Gear review: Mountain Laurel Designs Supermid

Think MLD Duomid only much much bigger. As you might know I truly enjoy the MLD Duomid and wrote a rather lengthy review of it here. The Supermid is for the most part just a much larger Duomid, but I feel it has it’s own strengths and weaknesses that set it apart from it’s little brother. 

I have a real soft spot for pyramid tents – I love the simplicity of them. Four tent pegs (or rocks) and a trekking pole jammed up the middle. Takes at the most 2-3 minutes to setup. The Supermid is no exception, it really is multi-backpacker tarp simplicity at it’s best. You can read more about my love for Pyramid tents and especially the Duomid in my book Ultralight and comfortable: The politically incorrect guide to becoming an ultralight bad-ass.

What is it:

The Mountain laurel designs Supermid is a single wall silnylon or cuben fiber tarp in pyramid form. This tarp unlike the Duomid takes two trekking poles strapped together end on end. You can set it up with as few as four tent pegs, but if you want real sturdiness than it’s probably a good idea to use all 8 guy lines, and in real heavy wind 12.

The Supermid is advertised as a four person tent, or a palace for two. I think four people could fit, but I would probably want to avoid four big stinky dudes inside this. It is however an excellent two man tent and I would say, it could be comfortable for three people as well. As you can see from the pictures in this series I have used this tent as my main winter tent for two people and it has been excellent.

Weight:

First off the tent for a single person is massive, and the weight mirrors that. At 940grams it really is a bit much for one person, but as a two man tent it’s brilliant. Considering a mini Hilleberg Enan weighs 1.2kilos and fits a cockroach; I would say if you really want space than 940grams for a single person palace isn’t bad. (Though for single trips I use the Duomid)

Size:

The Supermid is a palace for two people, even large people like myself and my hiking buddy seen in the pic below. We are both around 190cm or 6’3″ and we split this tent on a winter trek. No problems at all with the size. For winter hikes I like my tents to be much larger than what I actually need as I don’t really like condensation dripping on my face. The Supermid fits the bill. As far as actual square footage: 70+ square feet according to Mountain Laurel Designs. Though honestly, that says nothing at all to me.

Winter shelter

I have used the Supermid on several winter hikes and just like the Duomid I am extremely happy with it’s performance even in the winter. I haven’t been stuck in any real heavy snow fall so I can’t say how it stacks up there, I can say however that no inner tent was sagging on my face. (read my Akto review) and setup though a little tougher than both the Duomid and Akto is actually pretty easy even in the winter. (with cold hands, strapping two trekking poles onto eachother can be a bitch.. but so can taking a piss with heavy gloves on..)

Condensation

In my own experience I find condensation affects the double and single wall tents much more than the tarps and single wall tarptents. Pretty obvious why of course, much more wind and air flow in the tarps. I find this to be true even with the Supermid which I rarely have any major problems with condensation.

Pros:

• Big for two people, massive for one
• Weight compared to size is impressive
• Cheap – $355. Simply can’t be beat
• Simplistic in design
• perfect in function

Cons:

• Weight – If your rich (or poor because you buy so much gear) you can alway save a lot more weight and buy the Cuben version instead.
• I don’t like the two trekking pole setup. I prefer simplicity over complexity. One trekking pole over two.
• If I don’t steak out the mid-tent guylines, especially in the winter, the side panels will sag on my face.
• 5-6 week wait if ordered during high-season

Conclusion

If your looking for a massive two-three man tent for minimal weight and cost, look no further. Like all of Mountain Laurel designs gear, the Supermid is built to perfection and built to last. I have used the Supermid year round in all different kinds of conditions and have never had any problems with it. This truly is an excellent two man palace!