2P Cirriform DW - DCF

I love how versatile and adjustable this tent is. It combines terrific ventilation with great wind stability. Even my wife, who was initially skeptical of how light weight it was, now loves it. After a number of trips, it is still in perfect shape. Moreover, ever time I set it up, I have to admire it as a work of art--it looks like the Sydney Opera House!

Got the custom Cirriform SW2. Where to begin, spacious, ultralite, cool in the sun, has everything you need and nothing you don't need, the design is flawless, the materials are revolutionary. Brother Gen has done us all a great favor with creating his company!!! Can't wait for the backpacks!!!! Thanks, much love

I got my 0.8oz cuben/Dyneema tarp almost a year ago. I bought it to replace an ageing silnylon OR Nighthaven tarp. I immediately went out to set the Cirriform up in my yard, and got a nice, taut pitch without any trouble. The pitching instructional video helps a bit with this, but experience with similar tarps will let you do it without any real coaching. I have the 1 oz cuben/Dyneema floor bug net insert. Setting this up was slightly trickier, but is nicely configurable - the shock cord tie-outs can be looped back in to clip the bug netting itself for tightness, or staked out separately. In the time since, the bug netting has mostly stayed attached to the tarp, and I pitch it all as one, and roll it all back up and put it in a stuff sack as one piece. The removable bug netting can also be pitched on its own, which I've done some clear nights in the Sierra. It's nice, but feels much more exposed. That said, a full moon shines clearly through the thin, white fabric of the tarp, so it doesn't help sleeping in. That's fine though; if the sun's up, I should be up and out enjoying the day! Stakeout takes more stakes than most tarps I've used, but the final result is quite taught and has been quite resilient in my trials so far. It can be tricky to do as a single person in high winds, though; however, this is an issue for any lightweight tarp. I use two adjustable trekking poles, so I can't comment on how it works with fixed-length poles. But I like the flexibility of being able to adjust heights depending on weather and pitch site. When pitched taut, it's worth noting that the tarp gets a little flappy when you open the zippered doors (then gets taut . The zippers are totally waterproof, but that also means they are a little difficult to open and close, and usually require two hands. It's fairly straightforward to adjust the pitch, either lowering it to bunker down against wind and precipitation, or lofting it to let in a breeze. I've had next to no issues with condensation. One trip in the fog in Shenandoah left some condensation inside the tarp, but it was also on the outside, since I was basically sleeping in a cloud. The tarp is nicely waterproof though, and I've been perfectly dry in rain, and even the condensation didn't get me wet, it just made packing the tarp wet, so I had to dry it out later. The 2P tarp is hugely roomy for one person, and adequate for two people with gear. With the bug netting it can feel a little cramped trying to do much inside - there must be some coordination of people getting in and out in order. But without the netting there's much more space. With a higher pitch, there's plenty of room for two packs, and two pairs of shoes outside the bug netting, and with a little finagling, you can cram all of that in with a low pitch as well, though understandably less comfortably. Perhaps my worst time to date getting a pitch was in a little rock-walled clearing at 12700 ft. at Iceberg lake below Mt. Whitney. There were 20+ mph winds for much of the night, and driving stakes into the rocky ground was difficult. But the tarp held up with no problem at all once staked out properly, and the Easton stakes sold with the tarp are a fantastic purchase - hands down the best stakes I've ever used/abused. I haven't had this out in the snow yet, but that's coming up next week. I can update with a more thorough review of this as a serious 4-season backcountry and outdoor equipment item then. I think this is a contender with the HMG Echo II tarp, which has a removable beak (seems like more of a hassle to me - in calm weather, you can just open the doors of the Cirriform). Definitely a good buy.