MLD Cricket Review

If there has been one most requested kit review from me then it has to be the Mountain Laurel Designs Cricket. There appears to be a lack of reviews for this shelter for some reason and I wasn't prepared to rush out my review on a piece of kit that hadn't been thoroughly tested. That wasn't because of lack of use. I originally used the Cricket back in 2011 for my Colorado Trail thru-hike, but I chose not to review it then because the weather had always been reasonably good. I think you can't comment on a shelters performance properly until it has survived at least one serious storm... Fortunately, I had a number of storms on my recent Tasmania trip, so finally here it is.

MLD Duomid Buckle Failure

The Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid is a popular pyramid style shelter that has slowly eased its way into my kit selection over the last few months. Space is excellent, stability is good, and it’s very quick to pitch. None of that was the reason I’ve been using it so much though.  I chose the Duomid for both my Scottish Cycle Tour and Coast & Moor hike because it is the only shelter I own that has a front door! Doors can be useful if you are expecting to be using commercial campsites. Leaving an open shelter in such a busy public place is perhaps asking for trouble, if only from dogs! Privacy could also be a concern but wasn’t high up on my list. As it happens, I didn’t use any commercial campsites on either of those trips and the failure of the Duomid, on a particularly stormy night, has made me rethink that logic on shelter selection.

MLD Monk Tarp Review

The Mountain Laurel Designs Monk Tarp is about as simple as a shelter can be. In silnylon you get a single 9*5ft flat piece of material or a smaller 4*9ft piece should you chose cuben fibre. Cuben fibre is only available in smaller width rolls hence the foot difference between the tarps. My review is for the silnylon version and that extra foot of space is very useful for some of the configurations I use.

MLD Trailstar review (2010)

Early 2010 few had heard of the Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar so I posted a review for Andy Howell over on his site.

Trailstar review

Two years later the Trailstar is now widely regarded as one of the greatest lightweight, but stormproof, shelters ever made. Still my favourite bad weather shelter and a true classic.