Gear Maker Profile: Henry Shires and his Tarptents

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Henry Shires hikes along the Continental Divide Trail in the Colorado Weminuche, near Silverton, Colo., in the fall of 2008. (Credit: Henry Shires) Henry Shires ne...

Full article at http://www.trailspace.com/news/2009/02/17/gear-profile-henry-shires-tarptent.html

I have not used a tarptent yet, I have talked to people on the trail who use them, and I have looked at some pitched on the trail.

Lots of light hikers seem to love them, one guy and his girlfriend told me: "It's way better than just a tarp man, we love it!"

Having slept under just a tarp, with muddy rain drops splashing on me, I can beleive it.

We've got a Rainshadow 2 (you can read Dave's review of it here: http://www.trailspace.com/gear/tarptent/rainshadow-2/review/12403/

My first impression was "oh my god, it's huge!" Seriously, it's quite big for a 2-man "tarp" tent.

I like having the light weight of a tarp-style shelter, while still having a floor and being able to keep out all those pesky Maine black flies. I'd buy it again.

I have one of the one person tents but for the life of me can't remember the name. Here in Michigan, especially on the upper peninsula, you need protection from mosquitos and black flies and this is the perfect solution. Mine was a little tricky to set up the first few times, everything was saggy by the end of the night (the tent, not me, but middle age does suck). It is pretty rain resistant to boot. The picture of the trail north of Lassen got me all worked up, that is going to be one of my destinations this summer. The woman in the tent was pretty darn cute, too! Henry Shires looks a lot younger than I imagined. My mental image of him was a 60 ish guy with a Van Dyke and glasses, the sort who builds electric cars in his garage and manages to look dapper even after 10 days on the trail.

Tom,

Great article, thanks for doing it. But you might want to check your coordinates as I think the Sierra Nevada is just east of San Francisco and the Sierra Madre is some distance south.

Drake

Drake: that was a brain fart on my part, I can't imagine why I typed "Madre" after Sierra, unless I had a subconscious urge to see "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" for the umpteenth time.

In the Bay Area we just call it the Sierra.

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