the One

I'm currently considering Gossamer Gear's the One. Ok, so perhaps strictly speaking it's not a tarp, it's a tarp-tent, but being from Gossamer Gear it's made of Spinnaker sail cloth. Therefore it doesn't weigh much more than a tarp, 224g. (or 1 pound, hence the name). This is excluding poles and pegs, but since extremely lightweight titanium pegs are everywhere now, and you can pitch with trekking poles in exactly the same way as you would with a tarp, this puppy can really lighten your pack weight. I think it's also going to be a good way to ease myself gently into the world of tarps since I have a love hate relationship with mosquitoes; they love me and I hate them. It's considerably lighter than even the lightest tent; half the weight of Terra Nova's Laser Photon Elite, and less than a third the weight of it's classic and cheaper cousin the Laser Competition (TNLC).

What really edges it above the competition (pun intended), is that you have a dual use for your trekking poles; why carry tent poles when you've got perfectly good trekking poles already? This makes it exremely light. I also like the fact that when it's blue skies, you can leave the entire side of the shelter open, enjoy the view but still have no-see-um mesh to keep the bugs out. (A no-see-um is a North American type of knott or midge.) Expensive? Relatively; it retails for $295 but with shipping and customs factored in it'd cost me around 2800 SEK. Even the best sale price TNLC wouldn't be measurably cheaper, around 2500 SEK if ordered from the UK. (Though if ordered from Sweden, this figure would be closer to 4000 SEK.)

The downsides, since obviously there are trade-offs:

• Stability - of course it's light, but it's not as stable as a tent. Using trekking poles is a sacrifice of stability therefore knowing it's limitations and sheltered pitching are fundamental here. Spinnaker is incredibly strong and it doesn't stretch when wet unlike Silnylon, but it is incredibly noisy in the wind.
• Durability - the bathtub floor is the weakpoint here, so they recommend that you also use the included polycryo ground sheet (43g.) to protect it. This is always a consideration with lightweight kit; am I serious about lightweight kit or not?
  
• Condensation - unlike the TNLC it is single skinned, so condensation can become a problem. This can be offset by ensuring that you've got plenty of ventilation. Indeed since you can leave the entire side open when it's not raining, it's possible to get a lot of airflow.
• Fiddly - pitching is also a little tricky, but no more fiddly than attaching the waterproof pole hood on the TNLC. Lightweight shelters are a little fiddly.

It may seem like I'm singling out the Terra Nova here, but I see it as it's closest competition given that most of the other tarp tents are either more difficult to source or considerably more expensive. Since price, as well as weight, is a major consideration for me, as I'm sure it is for most of us, it's between Terra Nova and Gossamer Gear here, and as far as I'm concerned it's the One for me.