Big Sky International Convertible 2P Tent REVIEW

Hi Will

Interesting.
> as the photo shows, the snow flaps are extra clutter when summer camping.
Seriously, just how much of a problem are the flaps in the summer time? I confess, the concept of them creating 'clutter' is not one which would have occured to me.

Cheers

Ben must be out in the sticks. I expected to see a post from him within an hour of this posting online. Stay tuned.

Christopher, you just made my day :D.

Adam

Hi Roger, as your post illustrates, it depends on the individual whether the flaps are an issue while summer camping. I brought it up to make readers aware of it, and they can decide for themselves whether its an issue or not.

I suspect that many buyers of this tent will only use it for summer camping, so they don't need the snow flaps. Of course then can cut them off, but the point is they can't buy a fly for the Convertible without snow flaps.

Another thing to note is the flaps serve a useful purpose when winter camping in a snow storm, but they greatly reduce the tent's ventilation because they seal off the bottom.

Best,
Will

I've had a few uncomfortable nights when dune sand blew under the fly and settled on my face for hours. Maybe the snow flaps on the fly would help in this situation?

> I've had a few uncomfortable nights when dune sand blew under the fly and settled on my face for hours.
New one on me!
But of course. I think the tents used by nomadic Arabs have sodcloths too.

Cheers

Looks a cracking all round tent; I've been looking for a good light all-rounder for a while, and there really is not a tent that can be that – but this comes very close. The other tent I'm very tempted by is the Stephensons Warmlite (I also like smaller independent companies, of which there seem to be lots in the USA). This review is timely – have BPL reviewed the Warmlite?

Hi Peter. Ask and you shall receive; we just received a Warmlite 2X from Stephensons and Chris Townsend will be doing the review. It will be published in early fall sometime, along with a State Of the Market Report on single wall tents.

Best,
Will

Ace! I really look forward to it (too much really, my son and partner despair how much I visit this site!).

Hi Mary. Great comment. Camping in the desert when its windy results in a lot of fine sand inside your tent, and sand in everything inside. The snow flaps could be covered with sand around the perimeter to keep it from blowing in. Seems like that would work.

Best,
Will

Hi Will

Given the rather rough past history, do you have any idea what the delivery schedule on these tents might be? I'm curious, and I am sure many would be interested.

Cheers

As of today, some Convertible 2Ps are in stock at dealers and at Big Sky…

For current availability, please see:
http://www.bigskyproducts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=43

or

http://tinyurl.com/3ygqh2

Thanks for your interest,
Bob

Big Sky International
http://www.BigSkyInternational.com
online store: http://www.BigSkyProducts.com

If you wanted a dedicated summer fly AND a winter fly, couldn't you just buy one extra fly and cut the snow flaps off? It can't cost much more with the flaps than if one was offered without, right?

As of today, some Convertible 2Ps are in stock at dealers but NOT at Big Sky…

If you need help finding a dealer with one in stock, please let us know.

For current availability, please see:
http://www.bigskyproducts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=43

or

http://tinyurl.com/3ygqh2

Thanks for your interest,
Bob

Big Sky International
http://www.BigSkyInternational.com
online store: http://www.BigSkyProducts.com

I was just informed by our warehouse they "found" a couple more Convertible 2Ps… so as of today, some Convertible 2Ps are in stock at dealers AND at Big Sky… sorry for the confusion…

For current availability, please see:
http://www.bigskyproducts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=43

or

http://tinyurl.com/3ygqh2

Thanks for your interest,
Bob

Big Sky International
http://www.BigSkyInternational.com
online store: http://www.BigSkyProducts.com

It was mentioned in the article that the poles attach to the outside of the fly. Is there any possible way of just pitching the inner mesh tent? If not, that seems like a big disadvantage, at least for me. In warmer weather, I often just pitch the inner mesh tent for superb ventilation, views, and star-watching while still keeping the bugs out. What is the advantage of having the poles attach to the outside of the fly?

“What is the advantage of having the poles attach to the outside of the fly?”

If you have to set up your tent while it’s raining, having the poles attached to the fly will allow you to set up your tent without getting the inside wet.

Ray Jardine mentions this in his book Beyond Backpacking. He sees many tent designs as flawed because typically you have to set up the inner tent, then throw the fly over the top. In the mean time, your nice and dry tent is becoming not so nice and dry. Makes sense to me.

Edit: Seems many non-American tent makers have figured this out already ;)

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't think of that. However, I still personally do not like the idea of having poles attach to the outside of the fly. Many tents can be stored and stuffed w/ the fly still attached to the inner tent. When I pitch my tent in the rain, I can push the poles through the sleeve on the inner tent while the attached fly is protecting the inner tent from rain.

> What is the advantage of having the poles attach to the outside of the fly?
> If you have to set up your tent while it’s raining, having the poles attached to the fly will allow you to set up your tent without getting the inside wet.

Very true.
Another advantage is that having the poles sleeved to the fly and the guys means the tent is a LOT more stable in bad weather.

> Seems many non-American tent makers have figured this out already ;)
INDEED! INDEED!

Will, do you believe that it is advisable (even if not necessary) to seal any of the seams on Evolution tents?

My understanding when I purchased the 2P2V three season version was that it's not necessary to seal any of the seams, and I haven't done so. No problems so far.

However, even if not necessary, I wonder if applying seam sealer, at least for high-stress areas like the corners, would signficantly help strengthen the tent.

Thanks for any info or suggestions.

JRS

.

Due to a mix up when publishing this review we did not get Will's video tour of the Convertible 2P in the initial release of the article.

That's ben fixed now. If you go to the original article and scroll down through the Field Testing section you'll find a video tour of the tent as used by Will during an early May camping trip at a campsite at nearly 12,000 feet in the southern Rockies.