Great ultralight shelter, beginner's tarp, 8/13/2008
Reviewer: Doug (Fort Montgomery, NY)
I was looking for an ultralight one-person shelter for my northbound Appalachian Trail thru-hike and found it in the GoLite Lair 1. Unfortunately it had been discontinued. I was in luck, however, as Moab Sports still had one available (I might have gotten the last one in the world!).
I took it with me on the trail, along with 6 of the Y stakes (more on them later), a Backpacking Light Air-Core nano guyline kit, and a Gossamer Gear polycro ground sheet. The shelter proved perfect for me: easy to set up, able to withstand heavy wind and rain (provided you pitch it into the prevailing wind), and never so heavy that I had thoughts of sending it home. The tarp gave me more than enough covered space, and as I got better at pitching it, I found I could achieve a tall enough form so as to sit up and kneel in the front section comfortably. In my 1005 miles on the trail, I only pitched it 7 or 8 times, but it will get more use in the future.
One area I will lighten up in my kit is definitely the stakes. While the GoLite stakes are reasonably light and functional, I would have preferred the classic hook design (easier to remove from the ground, no sharp edges) and a lighter material (thinking hi-visibility titanium). Not a huge deal, but on long hikes, every ounce makes a difference.
