1P dual-wall dual-vestibule freestanding tent?

[Franco Darioli]

“Franco, had you been imbibing and/or were otherwise impaired at the time?”

Sam,

I posted these and more :

 

1. I own the tent
2. it has 3 poles
3. it is fully freestanding
4. the Hilleberg Allak has the same pole structure (including photo …)
5. I have no gain from posting the above

yet you kept coming back with doubts about what I was posting.

Maybe I was not the one that was drunk at the time.

[Brett A]

We have been very pleased with the Lunar Duo in most respects…especially volume.  Interior footprint is 90″ x 54″.  So a wee bit wider than typical 2P shelters.  Coupled with the vertical side walls, it feels very roomy.  No matter how much I preach to the Mrs about paring down, she always seems to have an inordinate number of stuff sacks with…well…”stuff”.  So the Lunar Duo’s interior dimensions seemed to have worked well for us.  There’s the typical re-tensioning, re-adjustments of stakes once upright, which can be a pain sometimes in rocky settings, etc.  Having to open the tent up while on the ground to insert the ridge line poles is a pain, especially in the rain.

I didn’t realize, however, how much I missed the ease of setting up a self-supporting tent until we saw a deal at REI last year on a 2P Copper Spur.  We took our EXPED Duo pad and EE Accomplice quilt to the store, set the tent up, tossed in the pad and quilt and climbed in.  The CS 2P dims are 88″ x 52″ (head) / 42″(foot).  Interior walls are near vertical.  I thought this would work but it seemed claustrophobic compared to the Lunar Duo. We rarely use the pad straps with the quilt so the quilt spreads out a bit.  In the CS, the quilt was right up against the side walls…maybe due to the extreme taper to the foot end.  2″ less at the head end seemed fine but that 42″ at the foot end seemed to make a huge difference.  Even taking into consideration the taper of the pad.  Maybe its just me.  FWIW, we looked at the 3P CS and the overall footprint, for me, is just too big.  We’ve already run into plenty of situations where finding a suitably large enough spot for the Lunar Duo was tough.  And it looks to me like the 3P CS would not be very wind-worthy.

The ease of setup was great though.  The Big Sky Revolution 2P interior footprint is 91″ x 53″(head) / 47″(foot).  Side walls appear to be near vertical.  I’m wondering if those extra few inches will be enough.  If so, being able to pitch fly and inner in one go would likely seal the deal.  I can deal with pegging the corners down (less guess work with the Big Sky vs the Lunar Duo) and putting out a few guylines.

I’ve looked at dims on offerings by BA, Nemo, Mtn HW, MSR, etc and while close, none seem to be quite what I’m looking for.  Thoughts?  Have I overlooked anything?

[Brett A]

I failed to mention that another feature of the Big Sky (and likely other options) was leaving the inner and fly clipped together appears to make pitching even easier.  With my tremors, the less I have to fuss with clipping stuff together, wrapping fly velcro around poles, or tying anything off…all the better!

[Brett A]

Oh, and hey Franco, I wasn’t casting asparagus towards trekking pole supported shelters.  Have four of them and they have served me well in the past.  Just pointing out that I found it striking how much I missed the simplicity of setup when we messed with the BA CP.  From what I can tell, the BS Rev 2P makes it a bit easier yet (when leaving inner clipped to fly) and resolves the issue with the Lunar Duo (or any tent pitched inner first) when setting up in the rain.  Just a question now if we’ll be happy with the space.

The TT Stratospire 2 seems to be very close with respect to floor dims (even wider when set lower?).  More head room.  Overall footprint looks HUGE though.  Seems to be a few oz less than the Lunar Duo…approx 10 oz less than the BS Rev 2.  Can be pitched fly first or fly/inner together.  Cool!  Just questioning the fiddle factor.  And with my old, shaky hands, I’m really beginning to appreciate simplicity more and more.  I’ll have to checkout some videos showing it being set up.  Maybe its not such a big deal.

[Franco Darioli]

“Oh, and hey Franco, I wasn’t casting asparagus towards trekking pole supported shelters”
I am really puzzled by the way some have read my comments.
There was this comment from Paul :
“I have yet to see a truly freestanding tent with vestibule(s).”
My comments followed that (IE yes there are fully freestanding tents…)
I don’t see where I commented about trekking pole supported tents in this thread.

[Brett A]

My apologies. Misunderstanding on my part.  What’s your take on the TT Stratospire 2 with respect to ease of setup compared to something like the BS Rev 2P?

[Boyan B]

Franco is a wiz at setting up the SS, just search his YouTube channel for a video that Henry Shires explicitly disavows :-) On the other end of the spectrum are people like me who even after a year of SS1 ownership and maybe a dozen for real and half a dozen practice pitches never developed full comfort with the process. The inner is rotated relative to the pitch when you use the official method. The SS is, IMO, a more windworthy shelter that I would not hesitate taking into moderate snow and strong winds , but it does have its quirks that some deal with better than others.

[Brett A]

“Franco is a wiz at setting up the SS, just search his YouTube channel for a video”

Ok, that went up quick!  Impressive!  My fear is exactly what you described. I never seem to master the art of getting things up as quickly and storm worthy as others describe or demonstrate.  The tremors make things a bit more challenging, especially in the cold.  So, anything I can do to work around that, all the better.

So Boyan B, have you received the 1P Rev and if so, what are your impressions?

[Boyan B]

They were out of stock on the yellow color (I wanted the 30D fabric) so I am waiting for them to ship one over from the Asian warehouse. Customer service so far has been great. Tim responded to email promptly. It will be another 3-4 weeks before I get my unit. They did have the green in stock in the US. If memory serves me right they may have had a Revolution 2P in the clearance section.

[Brett A]

They are indeed showing a 3-pole (porch) 2P…with a fly window.  Not sure what that means exactly.  No images depicting the window that I can see.  And, even on clearance, it’s $10 more than the standard 3-pole 2P Rev.  Also listed at 2 lb 13 oz vs the standard 3lb 7.5 oz.  I would have to get clarification.  Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the 1P

[Franco Darioli]

Now that we are talking about trekking pole supported tents…
I have come to the conclusion that indeed for some they are very easy to set up , for others they are a bit of a mystery.
I mentioned before that I don’t really understand how people can swim or play music (I can’t do either) but I have no problem whatsoever knowing that it is just me, the same is with most things.
To give an idea of how it works, that video on You Tube was indeed shot by me to show Henry how I was setting up the the SS2 in my head. The clip was in fact the first time I did it for real, about 30 minutes after getting it delivered.
( I tried his way first , just to see how it worked).
But again, yes I know that for some it is a strggle yet I bet that if they saw me doing it in front of them , having the idea explained , they could do it too after that.

[Brett A]

“I don’t really understand how people can swim or play music (I can’t do either) but I have no problem whatsoever knowing that it is just me”

Ha!  I totally get it.  Seems to be that way with most anything for me!

If someone could make a one of those tents you pull out of a bag, throw on the ground and “POOF”…done…yet its light weight, storm worthy and will hold all of my wife’s stuff, all would be right in the world!

[Franco Darioli]

Instant set up but some find it hard to take down…

(the designer of one of those tents sent me a similar clip of one of his customers doing that with one of his tents)

[Brett A]

Ok, yeah that’s not gonna work.  I would have to carry a reciprocating saw to cut the thing up so I could carry it out….I would be too pissed to futz with it anymore!  I do like how he finally resorts to just sitting on it

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