Thank you gentlemen for your thoughts. I’ll let you know but a couple of interesting options. Especially surprised about the durability of tarps as summit shelters but they look rather interesting as origami tents. I’ll have to play with mine on the lawn !!
Has anyone ordered from summitgear (a/k/a JDS Components) recently?
I placed an order online last week but have received no acknowledgement of my order or shipping info. I emailed the company via its Contact web page but have received no reply. I called today and heard a very generic sounding recorded message for voice mail. The charge against my credit card went through, but nothing more - seems odd.
73 Paula k9ir
I’ve been hunting round recently trying to find an inner tent for my pyramid shelter. It seems there are a lot of cheap options popping up on AliExpress:
The Trailstar here is a copy of the Trailstar from Mountain Laurel Designs:
What with intellectual property theft becoming more of an issue, I don’t really want to recommend buying the copy, but the design itself is very strong and a good choice for UK conditions. There are, however, plenty of original designs on offer (or so old that no one can lay claim to them), that also have good reviews:
Whilst construction quality overall seems OK (there are a few rough edges), some of the tie outs may benefit from modification. Just one bar tack is not really sufficient for UK 3 season use. If you own a sewing machine and the XYL is happy for you to use it, then replacing some of the tie out points is relatively simple. The advice here is of course ‘buyer beware’! But I ordered an inner tent for my Locus Gear Khufu shelter, as inner tents are not so critical as flysheets.
If you don’t want to risk AliExpress, there is always backpacking light in the UK which has a good range of well constructed tarps and shelters:
A bit more expensive, but reviews seem to be good in general, so there is peace of mind at least. The specs for the waterproof materials on AliExpress are complete BS, but it is a fact that quite a low hydrostatic head is often sufficient for camping. When it comes to hydrostatic head, it is often a case of ‘what the customer doesn’t know won’t hurt them’.
73 de OE6FEG / M0FEU
Matt
i have one of their 2 man bothy bags, haven’t used it much. You warm up great inside it. I haven’t quite got to grips with how to sit in it properly, sit comfortably in it, hold it down so it doesn’t blow away, get my kit inside and find a way of operating all at the same time. me and my son managed to fit into it once on a windy hill top. I worked USA and then couldn’t get more responses. I looked outside, my antenna had fallen down, so I may have got USA with the antenna lieing on the ground lol.
Anthony
1 Like
Thanks for your input ladies and gentlemen. I tried one of those tarps - found one in my camping/canoeing kit. size is around 3 or 4 sq m… For those that don’t know you do a bit of ‘origami’ and use a pole as a support. There are plenty of videos on-line I used the simplest system I found. Much easier than I thought. I used it for the 1st time on the s2s Transatlantic QSO party a few weeks ago in very, strong winds (40 -50 mph). Much to my surprise it went up easily and more suprisingly it stayed up and certainly provided adequate windproofing!! And of course its quicker than any tent I’ve used and hardly any weight or sizes to carry.
I wasn’t expecting it to work - but it did much better than I expected and this was only my second attempt to erect one. My 1st attempt was the day before on a sheltered garden lawn!!
Hi Anthony
I have found the 2 man Bothy to be good for one person activations and the 4 man Bothy for 2 persons when the XYL is with me…must keep her comfortable 
Majority of my activations are without anything as shown below…
Mount Leinster EI/IE-004 last week…in a convenient hole…rain and strong wind…pole at 5m and gyrating.
The KX2 was buried deep in a dry bag…I don’t mind getting wet but it hurts when the radio gets it.
See my blog… https://gw4vpx.blogspot.com/ All of my EI/IE summits are up…thanks to all the Chasers
I use this method as well…
Brolley works well except when it’s really windy
Then the Bothy bag
Sitting in the Bothy bag for protection against the wind…4 man Bothy shown with XYL already seated
Waun Rydd GW/SW-004 Jan 2017…Pen y Fan in the mist
I always carry a 2 man Bothy bag for extra safety as mentioned previously, maybe not for us but for someone else…
I’ve used a tarp as well…good for a long stay on a summit…don’t do that these days unless it’s warm
It all depends on the circumstances and your own preference. Whatever protects you from the elements is fine.
73 de Allan GW4VPX
4 Likes
Surely this is the ideal tent, especially for HF…
The Snugpak Ionosphere!!
Bothy bags appear popular. For those who have one or know, how do you stop them from flapping and flailing around in the wind? Is there a trick? Or is it simply pull the things as tight as possible around your body?
I’ve used a group shelter - think big enough for ten people. Northern Cairngorms in a winter storm. Easy to keep it tight - everyone sit in a circle and spread out. But you can’t do that on your own - can you?
1 Like
just a matter of keeping it tight with your feet, posterior and rucksack i found. Although only used it a couple of times.
1 Like
What Anthony said and I use headphones very often to pick out those weak signals and to block unwanted external noise…I use hook earphones…the ones that hook on to your ear. Never really been bothered with flapping noise and if it was really bad I don’t think I’d be playing radio anyway?
Enjoy your experimenting and hope to catch you s2s one day.
73 Allan GW4VPX
Heads up for chasers…hopefully activating quite a few G/DC and others over the next 7 days…will alert.
Absolutely. ten thousand Mountain Goats can’t be wrong!
Just remember the five Ps. Preparation prevents piss poor performance.
1 Like
I wished for one when I was sitting in the rain on Mt Wellington last week. Other pics from the 3 activations in VK7 are on my blog at vk1da.blog.
3 Likes
Here is me in my pop up shelter, sets up in about 10 seconds. Also fits in my pack.
Ryan
WG4I
6 Likes
Mork calling Orson… Mork calling Orson 
2 Likes
Thats interesting - All the ones I’ve seen on-line only fold up into a circle with a diameter of around 18" or 20" inches. How wide is that one when its collapsed - or do you simply bend it even more tightly to get it into a rucksack?
I haven’t measured it but it can’t be more than 14" in diameter. It fits in my pack just barely and has been a lifesaver when it is below freezing and 30 MPH winds. That picture was taken on a nice sunny day with temps around freezing.
2 Likes
Where did you get it from?
Malen
VE6VID
Over the last few days, I’ve become a big believer in bothy bags, especially for winter activations.
I received from Summit Gear a/k/a JDS Components the 2 person bothy bag I ordered last year (it shipped/arrived fast, just could use better comm from the seller!). As ER gear it is fine, but at home I struggled to set it up so I could operate comfortably from within.
During prior winter activations, I frequently have had to go QRT after about 30 minutes due to frozen fingers and shivering. Given my struggles at home with the bothy, I’d been lazy to take the time to set up in the field. On my recently concluded activation trip, I used the bothy on 4 summits. It made all the difference in the world! I was able operate without gloves, my operating time doubled, I didn’t feel the wind, and the temp difference was very noticeable once I took the bothy down.
Here’s how I set it up: the other “person” in the bothy is my tall day pack. I try to position it against something to keep it upright - a tree, a snowbank - opposite from where I will sit. I tuck one end of the bothy under my seat pad, and the other side behind the day pack. While not perfect, this approach has worked pretty well, and allows me to access the inside of the pack so I can set up the station while protected.
I prefer using the bothy for its simplicity over other options I’d considered - no stakes or ropes or particular shape needed. I’m sure I’ll get better at setting it up the more I use it.
73 Paula k9ir
3 Likes
I ended up using this for my last 3 activations, all in strong winds + 25 - 30mph and around freezing. Its a simple 8ft X 8ft tarp or perhaps a little bigger, I had already.
I discovered plenty of videos on how to turn one of these into a shelter. It turns out to be amazingly simple and quite robust and you only need one walking pole or similar.
Advantages = i already owned it!, its robust, there’s plenty of room to get me and all my kit inside, isn’t bright orange (I’m shy - sort of!) adequate head room. Easy to put up in windy conditions
Disadvantages, probably heavier than bothy bag, needs a support, needs windward side weighting down as the wind can get under it. Needs relatively level site and probably won’t work on large bouldery ground.
But I’m still looking for that pop up tent that fits in a normal rucksack!
Hi Dave
I have been using the SIL HEX PEAK V4A total weight is about 1.5kg with the additional tarp pole, purchased it about a year ago and used it quite a few times for overnight trips. I also got the inner for future trips up North in the summer if you leave this at home it’s 600g less to carry.
Easy to put up even during the night and seems robust still in one piece with no rips or damage to stitching. You can use a hiking pole for the inner pole to reduce cost.
73
Graeme
1 Like