MSR 19' Parawing - 2007 BCS

I was very excited to take the MSR 19' Parawing to Greece with me. The idea was to use it as beach shelter on day cruises. Unfortunately the Parawing is not made for strong winds (15-25knots) and those are the prevailing conditions in July and August in the windy Cyclades. It is impossible to set the stakes and they have a tendency to fly off, putting everyone around them in grave danger. Maybe the issue can be addressed with a different set of stakes, but.. I don't think so.

The wing itself and the support poles are just what I was expecting and have performed well. The adjustable cords at the corners however are not up to my expectations for a rather high priced product. The cords are very thin and in any amount of wind the adjustable slide tightener actually cuts the cord and failed. I have replaced the light nylon cords and small aluminum slide adjusters with 1" nylon straps with adjustable buckles for tensioning and grommets to fit over the top of the poles. I also bought two more adjustable poles as it adds so much head room and is not much more difficult to set up. After making the modifications I am very happy with the wings performance but for a product of this price I would expect this design problem to be addressed from the factory.

We were camped at Mt. Shasta at about 7800 ft. It started snowing and hailing. The parawing kept us and our equipment safe and dry. We sat up late occasionally shaking off the snow build up. We would have been huddled in the tent if we didn't have it. It made such a difference to our experience in the bad weather that our friends didn't believe us when we told them we had a good time.

The MSR Parawing is good, if too pricey, but it is not tall enough. It needs at least another 6-8 inches on the two poles. Kids won't mind, and it's fine to sit under. But adults (I'm 5ft 7in) can only stand under the ends. I'd considered returning it for that reason, but wind-resistant tarps that provide shade from a setting sun are rare. If money's no object, get the Outfitter.

The tarp material is very good. But just like anonymous, I found the cords and hardware lacking.
Further, the stakes are a joke, unless you're pitching this in your yard. They're "rockbuster" stakes, which apparently means they immediately break when they hit rocks.
I also changed the cords and tensioners with webbing and clips. Otherwise it's solid, but for over 2 bills I expected more.

The wing works well and provided the shade and protection we needed. Best to practice setting the wing up several times before in dire need.

The tie down cords are robust enough but a little short. The rock buster stakes work well.

The stock poles are sturdy under a stiff breeze, but will not stand up to high winds.

Stuff sack is correctly sized. (Not too small.)

The second time we had our parawing on the river, we had a tremendous rainstorm for several hours. We pulled off the river in our deluge and set up our parawing. We setup the tents under the wing and then moved them to the edge. We finished setting up camp under the wing. What would have been a miserable trip was saved by our wing and we had a wonderful time!