Bushwalk Australia

Hi Everyone

Getting close to getting my last item on my list - tent but before i do that, would like some opinions on the weight of the tent to carry. Currently myself and my 7yo daughter will be hiking, so I suppose I need to consider that i would be carrying most of her stuff plus the whole tent. Also, from time to time, my wife will be joining us, so am thinking that the tent will need to fit her as well when she is with us (as dont have budget to get 2 tents at the moment). I have some weights below that I am looking at and was wondering if the small weight differences makes a whole lot of difference when i am carrying it. The difference is almost 1.75kg. Looking at the YouTube clips from Marmot, you could fit 3 people comfortably in both of them. The pack I am using is the Osprey Aether 70 to fit everything in.

Marmot Aeros 3P
Weight 2.75kg
Dimensions 104.1cm(H)x193x228.6 / 4.2sqm
Vestibule 0.9sqm
Price US$369 RRP

Marmot Hideaway 4P
Weight 4.423kg
Dimensions 127cm(H)x228.6x228.6 / 5.1sqm
Vestibule 1.3sqm
Price US$299 RRP

Thank you in advance.

Cheers
Eric

Personally I would go the lightest possible.

I'm not familiar with those tents so I cant coment on their quality.

1.75kg is a big difference above an already fairly weighty tent, especially given you will be carrying the whole thing along with some other extra gear. I'd suggest having a look around at what else is available before deciding.

Check http://www.tarptent.com for a tent called the Hogback (no connection and I haven't used one, just plenty of people seem to like them) and also check the various tipi/pyramid options (eg. Black Diamond Megamid/Megalight, Mountain Laurel Designs has one similar, as well as Bear Paw Tents, and Oware).

I would avoid the 4P due to the weight. That is a bit crazy for carrying by yourself The 3P is still heavy but that may not be avoidable for a 3 man without spending big bucks. Marmot do not have the best reputation for making gear that lasts.

A lot of people are buying tarptent (http://www.tarptent.com) at the moment due to good exchange rate. The weight is great because they are hybrid single skin (eg the fly is the only protection, except for the mesh and floor) but longevity is also still in question (for me, anyway).

Black Diamond Vista could work. Good build quality and quite a stable tent. Lots of mesh on the inner though if that is a problem. Lots of headroom and enough space for 3 adults. But still ~2.70kg.

To clarify, the Hogback has a silnylon fly with a full mesh inner. The inner can be completely detached .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P8zqZnP-bE
Franco
franco@tarptent,com

i would check out a tipi tent like the go lite shangrila 3 or 5.
http://www.golite.com/tents/pyramid-and ... angri-la-3

if you are weight concious and wanting a large space, then its the best way to go i reckon.
I have the shangri-la 5 and it has 16 stake points on the bottom, and 4 on the walls. I tried to set it up with the 20 guy out points and it was solid as a rock like any tent with 20 guy outs should. you need a minimum of 4 pegs to set it up. you can stand up and get changed as mine is set at 190m tall using trekking poles. Even their supplied pole is very beefy and should stand up to very strong heavy snow.

the shangrila 3 i think has 5 or 6 sides to its base, but the shangrila 5 has a square base and very easy to setup.

If you go solo, its still light enough to carry by yourself because the inner setup with all stakes for me is 1080 grams.
If you want mossie protection, then the inner nest is 1220 grams so its still ighter than your other 2 options at 2.3kg all up. keep in mind that only 4 can fit with the inner, even though its called the shangrila 5.

add another kilo to it and you can have a wood burning stove to cook and as a heat source to dry your wet clothing.

Also pay close attention to packed dimensions. My tent takes up too much space in my pack and I wish I had paid closer attention to packed dimensions.

Work out how well it will fit in your pack before you buy it!

I'd go for a tarptent!!!!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I will have a look at the tarptent before i commit.