Improvised solution so that I could hold up the front of ***the Tarptent. Not annoying at all.
***One quick update: I recently met a bunch of Tarptent owners on the PCT and asked them a bunch of questions. One thing I thought I’d pass along. Cloudspotter said, “When you start using your Tarptent on the PCT, you’re in the desert, and it’s pretty easy. By the time you get to more difficult terrain, you’re used to the setup. You can’t expect to know how to use it right away. It’ll take time and practice, but you’ll get the hang of it.” Good words. I’ll keep at it. ***
You know that thing I said about how I had love at first sight with my Tarptent Squall? Well, I take it back. Tarptent and I may need some time to fall in love, we may even need a little therapy.
That’s what I’m here for today. Tarptenters of the blogosphere lend me a hand! What am I doing wrong? How can I fix it? Should I (gasp!) go back to a regular tent? I hope this isn’t ruining my rep.
Let’s play a little game of good news/bad news.
Good news: My tarptent is super light and fits into my pack really nicely.
Bad news: Wait, no bad news yet, it’s coming.
Good news: The setup for the tent actually went pretty quickly since I had tried it before.
Bad news: Except for that part where you put your hiking pole through the center grommet. My hiking poles are too thick. Talk about frustrating! Erin and I had practiced setting up the Tarptent with poles, but we didn’t use mine. If I ever want to take the Squall solo, I’ll either have to buy new poles or borrow a set from someone else. I was able to improvise a solution by duct taping a stick to my pole one night, and a pen the next night, but that is clearly not a long term option. The grommet size is not listed on the Tarptent product sheet, but even if it had been, I don’t wouldn’t have thought to check it.
Good news: The Tarptent initially felt pretty spacious.
Bad news: Until I shared it with a 6 foot tall man, and suddenly it seemed too small. I felt claustrophobic all night. I am totally willing to admit that this was user error and some experimentation might help. Maybe the two pole setup?
Good news: I can see how the beak would be effective for rain protection.
Bad news: It’s friggin difficult to get the velcro closed again from the inside. I ended up just crawling under the beak to get out, which is annoying.
Good news: Running out of good news, let’s skip to the bad.
Bad news: Our camping spot the second night was on pretty hard ground. We tried three different places, but couldn’t get the stakes into the ground. It was getting late, and I kept wishing that I had my free-standing tent so that this wouldn’t be a problem. I was eventually able to get the stakes to go in a little bit, but I could not pull on them tightly without them coming out of the ground. We ended up sleeping under a pretty slack tarp, which meant that we woke up the next morning covered in condensation. I understand that having the walls taut solves the condensation problem, but I feel like there will be other places with hard ground where I can’t set my stakes in deeply enough to withstand the pull on them. And I don’t know how to get around this.
Erin will be testing out our shelter for the next three days on a backpacking trip, and I’m curious to hear how it works out for her. I don’t mind tell you (since she is out of town and won’t read this) that Erin is the brains of this operation, so she may make it work for her.
Well there it is, blogosphere. I ended up feeling pretty frustrated with my Tarptent, and I’m not sure what to change. Suggestions? Do I just need to get used to it? Is anybody having these same problems? Your help would be greatly appreciated.
***Update***
Therapy I have received and thanks for the input.
Sharon, past thru-hiker says that in five months on the trail she never had trouble finding a place to put up her Tarptent. She sometimes had to be creative and end the day a little earlier or later, but this just meant an increase in mindfulness.
Jenny, aka Sticky Fingers told us that she went cowboy for a lot of the trail, but when she want a shelter, she could always find a place for her Tarptent.
A couple of other people gave us tips on replacing the grommet that the pole goes through so that I can use my hiking poles, which is a great idea. And Erin and I have decided to buy the extra stakes so that we can widen the Tarptent on the sides. Also, any six foot tall men that want to camp with me will have to bring their own friggin’ shelters. Here’s to second chances with our new Tarptent.
