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Which tents under 3kg will take 100km/h winds from any direction?


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Viewing 22 posts - 76 through 97 (of 97 total)
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  • #1803383
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    +1 on the Jannu. Hillebergs are the pinnacle.

    -1 on the Biblers. I have heard an read quite negative reports on the longer term realiability of these, not to mention some issues with post purchase response from the manufacturer.

    #1803387
    Diplomatic Mike
    Member

    @mikefaedundee

    Locale: Under a bush in Scotland

    Remember that you might have to pitch the tent in high winds. With some of the geo tents, that might be a nightmare if solo.
    Tunnels may flex when pitched, but they are much easier to pitch, and bending is designed into them.

    #1803398
    Stephen M
    BPL Member

    @stephen-m

    Locale: Way up North

    I was in a Tarp tent Scarp 1 last weekend in 60mph + winds and it held well with about a dozen guylines.

    On the same night my buddies Scarp suffered broken poles and a ripped fly while pitching.

    #1803401
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    #1803407
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    Which of these tents allow thicker poles to be used without modification to the tent? That's one thing I think my BD Lighthouse will allow. I've already swapped from the original 0.348" poles to 0.355" poles. It might even be able to take 0.433" poles. I can't imagine how incredibly tough this tent would be with those massive poles. It'd be heavy with those big poles, but that'd be okay since I still have a choice of using lighter poles.

    I do like that the Scarp tents allow additional poles to be used. That's a smart design. I'd like to see more tents that allow either more poles or thicker poles.

    #1803415
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    All Hilleberg tents permit thicker poles (available from Hilleberg) or doubling up on the poles.

    #1910712
    Stuart Murphy
    BPL Member

    @stu_m

    How many other people have had the condensation and noise issues Godela reported with Hilleberg Soulo?

    >>>>>>>
    "Soulo: Used this tent for 1 month, north of the pole circle, high in the mountains. Used it with stronger poles than those from Hilleberg. (See: http://www.fliegfix.com)

    Strong cons:

    Condensation machine. Used the old Hilleberg Nallo, solo, for many years. Never had problems with condensation in spring/summer/autumn. In the Soulo, despite every available trick, in rainy weather / cold nights, my sleeping bag was wet. Cause: Only 1 very tiny vent. Flap covering the top touches the flysheet.

    Noisiest tent I ever used. Flap, covering the top, gives a verrrry loud, penetrating, vibrating sound like "GRRRRRHHRRRMMMM" even in light wind. Fabric of flysheet looses tension very fast when getting wet. In practice it starts to wrinkle even with a light mist.With a tunnel, one can tauten the whole tent. You cannot do this with the Soulo. Trying to do it, you end up with 2 taut "strings" in the respective segment of the flysheet, the other parts still flapping happily beneath + above, going "BOOOM", "BANG" with every gust. This happens no matter which part of the tent faces the wind.

    Silly design (apart from the non-existing ventilation and the noise). Poles only crossing at the very top. This makes for big loose segments of the flysheet, even with 3 poles.

    Pros: Had some stiff wind, tent poles did not budge. Watertight even in heavy rain + storm. And: Beautyfully easy and fast to set up. A pity that the other design features are such a miss."

    #1910719
    Jason Elsworth
    Spectator

    @jephoto

    Locale: New Zealand

    Nordisk actually give wind tunnel test ratings on some of their tents. They have a couple of Ul models coming soon I believe.

    http://www.nordisk.eu/products/tents.html

    http://www.nordisk.eu/products/products-detail/type/tents/categories/vitus/product_model/si.html

    #1910723
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Nobody has mentioned the Hilleberg Unna. Staked out it could take it. Does real well in the wind. Quiet too.

    #1910747
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Ken, does the Unna ventilate fairly well?

    #1910748
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    So far so good David. And it is wet here. If the ground isn't wet the night air will be. Pretty big vent at the very top and the rear and front walls can be pulled up some to give some interior air movement.

    067

    Stake that out and it is a good size vent.

    #1910750
    Ethan A.
    BPL Member

    @mountainwalker

    Locale: SF Bay Area & New England

    I'd have to agree with Ken I think the Unna profile and design would do quite well properly staked out.

    One of the advantages of the strong dome (ex. Hilleberg Allak) and low dome (ex. Hilleberg Jannu) designs is that they do a great job of shedding wind. My wife and I were among the few to get a good night's sleep on a winter backpacking trip when the wind really kicked up and gusted like mad most of the night because almost all the other tents in our group, a mix of traditional 3-season free standing tents, a few traditional 3-season semi-free standing tents, two tunnels and two pyramids, flapped very loudly and/or significantly deformed and snapped back over and over. Even with our site at a distance we wore ear plugs to block out the noise from their tents. The occupants looked like hell in the morning.

    The Hilleberg tent in the same weight range as the Allak that offers even more wind shedding is the Jannu, at the cost of giving up one door, some interior height and some vestibule space. If you were planning on doing a lot more higher altitude and high wind camping, I'd choose the Jannu over the Allak.

    Both tents have guylines designed to be wrapped around the poles for further strength, and you can also double up the poles on each tent to add strength.

    There are other designs from other manufacturers that would do well, these are just two I'm familiar with.

    #1910754
    Stuart Murphy
    BPL Member

    @stu_m

    Scroll up to read original post

    #1910756
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Where is Craig Rowland? He loves his Soulo. Lives in the wet PNW.

    Stuart. What have you been using for the last two years?

    #1910758
    Stephen M
    BPL Member

    @stephen-m

    Locale: Way up North

    I have a Soulo but only have used it for 4 nights in Ireland this past winter, I had some issues with condensation the first night but the rest of the time was fine when I vented properly, the hood on top was bit flappy but as I use ear plugs it did not bother me.

    I want to see how it gets on in snow and crazy winds before I cast judgement on it.

    #1910759
    Stuart .
    BPL Member

    @lotuseater

    Locale: Colorado

    I had mine out last winter in conditions varying from dry and 3F low, to very humid, upper 20s as a low and 18" wet heavy snow. I've yet to experience the flapping fabric issue, and it's usually windy by me in Colorado. The key was dialling in the ventilation – zipping it up to retain warmth is a guarantee of a damp sleeping bag, but opening the upper vent, and zipping down the ripstop on the door of the inner tent kept me dry and warm, and kept any condensation at bay.

    I gave up on two Aktos because the outer tent sagged horribly in mild precipitation, and I couldn't keep them taut enough. No such problems with the Soulo. Just have to remember to use the guy lines to help handle the snowload if it's wet and heavy.

    Best solo tent for the 4th season I've used.

    #1910762
    Stuart Murphy
    BPL Member

    @stu_m

    Ken,

    I currently own/use:

    * I've got an (old, they may have changed) Exped Vela I (which is nicely made but flawed design with ends that are really too low to properly accomodate a winter sleeping bag on a Downmat 7)

    * a Terra Nova Laser (2 person one) — quite nice, but lightweight materials (not something I would want to use in continuously windy conditions). Easier to get taught than the Exped

    * Wilderness Equipment Second Arrow — quite nice, very liveable.

    I use the Second Arrow most even though it's heaviest by quite a long way.

    None used in the conditions of this post.

    What are you using?

    Stuart

    #1910765
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    I have the aforementioned Unna(above). I am not familiar with the Wilderness Equipment Second Arrow. I'll have to look that one up. OK an end entry tunnel. Didn't realize you had 5 seasons down there. lol.

    Pitched out in the wide open expanse of beach during a rager I never heard or felt a thing inside.

    #1910775
    Craig Rowland
    BPL Member

    @craigr

    Locale: Pacific NW

    I can't say I've used a Hilleberg in 100km/h winds yet (maybe some gusts???), but have used them in lesser wind storms. I'll just add a couple comments:

    Soulo

    This tent will get condensation if you do not open the top vent fully and completely close up the inner mesh. If I open up the top vent and not keep the inner all sealed up it is not a problem. If I'm in very wet conditions I may vent it a bit at the bottom door just to be safe. Overall though it's manageable and a very strong tent. I've not used it in extremely high winds to comment on the noise, but in moderate wind I have not noticed any more noise than other tents I've used and once guyed out it feels considerably stronger. When guying it out, be sure you wrap the guy points around the poles and then stake it out. That adds a lot more strength to the structure, IMO and really binds the guy lines to the skeleton. I can sit up in the Soulo right in the middle.

    Akto

    A great tent overall, but not something I'd want to use in very high winds unless it was properly situated or dug in to snow to avoid the brunt of it. However this tent vents very well and in prolong rain storms it has never gotten me wet. In higher winds it wants to deform, but at the same time I never felt in jeopardy. More like it was flexing with the blows instead of trying to fight it. But you really want to make sure the end points are staked out well as well as the guy points on the sides. I can't sit up in the Akto without touching the ceiling.

    Bigger Hilleberg Tunnels

    I have the 2 person Kaitium 2 which is just at 3kg and is a very strong tent and very roomy. It would be an excellent tent for bad weather if you want to take the extra weight and want the room. I have not used it in bad weather yet to comment further, but I doubt it will have issues. I will be using it this winter to see how it goes.

    I got the double pole option for this tent for use above treeline. This way I can take two poles if I think weather will be nasty, but leave the set behind if it could be nasty, but not really being called for. I think that two poles may provide the strength and redundancy for this tent that will be far in excess of what most users would ever expect. If you think the weather will be worse, check out the Hilleberg Keron 3 which is used routinely in brutal arctic/antarctic conditions.

    These tunnels can be sat up in from front to back because of the tunnel design. They also have two vestibules which is outstanding for storing gear and doing other things inside during bad weather.

    Hillerberg Domes

    I have no experience with them so can't comment much. The Jannu and Allak both have good reputations, but the Jannu is more of a lower profile mountaineering tent and likely to take more severe weather.

    Hilleberg tests all their tents in front of a custom made snow blowing machine at their design facility in northern Sweden. I certainly trust their tents in bad weather. But like all tents I think that proper situation of the tent can do a lot to mitigate weather damage. Camping on an exposed ridgeline may make a great photo op, but bad weather can make the decision very ill-advised!

    #1910776
    ed hyatt
    BPL Member

    @edhyatt

    Locale: The North, Scotland

    I've used the Unna in winds gusting to around 70mph/110kph and it was a veritable limpet – speeds pretty accurate as they were taken by my brother from his Terra Nova which spent half the night on his face (but survived). I got a good nights sleep too.

    +1 on Ken's comments re. ventilation

    #1910779
    jason quick
    Spectator

    @jase

    Locale: A tent in my backyard - Melbourne

    Hi

    One of my tents is the Exped Venus II extreme.

    On three occasions now, I have been bunkered down in winds that easily exceeded 100km/h.

    This is a solid tent. Yes, it's a heavier tent, however, in all storms, with all the guys set, it was rock solid…and I can even sleep soundly during storms, knowing that this tent will deliver.

    #1910827
    Kevin @ Seek Outside
    BPL Member

    @ktimm

    Locale: Colorado (SeekOutside)

    I have had a 12 man tipi style tents in winds in the 60's and it's fine, made of 30D silicone impregnated nylon. In fact I've done this a few times. Stakes need have good holding power, or used a lot of them. I have had a stakes break off in the ground or bend when not using enough.

    Smaller tents fair better, and I would not hesitate to spend night in them when I am more concerned about flying debris, and falling trees.

    This video was shot this spring. The winds were worse later in the day. The brown tent, had a stake break off in the ground and was only using half the stakes of the larger tent. A large tree was toppled within 50 yards of the tent. The tents in the vidoes are almost 10 feet tall.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEEbRQX5Fc

    Winds were measured nearby at almost 80 MPH (78 to be exact a couple hours later).

    Smaller tents will fair better.

Viewing 22 posts - 76 through 97 (of 97 total)
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