Reviewer
Stuart Bilby
male
stu AT bwpl D0T co D0T nz
Age 38
176 cm (5'9")
81 kg (179 lb)

Website
www.gossamergear.com

Measured Weight
12.8 oz (362 g) For tarp, poles, guylines and stuff sack.
A more detailed description is given in my Initial Report.

Testing
I have used the Spinnshelter on two trips into the ranges of the central North Island. These included two nights with heavy rainfall and high winds. I have also been inside it in heavy rainstorms while set up in my back yard.

One night I took the tent to the top of the Ruahine Ranges. I was looking for a campsite on the ridge high above the bushline, with rolling tussock golden in the low evening sun and threatening black clouds rolling in. Flat spots that were not sodden were rare and the best I could find was a luxurious soft grass area just the length and width of my body.

Getting the Spinnshelter set up took longer than I would have liked and I was glad that it was not raining. At first I set it up too low and it was difficult to get any sort of tautness on the sloping site. To my surprise I wished that the Spinnshelter was not so long and a design that was just long enough for me and my pack would have been easier to fit on the site and more wind resistant. With the threatening weather I was glad I had a full set of pegs and I pitched it at ordinary height using the poles but with the edges all pitched tight against the ground. I managed to get the Spinnshelter almost wrinkle free, but no matter how hard I tried I was not able to achieve any significant tension in the walls. What was difficult on a flat site, became impossible on a sloping one. After dinner the mist rolled in, the wind increased and heavy rain began to fall.

Soon the tent was flapping wildly and the noise of the Spinnaker fabric was very loud. The rain drumming on the material was also noisy. A great feature of the Spinnshelter is that I could check the integrity of the pegs without going outside. The winds were not extreme, and I was not too worried about the danger of the shelter being ripped. It was probably 30 to 50 km/hour (20 to 30 mph). I was not inclined to go out in the driving rain in an effort to refine the assessment. Then the lightning started on the next ridge over, but the tent flapping was so loud I could not hear the thunder.

After an hour or so of rain, condensation formed on the inside walls and as they shook in the strong wind I was sprayed with a light mist. This became annoying and I was glad to pull my bivy sack over my face, but the moisture was never so significant that the spray made the outside of the bivy sack wet. Evaporation off the surface was faster than the moisture was accumulating.

In the end I did not sleep at all well because of the noise of the rain pounding on the fabric and the loud noise of the fabric flapping. It was close to the volume of someone shouting right next to me and seemed much louder than a normal nylon tent in those conditions.

Material
The fabric is waterproof enough for tent use and the only water on the inside seemed to be condensation.

Pitching Options
One of the great things about the Spinnshelter is the number of pitching options. In rainy weather I like to set it up with the windward side to the ground and the other side a little off the ground with a zig-zag line spreading the load evenly along five pegs. See photo.
In fine weather I lift one whole side up in the air to let the breeze flow through and to provide plenty of head space.

Further Testing
I plan to take the Spinnshelter on a number of trips into the ranges of the central North Island. I am interested to see its weatherproofness, how often condensation is a problem in New Zealand's wet conditions and to see how it stands up to the rigours of regular use. Also I want to see if with practice it becomes quicker and easier to set up and whether the awkward spectra guylines are worth the weight saving.

Summary
The Spinnshelter is remarkably light and can be set up in many different configurations. It takes a bit of work to set up well and requires plenty of stakes. In strong winds and rain it is very noisy.

Backpacking Background
I live in Auckland, New Zealand and have been heading into the mountains for 18 years. I am an experienced backpacker, tramper and climber and most of my trips are multi-day off-trail trips. I love long trips up the remote gorges, forests and glaciers of the South Island's west coast. Over the last three years I have converted to a lightweight style.

20 January 2004