Nice! Another sweet offering from Kifaru.

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?2160-New-Kifaru-Megatarp

That does look pretty handy. I wonder how the mid wall tie-outs are constructed? A decent sized cordura patch on the backside of that point should get the job done. Looks from the pics like that's what it has.

I need to get into tarp living. Not sure this is the way to start ($$$), but it just adds to the intrigue of sleeping under a tarp.

Sew your own.

Get Ray Jardines book Tarp Essentials.

A little GE silicone with a few tack stitches can accomplish that anywhere on a sil tarp.

I guess Paratipis just about stopped selling. I still ain't feeling the love for this shelter. Patrick steadfastly refuses to design a shelter of this size that has a stove jack AT THE END OF THE SHELTER without having to buy and mess with an annex.

I think Patrick has the right idea about the stove jacks on the annex ..Not everyone wants a stove, no sense in having a Jack on a shelter if you're not gonna use a stove...

That is silly. How many Kifaru shelter owners don't own a stove? The added weight argument won't fly either 'cause stove jacks can be made to be removeable. Seek Outside does.

The zipper on each end makes sense. Have the stove on the far end and be able to unzip and dump firewood near the stove. In otherwords, a Paratipi with proper stove placement, with a zipper added (and this one could be a #5 to save an ounce or two) to service the stove. In other words, what people have been asking for on the Kifaru Forum for years.

I'm not feeling the love on this one

Profit is all about upgrades, extras and add ons these days.

Kifaru seems to do this best...

As for the shleter itself, it looks cool. I do not think I would want to use it in a place that would see a lot of wind. If I was in a base camp in the timber I could see using it as a "wood shed". I do not think I need a $350+ wood shed though, a tarp will do just fine.

I think upgrades, extras, and add-ons came about to address the needs of picky customers (we backcountry hunters are a picky lot, and no two of us can agree on anything), not to increase profit.

The demise of the Paratipi seems to be more due to the Sawtooth and probably some to the BCS. For a little more coin you get a bigger shelter with a better lay out.

The demise of the Paratipi is no doubt due to the poor design as TAK pointed out. Looks to me like a Warbonnet Superfly rework.

I doubt the Megatarp will have any issues in the wind when pitched correctly. It looks like it will cut the wind alot better than a BCS.

Actually the BCS performs very well in the wind

That it may. I doubt the Mega will fare any worse though seeing how much lower it is, hence my comment.

I also noticed the resemblance to the Warbonnet Superfly, a shelter which I learned about a few months ago. I see this and the new Kifaru offering as largely shelters for timbered country and prefer the tipi styles or a low dome tent for exposed, windy situations.

You CAN make different designs work in many ambient conditions, but, some traditional designs, as in the dome tent in heavy snowfall areas, are just better suited to specific conditions than are others.

If,I ever buy another shelter, except perhaps a Hille. Saitaris, it will be a BCS, no question. I have the utmost respect for EdT, who had quite a lot of input on it and trust his designs.

In fact, I intend to sell my Kifaru 8-man, as it is not quite large enough for my uses as they have evolved and will probably keep the K-stove, large, by Ed, for use outside under a tarp,so, I do not have to deal with windblown sparks, etc,from an open campfire.

Ha!...8 man's not big enough, but your next buy is gonna be a BCS?

Must be missing something here...or not.

And what does ANY of this have to do with the Megatarp?

I agree. No need putting any holes in the tarp itself when the stove port works perfectly fine in the Annex as designed.

Do you have more than one shelter? Many guys on a backpack hunting internet forum are gear nuts and have a lot of tents. Maybe the Kif 8 man isn't big enough for his use as a base camp or family camping tent and he'd rather have a 12 man.

The BCS is a great 1-2-3 person setup. Different uses.

Sorry, Ken,for confusing you, I should probably have been more detailed in my post. I tend to think of "shelters" in terms of small rigs, such as my ID bivies, tarptents and so forth and tents as my various ID and Hille. models and tipis as tipis. I was a bit unclear in my references in this respect and will try to do better.

Relevance,well, I guess that is "in the eye of the beholder" and we all post here as we see fit and based on whatever experience we might have. I, for example, based on years of living at altitude in very windy conditions,would choose a BCS over most "shelters" I see available and, given BC's climate, a Saitaris for most camping over a tipi, YMMV.

I want a larger tipi for my wife's comfort as I do not backpack a fully rigged 8-man, so,the extra weight of a 12 man is not an issue for me. I want the extra strength of the heavy duty model Kevin is introducing as I would have bought the heavier Kifaru, except Patrick discontinued it just before I purchased the three different K-tipis I have had since 2005. "Horses for courses" and all that, eh.

Hope this clarifies things as I would not want to confuse anyone.

Kute- Your not confusing me at all. It's just another example of mindless drivel on your behalf. None of it having any relavance to the Megatarp except for your noting that it reminds you of a rainfly designed for a hammock...lol...TFF. Rock on man.

While we are at it...whats your take on the much maligned Paratipi? Didn't you have one? You think the BCS would buck the wind better than a Paratipi? According to your classification of things, they both are shelters and not tents or tipis, right?.

Ken,
I have owned both. Guess which one I still have and will never part with.

The BCS weighs very little more, has WAY more room, way better design, and I don't have to low crawl to get into it. They both performed well in the wind. Not one over the other. Which I believe speaks to the quality of the BCS that it has done nothing but good things for me and stands about 2x taller, with less wall angle than the PT.

My gripes with the PT were the lack of space. On paper it has a bunch of space. But due to the angle of the side walls, you loose so much of it. Even one person with a small stove was cramped. I was either up against the stove, or up against a condensated wall. I even had the pipe in at an angle, pushing the stove away as much as possible. It is fairly long, and I wanted to keep my pack and what not at the foot of it in the unused space. But then to reach my pack, I couldn't just sit up and reach back. The rear drops too low. So I would have to swing my feet around toward the door, and almost low crawl again. Of course, getting condensation all over me in the process.

Honestly man, there are people out there that don't like Kifaru for whatever reason. I have had a lot of their products, and still have one or two. Most their offerings, prices, and lead times just aren't for me. Or a lot of people for that matter. No reason to get up in arms if someone opines about them negatively.

I know it is better compared to the Sawtooth, as BOTH of them are re-works of the older ID offerings. I just wanted to address your comments.

And where do you think Brandon got his "hammock" tarp design from schitbird? I have basically the same tarp made by a cottage guy in NC, works great on the ground, and didn't cost $350. Get your scrips filled and calm down.

TAK,
Got a link to that NC guy's site or any info????

Schitbird? GFY.

I can assure you Joe, the George tarp had nothing to do with the design of the Sawtooth.

Oh...and I wonder how the Kifaru Lynch Mob around here would react if one of Kifaru's new offerings grenaded like I hear a few of the original BCS's did??...schitt...you guys would want Patrick swingin from a tree before sundown.

What a riot.

Once again, a thread has gone off the rails, with name-calling and childish behavior. I'm really beginning to wonder if it's worth participating in this forum...

In the words of the recently deceased Rodney King, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"

Or, in the words of my dear old mother, "Grow up!"

<Rolls Eyes>

Scott

The WB pics I looked at showed a handfull of tie out points and a honkin cat cut along the edges that would contact the ground...no thanks. Besides...there's no Annex for a stove.

You can whine and cry all you want, but Patricks tarps are well built and VERY versitile.

I agree...I just don't understand it. The "Hunters Campfire" forum is full of this BS if that's your thing. I really don't understand it here. What's the point?

There's guys on here that will jump in feet first in the HC forum with all kinds of foulness over any subject just for kicks, then they come here and participate in the civil discussion of gear etc.

I sort of thought there were some "house rules" of sorts. One being you don't start whizzing contests and engage in name calling here. You want to do that, go to the HC forum. This forum was for civil discussion and civil disagreement when necessary, but a place to help others and learn from others.

Guess I was wrong. Then again, maybe not.
Maybe some people need to, in the words of Scott's mother, "GROW UP"!

Speak out against the K and you get the wrath!

No...post anything about K and get the wrath.

Gentelmen, first backpacks and now this....really, what have we become? Is not this a forum of like minded intelligent gear lovers and novices, that come together to learn and research? All manufacturers improve their products based on realistic customer feedback, not on undying customer devotion. It is fine to disagree and state facts. Gear is a personal choice, and we should respect others gear choices, even if they do match our own. Obvisously, there are some people here who love their gear, and can't imagine living without it, but we must be a group of fellows who teach why we love our gear....and to not simply love any gear that has a certain name on it. This is a forum after all, not a symposium.

Far be it from me to ever assert otherwise. The Paratarp is the finest LW shelter of it's type, IMO. The Super Tarp I've never seen. Patrick plowed new ground with the original silnylon tipi's with a stove jack, and, to borrow a phrase from Elmbow over at K forums, "Patrick is the T.A. Edison of packs."

Kevin, unfortunately it isn't about gear. It's about children getting their toes stepped on.

It is/was the Speer Winter Tarp made by Ed Speer. He no longer produces them. The Warbonnet stuff is the cutting edge hammock gear currently.

All the more reason for Patrick to model his Megatarp after...HA!

Damn you're dumb.

ding ding ding ding ding ding ding...we have a winner.

Your absolutely right RC.

I'll readily admit I see alot of copying going on in the biz lately, so it is, to a degree a lil bit about the gear...but moreso for me, I'm getting real irritated with all the constant chatter and baseless talk of supposed facts here with regards to Kifaru gear. I'm also irritated by people trying to hide the copying by saying "well so and so made one 150 years ago..."

BULLSCHITT.

That's only a "make yourself feel good for hopping on the shirtails of another business" excuse.

It's time to start calling a spade a spade around here and get over all the hiding behind thinly veiled lies.

The BCS isn't patterned after a Sawtooth...haha...HILARIOUS. Looks just like one only with steeper wind catching faces. Couple that with the fact that it was released shortly after the tooth.....aaaaaaannnddd...I dont think so...lol..

Breakaway Tarp? Hhmmm...looks JUST like a Supertarp or Paratarp.

Tipi's?...well nevermind...the Indians hold the patent for those.

WOW...just WOW...

Allright. Explain it to me.

Schitbird, they are both designs based on the ID George Tarp, which is itself based on much earlier designs.

It would take all night and since you've missed your meds you wouldn't get it anyway.

Integral designs had a 'George' tarp we copied and improved that. We don't know Patrick, and have seen only one of his tents. This is a fact and you can, take that to the bank! If you want to know, we actually wanted to buy a Kifaru tent, to take my father hunting but we couldn't figure on the pricing. So, I asked my wife to make one...and a company was born. We are straight shooters and offer you the chance to talk to us anytime you like. We like what our company has evolved into... We are proud of what we do, we are honest, and believe that our customers come first. Our integrity shines through all we do, we have had a couple hiccups and we have always put our customers first in the process. It is an honor to get families and hunters in the backcountry. Ken, please contact us anytime if you have questions. 970-901-0282 or [email protected] or you can just PM me here.

Right from the horses mouth the Sawtooth was based on the Supertarp. Not a quantum leap considering the lineage of Paratarp and Paratipi. About all Patrick knows about a George is that it's what EdT and Kevin caim they patterned the BCS after. What IS funny is producing gear that looks gdam near Kifarus, intro it AFTER Kifaru, and then do most all of your marketing right here on a Bpack hunting website...HAHA...nah...we aint copying nobody...

Nevermind.

So Capitalism is dead.? Thank god! all this competition is really making us a better company....I guess we can just just wait for those government tipis to come our way. I was thinking if we all had camels to hump our gear, all we would have to worry about were suicide bombers! Really, if we stole it we would own that fact! Come by for a tour of a BCS, we would love to have you over. Contact us anytime www.seekoutside.com, [email protected] or give us a call 970-901-0282... Or heck PM us here:) we love the BCS and might even do a special in your name!

Dude, are you Wyoming Lost & Found? Drunker'n a skunk agin?

Ken999 if we are going to continue this thread shouldn't it be entertaining? As always give us a call 970-901-0282 or visit our website at www.seekoutside.com or email us direct at [email protected] have a great night and take care! And thanks for the opportunity for us to advertise our web page and contact information!

Absolutely not. If you can make a tipi cheaper and faster than Patrick without the associated wait time, and all your customers are satisfied...so be it.

I posted a thread here about a new Kifaru product, and just like any other as of late around here, the Kifaru Lynch Mob didn't hesitate to turn it into another b!tch fest.

Far be it from me to tuck my tail and turn my head.

Yeah TAK...cocked again...laffin.

Are you telling me that what I said about the Sawtooth was bullschit?

Yes.

Okey Dokey.

I guess Patrick was lieing to me. Either that or you know more about his designs than he does.

TFF.

Please stop this argument.. I know some guys here really love and support Kifaru. So do I. I own many of Kifaru products.

Please stop it, this will not have any help to Kifaru.
It just give other very negative feeling to Kifaru.

Just my feeling.

Interestingly I had an buddy that had an tarp similiar in concept to this made by Granite Gear a few years ago. It was an tarp that you could add annexes on the end. I believe Granite Gear called it the Dodger or something like that.

One can use an ID Sil Tarp III in much the same fashion. Nothing new in concept.

Even though it's overpriced for what it is, I'm glad Kifaru put this out there for folks. It's something new their makeing and it gives folks choices. That's a good thing. Hope they do well with it.

looks like something that came out a donkeys ass says this whiskey dick