There were a few things I was looking for as far as a shelter is concerned.
You probably aren’t as picky as me but if I was going to spend the money, I
wanted my picky needs to be fulfilled. I wanted a tent and not a
bivy because a vestibule is important to me. I like being able to cook
under it when needed and have a place to put my pack and shoes. The all
mesh tent body is great in nice weather when you don’t want to get eaten up by
the bugs. I wanted a double walled tent so I would have more ventilation options
and so condensation isn’t a problem. The bathtub floor and steep slope of
the rainfly keeps me and my down bag dry in wet conditions.
The weight is 2 lbs 6 oz which is a little heavier then some bivy’s but I get a
lot more flexibility with this tent. In winter I drop more weight using
the fast fly setup making it weigh 1 lb 12oz.
There are a few things that could be improved:
- A few inches longer would be nice to fit long sleeping bags since my
marmot hydrogen bag fits a person up to 6’6. I’m 6’3 and I just fit in
this tent. I don’t understand why backpacks are offered in short,
medium, and long torsos; sleeping bags have regular and long lengths, but as
far as tents you get one size. - The pole setup is a modified A frame. The best way I can explain it
is sort of like a tri-pod with a longer leg extending the length of the tent
body. The poles are connected to a hub where they meet at. There
are two short poles that meet on top of the door and then a long center pole
going down the length of the tent. The main thing I don’t like is that there
is sewn loops in the tent body for the long pole, and clips for the 2 short
poles. I wish there were all clips so during rain I could setup the tent
using the fast fly option and then clip the tent up to the poles inside the
rain fly. Instead I have to thread the pole through the sewn loops
getting the tent wet, then I’m finally able to drape the rain fly over. - Also you have to be careful with Velcro since the tent body is all mesh
(except the floor of course). The little hooks on Velcro can grab a hold of
that mesh pretty easy.
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