Roomy for one, and two at a squeeze.
Light weight,
Option of Bug inner,
And a colour that blends with the environment.
However, I have had mixed performance when using the shelter with its bug inner which lead me to conclude that they did not fit well together. Although when used with a light weight Bivvy such as the SMD Meteor the ID SilShelter works well.
There is a near endless list of shelters available that would meet my requirements. So after much research and discussions with other hikers I have purchase a GoLite Shangri-la 2 and its matching inner Nest. As a pair they should make a flexible light weight shelter for two, but for one the inner Nest is too heavy. A smaller and lighter weight option is too use a bivvy (for example the SMD Meteor) or small bug net such as MLD Solo Mid inner or the SMD Serenity. The second two options provide a large amount of space for one and my gear regardless of the weather.
The other thing I noticed when searching the web for shelters is for some shelters there are lots of good photos whilst for others the selection is limited to the manufactures’ glossy brochures. These brochures often lack detail when considering an on-line purchase. So I have taken a few photos to help other potential purchaser of the GoLite SL2.
When pitched by itself the SL2 Nest needs a guy line to hold the front of the shelter. This line is not required when the SL2 outer is placed over the top.
The mats in the photos are a Therm-a-Rest’s ProLite 4 3/4 length and an Exped SL7 UL size M
When pitched together the inner nest goes all the way to the back of the outer but stops about 24’ (600mm) from the front of the outer. I used 8 pegs in this pitch. The extra two went on the front of the nest.
