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Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape > Andrew Buskov > Field Report Field Report - Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape
Andrew Buskov June 26, 2006
Tester Biographical Information:
Backpacking Background: I started backpacking when I was about 8 and quickly became hooked on the outdoors. I prefer being out in the winter more than the summer. I have hiked a variety of environments ranging from Maine's Mt. Katahdin to the bottom of Arizona's Grand Canyon. As an Emergency Medical Technician, I have been trained to be prepared at all times so my pack tends to be on the heavy side. I'm finding that as I solo more and more my needs are changing. I'm looking for ways to lighten my pack and gear while still providing me with the level of safety and security that I demand while being out in the wilderness. I like the challenge and excitement of hiking difficult and dangerous terrain more than the just getting from point A to point B on flat level ground. Product Information:
Product Description:
Testing Locations and Conditions: All of my testing was done in areas around my home that hover in elevations around 500 ft (152 m). Unfortunately, most of my testing was done in dry weather due to the unseasonable dry spell we've been having. It seems as if I'm always stuck at the fire station for 24 hours whenever a good rain is coming. Temperature ranges were from the mid 60s F (18 C) to a blistering 98 F during the day (37 C). Most of my trip lengths were around 3-5 mile overnighters, as I haven't been able to get away for more than 2 days due to all the overtime I've been getting at work.Field Test Results: From here on, I will refer to the Gatewood Cape as a tarp when using it as a shelter, and a cape when it is being worn.The setup of the tarp was extremely simple and fast. I elected not to use the guy lines most of the times and instead connected the stakes directly to the tarp. There is a definite ventilation decrease when not using the guy lines. However, this should be a trade off for keeping the ground dryer during rainy periods. I have noticed that after I setup the tarp, I have to reposition the stakes after about 30-45 minutes because the tarp tends to stretch and sag. I was hoping that this would eventually stop, but I've needed to reposition after every setup. I found that sometimes simply adjusting the pole length adequately removed the sag from the tarp enough to make sleeping enjoyable. However, there were more than a few times where repositioning more than 2 stakes was necessary. The length is long enough that neither my head nor my feet come in contact with the sides for very long while sleeping, and the height of the tarp allows me to sit up fully without having my head rub against the top. I did find that at times of especially windy weather that the hood portion of the cape flapped around quite a bit. Sometimes this flapping was excessive enough that the hood flopped open thus exposing the neck hole in the top of the tarp. Naturally this allowed the elements to flow freely in. I found that the design allows the pole to be situated off to the side rather than directly in the middle. This increased the usable floor space. At no point in time did I feel that the pole limited my range of motion at all. When using the cape as rain gear, I noticed that there is quite a bit of excess material hanging while walking. This can become quite cumbersome while walking through heavy brush or sticker bushes. There are snaps that allowed me to raise the sides to a shorter length, but I found that this is still not enough to curtail snagging while hiking. Because this is a lightweight , the material construction is extremely thin. I have yet to snag a hole in the material while walking, but with the experiences I have so far, I'm not going to be surprised when it happens. Also, because of the material used, I found myself perspiring extremely. Even when wearing nothing but a t-shirt under the cape I found that I was quickly drenched in sweat. This caused me to become almost dripping wet within a 5-10 minute period, and as a result I found that the cape stuck to my skin most of the time. The cape will cover most of my 3800 cu in (62 L) pack while walking, and covers all day packs that I have used it with.  I
also found that the harness was inadequately sewn during construction.
Apparently during the construction, a different stitching was used than
the designer had specified. This caused one of my hooks to pull off
rather easily. The hook in question is the one that is attached to the
guyline for the pole. This is a rather important hook as without it,
the pole would swing wildly in the wind. I have contacted customer
service, but have not received any sort of response yet. From what I
have heard, the company knows about this quality issue and should make
a replacement available rather quickly. I'll keep you informed about
this progress during the long term report.I had never had any experience with a tarp style shelter and quite honestly didn't know what to expect. I have used this item a handful of times and already know this is definitely not going to be a summer cape for me. Maybe something along the lines of late fall, or even a mild winter one, but definitely not during the summer. A good deal of perspiration was simply not escaping from the cape while wearing it. Even when opening the zipper, my arms and sides were still sticking to the cape almost constantly. The only reprieve I received was when the wind was strong enough to rustle the cape. In addition, I was unaware of exactly how open a tarp style shelter was. As this was my first experience with a tarp, I didn't exactly know what to expect. I had figured that this item would shelter me from most insects simply due to the fact that it is possible to have all sides secured to the ground much like a tent. However, I was infested with mosquitoes during most of the time, and even forced to abandon the tarp during one night's testing. This is by no means any sort of design flaw with the Gatewood as it is an inherent problem with most tarp style shelters. After using this tarp, I now find it to be a limited use item simply due to the amount of comfort I am willing to sacrifice in relation to the weight savings I will achieve. Continued Use: I plan on testing this cape a handful more times before I pass judgment. As it stands now, I am not impressed with it. It works well at keeping the rain out while used as both a cape and a tarp, and is exceedingly light and easy to setup.Some characteristics that I really like about this cape so far include:
Read more reviews of Six Moon Designs gear Read more gear reviews by Andrew Buskov Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape > Andrew Buskov > Field Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||