 is great if you are going to be stuck in your tent playing cards for a while in bad weather, or just prefer highly livable tents.
Tarptent has been around for ages with a great reputation in the lightweight backpacking community. As the name suggests it combines the best aspects of a tent and tarp. That is, low weight combined with a fully waterproof floor and mosquito protection. The Notch is a great 1-person shelter, that sets up with two trekking poles, and includes a full inner bug netting and a bathtub floor. The Notch will keep you and your stuff dry in a rain storm, and there is ample headroom to sit up and wait out the foul weather from dry comfort inside! The shelter weighs in at 27 oz, which is a fair bit lighter than even the lightest free-standing tents!
This is a light shelter with plenty of room for two to sit up side by side and eat dinner looking at the view. This Tarptent MoTrail is more like a traditional tarp setup with a ridgeline held by two trekking poles in the long direction of the tarp. The tarp has a mesh inner, and a Silnylon outer with a Silnylon tub floor to keep you dry even in a total downpour. Inside is space for two people to sleep comfortably without a trekking pole between them. At 36 oz, it’s just over 1lb/person, and it’s less expensive than the 1-person shelters like the Tarptent Notch or MLD Solomid!
This is the pyramid shelter against which all others are measured. These have been used by thru hikers on the longest treks, deep in the wilderness of Alaska, on glaciers and high peaks, and even occasionally as car-camping tents! The design is flexible, durable, functional, livable, and light at 21 oz for the SilNylon version. It can withstand serious storms, and open up on nice nights. It is spacious and comfortable for two backpackers and their gear. Of course, for the gram counters, this tarp also comes in the much lighter cuben fiber (Dyneema composite fabric) version, weighing in at 16 oz even, and costing about $700 depending on the color of fabric used. Note Asym design: one of the few ‘Mids that allows a couple to sleep side-by side without a center pole between them.
This is the upgraded version of the shelter Andrew Skurka took on his epic Alaska-Yukon Expedition. It’s a 1-person version of the Duomid with all the same great features, but it’s lighter and less expensive! It fits 1-person with ample room for gear. This SilNylon version comes in at just over a pound (17 oz). The Cuben fiber (Dyneema composite fabric) is a svelte 12 oz, but costs $465. For such a versatile, lightweight shelter, it’s a bargain! Note: new 2017 Asym, single pole design with 70% of the user space behind the one center pole and the front 30% functions as a vestibule. This offset design allows entry and exit in rainy conditions to help keep the sleep side of the shelter dry like the DuoMid XL design.
This is exciting and timely news! I will try as you suggest. One thing is I with there were fly guyline tieouts beyond the two Apex line locks. Yes I can add my own to secure the two apexes but as MLD has done perhaps some reinforce tieouts for the fly would be handy to address high winds. For now I must rely on 4 pegs, 2 apexes, 4 fly edge ties really only for edge control not full wind control. I have my stakes at the ready and will test this weekend. I really want to rely on this little tent as it is so promising but I fo not want to worry about shelter collapse just because the wind picked up or changed direction in the middle of the night! Yes good site selection is to be considered but I don’t want a new tent that cannot handle what my MSR Hubba NX could just to save 12 oz. I know that’s a lot of ounces. Looking forward to your thoughts. By the way my base pack is now down to 14.5 lbs thanks to you! Some luxuries I am still not willing to part with. The best news recently is I ditched my 50oz hiking boots for some 11.5 Salomon shoes with built in gaiters! What a weight saving exercise that was!
I have just purchased the Tarptent Notch 2018 version. I would like to know your thoughts about the new fly which no longer uses zippers but rather two lengths of Velcro and a metal clip system to hold the doors closed. Wondering if this is actually enough in foul weather as they may blow open. Secondly I am wondering how you rate this shelter in winds regarding guy lines. Yes picking the right site is key but guy lines are critical. I know both apexes have a line lock to guy out from but I notice that the fly does not have guy lines tie outs such as you might find on the MSR Hubba NX. Looking forward to your thoughts as I am field testing and plan to get back in touch with Tarptent soon with my conclusions.
Hi Alan! For the MLD Shelters, did you choose sil or dyneema to take with you to Patagonia? And what do you prefer? I didn’t seem to find an answer on the website. I’m hoping to get a Duomid XL, but now I’m stuck between sil and dyneema. Thanks!
Thanks for the input Alan and Alison! We’re making a few optimizations in our gear to lighten up and it looks like it’s time to press the buy now button on this mid for the windier, wetter and cooler conditions expected in our next trip.
This would mostly complete our system of 4 types of shelters for the current and future conditions we plan to travel/backpack in: an economical (not ultralight) tent for casual trips/campgrounds, tarp (for multiday backpacking), hammock (if trees are available), and a mid (multiday backpacking + environmental factors).
The BA UL2 seems like the thin floor is flawed and customer service isn’t quick, would you consider using a blue tarp instead of the footprint that’s available? Would there be other options or considerations when addressing the lack of durability in the floor, based on a review?
Launch Radio Networks reports: Ian Gillan is really proud of his new solo album called "Gillan's Inn", which came out on Tuesday, April 18. It spans the four decades of his professional life and includes some of his friends as guest performers, including his mates in DEEP PURPLE, the GOO GOO DOLLS, and singer-guitarist Jeff Healey, among many others. Gillan recorded new versions of all the songs on the album, and he told Launch that he and the band kind of got back to basics in the studio. "Nothing contrived," he said. "It's all about people playing their instruments in a group together, and delivering a combination of power, and texture, and dynamics, and all of those subtle things that have been forgotten over the years."
Gillan hopes to play some solo gigs this year, if the DEEP PURPLE schedule opens up the way he thinks it will.Uber Pet Launches in Denver Tomorrow!
Uber Pet launches in Denver tomorrow! For a $4 surcharge you can bring your pet along on your Uber ride. Denver is 1 of 7 cities launching the pilot program. Riders will have to pay a $4 surcharge for the Uber Pet option, along with their standard trip fare. Service animals aren't required to use Uber Pet.Who’s job should this be?
Often, when concerns about accessibility come to campus, either new people are hired, or new responsibilities are added to the workload of existing employees.
At WSU, both of those happened, and the people involved led a committee that started to address the work.
The challenge with a project this big, one that touches every part of the university, is that it’s simply not something that a small team can just “take care of” for the rest of us.
The expectations for the small team of people with new responsibilities needs to be that they champion new behavior and train everyone else. Expertise needs to be developed, but in the end the actual work needs to be something everyone at the institution adopts. A small remediation team might take on large pockets of documents that need to be made accessible, but if the rest of the institution continues to produce inaccessible work product, that team will drown.
There’s also a lot of danger in the idea of hiring a person or a few people to “handle” an initiative this important for an institution. The situation creates an opportunity for scapegoating and compartmentalization that can be damaging to institutions and to individual careers, so if you’ve taken on one of those roles for your institution, make sure the expectations are clear. You’re there to lead, to train, and to promote — you’re not there to solve the problem while everyone else ignores it.6 Ways to Embrace New Years’ Resolutions as an Older Adult
Check out these six smart ways to stay on track with your New Year’s Resolutions!
Check out these six smart ways to stay on track with your New Year’s Resolutions!
If you’re feeling down over the holidays, read our tips on how to beat the blues!
We would like to thank all who have served for their patriotism, bravery, and