SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
The Tarptent Notch Li is a single-person, double-wall ultralight tent made with Dyneema (DCF) weighing only 20 oz. A dual apex shelter, it has two doors, two vestibules, and requires two trekking poles to pitch. It’s a great shelter for exposed terrain and dense forest, with excellent stability in higher windspeeds and a small footprint to fit into small tent spaces. A less expensive version, the Tarptent Notch, is also available, which only weighs about 7 ounces more and is less than half the price. I’ve owned both models and can recommend them.
- Weight: 20 oz (fly, inner, guylines, struts)
- Persons: 1
- Type: Double-wall
- Poles: Trekking Pole Tent (2 poles) – 107-115cm required
- Material: Dyneema (DCF)
- Seam-Taped: yes
- Doors and Vestibules: 2/2
- Minimum Number of Stakes to Pitch: 4 (6 recommended)
- Dimensions: 43″ (h) x 20-34″ (w) x 84″ (l)
- Packed size: 16 in x 4 in / 41 cm x 10 cm
- Pros: Ultralight, Wind worthy, Fits into small spaces, Inner tent stays dry in rain
- Cons: Cramped interior (recommended for hikers up to 6’2″ in height)
The Notch Li’s dual-apex design provides more usable internal space than a pyramid tarp with a center pole. It also means you have two vestibules and two doors, which are handy on a one-person tent because they provide lots of covered gear storage and can be used on either side as a door.
While the ends are sloped, they’re supported by tripods, raising the ceiling so you have more room overhead and “overfoot” without requiring a longer tent. The tripods are created by two carbon fiber struts connected by guyline cord and line-loc adjusters and require just one stake to secure. The struts are removable for packing if you want to make the tent smaller when packed – though rolling rather than stuffing the Dyneema is still recommended.
The Notch Li is a double-wall tent with an inner net tent w/ bathtub floor and an exterior rainfly. The inner tent is suspended below the rainfly with mitten hooks so you can set the two together in the rain while keeping the inner tent dry. Alternatively, you can separate the fly and the inner tent and use them independently as a tarp shelter minus an inner tent or as a bug bivy in dry weather.
In good weather, the vestibule doors can be rolled back and secured with magnetic keeper toggles for added ventilation. Line-loc adjusters at the peaks allow you to roll back both doors for maximum ventilation on one or both sides of the tent. You can also regulate the airflow by pitching the fly higher, so there is more space between the ground and the bottom of the fly, or lower, so the fly bottom is flush with the ground. The latter is helpful in storm mode and heavy rain, so it doesn’t splash back under the fly into your living space.
The inner tent is diamond-shaped with 20″ of width at the ends, 34″ in the middle, and 84″ in length. While it can fit a 20″ inflatable pad, there isn’t much storage space inside the tent for wet clothing except at the ends. There are two pockets on the side doors at the top of the bathtub floor, but they’re small, and a Smartphone falls out where it can get crushed if it slides under your sleeping pad. If you have glasses, they can be looped through hooks in the peaks. This is the tradeoff for a tent that can fit into tight pitches in dense forest.
The compact shape and strength of the Notch Li also make it quite windworthy, provided you use longer 8″ stakes and stake out the peaks. I recently took this tent to Scotland instead of the Durston X-Mid Pro 1 after comparing their wind performance in the spring, and the smaller side panels and lower height on the Notch Li make a big difference in stability and ease of setup.
Set up
The Notch is easy to pitch once you practice it a few times and get the hang of it. The first thing to do is to lay the fly out on the ground in a diamond shape. Next, stake out the four corners: the two end tripods and the guy lines at the base of the vestibule zippers. Then raise the side of each vestibule and slip the tip of a trekking pole into the grommet in the apex. Repeat for the second side, walk around the fly and tighten the guy lines.
Comparable Trekking Pole Tents
| Make / Model | Material | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Tarptent Notch Li | Dyneema | 20 oz |
| Gossamer Gear "The One" | Sil/PU | 17.7 oz |
| Tarptent Protrail | Silnylon | 24 oz |
| Zpacks Altaplex Classic | Dyneema | 16.5 oz |
| Dan Durston X-Mid 1 Pro | Dyneema | 15.5 oz |
| Sierra Designs High Route | Sil/PeU | 28 oz |
| Zpacks Duplex Classic | Dyneema | 17.6 oz |
| Tarptent Stratospire Li | Dyneema | 30.35 oz |
Recommendation
The Tarptent Notch Li is an ultralight, one-person double-wall trekking pole tent made with Dyneema that weighs just 20 oz. It can be pitched as a single integrated unit, keeping the inner tent dry in rain. While the interior is somewhat cramped, it is easy to set up in dense forests where tent sites are small and quite stable in windy, exposed terrain. Its large side vestibules provide ample storage and excellent airflow.
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Has the 16 x 4 packed size been an issue for you fitting it horizontally inside your usual pack? Or are you packing it vertically, in a side pocket, or strapped up top?
Depends on the pack. I can strap it to the sleeping pad straps of my Zpacks Arc Haul. The struts are technically removable but increase the time it takes to pitch the tent which is a hassle. It just depends on other packs – sometime vertically in the main compartment, sometimes in an outer side pocket on the Gossamer Gear Mariposa. There’s usually a way to make it work even if its not perfect. I also regularly repackage my tents, not in the sacks provided by manufacturers so they’re not as long.
I have the silnylon version and always keep the struts in. I store it vertically in the left side pocket of my ULA Circuit, with room to spare for my umbrella.
As for size, I’m 6’4” and 68 years old, and find it very roomy, with space for my clothes inside stuff sack at the end, and plenty of space on the sides for my ditty bag, iPhone, Kindle, etc. Shoes and pack go in whichever vestibule I’m not using as a door.
This is a terrific tent!
I bought a ‘repackaged’ silnylon Notch from Phil. First, the bag he packaged it in is wonderful, because I can actually fit the tent in there. I think some of the greatest engineering feats these days are getting things into the original packaging!
The other thing I wanted to mention is the Notch is an awesome one person tent. Mine is a few years old, and I’m sure they’ve made it even better since, but for me it’s the perfect one man tent. It’s quick and almost foolproof to set up and my gear is readily within arm’s length in the vestibles.
I said foolproof, not idiot proof because the best any designer can hope for is idiot resistant. Never underestimate the power of the determined idiot!
‘Whatever works for you’ is a cliche’ but it seems to apply in this context. I had a notch Li and changed over to a Durston pro. The reason? I couldn’t get the notch properly hunkered down in windy conditions and although its shape is wind-worthy the 6 inch gap between the tent and the ground was a deal breaker for me. Yes the Durston may have marginally bigger panels but being able to peg it to the ground seems more important to me.
Just shorten your poles.
I like mine very much. The pitch lock ends take a little practice but not too much. Those also offer ventilation opportunities. And as little as the inner is it does feel that little to me with the double vestibule. It also fits a standard length mummy shaped 25” wide pad (ie S2S that you recommended). Solid in wind and rain and small footprint. Mostly stow it outside pocket in my HMG. Thanks again for a solid review.
You know when you’ve got a great tent–when you stop looking at other tents. Since I got my Li Notch, I don’t look at other tents. Yes, it’s snug inside. No, it does not fit inside its bag with the struts in. Yes I have to pack it vertically in my ULA circuit (next to my Bearikade, which is also vertical). But it kept me warm and dry in very bad rain and high wind, it’s double walled to keep condensation problems to a minimum, and it will open all the way up in hot weather. I’m not looking elsewhere unless TarpTent makes a significant upgrade.
Good for you!
I am still searching for that tent!
It took me a long time to figure out how to pitch this thing correctly in the kind of places I usually camp – rocky alpine tundra, with deep mossy and lumpy ground. First I had to learn the hard way that I needed all longer pegs. Then I have to try to find a very flat spot; this tent is really hard to pitch correctly on uneven ground. And then I had to figure out how to do little rock big rock to use instead of stakes, where I couldn’t get stakes to stay in. That’s a lot of learning for me! But I finally got it, and it is now my favorite tent. I have the Li version, which dries with a shake, so much nicer than carrying soggy silnylon. It’s a bit transparent, which I love most of the time, except in a crowded camping area. I love having two doors, so that you never have to worry which way your head will go. And most of all, I love the weight. It has been through hail, wind, and furious downpours, with only a bit of mud backsplash during the worst of it. Excellent tent and I’m surprised it isn’t more popular.