First Look at Ultralight Tent

[Jackson]

All this talk of tents has me seriously pining for some bag nights.

This is my standard contribution to tent discussions. I have a TarpTent Stratospire 2 and love it. Lightweight, packs small, double-wall, huge vestibules, and I've never had rain splash in. TT offers a mesh insert or a nylon-mesh insert for more warmth and dust blockage. It has a decently big footprint, but I've never had trouble finding a place to pitch it. A few others on here have one as well.

 

[WasatchWill]

I really like my Tarptent Notch as a solo double wall shelter. I chose it over a Stratospire 1 due to it being a number of ounces lighter. As Jackson has, that Stratospire 2 is very similar to the Notch, but of course sleeps 2, and very spaciously at that, and matches up to the Copper Spurs minimal trail weight. If you want to shave a bit of weight but still fit two people, the Stratospire 1 can actually be adjusted to accommodate two standard sized sleeping pads, but no wiggle room beyond that. If you prefer something more free standing, and as Bob said he has, that Double Rainbow offers that ability, and while you lose the double wall benefits, it's a very popular choice of Tarptent as well and from what I gather, everyone who has one loves them too.

 

[scoags]

Honestly, I was previously unaware of their existence.

I've just been watching videos on the features of the different tents.
I really like the way they look! The prices are notably lower than the CS UL2 too. (289 v 499)
I'm curious though, why do they not seal the seams as part of the tent purchase?
Seems like an odd thing to pass on to the consumer. Or maybe seam sealing isn't
what I think it is?

Thanks all for the input!

Hey Sorry for the late reply and Happy New Year everyone!

As @LarryBoy noted most of the issues usually associated with UL tents can be ameliorated with good site choice (really as with any tent).

With respect to tarptent ProTrail I had much better luck once I started using all of the guy lines and stakeouts rather than just the four corners. I think there are 5 per side, along with one vertical one from the peak of the tent giving 13 tension points when adding the poles. This reduced flapping and thus the danger of getting wet in a storm. I have not tested the ProTrail above tree line, however, but if you pitch it right and in a decent spot it should be pretty much fine I would think.

The sealing stuff is likely a remnant of DIY philosophy as was said already; might as well save a few bucks and do it yourself. I also recommend using the sealant as a friction source on the floor of the tent to help reduce sliding on the slick material. (make several lines parallel to the width of the tent, i think its in tarptent's videos too).

I only had internal precipitation issues once with it, but in the middle of the night my big dumb feet knocked down the short pole and thus there was no circulation through the tent . No price point will eliminate user error!

lastly I would say that I was totally surprised to see how taught and stable the treking poles were once all the guys were in place. When you first set the thing up youll think you could blow it over with a backcountry ramen fart, but once you get it all staked out and retightened it really can hold its own!

 

[Venchka]

Honestly, I was previously unaware of their existence.

I've just been watching videos on the features of the different tents.
I really like the way they look! The prices are notably lower than the CS UL2 too. (289 v 499)
I'm curious though, why do they not seal the seams as part of the tent purchase?
Seems like an odd thing to pass on to the consumer. Or maybe seam sealing isn't
what I think it is?

Thanks all for the input!

Totally satisfied owner of the TarpTent StratoSpire 1 and I sealed the seams in a morning in my front yard. The SS1 was the third tent that I have sealed. The seams have never leaked.
I bought the premixed sealant with the tent. I was able to go over all of the seams with 3 coats of sealer. That explains why I took all morning.
I couldn’t be happier with the SS1. The best feature is leaving the part solid inner tent in the car and using just the Rainfly in the Wind River Range. I think the rainfly weighs about 22 ounces and covers a lot of real estate.
I bought the solid inner tent because I wanted a real double wall tent. I read too many stories of people eating dust and sand or getting dripped on in mesh inner tents.
TarpTent builds a solid product. The Notch was used on the CDT last year.
Good luck.
Wayne