I also asked her for a couple of Alpkit Hunka's as well. I'm hoping she's forgotten about them, so that I can get a couple of Borah gear bivy's instead. Hopefully I can be lucky and avoid customs charges on those to. Matt I see from your blog you use the Borah gear bivy, how do you rate it?
MLD Trailstar
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Sorry mate, only just seen this reply
Yeah I've got a Borah bivy, mine's a custom one so it's slightly different to those on the Borah site but not much, I've had it over a year now and it's still going strong. I've been very pleased with it, there's a small amount of fraying on the inside but nothing to worry about. It's quite a simple flat design, there's no bath tub style floor built in which i suppose could potentially improve the protection it offers from water underneath but this hasn't been a problem as in practice the sides do kind of form a bath tub once you're in the bivy.
The one pain is the Silnylon floor, but that's the materials fault not the bivy. It's very slippery and can be a bit of a PITA if you're pitched on a bit of a slope. I've added a load of dots of silicon which has helped the mat from slipping around inside the bivy but the whole thing can slide a little if on a slope.
On a couple of of occasions I've woken to find my feet outside the Trailstar door and thick frost on top of the bivy above my feet
The M90 seems to breathe very well, condensation on the inside hasn't been a problem and the DWR is pretty good for the odd rain drop/frost but obviously not up to surviving a direct shower etc. Do you want a bivy for bug protection or just to help protect you from the weather? If the latter I've recently spotted a new bivy similar in design to the Hunka which looks good, fully waterproof and very breathable, and is lighter than my Borah bivy. Tempted to get one myself for better weather protection under an open tarp
Spill the beans then
I like my MLD Superlight, at just shy of 200g I'm happy to carry that kind of weight
Spill the beans then
I like my MLD Superlight, at just shy of 200g I'm happy to carry that kind of weight
I do like the look of the MLD bivy and if I'd of had the pennies it'd have probably been the one I went for... maybe with the cuben floor...
The Borah Gear one has been very good though, everything I wanted, especially for the price. The new one I spotted is here, just double checked and I was wrong about it as it's 1,000mm 'waterproof', I had it in my head it was the 20,000mm Pertex Shield+ but it's not, it's Pertex Endurance
I'll stick to my Borah bivy
Thanks for the feedback Matt on the Borah bivy, my wife has informed me she has ordered a couple of Hunka's, (I hope that's what she meant!). I'll probably order a Sea to Summit nano mosie net, for bug season and use it on its own or with the Hunka. Maybe in the future I'll get a Borah or an Ookworks inner or Bearpawed or some such like. Not long until my birthday then I can seam seal it and go use it. It's a shame I've got to wait as I'm off to the Brecon beacons on Friday, I'll be taking my foxhole bivy plus dd tarp for me & my alpkit delta for my son. Wish I was taking the trailstar though!
I think Ron is quite happy to make them as the orders come through, to create enough stock for a distributor then it becomes a bind and probably more work than he'd like.
Get one ordered, they're well worth the wait and the possible import tax sting
I think there definitely worth the punt, it only took 11 days (I think) from order to delivery & I didn't get stung for tax either. I aim to sleep out in it tonight with my Alpkit Hunka XL bivy bag and skyehigh sleeping bag. Now to plan a wild camp trip and hope I fair better than last the one 2 weeks ago where for the second time this year I got blown off Pen Y Fan by horrendous wind winter weather, but that's another story!
The more I look at these trail stars the more I'm loving them!! They look like a really nice bit of kit!! I've got a small shelter that weighs 600g, it's the apply trails 3, the only problem with it is the location of the the pole takes away a lot of usable space!!
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You've just got to look at Matts pics if you need any convincing Steve ...
http://outdoorsmh.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-e.html
They're a palace for one but easily take two or three. Some folk moan about the large footprint but I've never struggled to pitch it, you can just pitch it over rocks or small bushes and still find a place to set your bed inside.
Well I survived the night, although it wasn't originally forecast to rain, it rained fairly heavily from about 3 in the morning. Fortunately I slept at the back and it wasn't too windy so no rain reached the back and if it had I was in a bivy bag anyway. When I seam sealed the trailstar earlier, I followed the instructions in the link Mat supplied and thinned the silnet down in the following ratio 3:1 white spirit to silnet before applying. I have to say it worked very well and no leaks were found, I really love the space and the versatility of pitching options with the trailstar.
To anyone thinking of getting one, all I can say is do it, you won't regret it!
To anyone thinking of getting one, all I can say is do it, you won't regret it!
One of my best purchases ever
Good stuff, sounds like a successful first night. I'm still amazed by how much it doesn't move in the wind
Never knew they did a bigger version, is it a recent addition to the family?
http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=187
http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=187
Never knew they did a bigger version, is it a recent addition to the family?
http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=187
Fairly recent yeah, looks like a bit of a monster doesn't it!
Also just released their own inner for the TS - http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=214 Looks ok but not a bit fan of the zip arrangement.
Thanks for posting that Matt, looks like a real competitor to the Oookworks and probably a shorter lead time than Sean's creations to. Shame it's not a double, or I could get one for me and leave the boy in a bivy bag outside (maybe a touch harsh)! All being well I'll be using the trailstar in anger at the end of the month (in the garden doesn't count). Hmm now to get a lighter weight cook system.....
Ive got one of these. Very good bit of kit. ideal for just boiling water for rats and brews and weighs very little.
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co...trail-designs-caldera-keg-f-stove-system-p569
