Warmlite vs ultralite wind video – compare/contrast

[Lynn Tramper]

Well, our Stephenson's 2R was a piece of doodoo IMHO. Certainly not my idea of a 4 season tent as it was a sauna in summer, it let rain in when opening the door, and condensation was terrible in winter or calm conditions. However, if pitched away from the wind it was a solid performer in strong winds. Oh, and it must have been defective as the inner wall hung inward no matter how tight the outer was pitched so it was impossible to avoid touching the sodden walls. There are good reasons why some of us don't like the WarmLite. But to be fair, for the weight if you were caught in an unexpected storm it was worthy as an emergency shelter. Side winds it could *handle* but deflection was significant. And yes, I've watched the video.

[Sam Farrington]

Lynn,
Agree about rain pouring in the door, and that is the reason I never bought one; but there are lots of popular mountaineerng tents with that problem.
The pictures in the catalogs (the ones of the tents, I mean) show taut inners. Guess I will never know, because tentology has progressed, and I make my own, anyway. Using the same basic design for over thirty years may be too long. Asked them to consider making a C model with a small hiking pole supported roll out fly over the door in the front, like an MSR Fling; but they said no, it would add more weight than their mountaineering customers would accept. That is probably right, as such a fly would be more for backpackers using more sheltered sites.
Sam

[Name oli_v_ier]

> Stephenson tents go up as a single unit; all one has to do is purchase their video to see how effectively Stephenson tents are pitched. […] Not one single procedure recommended in Stephenson’s video and practiced by seasoned owners of the tent was demonstrated, the video was a complete sham.

Where can I see these videos ? I've looked on their website but didn't find them.

> they receive their strength and support by drawing up to 60 pounds pull from the front two tension devices on the 2R

You mean 60 pounds each ? Or 60 pounds from both ?

@Scott: as I intend to use it, could you please tell me exactly the most important points I have to look at when pitching a Warmlite, in order to have the best wind resistance (back wind AND side wind) ? Thanks.

[Name oli_v_ier]

Still looking for precise advices on how to pitch this tent in order to have the best side wind resistance.
And if it's 60 pounds pull from each tension devices ? Or 60 pounds from both ?

I've looked StephensonsWarmlite's Channel on Youtube and noticed that their New Climbers Tent has some tieout cords on the rear for stabilization in strong winds.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I dunno if you'd call the TarpTent Moment a tunnel tent but I think it comes close. As wind-worthy as it already is I still take precautions.

Therefore:
I always carry TripTease side guylines rigged with small plastic clips and TarpTent line tensioners. If a big wind blows up I can quicly clip them into my center hoop guyout points and stake them out.

(Stay tuned for my photo post on "improvements" I've made to my Moment.)

[Roger Caffin]

Obviously this test was designed to look at the cross-wind performance of both tents. No point in arguing about whether that's the right way to pitch a Warmlite.

My thoughts:

First of all, the comparison is between a lowlands tent which is simply not designed for cross winds and a mountain tent (the Olivier). They were designed and built for quite different markets.

Second, while the Olivier tent has good side guys and fairly robust trekking poles to support it, the Warmlite has neither. Poor thing!

Thirdly, the effect of the side guy on the Olivier is to halve the span of the fabric along the side. The Warmlite has only 2 poles and a huge fabric span. Of course this is going to have huge consequences for the stability of the two tents.

Someone else declined to even call the Warmlite a 'tunnel tent'. Well, it fulfils most of the shape requirements for a tunnel, but it does seem to lack any real mountain features.

OK, interesting videos. Educational too.

Cheers

[Roger Caffin]

> they receive their strength and support by drawing up to 60 pounds pull from the
> front two tension devices on the 2R and both front and rear tension devices on the 3R.

Bit of a problem if there is nothing around to provide that sort of tension with an adequate safety margin.

Cheers

[Rog Tallbloke]

As Mike says, tunnels are designed to survive extreme gusts by twisting/flattening, and springing back up when the gust subsides. It seems scary to be inside one while this is going on, but at least you still have a tent when the wind drops a bit.

[Lynn Tramper]

"As Mike says, tunnels are designed to survive extreme gusts by twisting/flattening, and springing back up when the gust subsides"

Poorly designed tunnel tents maybe. I have never seen a MacPac Olympus, if properly staked, do this in even the most atrocious winds. I suspect some of the heavier Hilleberg tents would also remain standing. However, in the UL category you have to make compromises. Good guy out points are still essential, and this the WarmLite totally lacks. My Double Rainbow is more wind-worthy (with trekking pole support) than the WarmLite if the winds change in the night.

[Roger Caffin]

> As Mike says, tunnels are designed to survive extreme gusts by twisting/flattening,
> and springing back up when the gust subsides

However, the wind required may be rather severe. We were taking 100+ kph wind from the end all night in my 4-pole tunnel, and the poles showed little sign of movement.
I would agree with Lynn for the Macpac Olympus too, as I owned one for many years. I definitely prefer good initial design to 'springing back up'.

Cheers

[Aaron Reichow]

I didn't see this in the replies- what tent/tarp is the non-Warmlite in that video? Thought the setup was interesting, in that there were two trekking poles at the door, and an arc pole at the end.

[Name oli_v_ier]

> what tent/tarp is the non-Warmlite in that video?

I did it myself to use it across Iceland east-west in 2008.
You can see more pictures on these pages:
– http://randonner-leger.org/perso/doku.php?id=liste_equipement_islande#abri

– http://randonner-leger.org/perso/doku.php?id=traversee_de_l_islande_est-ouest_en_autonomie

– http://www.randonner-leger.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14669

The purpose for Iceland was to built a storm resistant light shelter, roomy enough to cook and change clothes in it.
Half pyramid, half tunnel, low profile at the back, just the volume I need.
Tested it in windy conditions with gusts at 100km/h, wind speed mesured with an anemometer I had with me.
The video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb4r3q_test-1-dans-le-vent-abri-olivier-ve_sport

[Sam Farrington]

Take back what I said about benefit of the doubt.

[Bob Bankhead]

WOW!

I am officially impressed with that Olivier shelter and its performance in high winds.

Add a high vent and it should be about perfect for the Colorado Trail, and much of the CDT. I suspect it might be a condensation station on the AT and most of the PCT.

Put it into production.

[Inaki Diaz de Etura]

Olivier,

It's widely talked about how tricky it can get to pitch a shelter in Iceland and some seasoned hikers recommend a free standing one if only to ease the task a bit. How did you find it with a shaped tarp?

[Name oli_v_ier]

There isn't so many pegs necessary on my shelter: 8 maximum and most of the tension is hold by 6 of them.
The most importants one are the two on the back side and the one on the front guy-out point.
So when the sole didn't hold the pegs enough I used some stones to be sure these 3 pegs can hold the tension in the wind.
Soft sole, no stones and wind = no shelter pitching possible (except it you bring little bags to use as anchors in the sand), even with free standing tents !
In my opinion, when the wind is strong even free standing tents have to be tied down like a non free standing tent.
In Iceland you always have to install your tent as if it was going to be windy so free standing tents doesn't have a big advantage IMHO.

[Author]

Posts