by andrewa » Wed 18 Apr, 2018 8:43 pm
Tent arrived today. Set it up briefly inside. I'm planning on using it as a 1 person tent, including winter ski weekends on Bogong.
First impressions.
- wt is 1370g, not 1300 as advertised. Can cope with this.
- fabric on floor and fly looks robust - Its certainly not "ultralight" fabric. If this was made with ultralight fabrics, It'd be even better. I don't understand why they recommend a footprint. The floor is heavy enough. I'd be very happy just to use it as is.
- very easy pitch. Inner first, fly over. Only took a few minutes.
- very very roomy for 1 - tent has rectangular floor, with enough room for 2 mats, but the roof angles in from the sides, and I think 2 would be more cosy than I'd like. For one, there's plenty of head room, and heaps of space to have gear inside.
- Vestibule . There's so much room inside for 1 with gear, that the only benefit of the vestibule is keeping the inner dry when getting in and out, and perhaps cooking. It isn't big enough to store much gear. Necessary for winter in the snow though.
- re 4 season use - nylon extends about half way up the sides of the inner tent, mesh at top. Seems like a good compromise, with better ventilation.
- snow shedding - it has a high ridge, and will shed snow well, but the snow wil likely push in on the sides and compress the tent, which is not an issue with 1 person in it. The fly goes down to the ground all around.
- wind - my immediate thoughts were that the fly was not attached to the poles, which might be an issue, but I then thought about all the tents from the 70's/80's, and possibly later . They coped. Presumably when I peg it out properly, the fly will be anchored to the ground well enough to minimise wind flap. There are 2 guy points on each "pole", so it should be able to be anchored well. My gut feeling is that I'd like the poles attached to the fly, but I'll see how it goes. I can easily modify this.
Haven't tried trying to pitch it fly first, and not sure whether I can, but it's so easy and fast to pitch, it probably doesn't matter.
If this was made from some if those ultralight fabrics that Terra Nova use on their Laser photon elite, it would be perfect for me. As it is, I reckon it's a great tent for 1, and I'll be very happy to take it up Bogong in winter - with another person, I'll use my Hilleberg Nallo GT 3, mainly to have some covered gear storage. I suppose my H'berg Nallo GT 2 might now become obsolete.
I think I've found my perfect weekend winter tent. id love an ultralight version for my walking/fly fishing trips. And, it's incredibly cheap for what you get.
A