Thru Hike with REI Quarter Dome 1. Will it do the job?

[Time Zone]

Once again, thank you cspan for the in depth replies. You helped me a lot. Went down to REI this morning and purchased the quarter dome 1 and the footprint. I know it is on sale because a new model will be out soon. However, an "ultralight" tent that could make an A T thru hike and footprint for under $200 has to be a bargain. Thanks to everyone.

Kudos! I hope it works for you, and you post a review sometime after you've had a chance to use it. A sale prior to a new model release is common - that's how I got my LLB Microlight 2 for about half of what the the new version goes for now. They ended up shaving 30% weight off in the new model - through use of thinner materials of course. I'm happy to have saved the money instead ... I'm not sold on the notion that you can keep thinning out material without consequences to durability and function.

I agree with ScareBear, I wouldn't worry about condensation issues - the QD1 will likely have a bit less than others, all else being equal, due to its vent (that's one feature I wish mine had, but I can vent decently thru 2 side entry doors). Condensation is affected by many variables anyway, only one of which is tent design.

Best wishes on your thru! When/where do you plan to start?

[methodman]

Its a long time, but not as long as it has been. I retire the end of 2018 and plan to start the beginning of March, 2019.

[methodman]

NOBO is the plan.

[Offshore]

Hard to go wrong with the QD series. Just be aware that you will find a disproportionate amount of cottage/UL/tarp proponents here that will vehemently disagree with (e.g., condemn) anything but a cottage maker/UL/or single wall tarp, so take what you read with a grain of salt. The Quarter Domes are on clearance now as there is a significant redesign coming in Spring 2017. Details on the new design are at http://newsroom.rei.com/spring-2017/tents/ They talk about the QD2, but mention that the new design is coming in 1, 2, and 3 person variants.

[Offshore]

Appalachian Trials (now "The Trek") had some recent stats on shelter systems used on the AT. Tents were the shelter system of choice for AT long-distance hikers, while 13 percent of hikers used Tarptents, 7 percent used hammocks, and 1.5 percent used a tarp alone. https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...-hiker-survey/

[Franco]

On that small survey, over 1/3rd used a shelter from a cottage manufacturer. 35.7% listed by brand plus there would be some small numbers included under "others" .
Traptent 12.3
ZPacks 12.3
SMD 5
LightHeartGear 3.9
HMG 2.2
I suppose someone used an MLD shelter too.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

I found that I rarely tented on the AT, but when I had to, it was important. Once I spent a whole day in the tent, waiting for the rain and snow to stop. Make sure, if you need to sit up in it, that you can.

[methodman]

Height is 37.5" Kinda close but should be ok. I don't plan to spend the entire trip in hostels and shelters. However, I do plan to do whatever is needed to make it!

[Time Zone]

Appalachian Trials (now "The Trek") had some recent stats on shelter systems used on the AT. Tents were the shelter system of choice for AT long-distance hikers, while 13 percent of hikers used Tarptents, 7 percent used hammocks, and 1.5 percent used a tarp alone. https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...-hiker-survey/

Despite the fancy stats they like to post at the end of the article, the study design strikes me as weak. Apparently they rely on self-selected survey participants to requests on Facebook to AT-hiking related groups, and the responses are self-reported. I concede it could turn out to be reasonably accurate, but I see no reason to assume one gets a representative sample that way.

[Time Zone]

Height is 37.5" Kinda close but should be ok. I don't plan to spend the entire trip in hostels and shelters. However, I do plan to do whatever is needed to make it!

I suspect you'll be fine on this count: I'm an inch taller than you, my tent's peak height is 36", and I don't hit the roof even when sitting on a sleeping pad in my bag. I suspect one reason why is that I don't sit bolt-upright when I do so - there's always at least some sort of curve to my back. In such a position, I'm usually reading, so I'm looking down.

And it's not because I'm all legs/short torso either ... I'm not.

Alldownhillfromhere makes a good point. When I was young I did some of the AT in a bivy-style hoop tent (design-wise, it was a cousin/ancestor of the Eureka Solitaire) and that was not such a great choice. Changing in it was quite a tribute to the contortionist's art. I could not really read in the tent unless I either held the book above my face while on my back (that doesn't last long!) or propped myself up on my elbows while on my stomach (that's rough before too long as well). I suppose that, on a bug-free night you could in theory open the top of the Solitaire up and sit up and read that way, but the AT in summer ... there may not be many such nights. Fortunately for me I never had to spend a day in it waiting out foul weather. So be glad that you will be able to sit up!

[methodman]

I can appreciate that.

[capehiker]

There's a new and revised Quarter Dome coming out in 2017 and 5 ounces heavier.
https://gearjunkie.com/review-rei-qu...dome-tent-2017

[pilgrimskywheel]

IMAG0082.jpg Hers's why the QD2 is now my "lucky dome" - the tree in the foreground wasn't there when we turned in for the night, and my head was in the corner closest too it when it landed. Olallie Lake 2014 with "Rollergirl" and the infamous "Log" (AT12). I find the 2 tight quarters now for two, but alone as "just" a useless section hiker I bring my pack in stretch out and get cozy.

[methodman]

That would have made the tent useless. I mean all the poop in the tent as soon as the log fell.

[Time Zone]

IMAG0082.jpg the QD2 is now my "lucky dome"

Clearly, your QD2 has some sort of falling-tree-repellent applied at the factory. So what methodman needs to figure out is if that feature comes standard with his QD1, if he has to get the new version, or if there's an aftermarket falling-tree-repellent* for DIYers.

*a cheaper, stinker version is probably available at ag supply stores.

[methodman]

Already have the old version so maybe if I perform voodoo over it I might get that feature.

[methodman]

.My young son and I went camping in the SNP about 30 yrs ago and got caught in a wind storm in the middle of the night. We heard stuff hitting the ground all around us. In the morning there was lumber down all over the place. The wind storm had topped most of the trees around us. He still has the tent.

[Rex Clifton]

I would opt for either more $$ or more weight and get a two person tent. This is going to be your home for six months, you don't want it to feel like a coffin! My recommendations would be a BA Fly Creek UL2 or, if you really want to splurge, a Zpacks Duplex.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Offshore]

Despite the fancy stats they like to post at the end of the article, the study design strikes me as weak. Apparently they rely on self-selected survey participants to requests on Facebook to AT-hiking related groups, and the responses are self-reported. I concede it could turn out to be reasonably accurate, but I see no reason to assume one gets a representative sample that way.

What do you mean by "fancy" stats? I think the fonts, colors and charts are pretty standard. As far as your concern for the participants being self-selected, of course they are - the selection bias being that they are thruhikers. What other group would you ask about use of shelters, packs, boots etc. on an AT thuhike? As far as the survey itself suffering from selection bias, its difficult to evaluate, since the author didn't detail her survey methods - but then again, she didn't present this in a peer-reviewed academic journal and never claimed it as anything other than an informal survey (despite the nice charts). I think you're either reading too much into the survey or its not showing what you expected or agree with. Don't forget that participants in this site are self-selected and that out in the real world, I think you'd find a minority of thruhikers had spent any real time on this site, much less participated in it. Likewise, it would be interesting to see how many regulars here thruhiked or even how often they are on the AT in a given year.

[Time Zone]

What do you mean by "fancy" stats?

Quoting bivariate Pearson correlations, R-squared, F-tests, p-values, etc. [for instance see "notes for nerds" on the backpack survey].
IMO it's a bit much for something that is simply an "informal survey" of those on social media, as you termed it. It's a mismatch - informal survey, formal stats.

The selection bias is more than thru-hikers. It's limited to a) those who are on social media and b) those who respond to survey requests on social media. And it's not clear there's a way to prevent phony responses. I'm not saying that they should have people at Springer and Katahdin with clipboards tracking everyone who is a true thru hiker ... though that could be more accurate ... I'd just lose all the fancy stats.