Bat Ray tested

“As many of you already know, I got a Mountain Hardwear Bat Ray for Mother's day this year. It came from Sierra Trading post and was $89. It's a tarp-tent type shelter weighing in at 3#10oz. Two person is 44 square feet. I chose it mainly for trips I go on w/o Birch and have to go lighter.

I finally had oportunity to test it out. Waited this long mainly because it's been such a cool spring. I wasn't too afraid of getting wet but don't relish the cold/wet combo. This weekend we were expecting thunderstorms but lows of 65. Perfect testing conditions.

We pitched it on Friday night, in a moderately clear location. We used tyvek for a ground sheet. Birch and I crawled into our bags about half an hour before the storm broke. We both were impressed with the roominess. Mind you, it's no trekker tarp but there's plenty of room for two people and two packs (esp. if you use your pack as a pillow or foot rest, lol). It poured rain for several hours. At one point it was so loud I thought it was hail. We were as dry as could be. I was worried because the door is mesh. We thought about which direction it faced when we set the tarp up and all was well. I'd recommend it as an inexpensive, light, roomy shelter.

My only complaint is that it has lots of tie outs and they all are black. I'll need to replace them with reflective or white cord before it's next use.”

“Sounds like a good buy I might get one!

Thank you for the info!

8)”

“Dang... I thought this was going to be another Mutant Critter thread.”

“Sorry to dissapoint, lmao.

BTW...at least 3 of the TTers who tented it Friday got wet.”

“Yeah... Sting Ray, Manta Ray... Bat Ray. Sure. Kinda like the Flying Sub on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," only alive, and, uh, maybe smaller.

It was a weird weekend in Georgia. It kept looking like it Wanted to rain, but it couldn't really make up its mind... nearly total cloud-cover with intermittant drizzle.”

“Foot Rest?”

“I stayed dry in my Zephyr :-)”

“Just got an email from Sierra Trading Post. Bat Rays are on sale for $47.95! If you don't get their email, just log onto the site and type in item #88275-16. Nothing I really needed, but we'll see how it compares to setting up a poncho. Plus I still have a couple of spare square feet in my gear storage room! I like the idea of bug netting for the summer. Happy Thanksgiving to all.”

“Thanks steiny, you should'nt do that to gear junkies.

I saw sass & birch's batray in action a month ago. It looked pretty sweet, and kept them dry in a nice rainstorm. I've got a trekker tarp now, and use that for the most part, but this thing is perfect for snowy/rainy conditions, and for less than $50, I'm buyin'!”

“That does sound like a good deal!

8)”

“That's great deal. You pay that much for a regular tarp if not even more.”

“wish I could show it to you friday, but, alas, i opted for standard shipping. :)”

“so you ordered it BB, how long is that sale on for?”

“I don't know, but I wasn't taking any chances. the only bad thing about it, that I can see, is that I won't have as much room as the trekker tarp, but what tent does. It will bear a snow load better than TT, and be much more efficient in wind.

Joe and Joy were in it, with packs, and had plenty of room. I kinda wish they'd make a 1 1/2 version. It prolly would cut a pound, and be perfect for solo's.”

“BB, how does the weight compare between the treker tarp w/insert vs. the bat ray w/a ground cloth”

“about the same, but, the bat ray will work much better in snowy / windy climate, just by the shape of it. Ask Birch and Sass, they seemed very happy with it.”

“$50 for the Bat Ray??? Dang! I need another shelter like I need another hole in my head.

Sure wish I needed another hole in my head!”

“Ewker, the Trekker tarp with insert in a touch under 6# all total for a 10x10 shelter

The bat ray 2man is 44sqft and a touch under 3#. The bat ray is good for 2 folks but is tight when changing etc...we got it for solo and ended up using it lots this year cause we like it so much. I have noticed however that my bat ray is also a rain making machine. I think that everytime we used it we got some heavy rrains. We stayed bone dry. Just dont let stuff poke out around the edges.Cant beat the price”

“This definitely goes into the "want" pile. And at $50 it's hard to pass up.

Birch and Sass - how well would a 6'6" body fit? Could I stretch out?”

“Coop it is not that much lighter than the Inyo II at all. But that price is very economical”

“Big coop, I'm 5'8 and Birch is 5'10 and we both put our packs at our feet in there. You shouldn't have any problems.

No fair you guys all get it for $45! I paid $89. =( Oh well, I like it enough to have spent $89 on it.

Word to the wise, there's alot of lines on this thing and you'll need a few extra stakes. Also, it's real easy to get tangled up or trip over the lines until you figure out where they all are. I want to replace the cord on ours with some of that fancy reflective cord. Even though we know where they all are now, others don't.”

“Birch or Sass, what do you use for a ground cloth, another tarp or plastic”

“Thanks Sass

Tango - yeah I see the weight is not much better, but I can't resist tinkering with new gear. I like the idea of tarping, but my tarp does not keep the bugs at bay, so I was thinking that $50 might be worth giving this one a try.”

“Ewker, we use a piece of tyvek.”

“I checked this one out at a store before Sass posted her review. The mesh door is what turned me off. The wind doesn't always play nice and stay blowing from the same direction. You really haven't gotten wet in it?”

“I see sierra trading post has 2nds. Still...”

“Violin... I've seen them use the Bat Ray in three (or maybe more) heavy downpours on three separate trips. They've never gotten wet.”

“ok, how many of you have ordered the Bat Ray in the past couple of days.”

“.....and Batman's name is Bruce, no Ray......duh”

“Violin.....the worst we've ever endured (wet wise) was a few rain drops on the head. Nothing to even schrunch down further into the tarp for.

So, who got one? You all know they're a really nasty teal color right? With purple accents, lol.”

“I caved and ordered one tonight. Shoot, for that price, it's worth a try.”

“Pennsy = Liar”

“Pennsy's gonna have a sissy colored tarp!!!!!”

“I checked this tarp out back when I bought my SD Clip Flashlight. I had a really tough time choosing.

Now that it's such a great price, I couldn't pass it up. So, I'm expecting one on my doorstep.”

“At least BB spelled my name right for a change.

Well, at least the color isn't hot pink. Teal I can live with.”

“Mine ought to be here this week. We'll see how it sets up in the snow.”

“How much the the Tarp Insert and a silnylon tarp with tie outs and stakes weigh?”

“My 10X12 with the mesh insert plus stakes weighs around 3.75 pounds, I think.”

“I really think I want the mesh insert for next summer.”

“Sometimes they go on sale. Campmor had them on sale last year for $40. Now MSR took Walrus over so I'm not sure if things will change.”

“Msr's version of the trekker tarp is considerable smaller than Walrus'. I'm not certain if the insert size has changed or not. I'd check ebay for a walrus insert.”

“You're right Sass. They cut the length down about a foot. I think that's good though unless you are tall. I wish mine were 7 feet long instead of the eight feet that it is.”

“They had several at Campmor this summer in their clearance bin marked "dirty". I'll have to check to see if they still have them. They ranged from $39 to $49.”

“Siltarps or Trekker Tarps or mesh inserts? I'm soooo confused, lol.”

“I think MSR wants $79 for the insert when they aren't on sale. They used to be $50 when they were Walrus.”

“Yeah rich, they are much more expensive, and have less bells and whistles, i.e.
walrus insert had 5 hook points to the actual tarp, expanding the headroom, msr's version has just 2.”

“BB, our Walrus version only has two. I think you have a newer model.”

“I think that Rich's version has only two also. When I am looking at the inserts, I'll check the attachment points. I only have an 8 X 10 silnylon tarp, not a 10 X 12, so I don't know if that will provide enough protection in a rainstorm. Maybe if I pitch it low enough.”

“Mine has 2 buckles at the ends of the roof and a toggle in the middle part of the roof. It works well enough to get it taut on a line between two trees.”

“I don't know if I'm happy or sad, but it looks like they sold out.

Pocket Veto.”