wind/winter performance of betamid/betalight

[eeyun]

I know a few people here use these shelters, and I'm wondering specifically how they hold up to our west coast winters. I would only be using it asa winter shelter, so bugs aren't an issue, but wind/snow shedding and condensation are. I would plan on buying the additional floor, as I don't have a bivy to keep my bag dry.

 

This would also be my primary mountaineering shelter for volcanoes and other local stuff when weather might be an issue.

 

Would those who use these shelters reccomend them over a traditional mountaineering tent for these applications? I'd rather carry less if I can get away with it, but I don't want to get blown off the side of a mountain either. For reference, the tents I'm considering are the TGV and Lightfield from MEC.

 

Essentially, if you could have one winter shelter would it be a betamid/betalight or a more traditional tent?

 

Thanks in advance!

[letsroll]

Your kidding right?? I have taken the Megalight on a couple of trips and it worked but you better be below tree line and choose your spot wisely. If you do use it make sure your well ventalated. half inch gap at the bottom will prevent condensation. Also make sure your deadman are bomber!!! It is a great tent but I would only take it in good or decent weather, otherwise it is ID MK3 for me. Light and bomber, don't have to worry as much about where I camp. Also digging/flattening a platform or building walls takes 1/3 the time than it does withe the MegaMid. Oh I would forget the floor. Never had one and I have never missed it. that way you can dig a foot well inside your tent to put your boots. Also if you have to piss in the middle of the night just roll over I take a closed cell foam pad for on the snow and a blow up for comfort/warmth.

[eeyun]

Fair enough, this would be used above treeline more often than below so it seems my choice is pretty clear.

[EastCoastBastard]

I don't feel like studying at the moment, so I'll weigh in on this one. I've got a Betamid, and love it - I use it all year 'round, it works very well in the winter, shedding snow etc... but it's not a mountaineering tent. For ski tours and stuff it's great. I have used it on Rainier in the summer, bearing in mind that the weather was good. I bought the floor, and I like it, but I don't carry it very often, just when it's super muddy.

 

As far as wind goes - I've never been above treeline with it during a storm and I wouldn't really want to be.

 

I have used the lightfield and looked carefully at the TGV - both are very nice, but the lightfield, I think, is more well rounded, much more liveable than the TGV, which is a winter/cold weather tent. For the price of the TGV, you could get a TGV and a Betamid and be set for all sorts of winter adventures.

 

I wouldn't buy it if this was going to be the only tent I own. It's great below treeline, in winter and summer, but it's not something I would want to sit out a storm in where it's exposed. The TGV is quite nice for a storm.

 

Cheers

 

G

Edited August 19, 2007 by EastCoastBastard

[Ovr40]

I've used the megamid above treeline several times and it has held up well, even in stormy conditions. As a winter or snowcamping tent, it is easy to deadman and bury the bottom edges of each side.

The two biggest disadvantages in my opinion are:

1. Flapping fabric is very noisy in high, even moderate winds, as the tent cannot be pitched very tight. (Well, maybe it could be if you worked hard enough.)

2. As with any floorless tarp, it can be very dirty. While camping on the volcanic ash at Sunrise Camp on Adams, a summer storm filled my sleeping bag, pack, and body orifices with grit and dust. (Also, laying next to the aluminum center pole caused a little concern when the same storm dropped a LOUD lightening strike within a few hundred yards.)

 

It proved to be a good shelter for a three man team at Camp Sherman during moderate weather.

 

[Chad_A]

Dan and I used his Betamid (or Betalight?) in the Stuart Range in some shitty late spring conditions; I only had a light down bag (32 degrees) and it proved to be a nice roomy shelter, relatively speaking.

 

That said, I'd felt like I'd gotten away with something on that trip. If it were my only winter mountaineering shelter, I'd search elsewhere. Or, if it were, I'd back it up with something, say, like a BD Winter Bivy just to make sure that my bag was somewhat protected.

 

What exactly are you looking for? For the Coast Range, or do you want to use it on Rainier? One thing I've learned, is that, if you're suspecting bad, wet weather, an extra pound or two is worth the security of a nice, bombproof tent. Sometimes, if you try to go a tad too light, you can screw your chance to "wait it out" for better weather.

 

But, who cares what I think?

[DPS]

I have used a Betamid for four season use for the last 5 years, in fact it is the only tent I have used for the last five years for climbs in the lower 48 and Canada. I am impressed by its space to weight ratio and how weather proof it is.

 

I use it above treeline all the time and it has with stood some stormy conditions (wind to `35 mph, snow, rain). I actually think its ideal use is in winter when you can stake it out with skis. It sheds snow very well. That said, I have had a number of partners who were less impressed with it because it allows breezes in under the bottom.

 

Some cons: Condensation is an issue and in very hard rain storms small loops sewn into the shelter to allow internal and external guylines wick water into the shelter. The poles that support the shelter serve as chasity poles so you can't get too close to your sweetie.

[goatboy]

There is an appreciable difference between the megamid (single pole, pyramid shape) and the betamid (circus tent, two trekking poles, lower profile) in terms of wind resistance.

 

The MEGAmid is like a great sail in the wind.

 

The betamid is much better in general for wind and storm resistance.

 

The best thing I have found in this family of tents, especially for mid-summer application, is the beta-bug, which is a bug net that sets up inside the betamid, or as a stand-alone shelter (which is what I tend to use it for). Awesome for those east side July evenings when the mosquitos stack up on the walls of the tent like vampires....

[snoboy]

fern has a good deal of Megamid experience I believe. I've spent some winter time in it with her, and it worked OK, but I wouldn't want to rely on it in a howling storm, that's for sure.

 

Some tips I have learnt (mostly from fern)

 

-the boot well

-if expecting snow, dig a trench around the tent after setting up, this goves the shedding snow somewhere to go, and keeps your walls from getting squished in.

-there's so much space you don't really need to worry about the wall condensation

 

[studklimer]

If you want to get a tent, like a tarp tent, that can be used for mountaineering (on volcanoes, where there's plenty of room) you could consider the Mountain Hardwear Kiva. It is light, a four season tent, and sleeps up to four, comfortably. It is a lot like the Megamid, but I have found it to be more versatile, with more adjustments available. I used it for a few years, in the winter and in horrible weather.

[eeyun]

Thanks for all the opinions everyone.

 

I am still undecided as to whether I'd get enough use out of a Betalight to justify the (admitedly cheap) price tag. I am still debating between a bivy bag and a betalight weighing pros and cons of each for both summer and winter use.

 

As far as an actual mountaineering tent goes, I have been eyeing the Big Agnes Madhouse 2, although reviews are tough to come by.

[Plinko]

Outdoor Research makes a nice version of the Betamid, they call it the Nighthaven. It has a few improvements over the Betamid, like a top vent to reduce condensation, and floor flaps that extend below the ground level to cut down on spindrift. It's close to the same weight and form factor when rolled up, and costs just a tad less than the Betamid.