Luxe Tents? (Paging Franco)

Alas, I'm not Franco, but am curious….. Would you mind explaining why the trip was a "failure?"

There's a saying: "Mistakes (in your case "failure") are simply information that allow us to learn how to improve."

Of course, I don't want to pry into anything personal…

I say "failure" only jokingly. It was a definite learning experience. We just weren't quite prepared to complete the 27 mile loop we set out for. We ended up hiking 8 miles in the first day and then 8 miles back the next day.

Ah yeah, I know the feeling!

I'm not Franco either, but if you are "cutting weight left and right" — then why are you looking at Luxe tents? I believe they are well-made, quality tents — but light weight they are not.

I'll go ahead and beat Franco to it… Take a look at Tarptents by Henry Shires. If you have any questions about Tarptents, Franco will be happy to answer them.

-Sid

Sorry, I forget who I'm talking to. You guys buy a Tyvek sheet from Home Depot and you're ready to roll. haha. But as for me and the wife, we like a fully enclosed tent.

The Losi 3P weighs about 7 lbs fully packed (with stuff sack and spares). The Luxe Habitat that I had in mind weighs around 4 lbs. It's significant enough for me.

I did look at the tarp tents quite a bit, but I'm not a fan of trekking poles, though they would have come in handy for some of the river crossings we did. And I'd also like a freestanding model. As far as I could see, nothing on tarptent.com met those needs for me.

As it happens I know both Henry Shires (Tarptent) and Michael Wong the designer of the Luxe tents.
Luxe so far has made tents focusing mostly on the internal market (China) so "value for money" has been the main criteria.
However a tent tragic (me…) and his Aussie distributor have managed to convince Michael to try silnylon. Considering that soon I will be selling Tarptents from my backyard , maybe that was not such a great idea.
Luxe also produces tents for other brands.
This is a prototype of one that (oddly enough…) was not my idea. But still there is a bit of me in this one too as there is with a few other Luxe design.

Here is a video of the Lightwave in action. The other guy there is Alex, the product manager. He has a room full of "toys". I got to play with his Luxurylite cot.
http://www.youtube.com/user/luxeoutdoor#p/a/u/0/HFTqb5GR6iw

Again I would like to point out that I never made any money out of Luxe or Taptent, but I do have a few free prototypes or final production models from Luxe.
Most of the current Luxe range is made from polyester. So they are heavier than silnylon, however cheaper (keep in mind that there is no distribution/retail mark-up with TT) .
In finish I would compare them to Eureka.
This is me with Michael and one of my suggested products, the Speedup.

Franco

Franco:

As you are the OZ mama san for both Luxe and HS Tarptent — I was wondering how you would handle this one. :)

I haven't seen any silnylon tarptents imported from China. Thus far, they've all been made right here in America. Will be very interesting to see what the future holds.

The Tarptent Scarp 2 can be free standing with the additional poles. Brings the tent to 4.4 pounds. Even the vestibules are free-standing with the Scarp 2.

Even in non-freestanding mode, it doesn't need trekking poles for support. This mode weighs 3.25 pounds. You'd probably need to stake down the Luxe also so it doesn't turn into a tumbleweed.

You can get the Scarp 2 in an all-mesh interior, or a solid fabric interior. Its a few inches bigger than the Luxe, and has a bit more headroom as well at the tallest point.

Just some points to consider.

Ben
No Mama San here. My two resident females are furry and miaow.

I have corresponded and exchanged ideas with Michael for several years as I have with another couple of tent designers. The reason I have commented mostly about Tarptents is because that is the brand I use.
A lot of sil tents come out of Taiwan and Vietnam, but there are sil tents made in the mainland Chinese factories.
Franco

Franco, Thanks very much for the input/info. Have you had any direct experience with the Habitat model? I have read a few quips online stating that the ventilation is better than the MSR original. Also, any experience with the Spider II?

Also, do you know if either the Spider II or Habitat are made using Sil or polyester?

Travis, good points on that model. I'll give it a closer look. Thanks!

Single wall [tarptents] are great for use in temperate areas with low to moderate humidity — but very much suboptimal in cold and/or humid areas. If you think a tarptent is right for you, then for 2 people sharing, take a look also at Tarptent Double Rainbow (2010 model) — or the Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo.

If you prefer double wall tent (say better wind protection and condensation management), and:

1. If you two like to snuggle and don't need a lot of space, then look at the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2.

2. REI Half Dome 2 if you prefer a bit more space and the convenience of two doors/vestibules.

Jonathan
No direct input with either the Spider or the Habitat, someone else that I know suggested those designs.
I do remember discussing some of the downside points of a certain shelter somewhat similar to the Habitat , so yes a few tweaks were incorporated to minimise those .
(The other manufacturer in the meantime also upgraded their shelter ).
The tents I have (all solo shelters because that is what I focus on…) are made with either 210T 68D polyester ripstop with 1500mm PU coating or 185T polyester taffeta (lighter fabric)
Only one fabric per shelter.
And this is it from me about Luxe…
Franco

Ben – the single walled Black Diamond Superlights, Integral Designs MK, Bibler line, etc, are all single walled and do exceptional in cold climates.

That Luxe looks like a dead ringer for the new Golite Eden, or visa versa.

David:

Oops, I wrote single wall… I meant single wall tarptents. Thanks.

Jonathan,
The Habitat is made of Sil and Spider II is made of polyester.

And the price of Habitat is about $110 USD, Spider II is about $80 after discount in Hong Kong.

The following is the offical website of Luxe tent.

http://www.luxeoutdoor.com/eng/index.asp
Sorry for i do not know how to make a hyperlink.

Luxe is well known in Hong Kong and China, they make some valuable tent at fair price.

And i know Alex very well, the product manager of Luxe, maybe i can ask him come here to introduce Luxe to all of you.

Thanks Ben