Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

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Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Tilleyman » Sun 05 Aug, 2012 3:24 pm

My tent odyssey is finally over :D
Finding a light weight 3-4 season hiking tent long enough for me as a tall person (6'5" or 195cm) has been quite a trial...

Looked at, sat and laid down in several including the Mont Moondance I and II, WE Dart I and II, Exped Venus and Vela, MSR Nook and Hubba, OnePlanet Goondie I and II... and Hilleberg Akto/Soulo/Staika. They were variously too cramped, too complicated to set up, had insufficient storage space, poor ventilation... or just too expensive for what was offered.

I heard that Exped was releasing a 3 season two and three person tent range called the Gemini (based on a modified version of the now-superceded Southern Cross light shelter with improved end-to-end ventilation and better tie-downs) so I jumped at the chance of an introductory offer from a well-known online supplier.

During my research I found little in the way of independent reviews for the Gemini II, but I have always been impressed by the design and Craftsmanship of Exped gear.
The specs looked good on paper, but have been proven in my recent use of this very impressive tent.

220cm x 125cm x 110cm headroom inside means a great deal of comfort when getting dressed on a frosty morning or eating in the tent during bad weather.
Image Image
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First time assembled in the back yard

I opted to also order the Gemini II footprint, and would recommend this option to others... fits well and keeps gear dry and out of the mud.

The Exped gear loft will fit the Gemini II loops, but I found it restricted overhead room way too much for me... I opted to rig up some shockcord between the loops provided to hang gloves and let my sodden NZ possum socks to dry out a little overnight :)
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On first unpacking the tent, I was impressed by the well-organised colour coded stuff sack provided.
The green silicon treated nylon fly goes into the green side and the main tent (with grey floor) goes into the grey side.
Four equal length high quality shock-corded DAC Featherlight NSL 9 mm TH72M aircraft grade aluminium poles are included in a separate 3 compartment accessory bag.
The other pouches are for a repair kit (provided) and the pegs.

The heart of the Gemini II is a very clever cross pole orientation and jointing device.
Like many well thought-out design concepts, it is deceptively simple... yet very effective.
It enables all poles to be identical, eliminates the need for a separate transverse pole at the top of the vestibule and provides a tether point for additional guy lines (provided) if needed in extreme wind conditions.

Putting it Up
I found erecting the Gemini II for the first time solo was quite straight froward... all major connections are either numbered or colour coded.
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The footprint is pegged out first (red tabs to the front) then the tent inner snapped on.
Poles are joined together and inserted in order to the numbered sleeves... once pushed home, the poles are tensioned and snapped into the special banana shaped gold anodised connector which handles each pole-pair.
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The tensioned poles are therefore curved into a complex shape and remain in place without further fasteners.
The gold connector can be detached from the tent inner and used with poles in sleeves provided on the footprint and fly to create a lightweight cross-tensioned shelter. Clever.
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Once the tent inner has all the poles in place and tensioned, the fly is then clipped on (red tag to red tag) and final guy lines tensioned up.

The first time I unzipped the tent and sat in it I was hooked :D
Stacks of overhead room, and more than enough room to stretch out even inside a bulky winter weight sleeping bag (which added about 50mm each end)... and the twin vestibules are HUGE!
However, while very roomy indeed as a one-person tent (did I mention those vestibules are HUGE) I think it would be rather cramped as a two person tent unless you are on very friendly terms with your tent mate :wink:
Exped say it will fit two of their LW sleeping mats side-by-side, but for me I found it pretty much perfect with one 51cm wide sleeping mat and plenty of room either side for clothes or other gear.

Performance
I was able to give this tent a good test during a week up near the Victorian Alps in July 2012.
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Weather was quite cold at first with a number of frosty mornings around -3 to -4C but then it changed quite suddenly to cold and WET :shock:
It bucketed down for the last three days... another good test of the Gemini II!

Ventilation in the Gemini II is excellent, with a large hooded insect screened vent positioned at each end of the outer fly (can be zipped closed if less ventilation is needed) and the fly being positioned about 70mm off the ground (it is a 3 season tent after all).
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During the later part of my trip the wind increased and could be felt swirling around as it passed under the fly and through the tent... a little disconcerting after being used to 4 season tents with a fly extending to ground level like my old and much-loved Fairydown Altimate II.
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However, performance if both frost and and then heavy rain was flawless... the ice crystals dislodged from the underside of the fly hit the inner, melted and rolled off.
During heavy rain and wind not a drop of water entered the Gemini II... and despite my misgivings about the distance between the fly and the ground no wind-driven rain entered either.

Exped have put a lot of thought into the design of their tents, and its this attention to detail that makes them shine over several competitors.
These featured include:
Colour coded zips for the main entrance, one having a luminous end cap;
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Yellow mesh keeper bags for the end guy ropes to keep them organised;
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Reflective Dyneema guy ropes prevent late-night tangles when moving around the camp site after dark;

Tuck pockets in the roof to store the main mesh entrance panel for quick access when insect screening is not required;
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Quick connect points for the fly door when rolled up... can be disconnected in seconds when rain threatens;
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Colour coded and/or clearly numbered assembly points mean this tent can be quickly assembled in the dark or inclement weather;

Large mesh storage pockets in each corner for beanies, a torch, glasses... or a midnight snack :D

A repair kit is included with each tent (instructions, swatches of inner mesh and outer rainfly material and a pole connector tube)

There are one or two minor niggles that could easily be resolved as manufacturing running changes.
The footprint peg down points do not exactly match those required for the outer rainfly... so you cannot share peg points.
If you try to do so, the outer fly door area cannot be pulled taut enough.
I'm not sure if this is by design or simply manufacturing variation but it is annoying to have to carry a few more pegs than I expected.
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The distance between the end of the rain fly to the ground appears acceptable on level ground, but when the tent is positioned on a falling slope the air gap appears extreme... and cannot be reduced via guy line tensioning. Not sure whether this would have any real affect on performance because the waterproof inner extends quite high but I think it looks a bit odd.
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The secondary guy rope attached directly to the frame's cross-point for maximum strength but was simply a single length of Dyneema cord, not sufficient IMO to triangulate the load in high winds so I replaced both with twinned guy lines.
A small point which hopefully will be addressed by Exped quickly.

At 2.45kg all-up its pretty heavy for a single person tent, but the built-in roominess means not having to carry a tarp as well.

Overall, I'm very happy with my Gemini II... and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a very high quality, well ventilated and roomy 1.5 person 3+ season tent.
Particularly if you are tall :D

Lots more info here:
http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage_int.nsf
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Aushiker » Sun 05 Aug, 2012 3:47 pm

Great review and photos. Thanks for sharing.

Pity about the weight otherwise a great looking tent.

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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby ILUVSWTAS » Sun 05 Aug, 2012 5:04 pm

Good review.

That is heavy though, did you look at the Macpac Minaret?? Lighter and most probably even roomier.....
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Tilleyman » Sun 05 Aug, 2012 5:13 pm

ILUVSWTAS wrote:Good review.

That is heavy though, did you look at the Macpac Minaret?? Lighter and most probably even roomier.....


I did look at a few Macpacs, having had a good (dry!) experience in a Macpac Apollo during teeming rain during a NZ South Island kayaking trip.

The Apollo is even heavier at 2.8kg, and while it has similar vestibules the steeply sloping poles limit interior space.
Both my head and feet were touching the ends of the tent vs plenty of clearance on the Gemini II.
http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gea ... pollo.html

The Minaret though is listed at 2.4kg and doesn't have the same degree of vestibule storage (or access to it from inside or outside the tent) as the Gemini II.
http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gea ... naret.html
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby bushwalker zane » Mon 06 Aug, 2012 2:08 pm

Nice review there Tilleyman. Exped make some good gear, glad to hear you're happy! It's not always easy finding gear for tall folk :lol:
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Onestepmore » Mon 06 Aug, 2012 6:32 pm

Nice review - the pictures are excellent! Thanks for going to this degree of effort.
We can learn a lot from crayons. They come in different shapes and colours, but they all have to live in the same box
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Joe » Wed 08 Aug, 2012 11:47 am

Great review...and good to see a pair of fingerless Stoney Creek gloves in there too!
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby genesisofjosh » Tue 18 Sep, 2012 10:43 pm

Thanks for the review. My girlfriend and I just bought the Gemini III. Look forward to testing it out. :)
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby sparky_pete » Sun 11 Nov, 2012 11:03 am

Great review. I'm really interested in the Gemini II but am worried that the vents at the end of the tent would flap in windy conditions and be noisy/annoying. Has anyone found this to be a problem? Most other tents have a stay with velcro to keep the vent open and taut. Also, didn't realise the guy lines attached to the tent poles through this vent - thanks for pointing this out!
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby bushwalker zane » Mon 12 Nov, 2012 8:57 am

sparky_pete wrote:Great review. I'm really interested in the Gemini II but am worried that the vents at the end of the tent would flap in windy conditions and be noisy/annoying. Has anyone found this to be a problem? Most other tents have a stay with velcro to keep the vent open and taut. Also, didn't realise the guy lines attached to the tent poles through this vent - thanks for pointing this out!


I don't have a Gemini, but I don't imagine the vents would be too much trouble in the wind. They seem to have wire running through the edge, and if the wind is high enough to be causing the vents to make annoying noises, I would think the whole rain fly would be flapping about and causing a bit of noise anyway.

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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby jeza » Tue 30 Dec, 2014 12:20 pm

Thanks for the review. I'm tossing up between the Gemini II and the Mineret. The Gemini is definitely roomier than the Mineret. While the Mineret is 2500mm on one side, it's 2000mm on the other, which means the extra space is a wedge shape. So on average you've got 2250mm of length. The Gemini is 2200mm long and 1250mm wide, an extra 10cm over the Mineret. The Mineret is a metre high and the Gemini is about 5cm higher than that. I think I'd be happy to share the Mineret with my girlfriend but probably no one else, where as I could probably share the Gemini with a mate if we kept all our gear outside the tent. It may not be ideal but I don't tend to notice the lack of space when I'm fast asleep when I'm knackered from a day's hiking. The downside is that if I'm going solo or with my girlfriend (I'll probably have to carry most of the weight), then the Gemini is an extra 300g of weight. Every gram counts, though it's probably manageable.
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby johnrs » Tue 30 Dec, 2014 4:14 pm

Jeza
If you want high long and light
Have a look at the Helsport Ringstind 1&2
3 &1/2 seasons out of Norway.
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Wingnut » Thu 01 Jan, 2015 11:15 pm

Did you consider the Exped Orion? It's rated as a 4 season by Exped, easy to assemble and resists high winds well? I'm pretty sure it has more space than the Gemini too...
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby Avatar » Fri 02 Jan, 2015 1:55 pm

The Luxe Tiger Moth seems to belong to the same tent family. Similar dimensions (only 90cm width at foot end) and a bit lighter.
http://www.luxeoutdoor.com/eng/catalog-topic-gallery-view1.asp?id=1327&selfpath=/167
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Re: Tent Review: Exped Gemini II

Postby GPSGuided » Fri 02 Jan, 2015 5:01 pm

Have the Gemini III for the family and I am very happy with it in terms of convenience, space, storage and features. The only issue that bugs me is setting up or taking down the tent in the rain. Fortunately not experienced them yet but it'd be hard to avoid getting the inner wet. Once setup, it's well sheltered from rain and wind.
Just move it!
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