Nordisk Telemark 1 UL vs Terra Nova Laser Competition

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Nordisk Telemark 1 UL vs Terra Nova Laser Competition

Postby Mark F » Mon 10 Jul, 2017 8:16 pm

I now have had the opportunity to compare the two tents side by side but have not yet used the Telemark in the bush.

tents.jpg
Nordisk Telemark 1 UL and Terra Nova Laser Competition 1


Summary Both tents are quite close in performance and have minimally adequate but not copious space for days if tent-bound. For my purposes, mainly above treeline, 3 seasons with an occasional foray into snow, I find the Telemark is my preferred tent. My thoughts are expanded below.

Inner tents.jpg
View of inner tents with Exped Hyperlite Medium Wide mat


Weight. The Telemark is a 65g lighter than my old Competition (Tent and pole) but this is deceptive as the Competition requires a strange cover over the pole tube to be storm worthy and requires additional pegs to pitch adding about another 100g.

Poles. Both tents use a single 8.5mm diameter aluminium pole of almost identical length folding to about 39.5cm for the Competition and 34cm for the Telemark. At either end the Competition has a thin 44.5cm cf? pole while the Telemark has an aluminium 255mm pole in each corner. These end poles are removable and three, possibly all four (I haven't tried it) form a pole to allow the exterior door to be raised forming a porch. The poles in the end sheath with the Cordura Fabric label has an end cap for placing on the ground. Nordisk's marketing seems to indicate that only three poles are removable and the pole sheaths are marked with coloured stitching.

Weatherproofness. Both tents are well designed for severe weather with the fly coming to the ground around the perimeter although the end panels of the Telemark are slightly scalloped to improve airflow. On earlier versions of the Competition you could raise the rear panels to add airflow but there is no high level vent. Current versions of the Competition have a vent in the end panels.

The Competition has a heavier 20d fly fabric compared to the Telemark which is 10d, both adequately silicone proofed. The floor material is 20d in the Telemark which also has a 175mm high band of 10d? waterproof fabric forming the lower wall of the inner (65mm at the door). The Competition by feel has a similar weight floor but only has a minimal 25mm upturn of the floor material. The use of a regular length rectangular mat in the Competition will flatten any bathtub effect at a couple of points.

Pitching. - The Telemark is easier to pitch. Both tents pitch fly first with the option of having the inner tent connected to the fly when pitched. The inner can be connected to the fly under shelter of the fly. For both tents keeping the inner and fly connected at all times would be my preferred option. The Telemark design with clips and elastic loops make it easier to separate/attach the inner to the fly compared to the Competition. The Telemark needs four pegs to pitch while the Competition needs 6 pegs. Both tents offer optional side guying of the pole.

Ventilation - To be decided. Neither tent is "airy" so I would not be choosing either for warm weather low level 3 season use. For me, my ZPacks Solplex fills this role. Both tents rely on air flow through/under the end panels which is limited. The Telemark also has a high vent to aid ventilation. It needs a prop to keep it fully open as the stiffener can get bent out of shape. This is a simple mod. The Telemark can also have the exterior door pitched out to form an awning using either the pole sections forming the end struts or a stick although this has a deleterious effect on the pitch. The exterior door of Competition can no doubt be similarly configured using a stick/walking pole.

Interior/Livability Fore/aft, the Competition is symmetric about the plane of the pole while the Telemark is split about 65/35. This means that the Competition can be slept in with the head at either end while the Telemark is best with the head in the shorter end. Both tents enclose a similar volume but the structure of that volume varies.
The Competition has no internal pocket(s) for small items or loop/s at the apex of the inner for hanging a light etc. The Telemark has the rather large and awkward tent bag which will form a pocket and a two loops in the apex of the inner separated by about 35cm. I expect I will remove the tent bag pockety thing and replace it with a lighter, sensibly sized mesh pocket in the same location.

Inner tent. Both have a fabric inner tent with a mesh vent in the upper section of the door. I prefer the Telemark inner door as it hangs down and doesn't rub on the ground and so limits ingress of flies/mosquitoes when open for a short time. The Competition door is much larger due to the location of the pole and lies on the ground when open.

Length - Telemark wins. While both tents claim an inner tent length of 220cm it becomes very apparent when a mat is inserted that the Telemark has considerable extra usable length due to the triangular ends in the Competition compared to the flat, rectangular ends in the Telemark. This should be apparent in the photos where I have placed my Exped Hyperlite Synmat Medium Wide in the tents. With the Telemark there is at least 150mm clearance at head and foot of the mat while in the Competition is is far less.

Width - Telemark wins but there is not a lot in it. The Telemark being asymmetrical has a narrower foot section than the head end. Averaged they are very similar to the Competition but having a bit of extra width at the head/shoulders is more useful. There is some room for dry gear storage in the mid section of both tents.

Height - Tie. In both tents when sitting on my mat my head touched the inner but not enough to be a problem. I am 180cm tall. Taller people might consider the Telemark 2 which has 100mm of additional head height for minimal weight increase.

Vestibule - Competition wins. There is sufficient space in both vestibules to cook, store, shoes, pack and rainwear but there is slightly more usable space in the vestibule of the Competition compared to the Telemark due to it being slightly wider and the position of the door. The Telemark however has the ability to narrow the mid section of the inner tent to increase the vestibule space when cooking etc.

Footprints - Telemark wins. Both manufacturers offer a footprint as an optional extra to protect the tent floor. Of course MYOG footprints are quite easy to create. The Competition footprint only covers the inner tent floor area and not the vestibule like the Telemark. See also the pitching fly only section below.

Use fly only - Telemark wins. The Telemark can be pitched fly only without any extra items. The Competition requires the use of a footprint or at least a strap to connect the bottom points of the main pole.
Last edited by Mark F on Tue 11 Jul, 2017 6:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Nordisk Telemark 1 UL vs Terra Nova Laser Competition

Postby andrewa » Mon 10 Jul, 2017 10:19 pm

Good comparison Mark. The telemark looks roomier with those square ends - the roof fabric doesn't hang down as much.

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Re: Nordisk Telemark 1 UL vs Terra Nova Laser Competition

Postby Mark F » Tue 11 Jul, 2017 6:17 pm

Agree Andrew. The tensioning system on the Competition inner tent is highly reliant on the straps which run from the top end points on the inner to the buckle at the top of the end poles. I find this buckle slips quite easily loosening the pitch of the inner although is is accessible from inside the tent when pitched. When you look at the whole setup of the Competition at each end with odd bits of bungee cord etc, I start to think that the otherwise excellent design was not fully thought through.

As a counter to this negativity I found yesterday that the Telemark was missing the guying point on the pole tube on the non-door side. An email to Nordisk with photo identified that it was a defect. Nordisk passed it immediately to the UK distributor (I bought from Wiggle) who will replace the tent.
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Re: Nordisk Telemark 1 UL vs Terra Nova Laser Competition

Postby andrewa » Tue 11 Jul, 2017 7:59 pm

Mark, in modifying mine recently, I bought some grosgrain from Tier Gear - I didn't realise that there is a significant difference between polyester and nylon grosgrain. The normal stuff you get from haberdashery shops is polyester, and thin, and slips. Simon sells both polyester and nylon, and I ended up with nylon which is thicker and doesn't slip in the buckles nearly as easily.

And, yes, there are lots of little bits of shock cord, aren't there?!

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