MLD Trailstar
- Thread starter Headshed
- Start date
You might find this article by Martin Rye handy regarding seam sealing. The template is a neat tip if you want a tidy job without fuss.
Thanks for that I'll give it a look. Thanks Rich for the seam sealing advice as well.
Ooooooo that's floating my boat! Thanks, little worrying there's no price on it lol
I've emailed a custom tarp repair centre that's done a little bit of stuff for me in the past, to see how much an MLD would cost in 12oz olive canvas with the odd tweak here and there on it!
Luke
Ninja edit.... £399 I'll give it a miss lol
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Just re read your post, cuben Duomid sounds interesting but too expensive for me, has anyone done a back to back review comparing the sil duomid against the sil Trailstar, I'm guessing apart from a door there's not much in it. Can you still use treking poles or do you need a longer be-spoke pole with the duomid? Any thoughts on which is more weather proof, ie wind?You're going to love it, there's no better shelter out there sub 1 kilo imho.
I've been curious about the cuben DuoMid for a while so I've taken a punt on one of these too, a friend is bringing it over from the US when he comes in Feb, very excited
I have the sil Duomid and I was chatting to podcast bob at Tarfside on the TGOChallenge and he mentioned that quite a few folk who have used both favour the Duo for the smaller pitching space and more vertical space inside.
I've not used a trail star myself but seen a fair few and although I love the look and the idea, I'm sticking with my Duomid (mainly as I can't afford both )
I've not used a trail star myself but seen a fair few and although I love the look and the idea, I'm sticking with my Duomid (mainly as I can't afford both
)Maybe I've opted for the wrong one! However I'm a sucker for form over function! I think pitch space isn't going to be an issue where I tend to wild camp and pitched at 120cm high it's still higher than my Alpkit Delta, or my Hooped bivy bag (If I'm stuck inside). Do you use a treking pole with the Duomid?
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I doubt you will regret it to be honest. I use two pacer poles joined with a wee pole from Backpackinglight.co.uk (nifty wee thing- you remove the bottom section from both poles and fire the joining pole in and tighten it like you do the other sections).
I managed to grab a piece of 18mm pole from Heather at Pacer which lets me take the handle sections off and use join the bottom two sections together.
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Very Heath Robinson I know, but I use a 6-7" bit of pine perhaps 1.75" wide which is very light and a bit bulky but free!
Just watched Tony Hobbs you tube comparison between the duomid and trailstar, the footprint is startlingly different, I think for my son & I the trailstar will be fine. Just need to get him a bivvy bag now, probably an Alpkit Hunka & I'll carve up and old Coleman sun cannopy into a bathtub ground sheet. Are the polycro ground cloths any good, as an alternative to a diy bathtub?
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Polycro is just thin but tough plastic. It is punctured more easily than say sil nylon or rip stop but costs pennies. Tyvek is another option but bulkier and not truly waterproof.
Great stuff, although you can't blame me if you don't like it
Yeah the guy line mod for the door looks like a good one, I just switched the guy the one time I've needed to move the door but his method is less fiddly, especially if it's cold or poring down.
Seems like an age ago now, pretty sure the first time I sealed it I didn't thin it down, just got a small brush and daubed it on whilst pitched. I have resealed around the top and mitten hooks fairly recently though and that time I thinned it down, definitely made it easier to work with and get a neater result. Plus some say thinning it down allows it to soak in to the threads a little better meaning it's more efficient at proofing the seam so it's worth thinning it down a little I reckon.
If you can do it on a dry day so you can pitch it and apply the sealant whilst it's pitched, again I think this might help it get in to the seams and threads a little better, but then what do I know
Make sure you let us know when it arrives and how you get on with it
Matt
Thanks for reply, I guess I may go with the polycro until I get my bottom in gear and make a DIY bathtub. If I'm using bivvy bags then I only need a groundsheet for storage & maybe near the entrance for ingress / egress.
