I have been backpacking for over 30 years, all over the state of California, and also in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Utah. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, and average 500+ miles (800+ km) per year. As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller volume packs. I start early and hike hard so as to enjoy the afternoons exploring. I usually take a freestanding tent and enjoy hot meals at night. If not hiking solo I am usually my brother-in-law Dave or girlfriend Jenn.

The Product

Manufacturer: Tarptent by Henry Shires
Web site: www.tarptent.com
Product: Squall 2 w/ sewn-in floor
Year manufactured: 2006
MSRP: $230.00 (US)
Size: 2 person
Weight (complete) listed: 2 lb 3 oz (1.8 kg) Actual weight: 2 lb 2.1 oz ( kg)
Interior height listed (at front): 45 in (114 cm) Verified accurate but can change with setup
Height at rear (mine): 21 in (53 cm)
Length listed: 94 in (239 cm) Verified accurate but can change with setup
Width (foot & head) listed: 51 and 78 in (130 & 198 cm) Verified accurate
Packed size listed: 20 x 4 x 3 in (51 x 10 x 7.5 cm) Verified accurate
Color: Dusty Green
Warranty: (quoted from company web site) "Tarptents are fully guaranteed against fabric and workmanship failure and you may return one uninjured for a full refund if not satisfied. That means you can set one up, even try it out overnight, and then decide if it's something that will work for you. We stand behind every Tarptent and will make every effort to repair or replace products that fail due to defects in workmanship or materials. Normal wear and tear repairs will be done on a "non profit" basis and we will provide a price quote before beginning the work. In many cases, we charge only for the return shipping."

Product Description

The Squall 2 is a 2-person Tarptent from Henry Shires. It sits squarely in the middle of his Tarptent line-up.

The main covering or "tarp" part of the tent is made of "High tenacity 1.1-ounce/yd^2 yd^2
(m^2) ripstop nylon, impregnated with silicone. Final fabric weight is approximately 1.3 ounces/yd^2." (All quotes from manufacturer.) It is very slick and slippery feeling. The body sits 4-6 in (10-15 cm) above the ground when set-up to allow for ventilation. The front of it is split to create an opening that utilizes two strips of Velcro to join them together closing the shelter to the elements. Depending on the pole height this beak/vestibule ends up being a foot (30 cm) or so off the ground.

The optional floor, which I have, is made of the same material but is black in color. The floor has little 3 in (7 cm) walls at the edges to create a tub effect to stop running water from flowing over the floor. They clip to the corners to help support them. Unclipping will let the floor stretch out further to give more room. As I bought this to use as a solo shelter I just leave the corners clipped up.

The floor is attached to the tarp with No-see-um netting along the bottom at the back and sides. At the front of the shelter it goes across the face from floor to peak to make it bug-proof. A small gauge zipper runs down the center of this panel and each side has its own at the bottom. Velcro keepers attached to the tarp allow the netting to be gathered out of the way when not needed.

At the top front of the shelter are the "Dual catenary curves with strut support". The strut mentioned is made of aluminum and sits in a pocket centered over the opening. When one (centered) or two (at each end of the strut) poles, trekking poles in my case, are inserted into the grommets in front of the strut they become the support for the front of the shelter. The catenary curves add strength and help to create more head room for the Squall. Here is a shot of the front and looking inside.

The rear of the Squall is supported by an Easton aluminum 7075-T9 .344 in (8.74 mm) diameter tubing pole that runs through a sleeve at the back and plugs into grommets at the corners. A single stake is used with the attached triple-guyline to pull the top of the resulting arch away from the front of the tent, keeping the whole thing standing upright.

The front of the Squall uses a guy line also to support the shelter and to hold the beak/vestibule when closed up. A small clip tied to the guy-line with a prussik knot (allowing it to slide for adjustment) holds tension against the beak. All of the guy-lines have cool line-tensioners on them, maybe the strongest and easiest adjusting tensioners I have ever used.

Inside of the tent is a small gear pocket.

Field Conditions

I first used the Squall 2 on a five (supposed to be eight) day trip to the western Sierra Nevada, leaving from Edison Lake and going over three major passes. I started with a 37.5 lb (17 kg) pack. This trip saw temps down to 29 F (-2 C) with rain and snow. This area is very rocky especially above tree-line. At lower elevations it is packed dirt with a good helping of rock mixed in. A tough area to get stakes into the ground.

I also used it on two trips to the San Bernardino Mountains. The temps got down to 27 F (-3 C). I was set up at 9250' elevation (2820 m).

Observations

I bought the Squall 2 in May of 2006 but could not use it because of testing duties. I decided to give it a thorough first use by taking it on a 95 mile (153 km) hike from Edison Lake in the Sierra Nevada west side to Roads End in Kings Canyon National Park at the beginning of October. The weather had been forecast to be great. Sunny all week with a 30% chance of rain one day in the middle.

Alas the weather forecast changed dramatically the morning we hit the trail. By 1:30 PM our first day we were in rain gear. We found a good spot to camp and since it had dropped to a sprinkle decided to take it and hurry getting our Tarptents up. (Dave had the new Contrail.) I had only set the Squall 2 up twice in the front yard before this trip, yet I had it up fast. The following evenings went even faster.

I set it on a piece of Tyvek I had cut as a ground-cloth. As the rain came down in earnest after getting it up I climbed inside to make dinner. I was a little nervous about firing the stove up inside of the little vestibule. Was it going to disappear into a few smoking shreds from the slightest bit of escaping heat? No. I boiled water for mine and later Dave's dinners with no mishap.

I went to bed after dinner as there is not much else to do when it is pouring out and the temps is steadily dropping. While lying on my back it was interesting to watch the play of the rain drops that I could see very clearly through the silnylon of the Tarptent. I guess I did a good job seam sealing it as I had no leaks. The rain grew in intensity as the night went on. I was concerned as to it coming through the side mesh and over the little walls of the floor. But it never did. I was very impressed by the way the Squall 2 handled the precip. I noticed no build up of condensation even though it was raining so hard. (I felt the walls each time I woke in during the night.)

At 3:00 AM I woke up and noticed that the sound of the rain had changed. It was pitch-black and even though I could not see something felt funny. I turned on my head lamp to find the walls of the Squall almost touching me everywhere. The rain had turned to snow and was stretching the sil-nylon out quite severely. Henry Shires had told me to expect this and to be prepared to knock the snow off and tighten the line to keep the tarp taut. I started banging off the snow and was treated to a rain shower inside my tent! The walls that were so dry earlier were heavily covered in condensation. I got water all over the place. I had to beat snow off the rest of the morning until I got up at 5:45 AM.

I had to break camp in heavy snow fall. I packed as much as I could inside the Squall 2 and then had to get it put away. I had wiped it down inside with my washcloth, having to wring it out three times in the process. I shook as much water as I could from the outside then folded/rolled it up as quick as possible, shoving it inside the stuff sack. When I took it out the next evening I found that I should have seam sealed the stuff sack. A lot of water ran out of the silnylon and through the sack right onto my sleeping bag.
As we both had a lot of wet gear (Dave slept right through the snow and when I could not wake him up I finally got up to check on him. He was asleep with his Tarptent collapsed over him. Everything was soaked.) we decided to stop early at a nice location to spread things out to dry. I set the Squall up and strapped the vestibule back. Within a couple of hours it was dry inside. As the weather was not bad I kept the vestibule open that night. I had no condensation, and in fact did not have any bad problems as long as it was not snowing. It may help that I use the two-person Squall as a solo shelter though. Here is a picture at this camp on the San Joaquin River in Kings Canyon National Park.

The next day we went 24 miles (38 km) and found a suitable space for the Tarptents with only about 45 minutes of daylight left. I whipped out the Squall 2 expecting to have it up in a couple of minutes. Aaah! I lost my stakes! I must have dropped them at our last camp site. I used a combination of rocks and sticks. It was not very secure and I had a hard time keeping everything taut.

Because of weather issues we had to backtrack a long way the same way we came to get out of the Sierra ahead of a two-day storm that the Forest Service told us was bearing down on us. (We had a satellite phone.) I told Dave I would carry some of his gear to help him go farther/faster if we could make it back to our previous campsite. He asked why and I told that I would feel a lot better about getting caught by the storm if I could have the Squall securely set up with stakes. I did not like the way it was the night before. We made it back almost at dark again. The stakes were there, thank God, so I was able to set the Squall 2 up right.

On the two trips in southern California the Squall worked out wonderfully. As I was on a peak bagging trip for one of them I set up the Squall and put most of my gear inside of it. Then I took the trekking poles back out and let the tent collapse over everything. I put a rock on the collapsed beak area and left for the day to climb two peaks. When I got back I just popped my poles under it again and I was ready to go. Here is a picture of it at High Creek, south of Mount San Gorgonio.

I have come to a few conclusions about my Tarptent. I am not concerned about using it in wet weather. It handled the rain with aplomb. I will not take it on any trip that I even think will get snow. I could tell by the build-up of snow collecting around the sides of the tent as I knocked it from the body that it would be easy to get enough snow to block the venting capabilities of the design. (Remember that this is NOT positioned as a winter tent. I am not knocking it.) When I would pack it up I would look back and see a 3-sided rectangle of snow where it was sitting.

I will also use this just in my lower altitude trips. One site that we skipped was because it was exposed and solid rock. There was no place to get a stake in and the wind was blowing hard enough to think we may have had a problem to try just gathering rocks to hold it. I have placed free-standing tents in locations like this many times. Maybe I am wrong about this, but I went with my gut feeling.

I would also like to mention that Henry Shires, the owner of Tarptent, is the most helpful and approachable person I have ever dealt with. I have purchased a Rainshadow and Contrail from him too.

Owner Review by Ray Estrella

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