Shelters

[ScottR_EHJ]

I want an 8 man, oh well that is the last shelter on my list....

 

[justin davis]

I have heard that the Supertarp is huge. The footprint seems gigantic 9x12 vs the FC of 6.5x 7.5. I would like pitch my Fly Creek next to a Supertarp, Paratipi and Sawtooth.

Luke, without a doubt you have to deal with more bugs in AK. My achilles heel is skeeters. I simply can not handle those blood sucking parasites. I turn into someone that I'm not when they are around and completely ruin any fun I'm having. Bizarre that I allow such a critter to dictate my life, but it happens.

With that, I'm not sure I could ever do a floorless shelter. Though, I have heard from a lot of people that there seems to be less bugs in a floorless shelter perhaps because the bugs can come and go freely. Most times they are trapped in my tent which then is not conducive to a good nights rest. I need help....

Yes the super tarp foot print is huge for its weight!

I have actually had less bugs in a floorless tent then a floored tent. Kinda sounds weird but when bugs get into floored tents they can't escape. They can escape in the floored tents.

 

[Yukondog]

Justin -- those pictures are great!!!! I posted up a new thread asking how you guys set up your tarps. Looks to be a ton of room. My fly creeks leaves very little room inside except for some clothes. Looks like you could put a lot of gear at your feet. Also you would not be sleeping elbow to elbow. Being tall it is hard to find the right set up. I will have to look at weight comparisons between the tent and tarp. I know my tent is less than 2lbs per guy sharing. With the tarp extra weight of a foam pad would need to be considered along with poles.

If you pitch your tarp with trekking poles do you then take them out in the morning for the hunt? I have never used poles but after talking with a bunch of guys it sounds like under heavy loads the are awesome to have. My thoughts are if you get an animal on the ground I would like to have the poles with me for the walk back to camp.

What do you do about this?

Matt

 

[justin davis]

Justin -- those pictures are great!!!! I posted up a new thread asking how you guys set up your tarps. Looks to be a ton of room. My fly creeks leaves very little room inside except for some clothes. Looks like you could put a lot of gear at your feet. Also you would not be sleeping elbow to elbow. Being tall it is hard to find the right set up. I will have to look at weight comparisons between the tent and tarp. I know my tent is less than 2lbs per guy sharing. With the tarp extra weight of a foam pad would need to be considered along with poles.

If you pitch your tarp with trekking poles do you then take them out in the morning for the hunt? I have never used poles but after talking with a bunch of guys it sounds like under heavy loads the are awesome to have. My thoughts are if you get an animal on the ground I would like to have the poles with me for the walk back to camp.

What do you do about this?

Matt

Matt-

Yea most guys can sleep in between the poles and then there is room for gear at the bottom and top. Wide wise I have slept three guys in a super tarp once and it worked out nicely.

Honestly every time I have pitched my super tarp with trekking poles I have never moved them for the duration of the shelter placement duration. You can and I have used sticks broken or cut to length. if you go that route you don't need poles.

Thinking about your question thou. You could always remove the poles and just let the tarp lay flat with the pegs still in ground. Then when you went to use it you could just insert the poles into it when you needed to pitch it. Does that make sense? If not using the tarp during the day it wouldn't matter if it was laying flat or laying down on something. Just an idea.

 

[cmeier117]

Justin have you and Aron done a video of setting up the ST or of it at all?

 

[Lawnboi]

Can someone with a Paratarp take an inside pic like justin did? Im thinkin its going to be enough room for me solo (im 5'6")

 

[JG358]

Justin have you and Aron done a video of setting up the ST or of it at all?

Patrick did one... It's on Kifaru's web site.

 

[6x6]

For what it's worth lawnboi, I had a hard time deciding between the PT and ST. I'm 5'7" so I knew I would fit in the PT, but with the exception of cost, the difference in room is massive at a minimal weight penalty. The ST was definitely the way to go. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Yukondog]

Justin --- that makes sense removing the trekking poles. I have thought about that option. Then I start to think about the weather. I'm sure it would not be a good idea to have the tarp pegged out with no poles and have the shelter snapping in the wind. Or bad weather in general slapping the tarp around ( rain or snow). I would think a couple good burst of wind could tear the tarp apart at the stakes when it has become a parachute by removing the poles. Not to mention your bag and gear inside getting banged up or worse yet getting destroyed if the tarp does come loose because the pitch had been weakened by removing the trekking poles.

These are the questions I have when it comes to tent vs tarp. With the tent it is straight forward. The tarp has so many variables, more moving parts. Poles or trekking poles, water issues, added weight with foam pad, ground clothe for wet ground vs bivy, down or synthetic bag.

I'm sure it is not that complex but I'm having a hard time figuring it out. The guys who used them swear by them. A lot of them are a whole lot smarter than I am. There has to be something to it.

Matt

 

[dotman]

Justin --- that makes sense removing the trekking poles. I have thought about that option. Then I start to think about the weather. I'm sure it would not be a good idea to have the tarp pegged out with no poles and have the shelter snapping in the wind. Or bad weather in general slapping the tarp around ( rain or snow). I would think a couple good burst of wind could tear the tarp apart at the stakes when it has become a parachute by removing the poles. Not to mention your bag and gear inside getting banged up or worse yet getting destroyed if the tarp does come loose because the pitch had been weakened by removing the trekking poles.

These are the questions I have when it comes to tent vs tarp. With the tent it is straight forward. The tarp has so many variables, more moving parts. Poles or trekking poles, water issues, added weight with foam pad, ground clothe for wet ground vs bivy, down or synthetic bag.

I'm sure it is not that complex but I'm having a hard time figuring it out. The guys who used them swear by them. A lot of them are a whole lot smarter than I am. There has to be something to it.

Matt

Not many tent out there that can handle the nasty weather, unless you have close to $1000 tent. Do a search on youtube for the kifaru tarps in 70mph winds or something similar. Your opinion will change quickly thw more you research, kifaru has a great forum with tons of info/videos.

 

[justin davis]

To the guys wondering about going with a supertarp or paratarp...I would go supertarp. The super tarp uses almost double the fabric but weighs only 6 oz more than the para tarp. Go big or go home is what I would say!!!

yep patrick did a good video on setting it up. Kifaru on you tube. Has a bunch of videos on setting up their shelters. The supertarp is about the easiest thing to set up in the world.

Justin --- that makes sense removing the trekking poles. I have thought about that option. Then I start to think about the weather. I'm sure it would not be a good idea to have the tarp pegged out with no poles and have the shelter snapping in the wind. Or bad weather in general slapping the tarp around ( rain or snow). I would think a couple good burst of wind could tear the tarp apart at the stakes when it has become a parachute by removing the poles. Not to mention your bag and gear inside getting banged up or worse yet getting destroyed if the tarp does come loose because the pitch had been weakened by removing the trekking poles.

These are the questions I have when it comes to tent vs tarp. With the tent it is straight forward. The tarp has so many variables, more moving parts. Poles or trekking poles, water issues, added weight with foam pad, ground clothe for wet ground vs bivy, down or synthetic bag.

I'm sure it is not that complex but I'm having a hard time figuring it out. The guys who used them swear by them. A lot of them are a whole lot smarter than I am. There has to be something to it.

Matt

Yea that is what I thought as well. Best option is to leave the pole in place!!

Just to argue for the tarps sake, haha. You don't need a bivy, they aren't more complex (about the same number of parts actually maybe simplier), and you dont need a foam pad. Unless you want the added cushion to sleep like a king. Thats why I use one. Tyvek is so light and that will protect your pad from sharp objects and wet ground!

Matt- I notice you live in Parker? I am about 40 mins from you. I would be willing to come over or you come up in the mountains and see the super tarp in action. Or you could try it out for some camping to get a feel for it. Let me know. I'm up in Bailey

 

[dotman]

Here is a video of the sawtooth in high wind http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RUcs9kS4DRY

 

[justin davis]

Not many tent out there that can handle the nasty weather, unless you have close to $1000 tent. Do a search on youtube for the kifaru tarps in 70mph winds or something similar. Your opinion will change quickly thw more you research, kifaru has a great forum with tons of info/videos.

yes dotman is right. I have been using kifaru shelters for years. but still to this day it amazes me the wind that the tipis and tarps can withstand. Insane. Normal tent could not handle!!

 

[Yukondog]

Justin that would be great! I'm leaving town for the weekend. I will pm you next week to figure out the best time for you to meet. See, awesome site and even better people. Thanks Justin!

Matt

 

[Soutie]

Justin - great pictures of the ST...what size stove do you in there? Thanks.

 

[justin davis]

Justin - great pictures of the ST...what size stove do you in there? Thanks.

Soutie- In that pic it is a medium stove. I honestly hardly ever use a stove with my super tarp. I mostly use my super tarp when it is warm out and I don't need a stove. Typically if I am camping when it is cold and I need a stove I will use my bigger tipi. I use can use my medium with a long stove pipe in my 8 man tipi. But it I needed it I can use a short pipe and use the medium in the super tarp. The medium will flat out blast you out of the super tarp thou so best for real cold conditions.

Also I mentioned to Yukondog, but it goes for anyone else in Colorado. If you would like to see a kifaru supertarp or kifaru 8 man or the kifaru stoves. Let me know I would be happy to set them up for you to see in person. Of lend to you for a test out.

 

[Soutie]

Thanks justin..great info and generosity. I think I'm decided on the 8 man but not sure about stove size though. I was thinking of large since I probably wouldn't use for the ST either...but the medium seems versatile.

 

[justin davis]

Thanks justin..great info and generosity. I think I'm decided on the 8 man but not sure about stove size though. I was thinking of large since I probably wouldn't use for the ST either...but the medium seems versatile.

Yea your right on, for the 8 man the large stove is perfect! I used to have a 6 man tipi and a medium stove. I traded the 6 man for an 8 man. Instead of selling the medium stove I decided to keep it and use it for late spring-Early fall in the 8 man and also for the super tarp. I then saved up for a large stove for the 8 man for winter camping. And the large is perfect. Thats the drawn out story behind why I have a medium

 

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

Integral designs Yukon tent, is a great 3 season mountain tent..

 

[sanchomaes]

I can vouch for Justin's knowledge and testing during cold windy nights. We camped in the 8 man on January 7th or 8th. The large stove really rocked that thing. It was awesome, not to mention the wind was horrible that night. Very very comfortable inside those tipis!!

-Dan