+1 Franco, shelters are a compromise

I went through this process recently and would recommend you make a list of priorities. As you know it is a long list and depends upon where your trips will take you. One thing I would put money on is you won't find a shelter to suit all your wishes. You will be doing well if you find a design to suit your needs.

Ours top three priorities in order were weight, interior space and condensation/bug control. Our current shelter is a BA FLy creek 2 which has served us well. There are many that find it unacceptable for its living space for 2 and those that cannot live with a front entry single door and some that cannot live with the overhanging entry as you mentioned. None of these were deal breakers for us as it is probably the lightest 2P double wall on the market besides the platinum series.

If weight is a serious priority for you and you can afford it, Cuben fiber will be your material of choice. You can't get a shelter in the more conventional materials at the weight savings Cuben affords.

I considered a MYOG single pole mid but when I did some layouts at home I soon found the interior space for a 2p mid was too confining in relation to the footprint needed to keep a reasonably small pitching area. A two pole design offers much more internal volume without growing the footprint greatly over what we have now. BUT, if I were looking for a 1p shelter IMO the single pole mid would be reeealy tough to beat.

Our next shelter is looking like a Zpacks Duplex design. It would allow us an 11 oz weight savings and a little more interior space with its two pole design. We will retain bug protection and gain a second door entry, both protected from straight falling rain but will have to sacrifice the two wall design of the FC2. Of course that will be our compromise and if we can't deal with any unforeseen condensation issue, its back to the little BA shelter.

Your priority list will soon lead you to the design that will most suit you. Good luck cool



Edited by jimmyb (03/09/16 01:03 PM)