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Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Dancing Light Gear Ultralight Brawny > Owner Review by S. NelsonOwner Review: Dancing Light Gear Ultralight Brawny
Tarptent Reviewer's Information Name: Steve Nelson Backpacking Background: As an interface design and usability consultant by trade, I'm always excited by analyzing and improving designs and processes; backpacking provides a fertile and fun arena for that. I have been backpacking since I was a kid growing up in upstate New York: we backpacked and canoe-camped in all seasons throughout the Adirondacks and nearby areas, ranging as far as La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve, Quebec. As an adult, I've backpacked and hiked extensively in California, but also have taken trips throughout the West, from New Mexico to British Columbia, and return often to the Adirondacks. Backpacking Style: In 2003 I began educating myself about lightweight and ultralight backpacking, and have been applying more and more of this philosophy to my outdoor jaunts and gear upgrades. I like moving fast, and lightening the load facilitates that. I also enjoy urban strolls, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, and aviation in addition to hiking and backpacking, so my gear gets exposed to a wide variety of uses and conditions. Product information Manufacturer: Dancing Light Gear Product Overview The Ultralight Brawny Tarptent is a lightweight, uniquely-designed shelter with a sewn-in floor and a single opening covered by draped mesh and a partial beak. (Note: "Brawny" is the trail name of Carol Wellman, the shelter's designer and builder. She and her partner David Mauldin are experienced hikers and the proprietors and gear-makers at Dancing Light Gear, the cottage-industry company selling this shelter.) The Brawny Tarptent is an evolution of the Tacmoa tarp design from the same company. Customers frequently requested a sewn-in floor, bug netting and other options, and the designer ultimately decided to offer a product with all of these options included. The shape is basically a tetrahedron truncated across one of its corners, with its peak supported by a single trekking pole (or stick, or line tied from above). Here's a picture of mine in use near Dewey Point at Yosemite this February:
Additional pictures below provide views from other angles and describe the pitch and interior space in more detail. A quick note on my past experience with shelters: I've used many kinds, including double-wall tents of all sorts, hammocks, tarps and bivy sacks. My current favorite other than this Tarptent is a lightweight, asymmectrical hammock. Initial Impressions and Construction Notes The Tarptent arrived rolled inside its stuff sack, with the stakes I'd separately ordered taped to a piece of cardboard along with a note to keep the sharp points away from the fabric of the stuff sack or shelter. The stuff sack is is constructed of the same black silnylon as the tent floor and is about 5 by 14 in (13 by 36 cm) with the Tarptent inside, widening somewhat at the squared-off base of the sack. It closes with a rather large standard cordlock, and the cord is tied off with a blue bead that echoes the color of the Tarptent fabric—a nice touch. The size of the stuff sack is more than adequate for the Tarptent; I stuff it rather than roll it, and find it easy to fit inside the sack, which can then be further compressed (if desired) by pressing. The Tarptent is made of ripstop silnylon fabric, in a combination of black for the floor and beak, and (in my case) sky blue for the top. I purchased a prototype (I believe it's the one used for the pictures on the Dancing Light Gear site), and the Tarptent is now available only in grey and green. The fabric was in excellent shape when it arrived, with no obvious flaws, and sewing was good, though obviously done by hand. The entry is a simple drop-down curtain of mesh. At the bottom center is a small ribbon with a hook, which can be attached either to a small loop at the center of the front floor opening, or looped around and secured to a ring attached to the inside of the front peak. There are two similar ribbons and hooks dangling from the middle of each side of the front opening, which along with the middle hook can be used to hold the mesh rolled up and out of the way. Here's a picture of the Tarptent near Panther Meadow at Mt. Shasta, with the mesh secured open:
The floor of the Brawny Tarptent is trapezoidal, with the shorter parallel side at the front (entry) of the shelter, widening out toward the rear. The roof is highest above the center of the entry, and slopes down to meet each of the four corners of the trapeziod. Tie-outs on the corners of the Tarptent are made with strips of silnylon, rather than webbing. The tie-outs on the body of the Tarptent include reinforcing patches that appear to be made from webbing. The Tarptent was provided with tie-out lines made of a lightweight white nylon cord, which for reasons noted below, I have since replaced with a different type of cord. Inside the peak is a small plastic "cup" less than an inch (2 cm) across that is meant to receive the pointed end of the hiking staff used as a front pole. The cup is rather loosely attached with a piece of cord to the reinforcing patch inside the peak. The front of the shelter features a beak that provides partial protection from precipitation. It has a small clip that can attach to the front tie-out but which seems to serve no real purpose, since it doesn't have anything to grip onto on that line. Tension from the Tarptent's pitch and front tie-out generally keeps the beak in place, in any case. The seam sealing appeared to be thorough—perhaps even a bit excessive (though the weight of the Tarptent actually turned out less than claimed, which pleased me). I can see that doing the seam sealing myself would have been a very time-consuming job, and to me it was worth the extra money for Dancing Light Gear to do it. Setup The Brawny Tarptent uses a trekking pole (or an optional line from above) plus four corner stakes for a basic pitch. Interior space is significantly increased by using a rear and two side tie-outs, for a total of four lines and eight stakes. To pitch it, I lay it out with its longest side (the rear) toward any prevailing wind, stake those corners down, then guess approximately where the front corners belong and stake those down (more on that below). I then adjust my hiking pole to the desired length, slip its point into the cup inside the peak of the Tarptent, plant the base of the pole (usually leaving the top of the pole leaning inward at a slight angle toward the Tarptent), then pull out the cord for the peak and stake it down. This whole process takes me less than two minutes. At this point, the shelter is sufficiently stable to be used without further effort. However, the interior space, and overall stability, are greatly enhanced by using the three additional tie-outs on the "roof" of the Tarptent. While these can be staked out directly, I've found it even more effective to use my second trekking pole and other "poles" created from fallen sticks to change the angle of the line so that it pulls up and out from the tarpent to the pole, and then down to the ground. With all of the tie-outs in use, the shape takes on more of a "faceted gem" aspect, as illustrated below. To further clarify the pitching process for this shelter, I am including a series of pictures showing how I've set it up in winter. I begin by leveling a site—in this case, it was probably no worse than a 10:1 slope, and I used a SnowClaw to level out a site big enough for the footprint of the Tarptent:
Then I lay out the Tarptent and stake down its corners, then pitch it with the hiking pole in front and the tie-out in back (usually using either my other pole or, as in this case, a stick to make sure the line pulls up and out on the upper rear tie-out).
Finally, I use sticks and line to stake out the sides, which helps increase the interior volume and add further resistance to wind and snow loading (and achieves that "faceted gem" appearance I mentioned earlier):
With the pitch shown above, the shelter provides good stability and resistance to winds and precipitation. (The first picture in this review shows the Tarptent the next morning at this site, after withstanding half a foot of wet snow.) Regarding the tie-out lines: the white nylon cord shipped with the Tarptent had several shortcomings that led me to replace it with a different material. First, I found that that the nylon cord absorbed water—enough that I could wring out a noticeable amount after rain or condensation. Second, the braided material was easy to snag, and the cords quickly developed pulls and fraying. I replaced the lines with Triptease and have had no further problems. I initially used the stakes I purchased from Dancing Light Gear with the Tarptent and found them inadequate—they bent and deformed very quickly—and so I've switched to lightweight titanium stakes except in winter, when I use aluminum snow stakes and other items as buried anchors. I've noticed only one quirk regarding this shelter and stakes: the corner tie-outs at the base of the Tarptent are sewn from silnylon, are farily large loops, and tend to slip off of stakes that don't have a very aggressive hook. I've found that inserting the stake, then twisting it several times like a propeller, tightens things up enough to solve this problem. Despite a fair amount of experience now pitching the shelter, and the above pictures, I still have not found the secret to absolutely guaranteeing a taut pitch. Occasionally there are sags, especially along the line from the peak to the side tie-outs, as shown here:
I've noticed that the overall pitch depends a great deal on two key choices: the height of the trekking pole, and the positioning of the front two corner stakes. The ideal distance between those stakes varies with the height chosen for the peak; staking them so that the floor of the Tarptent is completely taut is, counterintuitively, the wrong choice and results in a flat and saggy pitch. While using sticks to raise the angle of the side tie-outs helps improve the pitch, if the corner positions are off (as in the above picture), the extra stick actually doesn't help a whole lot. Also, because the cup that receives the point of a trekking pole is somewhat loose, I find that the pole occasionally slips around a bit, and every once in a while pops out of the cup. This is one of the few design elements of the shelter that I would like to see changed—ideally to something a little more stable. (This has never caused a problem once the Tarptent is tautly pitched.) When I nail the pitch, the Brawny Tarptent is a thing of beauty, and has a great deal of space inside. I have no doubt that further practice will improve my ability to do this. Field Observations I have now used the Tarptent in fall conditions in upstate New York and in fall and winter conditions in California, at altitudes ranging from 500 to 7,500 ft (150-2,300 m). Weather has included bright sun, heavy fog, light rain and full-on wet snow; temperatures have ranged from the low 20s to 80s F (-5 to 25 C); and winds have generally been calm to light. I've yet to use the Brawny Tarptent in serious winds, and would be sure to pitch it with its sloped back into the oncoming wind if I found myself in such conditions with it. Overall Usage First, I'll say that in general I really enjoy using this shelter. I sleep stretched out across the front opening, or at a slight angle with my head near one of the corners of the opening and my feet heading toward one of the rear corners. There is abundant room toward the back of the Tarptent to spread out gear, my pack, and so on—much more than in the typical solo shelter. In fact, though I have always used the Tarptent as a solo shelter (which is its intended usage), it appears that it could shelter two in a pinch. With a proper pitch, there's also room for me to sit up near the peak without rubbing the top fabric too much. As I have a long torso, and like to sit up to arrange gear or put on boots, this is a plus. The mesh opening works well—more effectively than I would have imagined. There is enough material that it leaves more than a hand's width of mesh to overlap the floor, which makes it easy to seal up the opening. I simply lay the mesh on top of the floor opening, lay my second trekking pole (if available) and/or other gear such as an ice axe and my boots across the mesh, and I'm all set. It's also easy to roll up the mesh and clip it to the top of the opening, which increases ventilation and access. The only problem I've noted is that at the far ends of the mesh—the front corners of the shelter—there is a 4 in (10 cm) gap where the sides of the shelter go forward further than the floor, and it's difficult to arrange the mesh so that it positively seals this gap. I pointed this out to Carol Wellman, and she not only informed my that they had noted this issue as well and since changed the design (the floor now goes all the way to the front opening, and they added a bit more mesh), but also immediately sent a length of extra mesh to me at her expense so that I could modify the opening to my satisfaction. That noted, I've never noticed any unwanted visitors inside the tarptent when I've closed up the mesh. Condensation and Comfort I have often awakened to find condensation inside the Tarptent. Generally this has not been enough to be of concern (and this is common to all single-wall shelters), but on one occasion the conditions were just right to cause enough condensation that my sleeping bag's shell soaked through a bit at the foot where condensation had rolled down the sides of the shelter, and my cap got wet as it contacted the inside top of the shelter as I packed up. Because this design has no cross-ventilation, it's slightly more susceptible to condensation than some other Tarptent designs. On the other hand, this design makes the shelter more storm-worthy. I've used this shelter several times now for winter camping, including in a wet snowstorm, and found it a fine performer, providing good protection from snow. The mesh prevents spindrift from entering the shelter and also reduces the amount of wind that gets through the front opening. The body of the Tarptent blocks chilly winds from three directions and retains some heat—in my estimation less than a tent, but quite a bit more than an open tarp or a more open Tarptent design. On one trip we got about half a foot of wet snow overnight. Here's a view from inside the Tarptent during the night, showing some of the snow buildup (the water droplets are actually on the outside, showing snow melting from my body heat being retained by the Tarptent):
I knocked the walls occasionally during the night to make sure the snow didn't build up too much, and the shelter held up adequately, with only some sagging near the base. For a shelter that's really meant for three-season use, this was actually quite a positive and impressive performance. I find the Brawny Tarptent a good lightweight shelter solution for mild winter trips (noting that I'm an experienced winter camper, keep a careful eye on weather conditions, and always bring additional clothing and a bivy sack to add a considered safety margin). I must say that it's certainly a treat to snowshoe with a shelter weighing little more than a pound. In milder conditions, the light weight and good weather resistance make this a fine alternative to my hammock—it excels at sites and in conditions where the hammock is less than ideal. My hunch is that it will not be a comfortable place to hang out on a hot summer day (though the light color will help mitigate this slightly)—but then, for many reasons, including UV exposure, most lightweight shelters get packed away during such conditions. Durability Though I've owned this Tarptent for less than a year, I've put it through some serious use. All materials have held up well—there are no loose seams, the seam sealing has not leaked, and the fabric has not abraded significantly, nor are there any tears or looming weak spots. Summary I have enjoyed using this shelter. It has a unique look, and its design creates a pleasant and useful space that includes abundant room for gear. I look forward to using the Tarptent this coming Spring and Summer, when it will accompany me on many trips, including a traverse of the High Sierra Trail, and will look forward to further ultralight winter camping with it. Things I like:
Things I don't like:
Kudos to Carol Wellman ("Brawny") and David Mauldin ("Rainmaker") of Dancing Light Gear for designing a unique and useful shelter. Read more reviews of Dancing Light Gear gear Read more gear reviews by S. Nelson Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Dancing Light Gear Ultralight Brawny > Owner Review by S. Nelson | |||
