mountain laurel designs trailstar - review

touring for a third of a year requires quite a bit more gear than a weekend trip, for sure. when going out for a night or two you can get away with all sorts of stuff that just won't fly when home is hundreds or thousands of miles away. everything must have a purpose, and even better, more than one purpose, so you must chose your gear wisely. the ability to do that really comes almost exclusively through personal experience, but often seeking reviews is the place to start.

getting a quality review of a piece of gear is often more difficult than it would seem. reviews on sites like REI or Amazon can be helpful but you have to consider the source. how long has it been used? in what conditions? what were the expectations? is the person reviewing qualified to make that review? i can't say how many times i've read a review online about a bike that says "i tested this in the parking lot, it's so fast!" this person has no business saying anything about that  bike. i want to read the review by the person that's used the product for at least a season, if not more. only then can the review be taken with any sort of credibility.

over the past four months i've gotten a lot of questions about the gear i've brought on my tour. i'd usually just toss out the name and say, "it's great", but i always had much more i could have said. when you spend all day every day interacting with more or less a few pieces of gear you get to know any strengths and weaknesses pretty well. i mean, really well. i was in the fortunate position to have to rely on my gear day in and day out, without fail. if something didn't work right, well enough, or at all it could be really bad news, depending on the item. so i had done my homework and i chose wisely, indeed. i hope that i can provide some helpful insights into the gear i brought.

sometimes the weather cooperates and you can just sleep out under the stars, which, as far as i'm concerned, is plan A. other times you can find a sturdy structure to camp under, like a gazebo or a bridge. still, other times you just need a shelter because you're in the middle of nowhere. maybe it's due to rain, wind, or mosquitoes or maybe you just don't like sleeping outside unprotected. no matter the reason, you need to have one with you.

Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar on tour in the nebraskan sand hills

i chose the term shelter because it doesn't have to be a traditional tent. i personally brought along a Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar tarp, and i couldn't have been more pleased. i had looked at a few one-person tents but often found that their specs made them too heavy or bulky in terms of volume. i would have made due with what i got, but this one came on recommendation from a friend with plenty of experience with it. it's also made in the USA, which is nice.

in the past i've used smaller tarps for single-night trips and i took one to nova scotia last year for a one-week tour. it was small and covered barely more than a hammock or a sleeping bag, so it would be terrible for heavy rains. for this tour i knew it would be probable that i'd run into some weather where i'd have to spend quite a lot more time under the tarp so i wanted something that was a bit bigger and sturdier. the Trailstar fit the criteria.

the footprint is a luxurious 50 sq.ft., which is plenty of room for whatever you may want to put under there. i often just had my sleeping bag and pad along with some a few other things like food or clothes which left ample extra space... not that i needed any more, it's just nice to have. they do recommend not cooking under this thing, but go on to say that it is large. i cooked in this thing pretty much every night and morning that i had it set up with no issues. plenty of ventilation and the ceiling is high enough to not be close to any flames. if you do that, though, just be smart about it.

10 miles east of the continental divide in wyoming.

a big footprint also means you have a ton of coverage from the elements, which is a very nice feeling when you can see some nasty clouds off in the distance headed your way. i've waited out several heavy rain storms, plenty of nights with drizzle, a few snow storms, and a few nights of excessively strong winds under the Trailstar and at no point did any precipitation find its way onto me or my stuff. nice. it does come with a tube of seem sealer, which you have to apply yourself. it's not much of an issue but it is something you ought to do before using it in rough weather.

going through many of the western states there is a lot of nothing and the wind can get pretty fierce. often, even if the temperatures permitted and there was no rain in the forecast, i set up the Trailstar just for wind protection. with its low pitch angle and 10 tie-out points it's super sturdy. if you button it to the ground and tighten it like a drum it will hold up to some serious winds. in a few places in nebraska and idaho the forecasts called for 25mph winds with gusts up to 50mph at night and, though the walls flapped quite a bit, it held up very respectably.

among the idaho sage brush. tripod as support.

now, it seems like it was designed for backpackers because you're supposed to use trekking poles to set it up, one in the middle and one for the doorway. but if you're bike touring trekking poles are not part of your gear list, so you'll have to find something else to use. branches can work, but only if you're around trees, so i suggest something more reliable that you carry with you. i ended up buying a $12 monopod from walmart for hunting and used that for the center support. i just put a cap nut on the end to protect the tarp and it worked great. for the doorway i often used my camera tripod, my bike, a found stick or a tree. i never had an issue with any method.

aluminum stakes are garbage.

packing it up was easy, just fold it in half a few times and roll it up. done. i had a separate small ditty bag for some stakes that i tossed in the stuffsack with the Trailstar so i didn't have to look for them when it came time to set up camp. side note: don't bother with aluminum stakes, they amount to garbage. just go ahead and pick up some steel stakes or get the stakes that have 3 blades to prevent them from bending. i started with 10 aluminum stakes and finished with none.

the inner bugnet set up solo using a guy line tied to a branch

now, being a tarp it is simply protects you from precipitation and wind, but not bugs. some places or seasons that won't be an issue, but during the summer it will be a big problem. MLD does make an optional inner bugnet, which i did use for the first half of the tour. for most of the first half i used the bugnet independently of the Trailstar, which is quite nice. during those hot and humid summer nights it's nice to sleep protected from mosquitoes but have a fully ventilated shelter. i often just slept on my sleeping pad with no bag. a good night's sleep is invaluable when you're on tour. after the bug season passed i ended up mailing the net home with some other stuff to free up some pannier space. for the first half though, it was one of the most-used, most-appreciated pieces of gear in my bag. once i get home to connecticut this will definitely get used more than the Trailstar.

high pitch for better ventilation

it does have to be said that the Trailstar can be a bit difficult to set up, at least at first. having 10 tie-out points there is a lot of ways to set it up and a lot of ways to have a wonky set up. it does take a bit of experimentation to find the right pitch for your needs. i usually had it set up in the standard configuration, but on occasion i had it set up as a teepee or just used a higher/lower pitch for wind or snow shedding. when it was still fairly hot out i set it up with the sides off the ground for better ventilation. this thing is versatile, to say the least.

the Trailstar did me well on this tour. i have no regrets with my choice. for me it worked perfectly, though, i can see for some people it just wouldn't be right. some people may just prefer the full enclose of a tent. being a tarp it does not have a bottom so you're just there in the dirt, and that may be a deal-breaker for some people. you could get the inner bugnet, but that's just another thing to set up. i, personally, don't mind at all, but it does expose you to stuff on the ground. if you need a shelter that will fit a few people, or one person and a bunch of stuff, are facing lots of rain, snow, or wind, the Trailstar might just be the ticket. MLD often has some lead times posted on the front page of their website. i think when i ordered mine it said 3-4 weeks but it arrived in under 2. sweet.