In "flight mode" at Walkers Creek, Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. It was around 20 C / 68 F at night and I had expected much cooler nights (what is normal at this time of the year) so I had the solid interior. The "flight mode" was an attempt to catch what breeze was offer. All I seem to get but was mozzies.
Finally got around to taking a pic of this. I also got the fitted tarp. About 28 oz. (793 g) including shelter, tarp, Tyvek ground cover, Ti stakes and guy lines.
Just got a hand me down Neptune crestone 1. Weighs 4 pounds and took 4minutes to pitch. All mesh bivy with rainfly and porch. I love it. Can't wait to put it to use!
bmike: I fell in love with the Contrail after seeing the setup process. It's an awesome design from what I can assume. I'm interested in how the stitching holds up. How small does it pack down to in a stuff sack?
holding up well, but i've only had it out on weekend trips.
shot from this weekend - very windy in an exposed meadow site, and rain, most of the night. wind changed 180 just as i was getting ready to climb in and the fire was dying down. i should have re-pitched foot into the wind - but it held up well, even with the gusts. the back is dropped down into a storm pitch, as the wind was originally coming from the rear. the struts slide and fasten with some velcro.
packs down into the stuff sack they send with it - 4"x14". center pole goes elsewhere. if you remove the little struts in the rear from their sleeves you can get it even smaller - but i don't want to fuss with those in the field. looking at a simpler way to do that, but haven't put the brain power into it yet.
here is is on my bike - inside of a dry bag. the stakes are in there as well. its really puffy, i didn't do a good job of compressing it down, and just pushed it in there and strapped it on. when it goes into the stuff sack that came with it it goes to the 4x14" lists. that pic is more like 5x15. the poles rode in my front harness (i carry a short little pole for the rear to help create a ridge and shed water. you could also use a stick.
I have a Contrail and you do have to seam seal the stitching before you take it out - pretty easy, though. I didn't have a problem w/leaking or with the seams, though I just got it this summer and haven't had it out too many times. It does pack down to the size stated on their website (I think it's tarptent.com) though it took me around 10 minutes to take it down, pull stakes, roll it up and stuff it into the sack. You do have to roll it tight to get it into the stuff sack. My suggestion is to practice it several times, setting up and taking down before you go on the road with it (including getting it wet and then trying it). The pole is a bit awkward to pack but I found a good place for it on my bike - tying it to the side of the downtube (I have a frame type bag that is velcroed to the downtube and the pole slides right underneath the velcro so no extra string is needed for this part), with a string tying the end to the stem so it doesn't slide down.
Currently I have a Outdoor Research Bug Bivy and a Spinn Twin Tarp from Gossamer Gear. I've only used this hiking with poles but I don't see why I can't use my bike as a pole like above. If it was cool enough I would leave the bivy at home and just use a head net.
I'm all about less is more so I'll be looking at a bivy from backpackinglight.com They have some crazy light bivys that one could use for bikepacking.
I need to find a more compact shelter. After a few not-so-successful attempts at setting up a free silny flat tarp, I went back to look at single wall tents. I`ve been nearly ready to write a check for either a TT Contrail or a Moment, but still a little bit on the fence. The front entry of the Contrail doesn`t appeal to me, but I feel pretty well assured by BMike and others that I actually could live with it. While the Moment`s packed length is a huge bummer, the rest of its design is just plain sweet! Fortunately, I live only about two hours drive from TT`s "corporate HQ", so I finally set up an appointment to go check them both out in person and get Mr Shires`s views on de-strutting as well as see how the Mile Long Moment actually fits when strapped on my bike. I`m going Monday- hope to come home a couple hundred Dollars lighter in the wallet.
^^Thanks for that!
If that buddy is the guy with the BMX pedals on a Pacer, I think he and I are soul mates
Just seconds to remove/install? Is it a stock Moment, or did he mod it for that? I read an account somewhere by Moment user who clains it was a major PITA and I think he even ended up having to wet the fabric to get it to stretch a little bit. Another post from some backpacking forum mentioned some fairly complicated mods to make it easy. I was considering maybe chopping an inch or so off each strut, one of the things I mean to ask about next week.
not the guy on the pacer with bmx pedals. he has henessy hammock.
but he has done some rando rides on that rig with hiking shoes.
well, he just got it and was messing around, kinda telling me that i could have used that tent as well. so i haven't seen it done. from what henry told me when i inquired - he said he would not want to do it every night and then repeat in the morning.
if they are like my contrail - yes, the do go in and out, but it takes a little longer than 2 seconds a piece.
I think bmike has done a good job of convincing people of the Tarptent's merits. One question though - the little stick you use on the back of the tent as an optional extra: would you be able to use a moderately sized mini pump in place of a stick to help create the ridge? e.g. a Topeak Road Morph pump @ 14" in length
could be a stick, your bike (if you ran the chord up and over), a wheel, a collapsible tripod for a camera, etc. no reason a pump wouldn't work, so long as it was long enough.
that little pole is 18" and is in a sleeve with line attached. really could be anything 18" or longer, depending on how you rig it.
i haven't tried this yet for the front. i'd likely keep it further away from the bike, assuming it wasn't a PITA, as the extra pole is really lite.
Older Nemo Gogo has been good for me. Just cram it, my sleeping pad and sleeping bag in the front harness bag. A little heavy, but nice not to deal with poles.
i don't think the miniscule weight savings advantage would be worth it. my .433 pole is far stiffer than the proportion of weight i've just added to my kit...
Not to derail this thread, but rodar y rodar how do you like that impact pro mos? I just had my brother buy me one in nearly new condition off craigslist for $100. Unfortunately it will be about 4 months before I can ride it though cause I'm out of the country until then.
Really? Cool. There aren`t many of them out there- I think they only made them for one or two years. The frame is a bit heavy for a lot of uses, but being beefy is perfect for my purpose (touring and commuting). The only original parts on mine are the brake calipers and the seatpost, though the stock componentry was decent mid-level Shimano mtb stuff. Mostly I like my bike because it formerly belonged to a favorite uncle who passed away several years ago. I feel like I get a chance to honor him every time I roll off to work on it
By the way, good eyes! Hope you like your bike when you get it. Can`t go too far wrong at that price.
Hah, yeah the weird chainstays tipped me off. Judging from some catalog scans I found,I think mine is entirely stock excepting the saddle which actually looks nicer. The tires are even original and don't look to be warn. Along with the schwinn, I also have an 80s shogun rigid MTB. I'm going to convert one of them into a drop bar 3 speed commuter but I'm not sure which one yet. I guess it's kind of novel to keep the schwinn original but ultimately I favor function over that kind of nostalgia.
We use our tents for both backpacking and bikepacking. Well, almost exclusively backpacking, but we've used it for bikepacking now too.
Tent of choice is a Mountain Hardware Trango 2. Much larger and heavier than what most of you guys use, but it will keep you warm and dry, guaranteed. And, we have two people to carry it. We can break down our bikes and get them mostly covered by the vestibule, and do our cooking at the other end.
Overkill 90% of the time, and we have a smaller North Face, which is a 3 season and much lighter. For some reason we don't use it that often. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry up at 11,000-12,000ft.
Saw this on steepandcheap today for $187 (1/2 off)...NEMO Equipment Inc. Moto 1P Superbivy with Footprint: 1-Person 3-Season. Features a unique, inflatable main support and a feathery sub-three-pound weight. I'm not in the market, but the inflatable support sounded interesting. Anybody use one?
If you're interested, it may rotate back around, or maybe try their alerts.
A unique, inflatable support design allows the NEMO Equipment Moto 1P Superbivy with Footprint to pack down so small you can fit it inside the panniers on your bike or motorcycle, or under the seat of your canoe. Just unpack this tent, stake it out, attach the collapsible strut to tension the foot, and inflate the main support by the head using the included pump. Without poles and thanks to the single-person design, this one-of-a-kind tent weighs in at just under three pounds. You'll be hard pressed to find a solo tent that's lighter and easier to set up.
Airbeam main support inflates quickly and provides enough headroom for a camper to sit up at the head of the tent
Airbeam keeps the tent structurally stable, tensions the tent, and stands up to foul weather and wind
Inner tent can be retracted underneath the fly to create a temporary, full-length vestibule space for gear storage
Collapsible strut tensions the foot of the tent and tucks inside a reinforced sleeve at the Swallow Tail
Two mesh vents promote cross ventilation from the head of the tent to the foot of the tent so you feel cool and comfortable, not stifled
Included with the tent is a drybag-style stuff sack, integrated Pump, collapsible strut, stakes, and a repair kit
I used the Big Agnes Lynx Pass 1 this summer for a couple trips in the Allegheny National Forest in PA. It's not too heavy, good features, and has a decent amount of room laying and sitting up. Quick setup as well. Price is right being around $179 msrp, but you can find them on sale for less now.
It worked great in constant rain. Wish I had a light simple tarp to have set the tent up under while it was raining out. Somebody told me that idea afterwards.
One of my tent that I use is a "Hilleberg Rajd" there is a light, but there is no inner tent so it becomes very condensed and if it starts to rain so dripping condensation down and it feels like it's raining through the tent.
Last summer I rode and my 10 year old son 560 kilometers through a rainy Sweden and then we used this tent.
It went well, but next time I will get a roomier and sturdier tents. If you want to read about our cycling adventure so I recommend my blog, where I write about adventures in everyday life and in the neighborhood. Näräventyr: Cykeläventyret 2012
The night between 16/1-17/1 I'll spend the night in the wild without tents.
I do not have a good sleeping bag that is made for the winter so I put in two Summer / Autumn bags and pulling a bivy sack.
I hope it does not get too cold.
But wind sack is also an alternative to a tent.
Have a good night's sleep
Mountain Hardware used to make a model called a Stiletto 1. They discontinued it, but I have one and think its about the best solo tent Ive ever seen or used. If you can find one on ebay or the internet its worth a look.
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