Parararp opinions

[LoggerDan]

What do you think about the paratarp?

 

[badkneesbro]

I had one for a little while. Its a great fair weather lightweight shelter. I believe its catenary cut so you may find it somewhat limiting for how you can pitch it. But for pitching as an Aframe shelter or a leanto its great. Before I became more experienced as a backpack hunter, I tried it as my fall hunting shelter in the sierras. Woke up one morning with at least 4 inches of snow everywhere and while the paratarp wasnt ideal it held strong under the weight of the snow keeping me and my stuff dry. I think thats where the catenary cut becomes useful. Its a great little tarp, I just prefer more room for me and my gear and I dont like any tarp in the heavy snow. I went liteoutdoors small tarp for more room and I found I prefer a regular flat tarp as opposed to a catenary cut tarp for the versatility. If I had to do it over I might go with the seek outside dst cuz apparently its the king of tarps! But Im happy with what I got. Not sure why I sold it (sold it to some rokslider), maybe to fund something else but Ive always regretted selling it because its such a solid piece of kit but prolly most things made by Kifaru are. Its a great choice for not too harsh weather for a person with not much gear or if you dont mind keeping gear outside. It would be great as a emergency shelter or maybe a glassing shelter.

 

[Clovis]

I have a Kifaru Supertarp and I used to love that thing--it was a lot of shelter for the weight and could be pitched in a storm-worthy configuration more easily than a flat tarp. Like the earlier poster, mine survived some pretty substantial snowload on occassion. I would not go for something smaller like the paratarp because the additional weight of the Supertarp over a paratarp is minimal and the additional room worth a lot. I use a DST flat tarp a lot more but if you told me i was going to have to hunker down in bad conditions for a few days I might still prefer a Supertarp.

 

[LoggerDan]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the straight shooting. A man in Anchorage is trying to sell one for $300. I would use it for one thing only, that being August alpine BT on POW. I think I’ll heed the advice and back off on this

 

[Phaseolus]

I’ve used a DST for a couple of years. I now use the Seek Eolus. It provides better storm coverage for an ounce more. It takes two trekking poles or sticks to use though. If I were to do it over I’d get the Silex. I’d consider a Guardian if I knew more about them or a review got published on one

 

[badkneesbro]

I’ve used a DST for a couple of years. I now use the Seek Eolus. It provides better storm coverage for an ounce more. It takes two trekking poles or sticks to use though. If I were to do it over I’d get the Silex. I’d consider a Guardian if I knew more about them or review got published on one

Yeah I know whatcha mean about that guardian. Just not enough info anywhere to make an informed decision.

 

[Phaseolus]

Yeah I know whatcha mean about that guardian. Just not enough info anywhere to make an informed decision.

Review is live!

 

[badkneesbro]

Review is live!

I read it. Ive had enough of tents saggin in on me when they get soaked. You seem to be okay with the eolus in wet conditions. I went to a cimarron as my solo shelter so I wont have wet tent in my face in the morning. Big weight penalty for one guy but pyramid tents seem to work best for me in snowy conditions. Curious about if you had any significant sagging issues with your eolus. What do think after reading the review?

 

[Phaseolus]

I read it. Ive had enough of tents saggin in on me when they get soaked. You seem to be okay with the eolus in wet conditions. I went to a cimarron as my solo shelter so I wont have wet tent in my face in the morning. Big weight penalty for one guy but pyramid tents seem to work best for me in snowy conditions. Curious about if you had any significant sagging issues with your eolus. What do think after reading the review?

I’ve never had snow on either my DST or Eolus. Plenty of rain though and it wasn’t really a problem. If there had been two in it that would have been a problem. The Guardian is bigger than I need for myself. I’d like to have a Redcliff when I go bigger.

 

[mrbillbrown]

Paratarp was too small for anything but emergency use for me. Much preferred the Supertarp until I finally realized I hate crawling into a single end entry shelter.


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[Andrew.c]

My buddy and I had to use his in Wyoming to get out of a storm. It was a pretty tight squeeze for 2 guys. If you hunt solo, it would be fine. I would recommend something a little bigger for group hunting

 

[Rufus]

Is the mountain smith mountain shelter LT and the paratarp the ones that are really similar or is it the mountain shelter and the Super tarp? Thanks. -Rufus

 

[Macro]

I was torn between the super and paratipi then i just really narrowed it down to weight and packed size and the super won out. I'm kind of wondering what the velcro will be like on the annex, not so much in how it attaches but for the door. Pretty excited to get it.

 

[badkneesbro]

Is the mountain smith mountain shelter LT and the paratarp the ones that are really similar or is it the mountain shelter and the Super tarp? Thanks. -Rufus

Pretty sure the mountain smith is much bigger than the paratarp. More like the super tarp or maybe the old mega tarp. Im just going by memory though. Id bet money that its alot bigger than the paratarp.

 

[Rufus]

Pretty sure the mountain smith is much bigger than the paratarp. More like the super tarp or maybe the old mega tarp. Im just going by memory though. Id bet money that its alot bigger than the paratarp.

Ok. I couldn’t remember which one was most similar. Thanks for responding. -Rufus

 

[carsonkeys]

Is the mountain smith mountain shelter LT and the paratarp the ones that are really similar or is it the mountain shelter and the Super tarp? Thanks. -Rufus

Sawtooth notwithstanding, I have no experience with the Kifaru tarps. The MS LT could easily fit two guys - plus gear would be tough. I hope that gives you a better idea.

Personally, I prefer a flat tarp for crappy weather glassing though.

I feel that the MS LT is just a smaller version of the sawtooth.

 

[Wildone]

I have a paratipi and have used it quite a bit. For goats and sheep in August a tarp is not a bad option I have done that as well when weight is of the utmost concern. After mid September I'm taking the paratipi when going solo.

 

[LoggerDan]

I suppose no one read my second post.. many thanks to the real advice