Tarptent proTrail Li

[Dexter]

If you have 4 tents you might have one per season but what about the "in-between" season periods ?

Well yes, exactly!
Dexter, you simply must get another tent, a Protrail Li.

You're both terrible! Haha. Today l started looking at finances and factoring in selling my old one person tent.

In my defence, two are car camping style tents (one needs repairs, the canvas is too good to throw it out).



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[crollsurf]

How is the pitch in rough, uneven and sloping sites?

Probably better than most. It doesn't need a lot of space but a bit more than you might think. Pegging out options however aren't good out of the box, so some extra cord and stakes wouldn't hurt just in case. The DCF bathtub is better than good enough but glad I carry some 3mm foam that I put under my inflatable at night. Not only does the 3mm do all the things a sit pad is good for, it also solves the problem of the mat sliding around at night and gives that added bit of protection.

[wildwanderer]

Thanks crollsurf.

[Ms_Mudd]

Dexter, don't go robbing any banks. I don't want to see you on the news, logging on the Tarptent site on your phone as you run to the getaway car

Crollsurf, where did you add some extra guy line on yours?

[crollsurf]

Hi Muddy, just tie the cord off to the loops you stick the Easton Nails in.

[Zapruda]

The ProTrail Li came in on Monday and I was able to setup just before the rain came down.

My initial impressions are good. Heaps of room, easy to setup and all those little Tarptent touches I have come to really appreciate after using several other models.

I need to play around with staking the front more. I found that the door was a little flappy. Possibly because my front corner stakes were too close together.

Hopefully I'll get it out there for a night or two this weekend.

[Ms_Mudd]

Hi Muddy, just tie the cord off to the loops you stick the Easton Nails in.

Ahah, I understand. Thanks.

Enjoy the maiden mission with your new shelter Zapruda.

[crollsurf]

... I need to play around with staking the front more. I found that the door was a little flappy. Possibly because my front corner stakes were too close together...

At my age it's not the only thing that's flappy.
At 6'2" (186cm) I find holding the peak and stretching my arm right out and then placing the stake in the ground works most times to get the right angle. I've also had the same problem with the front flapping in the wind. I wonder if staking out the tie outs just back from the front might add some tension to the front edge. I'm going to give that a go next time.

I also stake out the peak but that may be an old habit from using the Silnylon version.

[Zapruda]

They have a pill for that.

Thanks for the advice. Ill have a few goes at it over the weekend.

[Ms_Mudd]

Well, that was good for a laugh.
Flappity bits do indeed affect all shelters and all people at some time too.

Hope everyone had a good pitch with their Protrails over the weekend.

[headwerkn]

Got my ProTrail Li out for its first proper test last week on a Macs/Nereus mission.

Struggled with the pitch on thin soil in the saddle between Macs Mountain and Urquharts Mesa/Green Hill, for a 'small' tent it does require a decent bit of clear, flat space. Lack of tension made for less internal space than designed which in turn made for a few condensation issues on a cold, still night. Did much better up on Walled Mountain the following night, even with the wind ramping up at 2am and hitting the tent at a 45-degree angle.

Still need some practice with setup. I'm using a pair of fixed 120cm Salomon carbon poles so have added about a foot of 3mm cord at the low end to facilitate pitching. But overall I'm loving the design and space for such a light tent... though I will say it is about as bulky as a 2pp Double Rainbow Li unless you squash the snot out of it. Looking forward to using it on fastpack missions over summer!

[crollsurf]

Looks like a good trip plus the tent looks well setup in the pics. I've found 125cm works better a lot of the time and even longer, if you want to angle the pole to make it easier getting in and out. Maybe try a pole extender and see what you think.

[headwerkn]

Thanks Crollsurf.

I used to have BD FLZ carbons which were adjustable and thus much more suited to holding up tents, however one disappeared up the western side of Othrys a while ago. The fixed Salomons are lighter, cheaper and better for trail running (which is mostly the reason I have them in the first place).

I actually found the 120cm height pretty good in terms of maintaining tension and shape with the Pro Trail. It does drop a little when you offset it for better access into the door but it takes all of two seconds to shift it back into place before zipping up the door. I did find myself pegging out the apex line out from the entrance, though that was mostly for extra security pitching in such an exposed area.

[north-north-west]

That saddle must have become scrubbier since we were there. Had no trouble finding spacious spots for the Akto and Scarp.

[headwerkn]

It was nearly dark so we grabbed the first available clear open space near the rock line. Discovered better, cleared, sheltered spots a bit further towards Green Hill the following morning. Oh well, next time

Either side of the saddle is pretty scrubby though. Apparently 30 years ago Nereus was a doddle in comparison.

[north-north-west]

Yeah, we got in with plenty of time to find the good bits and hunt for water - which was either yabby holes or up into the creek gully coming down from Green Bluff. Side of Macs was bauera, that side of Green Bluff was scoparia (but it was flowering so there was compensation) and then the longer drop to the buttongrass on the other side was bauera, bauera, bauera.
Ahhhh, but the forest below Nereus and the wedgie on top ...

[headwerkn]

The low(ish) baurea and yellow gums coming down off Urquharts Mesa towards the button grass was pretty easy going... coming back up against gravity and unseasonable sun and warmth less so!
But yes, the open forest at the foot of Nereus is delightful and a pleasant change of pace before the ridge jacks right up. For whatever reason we didn't expect Nereus to be much of a climb - but it was! Quite a few airy, hairy moments coming up the SE ridge.

[north-north-west]

The low(ish) baurea and yellow gums coming down off Urquharts Mesa towards the button grass was pretty easy going... coming back up against gravity and unseasonable sun and warmth less so!
But yes, the open forest at the foot of Nereus is delightful and a pleasant change of pace before the ridge jacks right up. For whatever reason we didn't expect Nereus to be much of a climb - but it was! Quite a few airy, hairy moments coming up the SE ridge.

This was exactly our experience. It felt fine going down that stretch but going back up was horrible and seemed to take forever.
The climb up was wonderful: forest, really tall pandanus, lovely scrambly bits. Pity about the (lack of) views.

[headwerkn]

Pity about the (lack of) views.

Views were pretty decent coming up over the ridgeline, but yeah, quite constricted on the summit itself.
If you skirt around the eastern side under the treeline - aka the 'safe approach' - to the summit then you're not likely to see as much.

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[north-north-west]

We just went straight up. Did the skirting around on the descent.

[crollsurf]

I kind of want to take back what I said about a 125cm pole, on flatter ground at least. I was mucking around with pole length last week and 120cm seemed the best.

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[wildwanderer]

Used my pro trail Li for the first time a few days ago.

Of course I didn't read the pitching instructions and my first attempt at pitching was at a remote bush site.

It took me a while to figure out the rear guy lines and I ended up doing it wrong by putting the pegs into the pullout loops on the tent sides instead of sticking the pegs around the perimeter guy lines. Tent didn't collapse on me during the night so all good. I also spent ages figuring out how the magnets worked. A comedy of errors on my part.

Enjoyed the tent a lot. Heaps of room and good sitting up height at the front for a morning coffee. Vestibule was enough for the pack and a entrance/cooking area. The translucence of the DCF is great, similar to sleeping under mesh, I could see the forrest canopy above me.

The tent floor bucket didn't stay up to well in the middle but that was likely because I hadn't pitched the rear lines/peg correctly and I also set the front trekking pole at an angle first. Reading the instructions on my return home apparently I was supposed to set the front trekking pole vertical first, adjust everything on the tent and then set it at a angle. I used the tarp tent rear pole and that worked well.

Looking forward to giving it another go now I know how to pitch it.

[headwerkn]

I've found the ProTrail really likes its corner stakes at perfect 45-degree angles in order for everything including the floor tub to tension out properly. Start with everything completely untensioned, then go around bit by bit wind up the tension on the corner stakeouts, then lightly tension the floor tub. DCF really seems to like plenty of tension, I'm thinking of getting longer Eaton stakes to help hold in our usually softish soils.

Can't say I've tried it on enough less-than-ideal sites yet, but as you'd expect from any non-freestanding tent, it does suffer exponentially when pitched on a less-than-even site. At least it doesn't require a heap of clear space!

[threshold]

Ive just ordered one!

Really hope it rocks up and really hope it'll be my last shelter purchase!