I had the hogback this year on a weekend scouting trip and a week-long early archery that was mostly above treeline. I was absolutely in love with the space for two guys and our gear. We were able to fit 3+ gear as well for the scouting trip. It is very easy to set up and very lightweight. However, we got clobbered for 2 days with high winds. Weather alert said 50MPH with 65MPH gusts. We set the ach into the wind but the direction kept changing on us above treeline. The crossing pole would come down and slap us in our bags as we tried to sleep and was really noisy. I ended up tying on about 7 or 8 extra guylines to try and combat the wind and it did help slightly. But with that much exposed fabric without support, we really got hammered. Our other hunting companion was in a 1 man big agnes emerald mountain and passed the night just fine. Anyhow, we dropped below treeline to salvage the tent for a couple days until the wind subsided. Made for a lot more hiking that we would have hoped. After getting down and inspecting the tent, I had 5 frayed spectra lines that were secured around my stakes, and 3 of which were down to the last strand. My tent pole ended up bend pretty good in two spots as well. Once we were down into the trees, it was great again. Mr. Shires replaced my pole and sent we new spectra to replace the old free of charge, although I was fully expecting to pay for it, so that was nice.
So overall, if you are not planning on camping above treeline where wind can get wicked, it is great with some sort of windbreak and provides huge quantaties of space for its weight and has great headroom. I also loved being able to pitch flyfirst or all together as it proved valuable in a few thundershowers. If you are planning on being exposed, It may not be the best option. I sold the tent since I plan on spending even more time up high and don't want to spend more time pretending to be a kite. So, we are all planning on solo shelters that will cut the wind better. I am really tempted to try another tarptent in the scarp1 variety with crossing poles...Or maybe a Hilleberg soulo, or big agnes coppur spur...or....the list goes on....couple picts below...
worked great here...
not so good up here...