Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

Definitely 5/5. 47 sq. ft. useable area for 8.0 oz of the best spinnaker cloth available this is a very versatile tarp for two plus their gear. A Pletntitude of stake loop, very high quality stitching, catenary cuts, inside gear loops, reinformcement only where needed. Spinnaker cloth is not created equal this stuff has a higer waterproofness! My partner and I modified it with a catenary beak at the high end to make it an inbetween design from a straight tarp and a tarptent (it has no bug netting and open at foot end). This modification further enhances storm proofness and stability in high winds.


Weight:
8.0 oz - Tarp before seam sealing
0.4 oz - Stuff Sack (included)
2.0 oz - 8 6” Titanium stakes (recommended)
0.4 oz - 25’ of 275 lb. EZC line (included)
Size:
47 sq. ft. - Complete tarp area, staked down position, not counting entrance overhangs
120" - Length of tarp ridgeline
110" - Total width of front of tarp (55" per side)
86" - Total width of rear of tarp (43" per side)
12" - Front entrance overhang
6" - Rear entrance overhang
102" - Wall length at ground level
44" - Height at peak with 45" pole (can increase with pitching options)
67" - Front entrance width, using 45" pole, tarp staked to ground
62" - Rear entrance width, using 32" pole, tarp staked to ground
Materials:
0.9 oz fully waterproof high thread count spinnaker cloth
Selected use of 70 denier coated nylon ripstop for reinforcement
Grosgrain pullouts
EZC spectra-core line (275-lb. tensile strength)
Color:
White

Edited by be_here_now@earthlink.net on 04/16/2006 21:01:17 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

As both a one and two person shelter, the tarp has been quite satisfactory during the several overnights I've used it. Its 120" ridge length sets it apart from others. It provides adequate coverage in vertical rain for someone nearly 6'4" who does not use a bivy. There are intriguingly light 4 oz tarps available, but their foot-shorter length is too limiting. Setting it up may take 3 to 10 minutes, depending on the site and recent practice. It won't protect from blowing rain like a tarptent. I also use Gossamer Gear G6 packs, chaps, & poles and all are well designed and reasonably durable within limitations of the very light materials. Customer service is outstanding.

2007 Footnote: Even after it softens with use, Spinnaker cloth is very noisy in wind, such as above tree-line. It may keep you awake wondering when the thing will blow down. Then again, this product is being pushed when used above treeline.

Edited by sidmanac on 08/15/2007 02:49:03 MDT.

Rating: 4 / 5

The SpinnTwinn was the shelter for 2 of us during a recent week-long hike in the Grand Canyon. We had three nights of rain, including one night of gusty wind-driven rain. The tarp was exceptionally easy to pitch, and with a little attention, it was easy to produce a taut and very stable shelter. During the two nights of gentle or less wind-driven rain, the tarp proved completely adequate to protect 2 sleepers and some of their gear. However, wind a storm barrels through the Canyon, winds that may be Westerly hit those 1000-foot walls and come at you from all points of the compass. This makes pitching the tarp against the winds a challenge that borders on futility. As a result, it is inevitable that the open ends of the shelter are going to be vulnerable, and they were. Light spray came in, alternating between the ends depending on where the winds came from. The resulting dampness was not serious, but had the rain been harder it would have been more of an issue. I knew this might be an issue, and I had wished that the tarp was another 12-18" longer, and still do. This is a problem that is probably fairly unique to these conditions -- erratic winds and temperatures, even in March, that are high enough to preclude the use of a UL bivy to augment the tarp.

In sum, the Spinn Twinn worked extremely well, for the most part even under challenging conditions. I will continue to yearn for a SpinnTwinn that is a couple of feet longer, but until that comes along, I'll keep the current version as my primary shelter.

Rating: 5 / 5

I've been using spinntwin as a hammock tarp with great success. The dimensions are roughly 8x10, give or take a bit so coverage is competative against most hammock tarps with the advantage of greater flexibilty of go-to-ground shelter.

In addition to the streghts listed by others, I place high value on that versatility.

Rating: 5 / 5

In '07 I backpacked the CT in 21 days with 20 wonderful days of rain/hail. This was the best piece of gear I had. I used it to hunker down in 2 lightening storms I got caught in at 12200ft on Kokomo Pass and not once did I get wet (no bivy) on all the nights I used it on. I had hail and downpours that lasted several hours, and I mean HARD rain/hail. No leaks, no wind problems, easy set-up, and doesn't sag like sil-nylon at night. Plus mine weighs 9.9 ounces with it being seam sealed. I know there are 3 and 4 ounce poncho/tarps etc. out there but this is TRULY RELIABLE. I never had any worries about it.

Rating: 5 / 5

Straight forward,simple design with a lot of options built in. Far superior material. Gosh- fabrics have advanced alot in the last few years!! A large tarp at a low weight. 9.7oz w/guylines and stuff sack. I am in tarping heaven.

Rating: 5 / 5

We just returned from a long week in the Sierra's with a group of 6 this year. We needed one additional 2 man shelter for the 80 mile hike and at the last minute decided that he SpinnTwinn tarp would fit the bill for price, weight and performance. The new SpinnTwinn is probably the lightest, quickest to set up, and best shelter for the weight/price that I have ever used or seen! And that includes the Cuben Mid that I built last year! After watching the online video on the Gossamer Gear web site I was able to set up the shelter in the back yard in less then 3 minutes on the first try doing it very slowely. Did it one more time to make sure I had the procedure down and then packed it up for the big trip. We ddin't see rain until the 4th day of the hike and we all pulled out the shelters to quickly errect them. I had the SpinnTwinn up and errected perfectly in less then 2 minutes time, probably closer to 1 minute! I did this all by myself why all the other guys teamed up to try and get their shelters errected. I was able to put all my gear under the shelter, then put their packs under, while they still worked on errecting theirs. I pitched the bottom end very low and into the wind and kept the opening pretty high for ease of entry and max. venting. Winds only hit about 15 to 20 mph and I had no problems at all with the shelter in terms of noise, wind, rain, or leaking. Probably going to be replacing one of the other two man shelters that weighs 17oz with another SpinnTwinn now! Loved this one !!!!!

Edited by kegelhoff on 09/17/2009 12:16:38 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

My first exposure to the Spinn Twin was at the BPL course this September. I must say, I was a little concerned that should it rain, I would not remain dry. Well the Spinn twin was put to the test. It rained...and rained...and rained on our second night. It was good hard rain as well. Much too my surprise, my wife and I remained dry. Yea, it was a little noisy with the gusts of wind but that was not a big deal. We also received minimal, if any spray. The next morning we were both dry! I just bought one today!

Rating: 5 / 5

The SpinnTwinn has now become my primary tarp for solo use. The quality is outstanding, perfect stitching, strong tie-outs, the new cord locks are great. Matched up with 8x titanium nails and my LT4 trekking poles, this is a top notch lightweight shelter.

This tarp is sized for two, so as a solo tarp it is truly palatial. You can easily keep your gear inside, and if you pitch it high you can easily sit under cover and cook. Alternatively, in bad weather, you can pitch it lower to the ground, closing the sides and giving yourself excellent coverage. But, since the weight is still sub 9oz, it is comparable in terms of weight with many much smaller tarps. This is a really flexible option for the solo hiker.

Several people have noted that the material is quite noisy - this is especially true if you use the supplied stuff sack and throw the tarp in your pack using that sack. I kept the supplied stuff sack, since it is an excellent size and quality, but don't use it on the trail!

Instead, I roll the tarp up and put it in a little MYOG tyvek bag along with my tent stakes - the backpack noise factor is almost completed eliminated. It does crinkle a little when it is pitched in the wind (sounds a bit like if you flap a piece of paper). I just think of the flapping as white noise to help me sleep.

My summary - an excellent two-person tarp, that, when used as a solo tarp, provides a ton of flexibility and space. I highly recommend it!