Black Diamond Megamid
I bought this Black Diamond Megamid Tipi Tent as a 2nd (off color) from Campmor with thoughts that it could be used for emergency shelter when canoe camping, but especially for winter camping. The tipi sets up easily on snow and over uneven ground.
The four person Megamid is supposed to sleep 4 persons, but I am sure they never made those calculations with 6′4″ campers in mind. However, we found it was palatial with 2 and fit 3 sleeping forms quite well.
The Megamid provides 51 square feet of floor space, one door and measures nearly 5′ (57″) tall. Total weight of the tent, pole, stakes and stuff sack is under 4lbs.
The picture below was from our maiden voyage with the Megamid - having little experience with tipis at this point we didn’t stamp out a large enough footprint. However, setup was simple and the tipi worked fine. The tipi form sheds snowfall easily providing a soothing shooshing sound through the night as accumulated snow slides down the side.
Without a floor I packed a space blanket to provide additional coverage below the sleeping pad, so I am not too sure about the weight savings. However, it is nice to be able to enter the tipi with boots on and not worry about tracking snow in.
Cooking inside appears to be an option, however, I haven’t cooked inside yet. Like any single wall tent condensation can be an issue if there isn’t adequate ventilation. It is easy to raise the center pole to allow air flow to come under the edge of the tipi.
