REASONS TO BUY
Simple
Easy to set up
Relatively affortable
REASONS TO AVOID
No door
High winds cause it to soak you
Black Diamond Simple Cliff Cabana Double Fly Review
Black Diamond Simple Cliff Cabana Double Rain Fly
Credit: Chris McNamara
Price: $250 List
By Chris McNamara ⋅ Founder and Editor-in-Chief ⋅ Feb 6, 2010
Our Verdict
This is a great fly if you don't plan to be in a storm. That may sound stupid, but the fact is most Yosemite and Zion climbers never count on a storm. Ninety-seven percent of the time a storm never comes and they are fine. Three percent of the time a storm comes and causes massive suffering, rescue, and death. So this is a great fly to at least save you from rescue and death (you may still suffer). You can set up the fly above the portaledge so that if rain or snow unexpectedly comes during the night, you can drop the fly. It is relatively affordable compared to other rain fly options like the Black Diamond Deluxe Cliff Cabana Rain Fly and the Metolius Bomb Shelter Rain Fly.
If you are climbing when a storm is likely or in winter, we highly recommend the Black Diamond Deluxe Cliff Cabana Rain Fly. But for most Yosemite and Zion climbers, this is a great option for a "just in case" rain fly.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Likes
The Cliff Cabana Simple Fly is simple to set up, has a nice waterproof closure up top, and at $250 is relatively affordable. It comes with a tent pole to tension the inside. It has a nice label on top to tell you what is the wall side and what is the air side.
Dislikes
If you are in a light storm and there is no wind, this ledge should keep you dry. However, if you are in a storm with strong wind, there is a problem that shared by all rain flys with this design:
When the wind kicks up the fly will inflate and deflate and the walls of the fly, covered with your own perspiration, will get you wet. This is because three factors come together:- the open bottom of the fly lets wind in
- it is difficult to get the walls of the fly tensioned, even with a tent pole
- this design of fly does not ventilate well
Using the tent pole and underside straps can help, but overall there is no way around getting a little wet. For this reason you should definitely bring a bivy sack if you think there is a slight change of storm. The above problem is made worse since it is very hard to ventilate this fly sufficiently. Unlike the Black Diamond Deluxe Cliff Cabana Double Fly, there is no door to both ventilate the fly and use to get in and out easily.
This is a flaw that all flys like this share. And it is the price you pay when you opt for light weight, economy, and ease of setup rather than a more bomber and expensive fly.
Value
This is one of the better values in rain flys. It's $200 less than the Black Diamond Deluxe Cliff Cabana Double Fly and $125 less than the Metolius Bomb Shelter Rain Fly.
—
Chris McNamara