Kifaru Megatarp or Seekoutside Lil bugout?

[crumy]

I spent all spring trying to determine if what I was going to get for my hunt this year after I decided I was going for the open floor style. My hunt was in the wilderness in NW Wyoming. I got the Megatarp, there two of us and it was AWESOME. We had rain and hail the first 4 days (with strong Wyoming winds) with 4 inches of snow on the 5th. All our gear stayed dry and the tarp never failed nor was I ever worried. I would recommend the Annex on it as it does add a good deal of protection. Also earlier in the year we were scouting for deer and I basically slept in a deer bed on a steep slope. With the flexibility of the tarp it made it easy.

We had two people, packs, sleep systems, stove and wood under the tarp. Still had plenty of room to put our boots and bows with no issues. I can't comment on the other shelter but I would buy the megatarp again without hesitation. I also use a bugaboo Bivy II

 

[justin davis]

I'm partial to Kifaru because it has been around longer and is proven.
For two guys I would have a serious look at the Kifaru sawtooth. Awesome shelter.

 

[Highcountry_Hellrazor]

Megatarp all the way! Kifaru has better customer service too..

 

[Wrongside]

Megatarp all the way! Kifaru has better customer service too..

Come on. You've dealt with both? I know Kifaru has a well established reputation for customer service and the MegaTarp does look good. That's awesome. I've dealt with both companies and can say that SO has absolutely stellar customer service as well. The first SO product I owned was purchased second hand off of 24HCF, it arrived with a large, large cut in it. I was pissed, to say the least. Figured I'd just fix it myself, but called SO for some tips. Their response... "Send it to us and we'll fix it up for you. No charge." That kind of customer service is hard to trump...

 

[Shrek]

Kifaru Megatarp . Better fabric , established company and a Rokslide sponsor.

 

[Ironman8]

I'd be interested to know if the guys claiming that the Kifaru has better fabric have actually compared it (long term) vs the LBO? My guess would be no since the LBO is still fairly new.

Not to mention that I heard that a new fabric is being used for the LBO compared to what their older tipi shelters used (not sure if that's the only fabric being used for all of them now or not, but I heard that the green fabric that came out on the LBO is newer and a higher waterproof rating than before).

 

[Wrongside]

LoL! What? You're not satisfied with, "Trust me, it's a super secret, excellent, proprietary, best ever, fabric... ever. Trust me." ?

Ok, seriously, it would be very interesting to see some long term testing done on a variety of different common shelter fabrics. I'd love to see it.

 

[Ironman8]

LoL! What? You're not satisfied with, "Trust me, it's a super secret, excellent, proprietary, best ever, fabric... ever. Trust me." ?

Ok, seriously, it would be very interesting to see some long term testing done on a variety of different common shelter fabrics. I'd love to see it.

I agree on the long term testing. I don't own a single piece of gear from either company, so I really have no dog in the fight...but I am eyeing some gear from both of them.

 

[DWarcher]

Kifaru Megatarp . Better fabric , established company and a Rokslide sponsor.

Shrek, have you ever seen an LBO in person?

I can only comment on my LBO as I've never had my hands on a Megatarp. My take is that the LBO is way more versatile of a shelter and that the customer service at Seek Outside is just as stellar as the service at Kifaru. They are totally different shelters in my opinion and you probably can't go wrong with either.
-Dave

 

[Aron Snyder]

Hey everyone,

The LBO is more comparable to the Supertarp, so the Mega wouldn't give you apples to apples.

Seek Outside has no issues with customer service, so that's a non issue.

As far as material goes, the Kifaru material is more tear resistant than the SO material I've tested, but I don't no about the new stuff.

I would like to see SO in partnership with Rokslide, but at this point, that hasn't happened.

As Mani know already, I'm a sales rep for Kifaru and they are a RS sponsor.


Other than that, let's talk about what we know, so others can learn.

Sound good?!?!

 

[Whisky]

Yup, customer service will not be an issue for SO....I had quite a bit of correspondence with Kevin and he was very quick and helpful in his responses. I trust him. I just chose the style of the Mega over the LBO in the end.....Customer service is not a problem for either company. I've heard great stories about SO....And, good products and customer service are more important to me than how long a company has been in business I guess. Established or not, I don't really care.

The OP has narrowed it down to a couple nice choices. They were the same two I was debating between. Can't go wrong with either one I'm sure.

 

[Highcountry_Hellrazor]

Beats the heck out of my old Big Agnes tent I used through college. I had snow, rain, and wind she held up great. I really like the material kifaru uses on their shelters. Packs down super small and fits two ppl gear and firewood.

 

[gobbler1662]

I have a Seek Outside 12 Man Tipi and a Kifaru Paratrap. Like already stated both companies have great customer service. I am very impressed with Seek Outside absolutely love my Tipi. With that said I own a Para tarp and a KU5200. IMO Kifaru makes the best gear on the Planet, hands down.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Bringing this back up to the top for some guys that are interested... I've now 30+ nights under the SO BugOut and have been using it in all kinds of weather from August through last weekend. I've used it in a base only configuration, a base+tarp connector+base configuration, and a base+vestibule configuration.

As an early season (through september) shelter the base by itself is a very awesome and versatile piece. Works out great and has a lot of usable square footage.

Last weekend I spent a few nights in the base+annex configuration with a small stove and it was getting down to 5-6* at night. Here is a situation in which I was not very impressed with the shelter. Obviously when running a vestibule you have very little ventilation and where I was at there is a bit of humidity every day. This resulted in a LOT of frozen condensation on the inside walls of the shelter. Even burning the stove at night would only melt/evaporate the condensation about 2/3rds down the shelter walls (and I burned that stove hot, had 3'+ of red hot stove pipe). From the ground up to about 12" there was constant condensation.

Also when pitching the LBO with the annex I had to pitch it higher than I usually do thus reducing the base square footage. For the first time, even solo, with wood+stove+centerpole+sleep system + pack I felt cramped. It wouldn't be a bad thing in milder weather but when it's that cold you try to keep everything away from the side walls of your shelter and it just didn't have enough room.

In Colorado however we used the Base+Tarp Connector+Base with the same stove and it worked out awesome. We had room for days and while condensation wasn't near the issue as I had last weekend we had plenty of room. With the tarp connector you're able to pitch the shelter a bit lower than with the annex and you get more useable space. This combination including stove was between 4.25-4.5 lbs. Only downside here is no standing room. This is where I think a sawtooth would have the advantage here and the weights would be very similar.

For next season I think instead of running the LBO I'll likely sell it and pickup a cuben shelter for summer/september trips. Being able to run a shelter for <10 oz is really appealing and I just don't need much protection during that time of the year. For late season work I'll be picking up a Sawtooth and stove. No reason not too and after dealing with Kifaru and seen how Patrick went out of his way to help me out personally I feel he's more than earned my business.

Just thought some of you would like to know my continued experience with the LBO. It's a great shelter and I really enjoy it. Only reason I'll likely sell it is because I can drop 8-9 oz by going with a cuben shelter for early season trips.

Mike

 

[Ironman8]

Dibs on when you decide to sell!

Thanks for the report btw.

When using the stove, would the Base+Base be a better setup for a solo (or maybe 2) hunter(s)?

ETA: The way I was thinking of running the LBO was Base+Vestibule for anything solo without stove...and Base+Base for 2 people w/ or w/o stove.

 

[justin davis]

Kifaru is my pick based on the quality of material. Backed by a great company their gear will last longer than you will.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Dibs on when you decide to sell!

Thanks for the report btw.

When using the stove, would the Base+Base be a better setup for a solo (or maybe 2) hunter(s)?

ETA: The way I was thinking of running the LBO was Base+Vestibule for anything solo without stove...and Base+Base for 2 people w/ or w/o stove.

Ha copy that!
The base+base would be MUCH better in my opinion that the base+vestibule. I've heard their new vestibule is much more roomy but I haven't seen it so can't comment on it. I think the base+base+stove would be fine for two people. The base+vestibule is a decent setup, but if your solo and don't need a stove, I'd think about just using the base. Pitch it with the low side upwind and you're good to go in rain/wind... Plus the vestibule really encourages condensation.

Mike

 

[fillthefreezer]

mike, do you think the condensation in the base/base would also be an issue when not running stove?

 

[HellsCanyon]

mike, do you think the condensation in the base/base would also be an issue when not running stove?

I would imagine so but you can always open up the zippers from the top and get some ventilation going. Pitch type is the main factor. Depends on where you're at and what the relative humidity is like too. Sometimes I've even gotten slight condensation when just running my base by itself but oriented and pitched for controlling drafts. I also sleep with my head in a back corner so my breathing is usually within 12" or so of the side wall which is a definite factor.

Mike

 

[fillthefreezer]

hmm, this setup has been on my shortlist but condensation issues hadnt crossed my mind...