AppyTrails tents?

Howdy Joseph — do you have a link to the company?

AppyTrails

Thanks… I was typing in applytrails! :)

Hum …
You might want to check just how much condensation these will have when pitched on damp ground in cold weather. (No groundsheet include.)

Cheers

I have tested, what I believe to be, a similar polyester. The fabric did allow water to pool and had no splash-/mist-effects, but after some time (1 hour or so?) it did allow water to drip through. This was done with a faucet-test, so I have no idea how the fabric would hold up in a sustained-rain. My guess is that some dripping would occur once the fabric is saturated; and these particular tents leave me skeptical given that the manufacturer makes no claim of waterproofness.

Edit: Just found a claim of the fabric being waterproof. That may very-well be the case. I must admit, I was very impressed with the length of time my fabric held water before allowing it to drip through. With a taut pitch and proper ridgelines this fabric may actually be "waterproof."

I am not worried about it not having a floor. I was thinking about making a bathtub floor with some tyvek.

Based on the claims of the site below polyester is supposed to be more durable than nylon. But it seems that the polyester fabrics do not breath very well? So I worry about condenstation.

I looked at this site: http://www.tentmanufacturers.net/polyester-tents.html

Don't worry about the breathability of polyester–these shelters are coated with polyurethane, so there won't be any air flow through the canopy fabric. For comparison, Tarptents, Megalights, and so on made from sil-nyl don't breathe either.

I have expedition tents from the TNF and MEC that have polyester flies, and I really like the material–it doesn't stretch as much when wet and it dries quicker than conventional nylon flies. The only real disadvantage to polyeter canopies is that they aren't as strong (both in tear strength and abrasion resistance) as nylon.

As for waterproofness, if the 1000pu is in some way meant to refer to a pressure head measurement, then it's borderline. Most US brand double walled tents have flies that measure at 1500, with floors at between 3000 and 5000. I believe I've read that most sil-nyl tests at 1500, but I could be wrong.

Being the gear junkie that I am, I had to try one. I'll let you guys know what I think when it gets here.

You are the man.

Good service, they made a special trip to get them to the post office before it closed yesterday. And they give a Boy Scout discount.

Decided to just recycle this thread instead of starting a new one. Don't want to waste the internet.

Been wondering about these tents. It all sounds very nice. There are 3 initial reviews on BPGT, but nothing about long term use. I wonder about the use of grommets for the stakes. In my expierence the grommets tear up the fabric after some time, whether there's a little patch of fabric underneath or not.

In general can anybody enlighten me a bit about the materials this tent uses?

Joe – it looks like you bought one. What is / was your thoughts?

Correponded with these folks in search of a light weight coated polyester, and they advised my that it was a 1.9 oz fabric. With a light urethane coating, as noted above, their single wall floorless tent could be as light as claimed, but the fabric would be heavier than what I'm looking for, what with sil, ultra sil and the spinnaker fabrics being readily available, mostly at a reasonable price.
Sam Farrington, Chocorua NH

They seem to set up nicely, and they're light; but haven't gotten to use it in the rain yet.

Or is your hose broken. ;)

I don't think "tent" is the word i would use. Looks a lot like a shaped *tarp* to me, and a heavy one at that…

"When are these tents perhaps not your first choice?

If you are going into a black fly or mosquito infested area during the “bad” season…

If you are mountaineering into extremely rocky areas, where stakes can not be driven…

If you plan to camp on a flood plain in the rain…

If you expect a whole bunch of snow…

If you are taking your girl friend and she is paranoid about the outdoors…

If (to avoid being sexist) you are taking your boy friend and he is paranoid about the outdoors…

Your options are to take the tent and adapt to the rock (tie off your stake points), slather on the DDT, keep off the flood plain (or the drainage channel, which is less obvious), and shovel off some snow in the middle of the night if necessary. Tell your partner to tough it out, and take the tent anyway. Or tell him (her) to carry the OTHER HEAVY tent and poles…"

Those are conditions that I face all year round and so don't use taprs.

>Or is your hose broken. ;)

Our water is kind of hard, and I hate having water spots on my tents.

The Ettowah had roughly the same dimensions and weighed approximately 18 or 19 ozs. A couple nights in the Sierras in the early spring a couple of years ago demonstrated condensation would not allow this design to be an acceptable shelter for the areas that I hike. Condensation was severe.

Has to be the creepiest one on the site, but strangely alluring. Nice mountains, but blacked-out face….**shivers**

It was a cold, wet and shivery (sic) day Nate, just a few steps on the north side of Glen Pass.

An interesting looking product indeed! But since I already have a 10 oz Gatewood Cape, which the Appy somewhat resembles, I think I'll stick to that. In addition, the Cape has a bug netting liner for those times when the 'skeeters are especially frisky. I can see where the Appy would have an appeal for BSA troops though.

Hi,

I have two of the Appy Trail Mark III (long story as to why I have two).

I have spend five nights in the tent so far and have a few comments which I will post some pics for when I get home.

Currently I am testing for BGT so I will give as much feedback as I can without saying anything that might be a conflict, when my review is complete you can read the full goss.

So few things which I note. Firstly I find it a little heavy for my normal use as I have a HS DR and Contrail also. However the weight of 540g is still impressive (yes lighter than the two listed above) however I like to be bug protected so when you add the weight of a bivy and ground sheet you can do the maths.

Setup is very simple and fast, always a positive.

So far I am finding it a little lacking in breathability, the materials are a Solid 185T polyester which is Pu1000 coated.

I do like the space inside, nice and roomy.

Check out my review thus far.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Shelters/Tarps%20and%20Bivys/Appy%20Trails%20Mark%20III%20Tent/Test%20Report%20by%20Mark%20McLauchlin/