Took the Minifly out this weekend on an overnight trip. I have been using the Thunderfly since it provided more coverage in a very similar size and weight.
The features about the Thunderfly that I love is that slightly larger cooking area in front of your hammock as well as more coverage on the end if you need to pull the doors out for some reason also in porch mode and really open it up. I needed to do this when 2/3rds of my hang spot was a pool of water.
So - what did I learn about the Minifly in our downpour this weekend?
It reminded me that I have been in the most heavy rain storms in the Warbonnet Edge tarp that is the same as the mini without the doors. So. In that regard the mini really gave me that extra coverage on the ends that gave a solid confidence in coverage where with the Edge without the doors you seemed to always be checking your ends to make sure nothing is blowing in. And it never was!
Now back to the Minifly. When the rain hit us it hit fast and hid volumes. We were soaked when we found a good spot to set up. The tarps when up first of course and at this time I really wished I had brought my Thunderfly. But that extra confidence in a larger tarp isn't always a good thing and getting out of your comfort zone is part of the fun for going.
Sitting under Minifly I was surprised that I actually liked the larger view and smaller tarp once I was under it.
After setting up the rain kept steady and going in and out of the tarp was needed to finish setting up everything and getting some warm hot chocolate going to warm up.
The look on my face can tell you I had all the confidence in the world that the Minifly was again maybe going to be my most used tarp just like my Edge was before I got the Thunde and Mini.
What I preferred about the Mini to the Thunder was the ease of moving in and out of it. The shorter doors and shorter sides made it easier to duck under and be able to see more surroundings while under plenty of cover. I was testing my buddies Thunderfly to make sure I was not going crazy thinking this. It really was just the coverage I needed and could zip in and out super easy while having adequate coverage and never worried about rain getting in at all.
Before going to bed the wind picked up a lot so I lowered the tarp and got the back side blocking all I could and went to bed.
Stayed warm all night and slept confident.
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