Should I Be Concerned?

[Tim Testa]

I noticed that my MSR Carbon Reflex 2 got sent to me with what I would consider to be a defect in the door screening. Am I worrying about nothing? In my opinion I think a tent should be in top notch condition when its brand new and retails for $500. However, I realize I might be going a little overboard. Opinions?

Now time for two side notes. For one, Dan if you are reading this are you sure you got 8 tent spikes for your Carbon Reflex because I have two of them now and both of them only have 6 stakes.

Next order of business, if your out there Ashley this one is for you. So I think I am going to decide to keep this tent. However, its apparent that I will not be able to get that huge mattress I wanted. In fact, I wont even be able to get a large one that is 25 inches wide like I wanted to (I know sad right, but my tent only measures 42 inches in the center.) We'll just have to sit with the regular sized 20 inch mattress. I guess you cant always live like a king. So here is what I am going to do to deal with matters. I figured Id mention it to you first so you can poke fun of how my girlfriend is going to react to my new proposal. Ok so as you know I need a nice thick pad. Well as it turns out I am thinking to get my girlfriend and I the Exped 7 Deluxe Synthetic Pad. They measure 20 inches wide so they will fit our tent perfectly. So now time to deal with the fact that I wish I had a wider pad. Im going to call her and explain to her how I think we should sleep on opposite ends. That way our bodies will have a little bit more moblity at night. Ill post how that ends up going. I think she will be fine with this, but we'll see. I know I dont care. Its not like were going to be all cuddly honey bunny like at the end of the day when there is crease that seperates our mats from one another.

[CW]

Looks like a run to me. My gf had a Seedhouse SL2 with the lighter mesh like that when we met. It was easy to get runs in that as well. BA switched to a more metallic type mesh in the later production. Just something you have to deal with when you use UL-type products. The mesh on the BA felt like pantyhose in her early version.

[Ashley Brown]

I'd say the mesh isn't a problem, except for aesthetics. So it's up to you whether you want to swap it out for another one. Kinda like a pot with a couple of scratches on the outside… won't affect performance.

As for sleeping at opposite ends of the tent… lol, ok, if you are both happy with it! Might want to give those feet a nice wash before bed though or your GF may not appreciate them being anywhere near her head! =-)

[Tim Testa]

So is that to say that i should just bare with it. I mean do you think this is going to get worse over time. That is my main concern. If it will stay as is I guess I can deal with it. Im just worried about the long run. If its going to get worse, then I think I should exchange the tent for a different one :/ what are your thoughts?

[Ashley Brown]

I don't think it will deteriorate over time. But someone correct me if they've experienced it…

[Tim Testa]

"Might want to give those feet a nice wash before bed though or your GF may not appreciate them being anywhere near her head! =-)"

Ha Ha Ha, no kidding. I never thought of that. I mean my feet do not usually stink. However, if were going to do the Appalachian Trail next year and average 15-20 miles a day, this might become an issue. Hmmmm…well Ill just hope that we stink so bad by that point and the smell of our feet wont even matter. Then again I dont want to smell like complete crap just to feel better about having her feet next to my face. I guess what i am trying to say is that I hope we smell bad enough and our around each other for so long that we just get used to it and dont even notice it. There, that sound a little bit more appealing. Smelling, but not knowing you smell. I can definitely deal with that =) anyways im going to go give her a call now. Lets see how this goes…I definitely wont be mentioning the feet thing :p

[Lynn Tramper]

I've seen that kind of run on all the UL mesh I've met. It's often caused by a run-in with some errant velcro. I have had problems with midges crawling through the gaps, but I don't know, short of sewing some re-enforcement patches, if you can do anything to stop it.

As for "top and tailing", this is how we always sleep. It's much more efficient if your tent is narrow and not tapered.

As for the wide mat….20" plus 24" = 44"… no problem. you will just end up pushing the mesh out *a little* ;)

[Raymond Estrella]

Yeah those are just tiny runs in the mesh. A few days into the AT I bet you have much worse than that. (Be careful.)

Wow, my wife would kill me if I told her she has to sleep by my feet. (Wash them with perfumed oil and dry them with your hair while you are down there, too…) ((Oops, biblical reference. Alert!))

[Tim Testa]

Ha Ha Ha Yea I thought you were going a little biblical on me for a while there. Well I just got off the phone with her. I got the obvious answer that I though I would. It bums it her out slightly but she said she was cool with it if it meant saving weight. I told here we could get a larger tent for a little extra added weight, but she insisted that it was fine. Looks like the chapter on this one is closed. It is very good to know that this run in the screen isnt going to get worse. I will make sure that the velcro on the fly does not touch the screening when I take it off, perhaps this is what caused the defect. However, I have a feeling that it still came this way. Whatever though, Ill guess Ill live =)

[Rick Dreher]

Beware mosquitoes with tiny crowbars!

It shouldn't get any worse, but one wonders why they're not inspecting all their fabric as it comes off the rolls. A hundred-buck tent is one thing, but this one….

I've seen a tent production line where all the fabric came across a light table as it came off the bolts for just this reason. Obviously it's more important for a fly or a WPB canopy than a netting door or window.

[Tim Testa]

"Beware mosquitoes with tiny crowbars!"

The funniest thing I heard all night. Thanks for the heads up Rick =)

[Art Sandt]

I would say you shouldn't be concerned, but you can probably return it if want. I've noticed this happening on all the tents I own with UL mesh. It's like down leakage in sleeping bags and jackets–just kinda comes with the territory of UL fabrics. If you exchange it, expect the new one to develop these kinds of runs in the mesh at some point in the future no matter how carefully you take care of the tent.

[Tim Testa]

I know this may sound very anal, but do you think it would be safe to take a small pin and even out the gaps that got stretched. In other words, shift the screen wires to reshape them back to the way they used to be. I know I know…I am making a bigger deal out of this than I should…but its blindly right there in my face everytime I open my door. if it was in the back of my tent, I think I could deal with it much better.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Yes I got 8 stakes with mine. I'm sure.

BPL also got 8 stakes with theirs that Will used for the BPL review. In one of the photos in the review it shows the stakes are there are 8 of them.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

A little sketchy, but you could ship this tent out as the one you are selling on eBay, and then keep the other one :)

[Tim Testa]

But then I got to figuring, if I did that and something went wrong with the other one, I would completely hate myself for doing the switch. So I am just going to stay with the one I originally bought. However, I did take a look at the other one and its does not have this problem at all. However, like I said both of them only came with 6 stakes. I could have sworn that I had 7 though with the one I got. Regardless, I am going to give them a call tomorrow and see if they will send me an extra two for each tent. Otherwise, I am just going to buy them for $1.95 each at REI. Or I could just skip buying them at all since they are not super necessary. Still, I think they will be willing to work with me though. Either way I will give every ounce of energy that I have to show how this frustrates me and hopefully that will be enough to get the job done =)

[Author]

Posts