Considering a TarpTent by Henry Shires

“IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! They must have felt bad about the delay and air mailed it to me. I never got charged extra for the shipping.”

“Henry does that on a regular basis. Can't beat his customer service:)”

“Almost as excited as Steve M. got in The Jerk over his name in the new phonebook? ;-)
You're somebody now.



last edited: 8/01/07 8:27:32 AM”

“Uh oh. I better stay away from these defective cans.”

“Love that silly movie.”

“LUMBER!!! YOU GO!!


okay now you gonna go sleep in it tonight...(ALA Ghostbusters)?”

“Set it up in the backyard a few times. For the life of me I couldn't find the hole where the curved rib was supposed to go, for 10+ minutes! Its also a good way to get a feel for all the minor adjustments the TT's need. Speaking of that, you'll find after several hours up, you need to readjust it again. The silnylon sags a little no matter how tight you make it the first time.”

“That sounds like a good one for the out of context thread techntrek. Thanks for the advise. I plan on setting it up tonight. I also want to seal the seams with some silicone.”

“Always thought there should be a third pole in the center. Hate a wet tent rubbing on my sleeping bag.”

“Which one did you get zac?”

“The Double Rainbow. I wanted something big enough to fit 2 people in, but small enough to fit in some of the tight areas I end up setting camp up in.”

“I've been waiting for the 1.1 version of the Rainbow. Henry always makes improvements to his products.”

“I set it up in the back yard tonight to seam seal it. My only complaint is it is hard to keep the handle end of my trekking poles from poping out when setting it up.


Tech, I see what you mean. It took me a bit to figure out where the sleave was for the center pole.”

“Do tarp tent users have a problem with the tent floor sliding around on the tyvek footprint, and thermarests sliding around on the slick tent floor? I slept in my new Squall 2 and was sliding all over the place. The tent was in my backyard, and fairly level but slightly sloping. is there a solution to this? I noticed that the tent sagged a bit after a while. Some line tighteners might be useful, rather than having to reset the stakes.”

“From the paperwork that came with mine:

"For Tarptents with sewn-in flooring, it’s a good idea to paint lines of silicone on the floor—slightly thicker mixture than for the roof—to form an anti-skid mat."”

“My Contrail has line tighteners, but I understand that some of the models do not. These tighteners work really well. In fact, I tried to buy some of the exact ones at REI and they don't sell them. Henry might sell you some though.”

“just use two half-hitches on the tie outs.

a couple stripes of duct tape on the floor will keep you from sliding as well.”

“I love my new baby, the Rainbow:



Taking it out for two weeks on the JMT starting Saturday.

I also have an original model Cloudburst - I love it but wanted the flexibility of free-standing that the Rainbow has - my poles haven't slid around or come undone.”

“That the Double or Single, calipidder?”

“Idaho Bob, you can also put "dots" of silicone on the back side of your sleeping pad.”

“I attached 6" elastic loops on the ends of the guy outs and seems to help the tent sag somewhat”

“I gotta say, one thing I think is pretty lame on the Clouburst is the velcro door. It's just a PITA.”

“tents are for wimps.”

“I would like to see you say that after not using a tent up in the North Woods this time of the year...you bass turd!

and yes, I am flipping you off right now”

“tents may be for wimps, but bug netting is a different story!

:)”

“real men sleep outdoors. on a rock. in the nude.














what? im just sayin...”

“im pretty sure the next shelter i buy will be a henry shires rainbow. when is the next "improvement" due out?”

“I would like to take this moment to point out that neither Crash or myself are real men by that definition.

Through come to think of it we did meet one that might fit that description. Back in December, but I'm not talkin cause it may just cost me my life...”

“i sleep naked. i also sleepwalk”

“note to self: set up tent with at least one deadfall between my tent and crash bang's tent.”

“There's been a lot of discussion about siltarp sag in the Practical Backpacking forums...I use these on my Double Rainbow:


which I bought at Cabela's...they are called Luhr Jensen Dipsy Diver Snubbers and they do a great job maintaining the tension on the vestibule entrances...I used them on a very wet, 4 day kayaking trip...they are like Therabands...stretchy....


oh, and about the pole popping out...I'd bet you made the same mistake as I did and insert the handle in incorrectly..if not, Henry sells a pole extension which works great...
last edited: 8/02/07 3:42:24 PM”

“Hmmm...
come to think of it I have never pitched my tent very close to you Crash... maybe I am luckier than I thought. Then again maybe it's all the booze I always seem to drink while bp'ing. Every trip I start out packing and proudly saying "I'm not bringing a drop of booze on this trip, all these people must think I'm a fuggin lush" then by the time I get to the trail head There is a fifth of something 80 - 100 proof in my pack. Oh well...”

“Mata: R Those heavy?”

“StoveStomper, it's a single Rainbow. I was contemplating the Double, but I already have the Cloudburst for when Mr calipidder is along. The Rainbow is lighter and huuuuge for one person.

I'm taking off on the JMT tomorrow - I'll be alone the first stretch and am taking the rainbow. When the mister joins me for the last stretch I'll drop the rainbow at the car and we'll take the cloudburst to share.”

“That thing is large! I was leaning toward the double but looks like the single is all I need.
Now, to just get my legs working well again.”

“Rosey...1.3 oz each...”

“Has anyone tried the Rainbow tarp tent made my Henry Shire? I've read really good things about it, but I was wondering how it compared to say, the Contrail? Anyone know?”

“Screw Henry Shires!!!! I placed a tent on order with him in April of last year. It was backordered for a month. I called and emailed to make sure I would have one by the end of June. Henry tells me "no problem" at the beginning of May you'll have it by May 15th. Comes and goes, no tent. We go through this four more time and no tent. He even claimed one time that the "computers crashed and they lost all my info." Well, how did you call me and know exactly I ordered? Henry is a liar and a poor business man and I will never order nor promote is pi$$ poor business again!!!!!”

“I bought a Double Rainbow this summer. The tent was backorder and Henry ended up shipping it by air instead of ground at no extra charge.

The only issue I had with the tent was it had a slow leak near the ridge during a 9 hour downpour the first time I used it. I must have missed a spot when I seam sealed it. It hasn't leaked since.”

“Wow Bernie...STBY....I bought a Henry Shires a year or so ago. GREAT TENT. Granted I got the rainshadow becuase it is very roomy and I can store gear and what not and not feel crowded in the tent.

They are great!!! Henry handled my questions, I have used this tent in HIGH WINDS, I have set up the tent and gone through a HARD RAIN that even left a puddle of water in the top of the tent and nary a drip. The other "standard" tents on the site were all awash in the morning but we were dry as can be.

Now in hard rain there is a light "misting" on the inside of the tent, but even that was not enough to mess up my night.

Gotta say it is the perfect all round tent.”

“Hey there grasshopper! When I decided on a TarpTent, I really wanted the Rainbow because the set up looked easier. I wanted one right away and they didn't have a Rainbow in stock, so I got the Contrail instead. I really love this tent, but it can be difficult to pitch. Just takes some practice.”

“6 moons designs baby! Take a look at Ron's tents”

“My Squall 2 has worked great. I love it. I was in an all night rain, and stayed dry, and I haven't even seam sealed it yet.”