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When is the Tent SOTMR coming out?


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  • #1259497
    Ethan A.
    BPL Member

    @mountainwalker

    Locale: SF Bay Area & New England

    Anyone know when it will be published?

    Also whether it will include new entrants from Nemo like the Meta 1 and 2P, Andi, etc.

    #1827303
    William Cain
    BPL Member

    @heyo_speaker

    I would also be interested in knowing if and when another tent SOTMR is planned. I have never bought and used my own tent for camping and am completely new to shopping for a tent. I am hoping to buy a tent before the summer. I started researching tents today and found a link to Backpacking Light on ConsumerSearch.

    It would be nice to know when the next SOTMR might be coming so I can decide whether I should wait for it or just buy based on the old recommendations if those models go on sale. Have there been any major improvements in tent design/manufacture since the last SOTMR? (I would also be interested in other members' recommendations for 3- to 5-person tents, or links to some good information!)

    Thanks.

    #1827308
    Brendan Swihart
    BPL Member

    @brendans

    Locale: Fruita CO

    There was a group/family tent SOTMR in October…You'll have to buy a membership to view it…
    http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/family_tents_sotm_2011.html

    #1827313
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    There is a survey and tutorial on tunnel tents due .

    I regret the delay, but a lightning strike (main HD) and aberrant Maxtor software (NAS backup) in August/October meant I had lost EVERYTHING from the last 20+ years. It was … heartbreaking.

    Eventually Data Recovery was able to peel everything off the Maxtor NAS drive despite it being 'deleted'. I got the data back from them on Xmas Eve – what a Xmas present! Took a while to tidy up the backup into the right layout, but that has largely been completed. So I now have a backlog of reviews to do.

    Cheers

    #1827334
    CW
    BPL Member

    @simplespirit

    Locale: .

    The one Roger mentioned above is the only thing "tent"-ish in the queue. I'm working on putting together another shelter SOTM but it's on 20-25 oz 'mids.

    If there's enough interest in something more traditional, I'll see if I can pull enough together for another SOTM.

    What would you want to see? 1p or 2p? Single or double wall? Traditional pole support or trekking pole support? Unfortunately, we can't do them all every year.

    #1827473
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    I think the most interesting would be 1 and/or 2 person trekking pole supported double wall (or tarp + bug tent) shelters. There seems to be lot of innovation going on there these days. This field is a lot more interesting that traditional poled tents, which haven't changed that much.

    Shelters to include:

    SMD Haven
    TarpTent StratoSpire/Notch
    Zpacks Hexamid with Inner
    MLD Cricket with Inner
    MLD DuoMid with Inner
    HMG Echo
    BearPaw?
    Alpinlite?

    #1827536
    . .
    BPL Member

    @biointegra

    Locale: Puget Sound

    +1 on trekking pole supported 'tents' (a la Dan)

    #1827558
    Rakesh Malik
    Member

    @tamerlin

    Locale: Cascadia

    I'd add to Dan's list:

    In the trekking-pole supported shelters department, I'd also add a few suggestions even though they aren't double walled:
    MSR Twin Sisters
    Seek Outside Breakaway Tarp (looks a bit like Alpinlite's Terraform — is Gen still making those? That seemed like a great idea, but I've not seen any reports about it in use yet)
    Nemo Meta 1/2p
    HMG Traverse — looks a bit like the MSR Twin Sisters, but made of Cuben
    MSR Twing

    I agree about the poled tents; most of the innovation in that area seems to be in materials rather than in design. There are a few new ones floating around, like the upcoming Direkt 2 and the new TNF Assault 2.

    A report on pyramids would also be more interesting than a report on traditional poled tents, IMO… so I'm glad there's one in the works :)

    #1827562
    Stephan Doyle
    Member

    @stephancal

    I'll third Dan's mention, too.

    For UL backpacking, for 3-season use most of us take either A) a tarp (straightforward enough), B) a mid (and there are a number of options, which all seem quite similar to me Chris, I'm interested to see your report), or C) A pole-supported (e.g. trekking poles, but dedicated poles for those who don't use walking sticks) LW single-double wall construction.

    A SOTM report for tarps seems rather silly. But for what most of us do most of the time, knowledge of (B) is in the works – now it's just a matter of looking into (C), which Dan brought up.

    #1827910
    Ryan C
    BPL Member

    @radio_guy

    Locale: United States

    A SOTMR of trekking pole supported double wall shelter systems would be beneficial to me. This could include 'mids with inners and the newer tarptent style double wall models that can also be used as a standalone shaped tarp.

    #1839458
    CW
    BPL Member

    @simplespirit

    Locale: .

    Hi everyone-

    I'm in the process of trying to define what this should look like, and would love feedback. So far it's mostly been narrowed to "trekking pole supported and double-walled". The good and bad side of such a broad definition is a lot fits in there and we obviously can't review everything on the market. Things like the GoLite Shangri-la could fit in this category or could be defined as a 'mid. The HMG Echo system could also fit or be defined as a tarp + inner.

    What I'm looking for is suggestions on narrowing it down some more. I'd stipulate that it must be a system (the inner is specifically designed for the outer) and it must offer full coverage. I'd appreciate any feedback on defining what you guys want to include in this and I'd like to keep it under say 10 total.

    Thanks,
    Chris

    #1839539
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    Here's a few thoughts:

    1) Although there's some awesome 2 person trekking pole supported shelters out there, I'd focus on 1 person shelters because a trekking pole design often works better for one person than two (for headroom reasons mostly). There are 2 trekking pole shelters that work well, but a lot of designs work better for one so you're going to get a more interesting test group if you look at one person shelters.

    2) Rather than religiously focus on double wall, hybrid or single wall, I'd focus on the spirit of of the design. Most (all?) trekking pole supported shelters can be easily classified by what they attempt to provide:
    a ) Rain protection (tarps/shaped tarps)
    b ) Rain and Bug Protection (tarps/shaped tarps with floors)
    c ) Rain, Bug and Condensation Protection (double wall or hybrid shelters)

    C is where most of the innovation has been happening in the recent years. Some of these designs are full double wall shelters (ie. TT Notch), some are mostly double-wall (HMG Echo) and others are more of a hybrid design (SMD Skyscape, Lightheart Solo) but they all have the same basic goal of providing full protection. If a hybrid shelter can accomplish this (ie. the single wall areas are spots you'd never contact) then good for that design.

    3) Deciding whether to include a tarp + net tent is a tough area and discretion is going to be needed. At a minimum, they should be been designed to work together. I would also say the tarp should be more than just a standard tarp. At a bare minimum, it should have provision for a beak attachment like the Echo I. So I would leave something like the MLD Grace Solo + Serenity shelter out. It's pretty well established how a standard tarp + net tent is going to perform (Unless you want to include one as sort of a baseline).

    Shelters that come to mind that I would include are:
    1) TarpTent Notch and/or StratoSpire 1
    2) HMG Echo I
    3) SMD Skyscape (which version?)
    4) Lightheart Solo
    5) Zpacks Hexamid Tarp + Net Tent (solo or solo plus?)
    6) MLD Patrol Shelter + Serenity Shelter Inner

    Maybe's:
    – MLD DuoMid + Inner (pretty well known entity)
    – MLD Cricket + Solo Inner
    – One of BearPaw's combo's.
    SMD Gatewood Cape + SMD Serenity Net Tent

    #1839552
    Ryan C
    BPL Member

    @radio_guy

    Locale: United States

    The suggested types/models Dan mentioned are what I would be interested in. Maybe options from both ends of the price spectrum rather than all uberexpensive cuben models. Remember that many of us like the features/comfort of these hybrid shelters rather than carrying traditional tents but don't really want or need to go SUL and uncomfortable either.

    I would also be interested in some tunnel designs as they seem to provide some of the best performance for the least weight in nasty conditions (winter, light mountaineering, Alaska or Iceland in summer…).

    #1839644
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > I would also be interested in some tunnel designs

    Coming soon, I promise.

    Cheers

    #1839683
    wander lust
    Spectator

    @sol

    the aarn pacer tent could fall into this category as well.

    http://www.aarnpacks.com/products/pacer_tent_1.html

    not ultralight, but it seems to shed wind and rain good and should be able to handle some snow.

    #1839782
    MFR
    Spectator

    @bigriverangler

    Locale: West

    +1 on Dan's list too. Though, I'm less interested in the MLD Patrol Shelter + Serenity Net Tent mostly because the Patrol Shelter is a beaked tarp, which to me feels less like a shaped tent outer along the lines of the rest of the list. I would definitely be interested in MLD Duomid/Solomid + Inner and the Cricket Tent, as they seem to fit the qualifications more closely.

    Seriously, awesome idea.

    #1839799
    Dave Heiss
    BPL Member

    @daveheiss

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    +1 on adding the MLD Solomid to the tent list.

    #1840405
    CW
    BPL Member

    @simplespirit

    Locale: .

    This is what I have on my list so far:

    TarpTent Stratospire 1
    HMG Echo 1 (if different from the 2010 review)
    SMD Skyscape Trekker
    LightHeart SoLong 6
    Zpacks Hexamid 1+ and Hextent 1+
    MLD Cricket Tent

    Any interest in including the GoLite Shang 1 and insert? Nemo Meta 1? Anything else?

    #1840415
    Samuel Kau
    Spectator

    @skau

    Locale: Southern California

    I would be interested in the golite shangri la 1

    #1840476
    MFR
    Spectator

    @bigriverangler

    Locale: West

    What's the thinking behind going with the StratoSpire over the Notch? Purely my subjective opinion, but the design/weight of the Notch seems more suited to solo hiking where with the StratoSpire, I tend to see the two-person as a better design and more acceptable with weight.

    #1840479
    MFR
    Spectator

    @bigriverangler

    Locale: West

    Oh, and I'd like to see the GoLite Shangri-la 1 too.

    #1840526
    Rakesh Malik
    Member

    @tamerlin

    Locale: Cascadia

    "Oh, and I'd like to see the GoLite Shangri-la 1 too."

    I as well. I'd also like to add the Sierra Designs Origami and Mountain Guide tarps to the list, though the latter might be better suited to a more extreme category, and also the Nemo Pentalite and Transform. And the MSR Twin Sisters, and the MLD Circus Tent, if it's still in production. :)

    #1840624
    William Chilton
    BPL Member

    @williamc3

    Locale: Antakya

    Dan Said "Although there's some awesome 2 person trekking pole supported shelters out there, I'd focus on 1 person shelters because a trekking pole design often works better for one person than two (for headroom reasons mostly). There are 2 trekking pole shelters that work well, but a lot of designs work better for one so you're going to get a more interesting test group if you look at one person shelters."
    For me, this seems like a very good reason to INCLUDE 2 person shelters, to see which ones do work. I would like to see the SL2 and Stratospire 2 included.

    #1840650
    diego dean
    BPL Member

    @cfionthefly

    I know it doesn't fall within the trekking pole support tents. But when it's released I'd really like to see a good review on the Easton Kilo 1P tent. The weight, and more importantly pack size of this tent is intriguing to me.

    #1842607
    CW
    BPL Member

    @simplespirit

    Locale: .

    We obviously can't include every possible shelter that sleeps 1 or 2 people in a single SOTM (ok, maybe we could but it'd take forever to get published and be a bear). I'm open to doing separate 1 person and 2 person SOTMs, if there's a real need. A lot of these newer shelters can sleep 1+ or come in both a 1p and 2p version where only the dimensions vary, so separate reviews probably doesn't make sense. You guys tell me what you want though.

    These are definite:

    Zpacks Hexatent 1+
    LightHeart – Solong 6 or Solo (not 100% sure which yet)
    HMG Echo – option here is the 1 or the 2 but apparently most people are buying the 2 for the minimal weight difference

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