Hey all -- I haven't posted here in years. Had a couple kids. Been busy. Ha!

On a few of my infrequent trips over the past few years (Rainier, Shuksan...), I've used only a BD Mega Light as my primary shelter option. It has always worked sufficiently well for me and up to three other partners, but the times that I've taken it, I haven't experienced significant winds. (Maybe 30-ish mph max without exaggeration.)

I'm thinking about picking up the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid, but before I drop that kind of serious coin, I'd be interested to hear if anyone on here has experience with any sort of 'mid shelter in winds exceeding 30-40 mph? If so, how did you fare?

I realize a lot of the performance will depend on the specifics of the situation (how anchored, how pitched, what center pole is used, snow walls or other buffers, etc.) but I'd still be very curious to hear from anyone with actual experience. Many thanks!

I sat out a miserable storm in the Bugaboos in a mid. Wind and sleet/snow for a couple of days. It was fully guyed out with a small rock wall protecting it. Couldn't tell you wind speeds but they're right as rain when pitched well.

I'd argue that they're better than a tent in high wind situations because the centre pole tends to just fall down, rather than break like a tent pole may.

beean wrote:I'd argue that they're better than a tent in high wind situations because the centre pole tends to just fall down, rather than break like a tent pole may.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Have you ever had the center pole fall over in a 'mid? If so, any idea how much it was blowing? Or were there other contributing circumstances?

I've heard that argument before that 'mids are arguably better than tents. I'd like to believe it, as it would support the decision I'm already making to opt for the light weight and slim package of a 'mid over a tent, but I haven't ever seen any real evidence to back it up.

I've had a Moss Big Dipper aka MSR Storm King with I think five or six crisscrossing poles in a sturdy dome tent (though admittedly not guyed out as well as it could have been) in winds that were at least 40-50 mph. Some people were estimating as much as 60 mph, but many people over estimate wind speeds. I've spent enough time calibrating my own judgment with an anemometer to be fairly accurate in my estimates. Typically within 5 mph or so. Anyway, the tent poles never broke, but they were bent like crazy as the wind gusts slammed the tent walls inward and onto us lying on the tent floor, inverting the dome and leaving the poles pretty much useless. I'm sure if we had guyed the tent better we probably could have escaped without severely bent poles, but I've often wondered how a strong 'mid properly guyed would have fared in that storm.

We used my BD Mega Mid on Rainier and even with all of the guy lines fastened down it got flattened when the wind hit 40-50 mph. Once we got it anchored down again it flapped all night keeping us awake. I would not use it again if I expected conditions that were similar.

bob

reboyles wrote:We used my BD Mega Mid on Rainier and even with all of the guy lines fastened down it got flattened when the wind hit 40-50 mph. Once we got it anchored down again it flapped all night keeping us awake. I would not use it again if I expected conditions that were similar.

Bob -- What were you using for a center pole? Trekking poles with the coupler kit? The BD pole for their 'mids? Did any of the anchors pop out to contribute to the collapse? Or did the pole itself just not withstand the wind and fall over inside the pitched 'mid? What were you using for anchors to stake and guy it out?

We used the BD supplied pole for the center. I had guy lines tied to every point and the wind got under it and lifted the whole thing up like a parachute. All of the anchor points pulled out at once. One minute we were in our tent and a few seconds later we were lying on bare ground looking at the sky. We quickly set it up again using as many rocks as we could find and it held but we couldn't stop the flapping no matter how tight we pitched it.

bob

Here's a review of the HMG Ultamid 2 from a guy who seems fairly experienced: http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/hyperlite-mountain-gear-ultamid-2-and-insert

In the review, he says he's used several tents/shelters (Black Diamond: Mega Light, HiLight, Firstlight, Tempest, I-tent; Big Agnes: String Ridge, Seedhouse SL, Fly Creek UL. GoLite: Shangrila 3; Mountain Hardwear: Light Wedge 2, Trango 3; Marmot: Asylum. The North Face: VE 25; Hilleberg Nammatj 3 (review forthcoming). Tarptent: Stratospire 1) and that he feels the Ultamid is as storm-worthy as any of those. He mentioned that he used it in verified winds of around 50 mph with some flapping, but no signs failure.

Had a megamid get flattened on Shasta once. A big gust hit and folded the pole in half. Middle of the night, the sound of the gust approaching woke us up and then it hit. I don't know the wind speed but probably the worst I've ever been in (that's in 40 years in the mountains). I very much doubt I would have been able to keep my feet had I been out in it.
Generally with pyramids it's all about the stakes placements. If you have stakes in solidly and you can get the pole pushed up tight from inside, they can handle a lot. But if the stakes are not solid it's over pretty quick, and if you can't adjust the pole to push up from the inside once you have it staked down solid you will have serious flapping.

paulzo wrote:Had a megamid get flattened on Shasta once.... But if the stakes are not solid it's over pretty quick, and if you can't adjust the pole to push up from the inside once you have it staked down solid you will have serious flapping.

Thanks, Paulzo. That's pretty much been my experience too as far as getting things solidly staked and the pole up so that everything is taut.

From the reviews I've read thus far, the HMG 'mids are easier to pitch tightly because of the non-stretch of the Dyneema fabric and the built in tensioners on the guy lines. Pretty sure I'm going to spring for it in the next few months. I'll come back and post a brief review.

TheBootfitter wrote:
Have you ever had the center pole fall over in a 'mid? If so, any idea how much it was blowing? Or were there other contributing circumstances?

Yeah just once, we set up on smooth rock and my pole tip didn't grab it so well. Poor site selection I guess. Was probably blowing around 40km/hr with occasional gusts.

I picked one up and have been pretty impressed so far. Of course, I've only set it up in the backyard at this point, and it has only seen winds up to 10-ish mph. As mentioned previously, I think the structural integrity will depend very heavily on how it is staked and guyed, but for a four-person shelter weighing under 2 lbs, I think it is worth a little extra preparation to get it set up well. There's no doubt in my mind that this will be more solid than the Megalight I've been using up until now.

Construction quality appears to be excellent so far. There are a couple minor design features that I have already suggested to them, but they may have already considered the ideas and found a good reason to go a different direction.

Their customer service has been excellent! Very prompt answering questions and giving me valuable information to help make the right purchase for my situation. (I'm ordering a couple other items from them as well.)

A few comments after having used the Ultamid a bit and talked to some other folks.

One weak point in a mid in extreme winds appears to be the zipper. Even the super strong Ultamid has only a #5 YKK zipper. If the winds are blowing "right," that is a potential point of failure. Hasn't happened, and I'm sure it would take a lot, but something to consider.

Also, when conditions are really bad, not having a vestibule as a buffer between outside and inside could be either mildly annoying to outright dangerous.

We were considering taking one as a primary shelter for Denali, but these two items were really what held us back. Still planning to use it as a solid cook rent, and depending on how it fares there, it may be our emergency bivy for summit day. We shall see...

TheBootfitter wrote:
We were considering taking one as a primary shelter for Denali, but these two items were really what held us back. Still planning to use it as a solid cook rent, and depending on how it fares there, it may be our emergency bivy for summit day. We shall see...

It would be very effective as a cook shelter on Denali, the old BD Megamids were routinely used at the 17k camp. One thing to consider, with a nice cook tent, you could go with a lightweight 'sleeping' tent, like an Event Integral Designs MK1 Lite. I've used mine in Alaska for technical routes, would not want to spend a lot of time hanging out in it, but with a good cook tent you have a place to sit and read, talk, play checkers, whatever. Just a thought.

ExcitableBoy wrote:It would be very effective as a cook shelter on Denali, the old BD Megamids were routinely used at the 17k camp. One thing to consider, with a nice cook tent, you could go with a lightweight 'sleeping' tent, like an Event Integral Designs MK1 Lite. I've used mine in Alaska for technical routes, would not want to spend a lot of time hanging out in it, but with a good cook tent you have a place to sit and read, talk, play checkers, whatever. Just a thought.

Not a bad thought at all. I did consider going that route, and after thinking about it from your perspective, I may have to reconsider it again. I've got an ID MK3 XL. A little bigger/heavier than the MK1, but still relatively light for a 2-person mountaineering tent at under 5 lbs. We ended up opting for the extra space in the Hilleberg Nammatj 3 GT (7 lbs 15 oz). After looking at many options and talking things through, we felt the daily living space was worth the weight penalty on a 3-week trip.