Deschutes Plus Ultralight Tarp Review
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
- The Deschutes Plus is an ultralight shaped tarp from Six Moon Designs that weighs 16oz and is a good shelter for anyone looking to significantly reduce their pack weight.
This is not a sponsored review, I bought this used off of r/UlGearTrade last year. Note that the Dyneema stuff sack was generously included by the previous owner, I don't know what the stock stuff sack looks like.
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - Specs
01:30 - Top Down View
02:04 - Features
03:52 - Fitting Inside
04:46 - Condensation
05:24 - Silnylon Sag
05:42 - Bug Protection
06:04 - The Issue of No Floor
06:44 - Complaints
07:23 - Picking The Right Shelter
08:04 - What I Like Most
08:45 - Durability
09:02 - Conclusion
To make this video, I used a Sony a7iii with a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens shooting in a custom HLG3 based color profile. One or two shots I used a Voiglander 12mm f5.6 M39 lens for some wide stuff. Two interior shots were done with a GoPro Hero 6 shooting with protune flat and stabilized with Reelsteady Go. Edited and graded in DaVinci Resolve 17, and I had fun making the opening title from scratch in the Fusion page in Resolve. Adventure shots were mostly captured using the a7iii with a Samyang 24mm f2.8 lens (with a +10 diopter close-up filter for the macro leaves shot).
I confirm; without a sewn ground tarp, it is a massive rodent trap.
Also, i was not screaming, i was elegantly singing my surprise and disapproval 😅
The legendary Thibault has spoken!
I don’t even have any interest in an ultralight tarp, but came here to admire your work. Your thorough, concise and well-edited videos should be studied by others as a standard by which they should model their reviews.
Awww thanks Joel! That really makes my day 😊
I used this on a thru hike of the AT and and caught a few mice friends. Since then, I remade my polycro so that it attaches to the outside of the netting and has cat cuts to allow airflow in the gaps. This pulls it up like a bathtub around the shelter bottom and solves the mouse problem, in addition to keeping the netting clean. I've spent lots of money playing around with fancier cuben options to save a few ounces and keep coming back to this tent for speed of setup and crazy square footage.
Would be keen to see photos of the polycro bathtub you got!
The tip for the ground floor did it for me! This will be my shelter for next years Thru-hike. Thanks
Superb review!
I had my Deschutes Plus out with me 2 weeks ago (polycro groundsheet). First night was WINDY and I had it as close to storm mode as I could get away with. I only guyed out the head end that night and found that it worked well enough with my 20 degree quilt, 2.5" pad, and 6'3" self, I considered wrapping my foot box with my bag liner, but the wind kept the humidity down. I had both ends guyed out on the 2nd night (borrowed a pole after not having luck with the offset tree near where I pitched) and felt like I had plenty of room. I was up very early the next morning and found that once I deflated my pad and pushed it out of the way that I had a fair amount of space in it - I wound up making coffee, getting dressed, and packing up while in there. I almost took a flat tarp with me on that trip to save about 8oz, but I am glad I did not. The D+ may wind up being a go-to for me when backpacking.
This echos my feelings as well with the shelter, I'm glad you're enjoying yours!
great review! as of now Six Moon has the Deschutes on sale for $110. IMO, the only thing that can make that shelter better is to make it out of silpoly.
I love the calm tone and excellent detail of your review. Thanks! About mice, I had one chew straight through a 2 skin tent once in the Lake District, UK. The only time I recall I needed to mouse-bag my food... And you guys think you have it tough with bears... :)
I have one as well, and echo your comments - great summary. I did sew a "screen door" (a piece of bug netting with a half-zipper on one side) to the right side of the shelter. This allows me to roll up the silnylon door on that side and zip the screen door shut, which helps with condensation issues on nights without rain. I like the shape - it fits well in small spaces. Haven't had a mouse visit yet, but I have thought of it several times!
I have a similar idea... Would love to chat about how you did it. Maybe get a couple pics? I have a CZcams channel, TomLovesDIY where I post videos mostly about backpacking DIY projects.
Nice review!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😊
Great video. You might just need to add another wrap to the prusik loop to keep it from sliding up the ridgeline.
Thanks! And I did try adding another loop after shooting the video. It didn't help, I think the line is just a bit too slippery, but that's a simple fix!
I use a North Face O2, double wall tent. Only 2.3 pounds all in. It's a terrific tent for one person under 6 foot tall. But as I'm trying to drop 3 pounds carry weight, I'm considering the Deschutes Plus to get me part way there. Makes sense to me that adding a bathtub floor increases utility without adding much weight. It looks like the bug net isn't attached all the way around; not near the zipper. Does that give bugs an entry point? Another commentor added a bug net "screen door". Makes sense but the ewsight is starting to creep toward my O2.
Great review. Do you like the Deschutes more than the X Mid 1? Which is easier to pitch?
Good review! I'm a pretty firm believer that Minnesota is the ideal land of double wall tents: it's either too buggy or too wet and nearly all of the state's long distance trails are water-heavy (how many campsites on the SHT are on a river, lake, or beaver pond?). That's not to say single wall shelters don't work, of course, but this isn't the Intermountain West. Still, I understand the desire for minimalism; I just got back from a weekend on the NCT near Itasca and while the weather was great for a GG Twinn Tarp, the dog and I probably would have ended up with less ticks in a fully enclosed shelter. It's always something, I guess. Are there any similar shelters besides the Zpacks Hexamid? Either way, I think it's time to sew some perimeter nettings to the X-Mid.
Thank you!
Haha I unfortunately agree with you most of the time, double walls really just work well up here. This weekend I was up on the Superior Trail taking my parents out backpacking for the first time and we were at Indian Creek Campsite with an enormous amount of condensation throughout the night. I'm glad I stuck my parents in my XMid 2p, that thing dealt with the condensation fine, but they both definitely slept a lot colder.
I haven't seen anything like this with perimeter netting, but besides the Hexamid, comparable shelters I'd look at are the Altaplex, the Lunar Solo, the Lanshan 1 / 1 Pro, REI Flash Air 1, Big Sky Wisp, and probably the TT Protrail. All are single wall, single pole shelters, and of the group, the Lunar Solo is probably the most well rounded, although the Altaplex is definitely the most desireable (maybe one day I'll get one!!).
I also agree, I want my XMid to have perimeter netting. Once Dan makes a single wall DCF XMid 1p, I think that might be my favorite shelter ever, since my only real complaint with that is lack of interior space.
Finally a decent review on this shelter! Do you still like it? I’ve heard that the stitching can be shoddy.
I keep finding your videos, very pleasant surprise, awesome review as usual, how would you compare it with your xmid1?
Why thank you! I was actually thinking a lot about comparing these two shelters recently, I just got back from 12 days in the Colorado Rockies and I took this tarp with me, but I wonder if the XMid would have been better for it. When it rained, I really felt constrained in this thing, and misting was a huge problem since the condensation management on this isn't great. I'm not sure if the XMid would have handled the difficult situations with ease (3 days of ceaseless rain and fog at 10000ft would be hard for any shelter so I'm not throwing the Deschutes Plus totally under the bus), but I think the double wall design and superior ventilation would have helped a lot.
My more general thoughts on these two shelters are as follows: The XMid is more comfortable, storm worthy, and easier to set up, but at 28oz vs the 22oz of my modified Deschutes Plus, it's quite a bit heavier, and for shorter trips, the lower weight of the Deschutes usually convinces me to take it instead of the XMid. However, I think I'm well in the area of personal preference, and I would not recommend the Deschutes Plus to anyone, it's simply has too many trade-offs to be a good overall recommendation. The XMid does not have such limitations, and is much easier to recommend to anyone, even with the weight disadvantage (and I feel I'm being a bit unfair, it's a solid double wall tent for 28oz!).
I can definitely ramble on more about the two shelters, maybe one day I'll make a video comparing all my tents 😅
@@TaylorPassofaro thanks so much for this detailed analysis! I'm definitely leaning towards getting the xmid 1p and 2p like you did, just need to wait till they're available now...
Have you looked at the slingfin splitwing at all? Also love your reveiws
Thank you!
I have looked at the splitwing, Slingfin is an awesome company, I really like their style. However, I don't think I'm a tarp and bivy person, the bug issues in MN make me feel like I'm always going to want a fully enclosed shelter I can sit up in and relax a bit after a day of fighting the mosquitoes.
Additionally, the style of the splitwing makes me feel like I'd rather just have a Tarptent Protrail since that's a really similar idea but with integrated netting.
Hello very nice review, what kind of poles do you use in the video?
Thank you :)
I'm using the Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Fiber Poles, I got them at Costco years ago and they're one of the few pieces of my ultralight backpacking setup that I haven't switched out as my knowledge and experience grew. If you are a serious ultralighter, I'd recommend checking out their two stage poles, they're much lighter and still quite affordable for carbon fiber.
Hey! I'm thinking of sewing in a floor into my own Deschutes tarp. I was wondering if you had the dimensions of the fabric you cut for the floor?
Would also love to know this!
Haha I actually just got back from 12 days in the Colorado Wilderness hiking the Collegiate Loop with this shelter, so I was off grid for a while! Unfortunately I do not have the dimensions, I literally set the tarp up as best as I could, spread out the floor fabric, and marked it with a sharpie. I really wish I also had a pattern, but it worked well enough.
Alright cool I'll try that, thanks!
Was ist das für ein Boden?
Please keep saying ham-mok as much as possible.
Haha I recently learned it's a Minnesota dialect thing, not sure when I picked it up 😅