Tarptent in the snow

[Franco]

A Couple of pictures of my mate Quoddy's Tarptent Sublite. I know that the very mention of the brand Tarptent has most rolling their eyes here but maybe some could see that this 615g shelter (if you are already using trekking poles) has the potential to be a solid 3 season plus shelter even in Tasmania.
Note that Quoddy is using ( as he does with his Contrail) my mid rear extra strut ( a section of a tent pole), this keeps the ridge in tension and the rear well up allowing air circulation from the bottom rear to the front apex vent.
The bottom picture was taken 3.5 hours after the first, 10 cm of snow had fallen by then.
Franco


Thank you Tony for spotting the wrong weight (now corrected). It was my bad (mental) conversion from ounces to grams, it would have been better if I checked the TT web site (it has metric and imperial measurements) . Add to that about 20-30g for the pole section. Quoddy's pole is provably his custom made CF 2 section pole. Some choose to look for a stick as they approach the campsite, I am too lazy for that and for the small weight penalty I always have the extra pole segment (from a Kathmanduh bargain bin ,$5 for two full poles) with me. (for the Contrail)
BTW, unusually so but TT do have the correct weights and sizes posted.

[Tony]

Hi Franco,

Thanks for posting the Pictures of the Sudlite in snow, it is very impressive. I have been looking at a new 4 season type tents, the Microlite and the Scarp 1 have been the front runners until now.

Is the tent in the pictures a Sublite 525g or a Sublite sil 615g.


Tony

[Nuts]

The weight is impressive. They are a single walled shelter? Have you had it out in constant driving rain? Are the seams sealed? Noticed any seam leakage or 'misting'?

[Franco]

Nuts
The Sublite Sil is Quoddy's not my shelter...
I use a similar shelter called the Contrail, also pole supported (single pole or inverted V in my case) .
You need to seam seal a Tarptent yourself (as you do with a Black Diamond or Bibler as an example) so if it leaks you can blame yourself. My Rainbow ( another TT shelter) did after a particularly nasty thunderstorm , but once I pin pointed the missing seal it has been just fine. All TT shelters, except for the new 4 season Scarp 1, are single wall, think of them as an easy to erect fully enclosed (IE rain/bug proof) tarp. They all have a 360 degree mesh between the floor and the fly so they can (if you don't purposely pitch them low) ventilate much better that most single wall tents. The 1.3 oz silnylon can mist from penetration if and when the rain drops are heavy enough. It did not happen under very solid post monsoonal all night rain in Nepal but it has happen here in Victoria on two or three occasion. When it does is always just one spray or two every so often not enough to wet or compromise my down bag .
Most misting is condensation knocked off the fly by strong rain. You can avoid this by maximising the air flow or simply wiping. That is usually the cause of a wet or damp inner inside a double wall tent. The difference is that in the morning once it is opened up it dries very quickly, or if it still raining a good shake down will take the weight down to pretty much the same as dry.When a double wall tent gets dampened it will weigh considerably more.
Of course they are not as "warm" as some, you need to chose your poison.
Franco
Quoddy BTW is a 68 year old ex US Force meteorologist who does a lot of winter camping , the pics are from his backyard...
His main winter tent is the Hilleberg Soulo, the TT Sublite would be for the shoulder season ( he uses an open tarp in summer)

[Franco]

I am posting this almost live from pics taken in the US on the New York Vermont border...
18 cm of snow has fallen now , the Sublite is still standing. Note that the back is up but of course the sides have caved in. If Quoddy had used the mid point tie downs it would have kept its shape a bit longer, and of course you could push some snow away from the inside. I think that this shows the potential of this shelter for 3 seasons down there
Franco

[Nuts]

That is interesting.

Is that a vent at the rear? (Looks similar to the Akto at the foot?)

How much longer do you think he will stay there?

Or is he safe in the house?

Just joking, looks to be holding up well, and hey you could make do with just a flat tarp here for 3 seasons if necessary.

[Franco]

Quoddy went to bed after taking that picture, so we will have to wait till tomorrow to find out. If he had been inside he would have pushed the snow away from the fabric as users of pyramid type shelters do.
The "boxed" end is a bit like the Akto but the two standard struts of the TTs are "beefier" than the Hilleberg version. The mid strut is the one that really makes it work .
This is BTW the reason why without having seen a TT Scarp 1 but being very familiar with the design, I have previously posted that it is ( IMHO) a stronger version of the Akto. Keep an eye on an incoming review at Backpackinglight comparing the Scarp1 to the Terra Nova Photon ( not really in the same league but you will get the idea).
Franco
TT Scarp 1
http://www.tarptent.com/scarp1.html

[Franco]

Sometime during the night between the 10cm in the evening and the 33 cm on top in the morning the Sublite collapsed, the stitching at the apex came undone. With a future minor re-design this point will be re-enforced although I would have already put a thick layer of seam seal there. Note that the rear section is still up and again this was not designed as a winter tent...
As Roger Caffin pointed out at BPL , a tie out mid way up the side (above the one Quoddy did not use) would also greatly help.
As a comparison a lot of unattended 4 season shelters (for example the Akto) would have collapsed as well. Yesterday I tested my walking poles, they can take my 70kg without bending, try that with tent poles...
Franco

[Earthling]

That was a good test to see what a tarptent can put up with, if needed.
Thanks for sharing Franco