Anyone used Stephenson 2c? Any opinions on the design?

The tunnel tent is a fine design, but should be pitched narrow-end (foot) into the wind. If shifting winds buffet it from the side, then use guy-lines at a 90 degree angle to the long side (ie: straight to the side) mounted about 2/3 of the way up the poles. For snow loading, use double poles in each sleeve or knock the snow before it gets too heavy for the poles (inconvenient at night).

For snow loads, a 3 pole tunnel design (ie: add another pole sleeve in the middle of the long side) is much stronger, and a 3 pole geodesic (ie: dome) tent is even stronger than that since the poles crossing around 45 degrees reinforce each other.

The tunnel design is a little lighter and has steeper sides which yields more living space per weight & footprint – but isn't quite as strong as geodesic crossing pole designs.

John, thanks for the comment. Designing a 1-2 person dome is much harder then a tunnel. It will be too big for solo use. I have studied a lot of designs that will allow me to use only 2 pole but now I agree with what you said: 3 poles are needed. I will make an optional third sleeve in my tent and use it only when expecting heavy snow.

Check out Roger's tent design at:

http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/DIY_RNCTents.htm

Rogers tent is very nice – I think I remember him saying that he ties guylines INSIDE his tent to help with wind stability. I tried to find the thread but I couldn't. I'm sure he will clarify.

I own both the 2R and a three pole 3R and the Stephenson tents are not so much tunnel tents as tension tents. The aerodynamics is derived from their specific design and width but the strength comes from the tent being stretched from the tensioning system up to sixty pounds. After reading the review it’s hard to tell if the tent was sufficiently re-tensioned when the wind picked up or if he then placed stakes on the windward side of the tent in the outside pole loops that Stephenson recommends when caught in a side wind. These steps alone could have made the tent rock solid as Stephenson tents are not designed to flex in wind. An optional internal guy system is available for their tents when one expects extreme wind conditions. I own seven tents two of which are Stephenson’s, they are not perfect tents, be that as it may, these tents are often misunderstood.

Good luck with your tent design and manufacture!

as for that particular day in the review, I re-tensioned the tent before going to sleep but not anymore. The wind started blowing hard sometime before dawn. It's possible that some further tensioning would have helped. All the stake out loops were in use, that is, seven stakes total as it looked like the weather was deteriorating and wind was quite likely to blow.

It's interesting you mention Stephenson tents are not meant to flex. I wasn't really sure about this. I doesn't feel good when it does but I see no way to avoid it if it's not properly oriented. I do know these tents rely on tension and aerodynamics to stay strong but in my experience with my 2C any side component to the wind makes it suffer. It seems to me it's particularly worse if the side component affects the rear pole, which is considerably thinner in section than the front pole. Actually, I had it in quite mild wind just last week: again, it was coming from rear/side (picked up in the early morning). The location was exposed and wind was expected so I used stakes on the most likely to be the winward side. Eventually, the wind was not gusty, more like a steady but mild breeze. The side of the tent would take the wind and the rear pole flexed noticeably. The staked down loops didn't seem to help much with this. I'll try to add tension to the tent next time it happens and see how it goes.

On the other hand, I've had it in moderate, steady winds coming from the rear and the tent wasn't moving a bit. It felt very strong that way.

I must add my 2C doesn't have the wind stabilizers. They forgot to add them (were standard in this tent) but I've already talked to the manufacturer about adding them.

Bottom line, in my experience this tent is very stable if properly oriented but very sensitive to side winds despite the short length. I've had it for less than a year yet so I guess I'm still learning to use it properly. Overall, I like this tent. It's incredibly light and spacious for one and I can live with the condensation and the spartan design. I still have to try it further in heavy winds.

I liked what Roger Caffin described in some other thread in the past. If I understood right, he has a continous line from the ground to the side of the pole, across the inside of the tent to the other side of the same pole and then down to the ground on the opposite side of the tent. It's a three section line but the attaching points are sewn at the same height inside and outside. I've never tried such a design but it's easy to imagine how it helps keeping the pole up. I'd try this if I was to build a tent myself.

Just a thought and perhaps you are doing this already, I stretch my 2R and 3R like a slinky before I set and tension the front stakes.

Slinky, you know the fun coiled toy; I give the tent a good pull/stretch forward, slowly building to about twenty pounds and this lets the tent fully expand forward prior to setting the front stakes and adjusting the tension system. This has allowed tighter pitches because I am not using the front tension system (in the 2R) to tighten the tent for set up so I now have much more reserve in the system for inclement weather.

The other thing I do which I realize you already may be doing is to is to pull out the poll stake loops to ensure the tent is properly stretched sideways before I set stakes on the windward side.

A solid pull of up to the limit of 60 pounds force on the tension system with a slight readjustment of your windward stakes I would think would make your 2C really solid in heavy wind.

Thanks for the comments. I think I understand 2C better now.

Roger's internal guyline idea is a excellent. Here is the link to the post where he explains it:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/5345/index.html?skip_to_post=69144#69144

I own a 2R with windows, I love it but just keep in mind they are very strong and very light. If you set up the tent correctly you should not have any problem since the 2C has the internal stabilizer and tie down on the outside it should do well. The strongest winds I have been in were about 50 to 70 mile an hour gusts(no internal stabilizer), in the high Sierra in California at 11,000ft. With no problems. BUT you MUST and I mean MUST set it up properly, I think that is the problem some people have with the tent. It is not a forgiving tent.