Reader Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5

Gatewood Cape Review




Initial Impressions
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I was excited to get my new Gatewood cape in the mail today. Overall, it seems constructed with care and besides a few concerns (discussed with below) it is exactly as expected - it’s a wad of sil-nylon in a pyramidal shape with a few strings and toggles here and there screaming for experimentation.

As Shelter:
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Pulled it out of the bag and was delighted to see the integrated stuff sack. No more loosing the stuff sack, or more to the point, one less thing to keep track of.

Setup is understandable if you think about it for a few minutes. The colored harness for the trek pole mounts in the head area of the cape and provides the single center-support for the tarp. I found the colored webbing a nice touch, although I wonder if there could be a lighter way to create this harness – it seemed to me that the webbing is a bit overkill for the intended purpose. Once inserted, however, it works well and supports the cape as expected.

I staked out the two sides and then the back. I was a bit confused with how the front guyline is supposed to work (still am). I’m sure with time this will become second nature, but I think the instructions could really benefit from some diagrams/photos for initial orientation.

I then staked out the remaining corners and crawled inside, giddy as a school-boy.

There is plenty of room inside for one plus gear. I find that if one follows the direction and angles the pole away from the center, you can maximize said space.

The hood ties off nicely, and the opening angles down, so there isn’t any real chance of water leaking in, although I can see it flopping around in a strong wind and might have to think about how to secure it better with the drawstring.

The integrated stuf sack can also serve as a pocket for things you don’t want to leave lying around inside the tent. Nice.

I was happily surprised to find a toggle to secure one end of the door just like normal tents – leaving this open for normal sleeping will provide extra ventilation and access in and out was easy. I'd forgotten it was in the pictures on the website (on rollover).

There are two snaps on the inside that I have not quite figured out. Must be to secure the back under the pack when worn as a cape, but again I think they are over-done. My Equinox poncho/tarp has a couple of Velcro pieces that serve a simliar function just fine with that unit and I’m eying those heavy metal snaps with what can only be described as slightly neurotic UL suspicion.

There is also a Velcro closure at the bottom of the zipper, which I suppose serves to secure the end if you want to zip the door partially open. Again, it seems overly wide, but at least it isn’t a big metal snap <grin>.

I have not experimented much with guying out the sides, as is recommended in the directions for extra support in wind.

Overall I’m very impressed with it as a shelter and am exited to get out and give it a go soon.

As Raingear:
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It certainly feels a bit more awkward than the poncho/tarp when worn as rain gear. The arm slits just don’t feel as good as those big open sides, although in the wind it might be a bonus. I expect they will feel odd in the standard swinging motion of hiking, especially with the required trek pole.

You can see the slits in the picture - they shouldn't be a problem in tent mode due to tension on the seams.

I tried it on with a pack and the aforementioned snaps are a bit confusing. I thought they would suck in the cape in the back so it wasn’t so billowy, but when snapped to each other promptly worked their way under the bottom of my pack and I can see them becoming an irritant under there. I snapped it in front to see if that was the right way, but then finding the arm slits was very difficult.

Update: After talking with Ron at SMD, he informs me that the grosgrain straps from the bottom are to be snapped into the snaps instead of what I was doing. This makes more sense, although I think velcro would be a better choice here for weight savings.

As expected, it certainly provides less ventilation than the aforementioned poncho/tarp, and it remains to be seen under real world conditions how much this matters or how much the zipper allows for ventilation.

Summary
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In my experience, I don’t spend a lot of time with rain gear on (traditionally I've spend alot of time in the desert). I wear it on occasion, and since recently moving to the Pacific Northwest I’ll probably be wearing it more in the future, but I’m not as concerned with the cape portion as the shelter. The former will do in a pinch, the latter is essential in my book.

I still need to understand exactly how the front guylines work but I’m sure I’ll get some emails in short order detailing just that.

I also noted that one needs to seam seal the cape - the instructions mention this. I’ve never done this, and am not to excited to do it either. I’m not even sure how to do it, but Ron does provide a link to his website with sealer making instructions and hopefully directions on how to do it. Wish me luck.

Initially I’m pleased, if not ecstatic. We will see how the first trip with it goes.

It’s a bit heavier than I’d like, but not seriously so. My equinox tarp/poncho comes it at 10.5 oz and the Gatewood cape comes in at just over 2 oz more. But you get more coverage when in shelter mode, so I consider that a good deal.

Total weight: 12.6 oz.

That includes the cape in integrated suff sack, a small silnylon sack for 6 BMW ti-stakes and the pole harness.

Initial Rating: 4 out of 5.

I am curretnly rating it as such, but that may change after some usage. I intend it to be my standard shelter/raingear of choice going forward, so I'll update this when I've spent some time in/under it.

Here is a gallery with pictures:

Note: the hiking pole in the following pictures is not setup according to the directions (and its obvious when you put it together). My trek pole has a DIY monopod mount on the top, and I set that into the mounting harness - its stable and works, but you can't see it in the picture and doing so on a regular pole would *not* work.

Gatewood Cape Picture Gallery

Edited by heninger on 03/06/2006 16:07:15 MST.

Rating: 5 / 5

I just got mine and I have set it up twice, 1st time staked directly to the ground, 2nd time I added the 6" loops to give a little more height and ventalation. I have to say, it pitches better, taunter, w/ the added loops. My 2nd setup was to seam seal and while setup we had wind gusts to roughly 35 mph and it held it's ground pretty well though it does experience some flapping, but how much do you realistically expect from a ponch/tarp?
I would say it handles pretty well considering that it's not as beefy as say a Golite Hex. So you pitch it where you can get a little protection from nature's rath. Going from the Hex to this for solo trips will save me 1.5 lbs. That's awesome. So, sofar I am VERY impressed.

Rating: 4 / 5

I had it in use during a seven-day trip through the southern alps (Italy). Only used it as a shelter. And sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker.

The Gatewood Cape is very light for its purpose (I had also a bivy with me but you don't need one), easily errected and sheds all the wind (and surely rain which I had not experienced yet).

Overall I'm satisfied but there are some small concerns.

1. It's really a narrow shelter for a person like me (1,85 m, ~ 6,1'). My empty sleeping bag fits in without touching the sides but if I am in the bag, at least one end will get contact with the walls sooner or later. I had some condensation inside nearly every night (no rain but heavy dew), so one end of my bag got wet. I solved this by putting my rainproof jacket over the lower end of my bag.

Getting out of the cape is a bit tricky if the inside walls are wet (which they normally were in the morning). The walls are so slope that nearly always a part of the bag or your back comes in contact with it.

That are only concerns about comfort for lazy guys like me. The cape is a perfect castle for emergencies but I wouldn't want to use it 3 weeks long every night. But people a bit smaller or tougher than me may be entirely satisfied with the space the cape offers.:-)

2. Erected with a walking stick the sharp metall end of the stick points towards the silnylon of the hood which makes me a bit nervous in windy conditions. I solved this problem with a bit of ducktape over the hole in which the end of the stick is inserted.

3. The stitching at the base of the harness seems bombproof. But at the end of the single strips where the hooks are there is no massive stitching, especially no criss cross stitching. One hook got ripped out one time, when I tried to raise the cape by lengthening the walking stick. Easy to repair and easy to avoid with a few extra stitches.

4. I haven't yet received a totally pitched stand although I used the extra cord at the loops. One side is slapping whatever I do. I will try on to solve this problem too.


I did not use the Gatewood Cape as a rain cape because I don't like my shelter to be my rain clothes so I always carry seperate rain gear (Micropore suit in this case).


To me the Gatewood Cape is a perfect companion for trips where you often sleep in huts but also need a shelter for some nights where no hut is available. This is a frequent situation in Europe (for example in the alps)where sleeping in the free nature is normally forbidden. For a prolonged trip in Sweden or Scotland (both harsh climates and wet, wet, wet) I would like to take a SMD Solo e or a HS tarptent with me instead.

Edit: After a bit of time I would like to add a few remarks. I'm now able to get a pitched stand after I added some lenght to the line at the "door site" of the cape. I like the design better and better, so I would give a "4,5" if I had to do it now. And there are very few (immediatly nothing comes to my mind) devices in the backpacking world which in my opinion would earn a "5" (which means perfect), so the Cape actually performs not bad.

Edited by geala on 09/08/2006 14:09:50 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

After many incarnations of newer, lighter single wall shelters from Tarptent and Six Moon Designs over the last few years, I've been investigating finally taking the plunge and going with a tarp/bivy comination.

My existing shelter is a SMD Lunar Solo Enhanced, so when I saw the Gatewood Cape, I was delighted to see that familiar shape incorporated into a rain cape - no need for my one pound of rain gear (Mont Bell Versalite Large and GoLite Reed Large)!

Given that I use a Nunatak Arc Ghost, I really thought the Bozeman Mountain Works Vapr Nano bivy would be the ticket to keep my quilt dry as well as cut down on drafts.

Well, when I set up my Cape and unfurled my new Vapr Nano Bivy, I was further delighted to see that the grossgrain tie-outs on the bivy match up PERFECTLY with the tie-outs on the base of the Cape! I simply attached a short length of shock cord and a mini hook to each of the bivy's tie-outs and then attached them to the tie-outs on the shelter and... BAM! A perfectly oriented bivy held in position (away from condensated walls) and kept upright while twisting and turning inside throughout the night.

Plus, the tie-out loop above the bug netting on the head end of the bivy snaps right up to the snap on the inside of the shelter side tie-out loop, holding the head of the bivy perfectly up and aff my face!

Did Bozeman and Six Moon Designs plan this?!?!?! It's too perfect!!!

And to round out the system, I added a pair of Gossamer Gear Spinn Chaps (in grey which matched the cape) to cover the areas the Cape does not.

I've saved roughly 1 and 1/2 pounds from my system! Too cool!!!

Rating: 3 / 5

The Gatewood cape was the hardest to let go of. I could definitely stretch the envelope, as I wasn’t carrying rain gear from Campo to within 100 miles of Manning. Up in the north cascades I changed to raingear. I continued to carry the cape, since I used it as a pack cover and it was still my shelter. However, the roll up snaps provided to make the cape useful as a garment and pack cover don’t work well enough to keep the cape up off the ground, nor to keep it off the brush (snagging was a problem). I invented a system at home which incorporated a bungee. With the bungee set up, I was able to keep the poncho off the ground and away from snagging brush. For that reason I don’t believe this shelter/ poncho combo would be appropriate for anyone under 6ft. The first time the poncho was ever used as raingear both of the arm flaps ripped out. It was returned to the manufacturer in the interim while I had switched to the Lunar Solo for bug season. It was returned to me repaired, but again without true bar tacks at key stress areas. This shelter is also difficult to set up on the fly and takes much effort to attain a taught pitch. I wish the hood were more articulated too. The hood on this garment is cut very crudely and while it keeps one’s head dry, is obscures both peripheral vision and good visibility in general. I had to make sure to use the guy line tie outs on the sides to get proper headroom. I was impressed with the coverage area of the shelter, the option to vent out the hood, and the option to have the door half open. Also liked the chest pocket for storing gear and its dual use as a stuff sack. I also liked that, unlike many other ponchos on the market, it was more like a jacket than anything available. One is able to vent on the fly. However, with all of those positives, buyer beware as it is poorly executed. This had to go back for repairs twice. Eventually the poor stitching on all the hems started to come undone.

Edited by tooloouk79852 on 12/09/2006 23:49:33 MST.

Rating: 5 / 5

I believe the one I purchased (Jan 07) is an improved model vs. the previous post. Mine does have bar tacks at stress points and I beefed these up by seal coating them when I did the seams.

This is a great one person+gear(+small dog) shelter. It's like having a mini Hex-3 with the option of wearing it as rain gear. I normally only use it as a shelter and utilize a Patagonia Houdini for light rain protection. But when the clouds start pouring the shelter is put on as a cape/poncho for maximum rain protection. Kudos' to Ron for a nifty double-use product!

Update: I replaced the stake loops with 1/8" bungee cord (REI). This gives me self-adjusting tension (wind & rain) and allows me to use my trekking pole (w/o adjusting it) for the support pole.

Edited by Steve on 08/28/2008 21:23:08 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have only taken this on one trip so far. Everything that I have read about this is true. The space (square feet) and the coverage is awesome. I did not feel claustrophobic at all. The harness is a great addition to this shelter too. I cannot wait to try this out in the Sierra's this summer. This is a nice piece of gear that also doubles as my rain gear along with my wind jacket and pants. Cannot express how much I dig this piece of gear!!!!


Now that I have used it on a few trips, I have to say that this is a fine piece of gear. I even use a Sea2summit mosquito net inside the Gatewood and it works perfect.

Edited by kennyhel77 on 08/20/2007 15:35:29 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I used this piece of gear on a recent trip (35 miles, 2 nights) to the crystal range in desolation wilderness, ca.

this was the first time i have ever used a tarp, or poncho-tarp for that matter, as a shelter. but after using it for two nights in the backcountry, i know see why it is such a key piece for a ul soloist. i comboed the tarp with just a GG polycro groundcloth, a GG torso nightlite and my WM highlite.


the first night the temperature dropped into the teens. as a result, i had some condensation in the form of ice crystals above my head. some dropped onto my bag, but with WM's fabric, the ice just brushed off my bag.

it was quite windy the first night, but i set the cape up as SMD explains, with the back into the wind. it sheltered my for the most part. the cape did stay tight but the wind had it flapping. one neat feature with the cape on this point is that you can close the hood of the cape with the drawstring and that will quiet the noisy hood in the wind.

somehow i only brought 5 stakes, so i had to improvise with a stick. see photo. rookie manuever.



In terms of setup, the cape is easy. however, the webbing harness for the pole, on mine, is miscolored. unless i am insane, and that is possible, i tried matching the colored webbing from inside the hood to the harness and it was all screwy. i dont know, maybe this batch of capes was funky. i will contact SMD about this with some photos.

but anyway, it is pretty straight forward to see how the harness fits and i have to say, it seems pretty ingenious!

it never rained, but i did try on the cape too see how the raingear facet worked. inside the cape are two tiny snaps so that you can gather the excess fabric at the arms. nice detail. the cape fit around my pack well, though as noted above by another writer, it will be interesting to see how the cape works when hiking with poles.

for me, i think this system works as raingear when coupled with other key pieces, like a wind/rain shirt and pants. on this trip, i carried the montane lite speed and reed pants. while the later has some extra weight, i use them as(reverse?) insulation at night over my pants.

overall, this is a well-designed piece, properly executed. with the exception of the webbing issue, which may be me afterall, the cape is well made, thoughtful, and as a result-- highly recommended. i think i am now sold on carrying this as my solo shelter/ rain gear.

Rating: 5 / 5

I used this as my shelter and rain gear/pack cover on my JMT hike this past year. As a shelter it was perfect. It provided complete protection from the rain and wind. I brought a bivy, but ended up not using it much when I set up the shelter. I think the Gatewood Cape is a wonderful shelter and I love the dual use design. I couldn't ask for anything else out of this tarp type shelter. As rain gear I think it is good, but the cape design takes some getting used to. It is great for going ultralight, but I think I am more comfortable with traditional rain gear and pack cover. I had a hard time venting, and it was wet inside and outside the Cape. Though I am sure it would have been similar with rain gear. I give this a 5 as a shelter and a 4 as rain gear. Overall this is a wonderful product. I hope to pair it with the Serenity Shelter soon.

Edited by dstenberg1 on 02/20/2008 08:02:26 MST.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have now used the Gatewood on several trips. On one Midwest February overnight it rained copious amounts in 45 deg temps such that creeks were flooded and everything was pure mud. I stayed dry with a homemade PU nylon groundsheet, Thermarest 3/4 UL pad and a NF synthetic 40 deg bag. I was able to get my 100 lb Labrador, my pack and myself into the shelter and keep it all dry. It was admittedly tight, but quite do-able. There was some typical silnyl "misting" (it rained HARD!) but not enough to get anything wet. I wore the cape as raingear in moderate rainfall, and it kept me and my pack dry. The only issue was wind, which caused the cape to billow.

I also used the cape on a 5-day backpacking/canoeing trip in Spring weather (upper 30's lows and 70's highs.) It worked very well in light rain as a shelter, in conjunction with the Serenity bug shelter (no bites!) The very light weight and compactness were quite welcome, especially compared to my (envious) companions who were not exactly UL.

I made tie-outs with some 1.5 mm accessory cord (I like to be able to tie a rolling hitch [taut-line hitch]to adjust lines), six Ti stakes and a 45" four-section aluminum pole from Quest Fabrics. The custom pole is only marginally heavier than a CF pole, and much cheaper! I don't carry hiking poles.

All in all, I am quite pleased with the Gatewood Cape. I recommend it!

Rating: 1 / 5

Worthless instructions, possibly the laziest, most completely useless, and worst-written of all time.
Spent at least twenty hours trying to erect this thing and get it to stay taut, to no avail. Spent a like amount researching the advice of others on the net.
A less rainworthy ripoff cannot be imagined (except for the Black Diamond Lightsabre).
I am a five-time JMT thru-hiker b.t.w.
Numerous phone calls to Six Moons, never answered phone or called back. Yes, during business hours. Eventually spoke to a series of weaselly teenagers who had clearly never actually set up one of these things. Asked for my money back...I had ordered directly from Six Moons...and was told by a "supervisor" that Six Moons would not refund my money. Sent it back anyway, Six Moons never had the courtesy to reply. Six Moons Design is a sleazy, sleazy company. I urge you all to never, ever buy any Six Moons products.

I bought a Mountain Laurel Designs Poncho-Tarp, and it set up easy as pie, and tight as a drum the very first time. I've never had a lick of trouble with it. In complete contrast to Six Moons, when Mountain Laurel Designs had production problems three yrs. ago,the company president personally apologized, refunded all the deposits for unfilled orders, and suspended operations for many months until he could deliver the kind of service that customers deserve.

Rating: 1 / 5

I set this up in my backyard expecting that it was fully enclosed. I was suprised when I saw the zippered door was more of a beak that stopped about 10 inches from the ground. My plan was to use it without a bivy with my dog but I feel the need to be enclosed when backpacking with my 4 legged companion or when it's windy. The pitch was poor on the back of the shelter even with the guyouts. I tried for 3 hours to get it wind-worthy changing the position of all the stakes and pole height with no luck. IMHO this was caused by the round hood opening going to a polygon perimeter and the back 3 sides were only 1 piece which seemed to make things even worse. So the side that's supposed to block you from the wind would flap and bow and the door is only good for rain. I decided to return the cape and sent an email with my reasons why and they responded the same day with instructions on how to return the product for a full refund. They got the cape on March 15th and I expected a refund within a week. After a few calls that were always answered but with no response other than "soon" I got a check in the mail 3 weeks later delaying my purchase of an MLD DuoMid. My rating is a combination of my opinion on the cape and the way they handle refunds. I think a poncho/tarp and bivy would be a much more weather resistant multi-use system but triple the cost per equivalent ounce.

Edited by Steingass on 04/14/2009 17:30:49 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I've used the cape for my go to rig for over the past year and I couldn't be happier. Conditions experienced have included exposed costal ridges winds gusting over 40 knots, heavy rain, rode out a micro burst in a random Ca. thunderstorm and set it up in 14 inches of fresh snow.

Lots of room, lots of setup options, there is a learning curve but thats to be expected when you play on this end of the spectrum. If you live or play in a relatively bug free enviroment then this is it!

Rating: 5 / 5

I just returned from 22 nights in the high Sierra on the PCT and JMT. I had two days of constant high winds in Onion Valley, with sustained gusts to at least 50 mph. My trusty Gatewood Cape flapped a bit, but with the rear staked to the ground and the vestibule zipped, it rode out the high winds just fine. Lesser shelters were suffering badly.

We did not get the rain and snow the rangers were warning everyone about, so the cape never got wet.

My wife added a third interior snap loop to the cape and a corresponding 3rd tie-out loop to the rear wall of the Serentity Net Tent that greatly added to interior headroom. Now if only the net tent floor matched the footprint of the cape (as does the Lunar Solo E), I'd be a truly happy camper. I do however understand the necessity of meeting a marketing weight point for the lightest shelter. I'd gladly suck up the extra 2 oz a larger floor would cost.

Edited by wandering_bob on 02/01/2010 12:38:06 MST.

Rating: 3 / 5

I purchased a Gatewood Cape off the Gear Swap and tried it out in various conditions. As other posters have noted, it is a bit unruly in poncho-mode, especially for those who are vertically challenged. (I'm 5'8"). I found that the lack of breathability was a major drawback in poncho mode, and I ended up wet even after wearing it for just a short time.

As far as Shelter Mode goes, I liked the cape in moderate weather. I found it to set up easy and provide ample space to sleep, cook, and sit-up and read even. A very beautiful shape and design. However, when faced with extreme weather (i.e. constant rain for hours and hours with high humidity), I was unable to keep myself dry. It was as if it was raining inside the shelter, and my down bag got soaked. After this experience, I cannot believe that some people have success with this shelter WITHOUT a bivy. Perhaps their down shells' DWR work better than mine, but I wouldn't risk using this shelter without a bivy again.

So, in the end, I traded it away to someone else and am sticking with a GoLite Hut + Bivy for rainy trips and a simple poncho-tarp for when weather will be nicer.

Rating: 4 / 5

It took me sometime to figure out how to best set up the shelter but once I "got it" there was no turning back. This setup works great and I have been in several rain/thundestorms under this shelter and managed to pitch it just right to the ground to stay bone dry underneath. If pitched correctly you can get it taught enough to not rattle in the winds if you are in an exposed area. I have used it on multiple trips and love its dual use possibilities but have yet to need to use it as a poncho. The Gatewoods ability to be a tarp/poncho/rain cover for the pack make it one of my most versatile items in the pack.

Rating: 5 / 5

I like the Cape. It's very good for what it is. Here is a short video I did on it in the snow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fJZ2ki4eX8

Rating: 5 / 5

A 5 so far, but I have only just set it up and slept in it. My main reason to post a preliminary review is to comment on the set up. I bought this tarp/poncho used without instructions. First set up took about 4-5 min. By the time I got to the 4th set up it took 1 min 27 seconds on a duff, pine needle forest floor. Incredibly easy to set up, get taut, and adjust height for ventilation or to be weather tight. Absolutely none of the problems some others have experienced. Lots of room for me (5'7"), and my gear. Only got down to -1 celsius under clear skies. Ventilation was good with the tarp pitched high. In poncho mode it fits well with my pack on. I used a bungee belt to help control the excess. Even at my short height I had no dragging. If I was bush whacking I would likely just take it off.
Looks like some pretty heavy rain/snow coming in the next week so will give further comments.
Edit. Have been using it in everything from cold clear weather to rain to wind. Has worked very well. A little noisy in exposed windy conditions, but what isn't. So far so good. Will keep pushing the envelope as I can.

Edited by mtnrat on 11/26/2010 21:52:03 MST.