Cuben Trailstar

 thought so ed h

Aguirre wrote (see)

vegan hiker,

My prefered set up:

-  is to use a sheet of Wickes secondary glasing - immensly strong and very light.

- a Titanium Goat Ptarmigan bivy - keeps out any draughts and creepy crawlies - and adds to   the sleeping bag range by a few degrees.

- there has been some debate on whther a trailstar can take an inner. I know Sean at Oookworks does one and it looks good. The issue for me is that having an inner (in the traditional sense) limits the pitching possibilities.

I agree. An inner would compromise pitch choices.

I'll use the Duomid + Inner when the midgies are at their worst.

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There's an inner that Bear Paw makes that works nicely with a Trailstar, and does not require compromising the Trailstar's pitch to make it work. It has an opening in the floor and ceiling, each with its own drawcord, so that you can run your center pole up through it, or just attach it directly to the hang loop at the apex.

Rakesh Malik wrote (see)

There's an inner that Bear Paw makes that works nicely with a Trailstar, and does not require compromising the Trailstar's pitch to make it work. It has an opening in the floor and ceiling, each with its own drawcord, so that you can run your center pole up through it, or just attach it directly to the hang loop at the apex.

By 'compromising', i'm meaning the size of an inners footprint could limit the choice of pitch. Often the ground can be rocky, with only enough room to lie down between the rocks. With no inner, you can pitch over the rocks, and use that space between the rocks. You couldn't do that with a large inner.

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I tend to agree - although if using the Trailstar for a trip of several weeks I might change my mind; these people who use very lightweight bivvys under tarps for months on end come to mind - I don't think I'd enjoy it.

The Bearpaws inner looks huge...and heavy. It's perhaps driven by the 'desire' to turn your lightweight tarp into a double skinned tent....whatever you do in that way it's no longer going to be 'lightweight'....and seems a compromise either way.

I swapped a few mails with Steady Eddie who I reckon was pretty spot on regarding 'inners' - he said the MLD Bug Bivvy works really well in the Trailstar. Makes sense as it's an adaptable bit of kit. I sold mine....lesson - listen to Eddie

SMD Meteor, MLD bivvys and such all look like fair choices...?

Steady on Ed h, me sensible? MLD Trailstar, MLD Bug Bivvy, MLD Patrol Shelter, MLD Serenity Shelter?? And now attracted to a Cuben Trailstar!! Doesn't sound sensible to me.
But Aguirre (Gordon) and MfD are spot on regarding the flexibility the Trailstar gives re pitches. It is a big footprint, but it simply swarms over tussocky grass and boulders that you could never do with a trad double skin tent or maybe a fixed inner. Once the Trailstar is up, you pick your sleeping position to suit the ground conditions. You have already eyeballed the likely choice when selecting the place to pitch.
That for me is the big advantage over the Patrol Shelter, where you really want to pitch it tail into the wind and sleep that way, feet to tail, head to beak. But that doesn't always suit the lie of the land. The Patrol Shelter is still a great shelter though

Well I'm waiting for a load of sil-nylon trailstars to appear on classified!! Then perhaps a bit later on something new will come up and I'll get my cuben one too!!

ed h wrote (see)

SMD Meteor, MLD bivvys and such all look like fair choices...?

MLD bivvies are very light but incredibly versatile. I use my old Soul bivvy alot

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Reposting from MLD Facebook page -

RECALL NOTICE FOR A FEW CUBEN TRAILSTAR EARLY MODELS SHIPPED IN 2012
We are aware of a few cuben trailstars that shipped the first of this year that need extra reinforcement on the center tieout used for the door. These cuben only trailstar models can be identified by the black reinforcement patches at the tieouts. Unlike tarps and mids, the center edge tieouts on the Trailstar can be used at extreme angles of pull to form the door and can weaken or tear. We have developed a simple, very strong and asthetic fix. Send back the cuben trailstar and we will fix it quickly and include a free LG cuben stuff sack and a free cuben ditty bag set plus new guyline for your trouble.
Send it regular mail, no insurance or signature needed please. We will fix it and return it quickly.
We are sorry for any inconvience.

 AND

We will be super reinforcing the main one for the door and adding a little more on the others. The corner tieouts will be fine. If anyone knows someone with a cuben TS help us spread the word, especially anyone about to take it on the TGO. The SilNylon versions are all OK. - About a dozen of the cuben ones out there to be fixed.

I like how they state "no insurance needed". !

Are they going to take your word if the PO lose it, and replace it free. ?

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Include a little history in your walks. Pecsaetan - Ancient Derbyshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire - http://pecsaetan.weebly.com/

I'm about 5 weeks in waiting for the sil version. I did consider the cuben but was put of by the pitching i saw in a web article comparing the 2.

If your after an inner oookworks look a good bet but I have yet to receive my order to comment further.

http://oookworks.com/OookStar.html

I was just offered a Sil Trail star by a buddy in the US to play with to see if I like it, I had already bought a Tarp Tent Stratosphire 1 a while back so there may some duplication is use.