
It seems that most Tarptent customers have more than one shelter and are the type that always look for something better, often another Tarptent. If Henry came out with another few models I would bet that at least a third would go to existing Tarptent users.
Some will end up keeping them all, others will sell one of them .
Franco

Tom: Two points for you for making me look up "penultimate". I'll see if we can get you some extra BPL Rank points for that!!! :)

I'm very satisfied with my Contrail. A few weeks ago, while hiking the Tuolmne River trail in Yosemite we had to set up camp fast to beat the rain coming down the valley.
I set up my Contrail in a few minutes & helped two others set up their tents as well.

All the others in my party were constantly checking out my Contrail and commenting on all the room it had. They were amazed at its weight and packed size as well. Yeah, I had some condensation once but I keep a towel for that. Problem solved.

I'd buy another Tarptent from Henry if he had a significantly improved solo design &/or material. His quality and design is that good.

Eric
BTW, I've found the best holding lightweight stakes are MSR Groundhogs, with their strong & good holding Y cross-section.

Franco

Sorry to thread-shift ... could I ask a favour? I'm about to move back to Melbourne and am currently in Japan. I was thinking of buying a digital camera whilst here on the presumption that they should be cheaper than in Oz. I already have a Canon Eos 35mm SLR with several lenses, including a 85-300 mm so was thinking of getting the bottom of the range Canon SLR digital so I can use the same lenses. Do you think the Canon EOS KISS is a worthwhile buy? It's about $900 here.

Thanks

Do itashi mash-ite!
( dash to avoid profanity warning)

You are correct, the Canon Kiss is not a Tarptent..
The Kiss (EOS 300) was superceded by the Eos 350 and then by the 400.
The 400 body only inc GST is $1139 AU. or better still $1199 with the 18-55mm.
I would not spend $300 to upgrade from a 350 to a 400 but maybe I would from the 300.
Franco

Edited by Franco on 08/17/2007 04:33:34 MDT.

Thanks Franco

Current Eos is a 16 year old analogue (is that a camera term? in any case, film not digital). My original Ultrasonic 35-80 mm lens seems to be kaput so I was thinking of buying the 400D/KISS (the KISS name still seems to be in use here) with the 18-55 mm lens rather than just the camera body. Price is about $900 with the lens, $1100 with two lenses.

Is Canon still OK or am I better off just switching to Nikon or another maker?

The Kiss moniker was dropped from the US line up some time ago, I forgot about Japan...
Canon still dominate the digital SLR market, their CMOS sensors produce good result under most conditions. Nikon are getting closer particularly because of the D40 and D80. If you intend to shift to digital completely you could consider the Olympus E410/510 also. Check out the ergonomics. If you have big hands the Nikon might be better for you.
Franco

Franco

Domo arigato gozaimasu.