Kelty Noah 9. First time out.

**atison** · 05-19-2011, 08:29

Had my Noah 9 out for the first time this past weekend. Before, I just used the HH with stock fly, which always kept me dry, but didn't leave much room when caught in a rain storm. I knew the weight penalty of the Noah 9, but for the price ($50) I had to give it a shot.

I took my DIY hammock and an ENO Guardian Bug net, and with the Noah still came out a little bit lighter then my HH setup, so not bad.

This thing is huge compared to the HH stock tarp. I had to adjust my eyes when looking for a hanging spot. But I found the perfect spot that was about 2 feet wider than the tarp on both ends. Next thing to adjust my eyes on was trees out to the side of the hanging spot. One side had a small tree about 4 feet from ridgeline and about 1 foot off center, which forced me to use a very steep angle on that side, but wasn't an issue as I was clear on the other side to let air in.

The simplicity is consistent with the stock HH since it is mainly used in a diamond shape. Figure 9's for attaching to trees and mason line whoopies for the tie outs, and this thing was up in a jiffy. Set it a tad over my head standing up and had ample room to spread my stuff out and get my hammock all set up.

Got rained on off and on for the whole weekend, ranging from light mist, to heavy downpour. Tarp held up despite not seam sealing it. The triangles by the tie outs looked to be getting a little soak through by the end, but anything over my head looked great.

I am going to experiment with alternate setups like attaching to the trees with the next attach point from the corners and pulling the corners down as a small door at each end.

Very happy with this tarp. A little bulky and a bit heavy, but not enough to push me toward a more expensive one quite yet. Tons of room, and a simple setup without requiring huge gaps between trees.

**Syb** · 05-19-2011, 09:04

Nice report atison. I love my Kelty 12 and considered a 9. Keep working the setup as this thing is versatile. Yes, a little heavy but it's built like a tank to get a lot of use.

Oh yeah, pics or...

**atison** · 05-19-2011, 10:06

Must of all been a dream as I didn't get a pic of my setup.

**Syb** · 05-19-2011, 10:16

Originally Posted by atison

Must of all been a dream as I didn't get a pic of my setup.

In the immortal words of one Home J. Simpson, "D'OH!"

**Trailblazer007** · 05-19-2011, 10:42

Syb,

Is the Noah 9 large enough to be used in winter mode (closed flaps) with a HH Expedition?

**Syb** · 05-19-2011, 11:03

Originally Posted by Trailblazer007

Syb,

Is the Noah 9 large enough to be used in winter mode (closed flaps) with a HH Expedition?

I'm not sure it would be. I have the 12 and it encloses nicely in winter mode but don't own the 9. I hope someone else can chime in here that has the 9. My thinking is that it would be a little small because you're using the tieouts second from the end in order to create the doors and I don't know the specific dimensions to know if that will give you enough room. As I've learned from more knowledgeable folks on here than I, my 12 is for winter and my soon-to-be-delivered MaCat Standard will be my 3-season tarp. (To my wife, "Yes, I need another tarp"

)

**Trailblazer007** · 05-19-2011, 11:47

Originally Posted by Syb

I'm not sure it would be. I have the 12 and it encloses nicely in winter mode but don't own the 9. I hope someone else can chime in here that has the 9. My thinking is that it would be a little small because you're using the tieouts second from the end in order to create the doors and I don't know the specific dimensions to know if that will give you enough room. As I've learned from more knowledgeable folks on here than I, my 12 is for winter and my soon-to-be-delivered MaCat Standard will be my 3-season tarp. (To my wife, "Yes, I need another tarp"

)

Is there a thread stating the weight of the guidegear 12x12? I did search and came up empty. If I need to go to a 12x12 I want to compare the guidegear vs. noah.

BTW...good luck with the "sell" to the wifey!!

**millarky** · 05-19-2011, 12:00

Originally Posted by Syb

Yes, a little heavy but it's built like a tank to get a lot of use.

Yes it is, until I decided to cover my windshield with it in an ice storm. Won't do that again. In my defense, I was desperate for coverage.

**creativeKayt** · 05-20-2011, 18:03

Ewww.... ouch.

I recently acquired a Kelty 12 and am just now learning all that you can do with it. It is pretty darned durable fer sure. I'm going to spray it with waterproofing stuff this weekend and see how she does with our PacNW rain.

**PDA** · 05-26-2011, 14:52

@Creative Kayt - I have a Kelty 12 wwhich I bought used. It is 450 mm coated polyester, factory seam sealed and doesn't leak, at least, not in New England rain. I don't think you need to waste your WP spray. Pretty robust too.

@TB007 - reviewer on Amazon claims 24 oz. which seems very light to me, as the Ketly 12 is 40 oz. The GG is 1000 PU coated nylon, the Kelty 12 450mm PU coated polyester.