My main criteria were:
- Large enough vestibule for cooking and storing a large pack, boots etc. for two people.
- Plenty of room for 1, enough for two.
- Able to sit up comfortably.
- Integral pitch/fly first pitch
- 3+ season
- Reasonable ventilation
- Preferably 2kg or less
- Fairly tough construction
- Not too expensive
- Free standing would be nice
Eventually my shortlist came down to the Hubba Hubba HP, Hilleberg Nallo 2, Macpac Minaret and Tarptent Scarp 2.
However I wasn't entirely sold on any of these.
The Hubba Hubba was probably at the top of the list, but doesn't appear to have brilliant ventilation, only has a1000mm water head rating (probably heaps but still), poles are inside the fly (bad if one breaks) and it is not cheap.
The Nallo2 is pricier, ceiling height only 100cm at entrance and I would like to see it in the flesh before lashing out that kind of cash.
The Minaret has too low a ceiling height and is only priced okay when on special whenever that may be.
Scarp 2 seems fantastic but is not available in the "Tassie" version yet, also asked a couple of questions via email which were ignored.
So while I would have been happy with the Hubba Hubba or probably the Nallo (pending sitting in it), I wasn’t prepared to fork out $500-600 on something I wasn't entirely sure I would be happy with.
Anyway whilst surfing ebay I came across an Outer Limits Vortex for $129 ($144 delivered). I already have another Outer Limits tent for car camping that I am fairly happy with and I knew my cousin had recently bought a Vortex. So I got on the phone and organised to borrow it off her and check it out. I spent a night in it on the front lawn (in the rain) and was pretty much sold.
It isn't in the same quality ballpark as the rest, I mean it's all put together okay but it just doesn't ooze quality like Hilleberg and Macpac tents tend to. It's only polyester not Silnylon and the floor hasn't got a dime on the Minaret. But when you can buy four Vortex's for the same price as any one of the others I can live with all that.
My only complaints/things that fall short of my criteria:
- Ventilation not wonderful, but probably okay with some mods
- Zips not too good (I wonder if they will last)
- Generally not as 'polished' as more expensive tents
- 2.4kg (checked on accurate scales)
- Not free-standing
- ceiling height could be better
The tent is very easy to pitch and can be pitched with only 4 pegs in good conditions, although it comes with a total of 14 pegs for all the points which I tend to use all the time just because they are there to use. You can erect the fly first then crawl inside and attach the inner fairly easily. Alternatively the whole thing can be pitched as one. You can not pitch the inner alone as far as I can tell.
There are a few storage pockets inside and it seems to have enough room for two, although you would want to be fairly close. The overall length is okay but probably not fantastic for anyone over 6 foot tall, as your toes can tend to touch the inner. One of the positives is that despite the length and height limitations it does have a substantial gap between the inner and outer skins. So despite pushing against the ceiling at times, I have never made the two skins touch and hence get wet, which I did all the time in the Microlight.
There is enough mesh on the inner, but not too much so as to make it breezy. Ventilation falls down a bit in the fly department with only 4 very small triangles of ventilation, none of which are at the peak. I have found that I can omit the centre peg at the foot end of the tent and instead tie the peg point up to the rear guy to give somewhere for the wind to blow in. In my two nights in the tent so far I have had low to moderate amounts of condensation.
The fly material feels pretty solid and is PU coated and tape sealed on the inside. The floor whilst feeling adequate is a fair step down from that of my Microlight. I will be carrying Tyvek.
The zips are not of great quality. They don’t run as easily as more expensive ones and tend to jamb easily. But none the less they are getting the job done, at least for now. I wish the main zip on the vestibule was double ended so you could open a hole in the top as well.
The poles seem pretty good, although not DAC by any means. Additionally they are externally sleeved which gives some peace of mind should one break. They could be colour coded to make erection easier as they are not all that different in length.
The vestibule is a good size and there is plenty of room for my pack and boots as well as cooking. With two people’s gear it would still be manageable. Importantly it is just big enough to get out of my rain coat before entering the main tent.
For all you gram counters I’ve worked out I could cut about 200g from the weight by not carrying the stuff sack (just over 100g) and by replacing the pegs with lighter weight ones. The guys are already fairly light (when dry) but could also be replaced to save some more.
Overall, for the price, I’m very happy. I figured that having only spent $144 I wouldn’t feel guilty buying a more expensive replacement when something I am 100% happy with came along. However I now wonder if I will even bother, I’m happy with this one. All in all not bad, especially for $129.
