Well, after feeling a little spontaneous I decided to splurge on a Cuben MLD Solomid XL (I believe this is the same thing as the Solomid 2016). I found this New on eBay For about $390.. Way too much For a spontaneous purchase.. But what the hell, I figure if it doesn’t work for me I should be able to sell it for about the same amount.
I can’t say that I am tired or not happy with my MLD Duomid, quite the opposite actually. I find the Duomid to be and continue to be the best tent I have ever had and plan to keep it for a long time. I bought the Solomid out of boredom I guess and wanting to try something lighter and hopefully with the same amount of comfort as my Duomid.
Full review of the MLD Duomid you can read here
As I love most Mountain laurel design products I decided to continue on my MLD journey and stick with them at the moment. Perhaps in the future I will purchase a new tent from somewhere else. But not yet.
Anyway, let me be clear: This is not a review, simply a first impression of this tarp.
I haven’t had a chance to take it out in the wild yet, however I would like to have it with me to Iceland in June, so I will be testing it on my coast 2 coast journey in May. Coast 2 coast is a 400 kilometer walk from the east coast of Sweden to the west coast. You can read more about coast 2 coast sweden here.
Weight:
The Cuben Fibre Solomid xl weighs just 360 grams inside the stuff sack. A great weight for such a large solo tent. To put the weight into perspective the MLD Duomid silnylon that I have is 750 grams.
Size:
The floor space is definitely big enough for me and my uses, and pretty much for anybody looking for a solo tent that you can camp out in. I like my tents large as it’s not unusual to get stuck in long hours of shit weather in Sweden. Hence why I don’t own something like a Hilleberg Enan. I do have some concerns about the sides though, while the duomid is technically shorter, I find that with the tie outs the sides aren’t brushing on my head. The Solomid feels tighter.
Concerns:
Since this is my first impression I will discuss my concerns but can’t confirm them. For one thing the Solomid does not have the extra tie outs on the sides and front like the Duomid. I found that these tie outs saved my ass on more than one occasion when the wind really starts to pick up. I’m not really sure I would trust the Solomid in the same kind of wind.
Another cause for concern is not having a perimeter bug netting – personally I don’t like inner tents as it adds too much weight, decreases size and in general it’s better to just have a full size tent. In Sweden I find that a perimeter bug netting is absolutely a necessity. So I will definitely have to consider installing a perimeter bug netting if I decide to keep the Solomid.
Final Thoughts:
While I haven’t been able to do any serious camping with the MLD Solomid, I do have to say that my initial concerns about size are gone. I find this to be very large for it’s weight and something I don’t think will be a problem at all to be stuck in for a few hours at a time during bad weather.
More than this I don’t dare say as I haven’t yet tested it in any serious way. With that said I will do a full review after my Coast 2 Coast, Iceland and Scotland trips this year.
