Big Agnes vs...a Tarptent?

I loved my old quarter dome. It bit the dust after 8 years and hundreds of nights car camping. At that price, I may just have to pick up another one.

The old version had vertical walls, but the new one looks like they slant in quite a bit.
 
As I said, I bought the Copper Spur 2. I got a chance to use it last weekend. I like it. Not super light but lighter than my last tent. But, I'm not sure I'm a fan of the doors. When they are unzipped I prefer them up and out of the way like on the REI Quarter Dome (pictured below along with my Copper Spur 2 and a Copper Spur 1).

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I am torn between the new REI Quarter Dome 1 and the TT notch or strataSpire1. (leaning toward the notch simple because of weight and price)

Can anyone give feed back on the notch or the new REI QD1?
 
jentzschman said:
I am torn between the new REI Quarter Dome 1 and the TT notch or strataSpire1. (leaning toward the notch simple because of weight and price)

Can anyone give feed back on the notch or the new REI QD1?
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How large are you? The notch is a great shelter but if you're on the bigger side you'll want to look at the SS1. Also, depending on how wide your sleeping pad is it may or may not fit in the notch, it is a very narrow shelter inside. Vestibules are plenty large and because of it's small profile it does well in the wind. I ordered mine with extra guy line attachment points and in very bad weather you can also loop lines through the vents at the top around the poles.

I originally ordered with the mesh inner but sent it back in exchange for the solid inner which should help cut down on fine dust. At times I find myself wishing I had a hare more wiggle room in the notch but I do enjoy the small footprint and it's light weight.
 
I am 6 feet and ~185 lbs. The REI QD 1 is still pretty light at just over 2 lbs. (at least for my current standards) for me that seems pretty good. I am still not able to transition to just a trap, so having the livable mesh is a must for me right now.

With that, I am about 99% sure I will order the REI QD 1 tomorrow for an upcoming trip this month. Good think about REI is even if I use it I can still get a full refund.
 
Sounds like a good plan. Do you hike with trekking poles?
 
sixstringsteve said:
Sounds like a good plan. Do you hike with trekking poles?
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I don't mind using them but I can't find mine right now. That is one reason I do like the notch, weight savings. However they do offer a 4 oz pole set.

The more I think on it the more I like the price savings over the weight savings, at least for right now.
 
If the dimensions of the notch are scaring you off, take a look at the TT Rainbow. It's a single wall, so be advised of that, but the floor area and headroom are fairly amazing for a shelter that is just a tick north of 2lbs. I'm 6'2 and I can sit up and change clothes inside without any trouble at all.

No trekking poles required either.
 
As a small size (mostly solo) female thru hiker, weight is absolutely a consideration. I've had a squall2 (mr Shares doesn't make them any more) and I've camped with it in the middle of the storm over the treeline many a time, with strong winds and sleet. The only times I got water in was when the back catenary pole broke off and I had to fix it, for the time being, with whatever thing could bw found at the apothecary dash fishing store dash bar in a small town in the Scottish highlands (a strange fishing pole of sorts, which I sawed off, bent and stuck into the tents pole, duck-tapping the broken pole around it). Because the pole was crooked, the shape of the tent was altered and water began to pool every freaking raining night (which was every night, of course) near the back edge, creating a bubble that was leaking in if I didn't empty it every half and hour. Unfortunately, that was the second day of a two- month series of thru hikes in Scotland, Norway and the Appalachians, all very wet places, and the bubble ended up stretching the material which has a tendency to "pool up" a bit now and then when I get caught in heavy rains, despite having replaced the makeshift pole and treated the tarp to waterproofing and sealing. And while sometimes I've regreted not haven gotten a freestanding tent, such as when using the State Park facilities in Canada (awful piles of gravel, no real soil to bury the stakes in and expensive as s....) and NZ's Tongariro Northern Crossing (lava lava lava and more lava and Ah yes! did I say lava?), most times I have managed just fine by using 4 ultralight extra stakes I carry perpendicular to the ones I'm burying horizontally, securing them with rocks, or tying the whole flight with stakes around trunks or big rocks. When there had not been trunks or big rocks around I did what I could burying thee horizontal stakes under a pile of loose material, taking some benadril and sleeping so heavily that I dont really care if the tent is half falling over me.
All in all, saving 1.5 pounds or even half a pound, in exchange for the few times when having a freestanding tent would had been preferable, has been more than worth it. The Squall 2 holds up just fine to the elements and I'm very, very happy with it. Now its time to change it, because all zippers were replaced two years ago by non antitrust zippers while in Asia and the old zippers which could not be removed, got ruined and rusty with the ocean breeze, which I might not have cleaned all that well, and the rust got the new zippers to stick together. But im getting another Tarptent, not doubts. Ten years for a tent I've subjected to quite a bit of use and harsh conditions (I guess a good 700-to 800 overnights over a period of ten years? ) it's pretty impressive. It is maybe not the best for city boys who need space and comfort (and don't treat zippers with care) but I still have to find a lightweight that beats it. ... Companion can carry it's own.
 
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