Topic

LIVE: The Gear Q&A (Spring ’23 Edition)


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums Gear Forums Gear (General) LIVE: The Gear Q&A (Spring ’23 Edition)

  • This topic has 21 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 11 months ago by JCH.
Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #3781696
    Backpacking Light
    Admin

    @backpackinglight

    Locale: Rocky Mountains

    Companion forum thread to: LIVE: The Gear Q&A (Spring ’23 Edition)

    Got a question about backpacking gear as you assemble your ’23 kits and gear lists? Now’s the time to ask it – this live event will be all about gear. In addition, Backpacking Light Publisher Ryan Jordan will discuss some of the gear he’s using in ’23, with updated recommendations in the categories of minimalist, high-performance, comfortable, and budget-friendly gear across several categories.

    #3781710
    Peg Schafer
    BPL Member

    @pschafer

    Locale: Rural Marin county

    Ryan thanks for this timely discussion. In looking at Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo shelter I see the fly on the door side is lifted 1′ built in, as mentioned, for ventilation. With a low bathtub wall concern is heavy rain or hail bouncing into the tent and soaking the gear. Your thoughts?

    #3781763
    Allan S
    BPL Member

    @starhikeral

    RE: Tarptent Dipole 2 Li: strong wind and rain blowing against the small end of the tent (not the vestibules), will the rain blow open the closing flap into the tent?

    I have one of the first Tarptent Dipole 2 Li tents and think it is the best and lightest one I have.

    I have only the the Dipole 2 in winds up to a measured 25mph wind and it held just fine. Not had it in 50-60mph wind / rain storm …. yet :)

    #3781768
    Ryan Jordan
    Admin

    @ryan

    Locale: Central Rockies

    I’ve not had any issues with the end flaps blowing open on the Dipole.

    #3781776
    Allan S
    BPL Member

    @starhikeral

    That’s great – thanks!

    #3781781
    Terran Terran
    BPL Member

    @terran

    No problem with wind lifted stakes on the Dipole 1’s strut ends? Four stakes will hold it? It looks like it would benefit greatly with ridge lines. Looks like a very nice tent.

    #3781782
    Ryan Jordan
    Admin

    @ryan

    Locale: Central Rockies

    No, there is very little strain on the end stakes even in very high winds because of the strut.

    Ridge guylines make the Dipole rock solid.

    #3781808
    Terran Terran
    BPL Member

    @terran

    I’m returning my Zero chair. At 185 lbs., I felt like I was in a rocker. If I leaned forward, the chair leaned with me.
    The fabric was the same as the LuxeryLite cots witch I’ve found severely overrated as far as maximum weight. I believe the chair is overrated as well.
    The REI Flex appears to be the same construction. Instead of fore and aft, it appears like it would flex side to side. Have you found this to be the case?

    I really wanted to like the Zero, but I couldn’t justify carrying it.

    #3781819
    Bruce Tolley
    BPL Member

    @btolley

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    @ Ryan

    Thanks for confirming the performance of the 10D Silnylon used by SlingFin.  There has been lots of skepticism in the BPL forum about the Portal and other tents by SlingFin.  My SlingFin Portal 2 is now in its second year and has experienced a few rain storms. It is very waterproof.

    If I had the SlingFin NFT tarp, I imagine it would take up very little space in my backpack.

    Cheers,

    Bruce

    #3781822
    Ryan Jordan
    Admin

    @ryan

    Locale: Central Rockies

    Yeah, Bruce, the denier dogma arguments…unfortunately, they don’t mean much. You can’t categorize fabrics by denier, there is too much variability from fabric to fabric, and you have to look at the individual properties of individual fabrics. The Slingfin 10d N66 sil/sil is one 10d fabric spec I’ve seen that has what it takes for a tent/shelter fly. And based on that spec, and how it compares to (some much crappier 20d fabrics that are in use today), a categorical rejection of “10d” for use in tents is probably not a wise claim to make.

    #3781858
    Kelly C
    BPL Member

    @drsolarmolar-2

    To Terran Terran, I’m sitting in a Flexlite Air chair as I write this.  I also have a Chair Zero.  The Flexlite Air is “wigglier” than the Zero.  Front to back and side to side.  But it’s skinny aluminum poles and nylon.  I just got the Flexlite Air two days ago (REI’s sale yeah!).  So far I’m liking it better than the Zero.  It doesn’t pinch my butt/hips like the Zero does and also the back is lower on the FA which at first I thought would be a issue, but the poles on the FA don’t jab me in the back/scapula area like the Zero’s.  For context I’m 6’2” and 222lbs right now.  I think the Flexlite Air is my new preferred chair!

    #3781864
    Terran Terran
    BPL Member

    @terran

    Thank you Kelly.

    I had the high back Zero. If you think of the back as a lever putting force on the hub, the high back is a longer lever. Then it seems to rotate on the middle strut. It was adequate, until I figured in the weight penalty and the cost. I don’t spend enough time in camp to warrant it.

    #3781866
    Ken Larson
    BPL Member

    @kenlarson

    Locale: Western Michigan

    What SIZE SUL .75 Down Sweater do you wear compared to the normal sweater/jackets & upper clothing you wear?

    #3781893
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    If you want an uber comfortable chair for ~8.5 oz look at the Chammock.  Don’t buy their suspension…make your own with some spider web 1.5 strap and zing-it (all from dutchware). I have fallen asleep in it many times.

    #3781898
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    thanks, you got me looking at chammocks

    I like the $2999 “throne”.  For the park or your living room.  I won’t be buying one though : )

    #3781926
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    I’ve only found 2 cons to the Chammock. 1. Trees required. 2. Thus, it’s location is determined by tree location. It’s lovely that a free standing chair is infinitely relocatable, and if that is your goal then the Chammock might not work for you.

    Honestly, if the trip is not fast and light I sometimes take both.

    #3781935
    jscott
    BPL Member

    @book

    Locale: Northern California

    Yes. the Chammock looks to solve most of the issues I’ve had with lightweight backpacking chairs. I’ve given up on these last. Not worth it. Plus I want to be up off the ground. (I should stipulate that I find chairs with legs far too heavy to haul on a trip.) But yeah, trees are not included in the package.

    Otherwise, I find just lying down to read in my tent to be the most comfortable.

    #3781936
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    If I am someplace where there are views near the campsite, I like taking a chair and hiking up to the cliff or the beach, or whatever, and sitting in the dark, watching the stars, and listening to the sounds. But if not, I also enjoy sitting in the Chammock at camp swinging gently and watching the moon and star light filter through the leaves. Either way, it’s a beautiful thing.

    #3782064
    Allan S
    BPL Member

    @starhikeral

    Hi JCH, Do you have a link to purchase the Chammock? Google only ends up with an error page from Wix.com “http://www.chammockco.com/”.

    Stating: “Looks like this domain isn’t connected to a website yet”

    #3782079
    Bill in Roswell
    BPL Member

    @roadscrape88-2

    Locale: Roswell, GA, USA

    Chammock apprently no longer exist as a company.

    #3782128
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    Wow…I was just looking at the website 2 weeks ago. https://www.chammockco.com. Sorry guys…wonder if the pandemic had anything to do with it.

    I will be taking great care not to damage mine.

    #3782163
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    I spent an hour or two scouring the web for anything that was even remotely similar in design to the Chammock.  Nada.  Almost everything I found was pretty much simply a small sleeping hammock and retained the longitudinal orientation. IMO there are two features of the chammock that are key.  The first is the 90 deg orientation to the suspension.  The second are the side cutouts through which you can reach your arms.  That feature cannot be appreciated without experiencing it. There are many chair hammocks on amazon with a 90 deg orientation, and a couple look like the body might be somewhat light after ditching all the extra stuff (burly suspension, spreader bars, etc.), but they all lack the side cutouts.

    ChammockCo’s failure not withstanding, it seems there could be an opportunity for some entrepreneurial spirt to take the design and run with it.

Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...