Tarp Shelter Reviews

The Ray-Way Tarp Kit is an excellent introduction to MYOG (make-your-own-gear) and for a reasonable price, makes a lightweight and highly-packable shelter which is flexible for many situations. I have used a Ray-Way Tarp as my primary solo and 2-person shelter since …

In late September I was planning a 17-day, 240-mile canoe trip across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) that would take place in October. While most of the trip would be paddling, we would also need to portage all our gear …

The problem with many pyramid-style shelters (such as the MLD Duomid, the Solomid, and the Trailstar to name a few) is that they suffer from low angled walls which reduce the amount of usable interior space inside. Granted, all lightweight backpacking shelters …

Yama Mountain Gear is an ultralight shelter and gear maker owned by long-distance hiker and unicycler, Gen Shimizu, the company has quickly established a fiercely loyal following with long-distance hikers for its innovative shelter design and impeccable product quality. I purchased a …

If you’re starting to think about camping under a tarp, you will probably come across references to something called a Ray Way tarp. This refers to a shaped tarp design developed by Ray Jardine, one of the early proponents of modern ultralight …

The Stealth is a new ultralight tarptent from UK gear maker Trekkertent that combines a simple design with a diverse range of capabilities for lightweight adventures. I’ve been testing one of the first product models available for the past several months and …

I sold my Mountain Laurel Designs cuben fiber Duomid last week. It is a great shelter and at 12.6 ounces including guy lines, it is insanely light. But I wanted a more comfortable shelter with a bathtub floor, so I bought a …

I’ve been having  lot of fun lately discovering affordable lightweight backpacking products that won’t break the bank. Here’s another fantastic find from Australian Terra Rosa Gear, called the Wandering Tarp (8.3 ounces in Tyvek), which is priced at $50 AUD ($52 USD) …

I use a number of different ultralight guy line tightening systems for my tarps and tents already, including LineLocks, but I was interested in trying the Figure 9’s because they’re a little more robust, especially for winter use when ice is likely …

Here is my Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid Review based largely on my experiences using this shelter during the 13 day TGO Challenge, this year in Scotland. Andy Howell has also published a review of the cuben fiber version, which I also suggest …