The Tarptent Cloudburst has arrived.

I ordered it on the 13th, today is the 29th – just over two weeks. I wasn’t expecting it for at least another week.

It is well made of very lightweight components. The construction is unconventional. Web straps with grommets for the poles at each end are attached only at the ends to the tent canopy, instead of being sewn to the floor. In the sewn-in floor version I got, I think some weight could be saved by attaching short pieces of webbing to the floor instead of having a full-width, free piece of webbing attached to the canopy. As it is, the setup is similar to a fly-only pitch of my old North Face Tadpole tent.

Two issues:

I originally ordered the tent with no floor and a tyvek groundsheet. After a vigorous discussion with my camping partner, I emailed and asked Henry to make the tent with a sewn-in floor rather than the groundsheet. Although he did add the sewn-in floor, he also shipped a groundsheet.

Also, the Tarptent site specifies that stakes are “titanium for strength.” This is mentioned in at least two places. The tent arrived with MSR Groundhog stakes instead – a high quality anodized aluminum stake, but hardly titanium. I’ll have to call Tarptent to see what the deal is.

I set the tent up in our office, much to Julie’s annoyance. I used blue masking tape to fasten the guylines to the carpet. Couldn’t get much tension, but it seems as if setup will be a breeze, and there will be ample room for two inside.

I’ll weight it on the postal scale later. It should be 38.5 ounces, more or less.

Last week I was at Walmart, something millions do every day but a special trip from anti-chain store San Francisco.

Among other things I bought the legendary Wal-Mart Grease Pot, an icon among lightweight hikers. Specs of my specimen, with the MSR titanium competitor for comparison (I don’t own the MSR):

Grease pot
Capacity: 1.25 quart
Weight with lid: 4.2 oz.
Price: $5

MSR Titan Kettle
Capacity: .9 quart
Weight with lid: 4.2 oz.
Price: $39.95

Of course, with the grease pot, you need to add something to pick it up. My SIGG pot gripper is 1.3 oz., though it could be lightened by drilling.

I tried it with the Boddington stove; a pint of water boils outdoors in just over 5 minutes – comparable to my small stainless pot (9.2 oz – more than twice the weight) and a bit slower than the Optimus kettle.

The grease pot is not a robust piece of gear. The aluminum is thin and would be easily dented. I wouldn’t take it on an expedition. But for general backpacking I think it’s a great bargain. It makes the MSR titanium kettle look like gold-plated trail jewelry for tenderfeet (n.b. I consider myself a tenderfoot, just one who doesn’t want to be taken in by marketing hype.)