Tarp style? I would look like a wet blanket thrown over a chair

The weight might be on the Terra Nova website as they sell the fly as a spare part.

Dunno about the weight question but I've occasionaly thought about trying mine like that. Trouble is I dont really have a garden to play about with it in. I have to go up to the GF's house and she gets pissed off that I seem to love my tent more than her

I'm thinking you would need to carry something to fit the bottom of the carbon struts into to spread the load and stop them pushing into the ground. Maybe a couple of 1.5 litre ginger bottle lids or similar?

If you dont try it this week Sir Herbert I might stick might up as I want to take the sizes for a "toe-print" I've been threatening to make also.

only if you have a red laser I suppose.

V pegs might be better for stopping the strut moving towards the centre like you say though.

If I get the finger out and make a toe print I'll try make a pouch thing that can hook over a peg to put the bottom of the struts in. similar to what is on the inner.

I reckon a bit of tape folded into a squashed "S" then sewn up the sides should do it.

Bigbananafeet wrote (see)

I have to go up to the GF's house and she gets pissed off that I seem to love my tent more than her

Well, this question got me interested, since I've been thinking that in the unlikely event that I fancy a "near-tarp experience" I could maybe just use the Laser Comp outer, so I've come home and done some research....

First the scales:

Inner - 355g

Outer - 330g (including 2 dyneema guys tied directly to it)

Main pole - 150g

2 end poles - 20g the pair

12 carbon pegs as supplied - 45g, or

10 Ti skewer pegs - 60g  (10 being the minimum I reckon to pitch the outer alone)

Pole cover - 70g +5g for the net bag (I've not bothered with it yet)

Main tent bag - 20g (but I often use an Exped drybag instead) 

Pole bag - 5g

Then I pitched it on the lawn as follows:

- peg an end loop, insert main pole, peg the other end loop, so it's standing roughly.... 

- open door, grovel inside and insert end poles (I rested mine directly on the ground since it was quite firm, but the bottle caps or V-peg idea would be worth looking at)

- peg end guys

- peg 4 main side points

- peg either pole guys or pole feet to avoid them shifting.

- open door, get in, adjust angle of end poles.

I must say it went up with very little faff, much like pitching the whole thing as one in the usual way. The resulting pitch was tight and solid, and looked very 'normal'. There was a fair amount of room under it, although the headroom is still a bit tight for a 6ft-er. One point that struck me immediately is that without the inner there's no way to tie the outer's door back so it just hangs loose when it's open.... ok you could probably cobble something Heath-Robinson-esque with a bit of string! 

Out of interest I then tried re-attaching the inner while the outer was pitched. That wasn't bad either - I've heard people say it's really fiddly but I found the only slightly awkward bit was slotting the end poles in (would be easier if you release the end guy tension a bit) and reconnecting the end clips.

So in conclusion - yes, the idea's definitely a goer!

Out of interest, how much weight would you save by leaving the inner at home.  Matt's scales say it weighs 300 gms,  but that's not all saving.

First you'll need a groundsheet.  Then (maybe - I'm not speaking from experience) you need to deal with condensation dripping from the roof with no inner to intercept it.  You could deal with it either by using a synthetic bag which won't mind the drips as much as your usual down bag, or providing something to intercept the drips.  This could be either a bivvy bag or a more water resistant outer for the sleeping bag.  Then again, a single skin tent is less warm than a double -  is the difference enough to make you carry a  warmer sleeping bag  or more clothing ?

Can someone with tarping experience please say which of these 'problems' can be ignored, and how much of that 300gm saving would be left after dealing with the things which can't be ignored. 

Sir Herbert wrote (see)

from previous experience with single wall tents, the condensation tends to run down the walls rather than drip unless there is a point for them to drip off.

Mat,

Condensation in windy conditions is unlikely to be much of a problem because the wind helps the tent vent much better unless of course you dig the tent in to the snow/ sand etc and seal off the vents etc. 

Your are two raisins short of a fruit cake FB! 

Do you want to be walked over?

I was illustrating your mis-spelling of the poster's name in the same way that you highlight a tent peg that is eactly 2.4 degrees off proper alignment H.

But I accept your fruit-cake comment....

'eactly 2.4'?  Please can you elaborate FB?

typo's get you every time