Lightheart Duo: wind stability?

[d k]

For those of you who have a Lightheart Duo, how does it perform in moderate to heavy wind? It looks similar in structure to the SMD Refuge, which I was not terribly happy with in strong wind, but I'm hoping maybe the pole sleeves, additional top strut, and narrower peak of the Duo help with stability. I'd be interested in feedback from any users.

[Mike M]

I'm looking at this tent as well and would also like to know how it does in the wind- not looking for bomberproof, but 30-40 mph winds are not uncommon where I hike

thanks

[Brian Martin]

Sorry, no wind testing yet. I've had it out twice so far. 1st night was clear and no wind. Got some condensation at the ends.

2nd 2 nights it was raining. This tent gets some serious sag in changing temps/humidity. The ends sag in and, for me, touch the top of my bag. No adjusters, so you need to restake, but even then, it didn't tighten back up all the way, just too wet I guess. Since its raining and all closed up, it gets a fair amount of condensation. During hard rains we were getting misted on as the rain knocked the condesation off the inside of the tent. No real leaks, so the seam sealing is holding up. I (6'2") needed to scrunch up to keep my feet away from the sagging ends of the tent. So you lose some space in bad weather. I still like the tent for fair weather though. Hope that helps.

[Mike M]

Brian – thanks for the reply, was the condensation on the first night w/ the tent closed up?

[Brian Martin]

No, the first night we had the doors open. No breeze to speak of. Highs in the 90's, lows in the 60's, monsoon season so higher humidity for AZ. But still it was mild compared to other climates.

I think the tent really needs to have mesh 360 degrees around the base, similar to a Tarptent so that it could breath better. A vent up high would help as well. But all that would probably add weight, so there is your tradeoff.

[Mike M]

thank you sir :)

[Danny Wang]

Hey Brian, have you tried extending the trekking poles to re-tension the tent?

[d k]

That's kind of what I found with the Refuge in terms of sagging. I thought the ventilation was pretty good (has top vents) but the pitch just was difficult to get taut especially as temps dropped. The guylines in the middle of the panels helped some with that, maybe you could add some to your Lightheart.

[Brian Martin]

"Hey Brian, have you tried extending the trekking poles to re-tension the tent?"

I messed with that once, but was focused on the guy lines. I'll try doing that in combination with the lines next time. Although finding another rainy day may be difficult. It looks like our Labor Day Pariah Canyon trip is not going to happen due to flooding and our monsoon is almost over. If so, I'll report back with what I find.

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