Luxe Mini Peak II ~ first look

[Richard Fraser]

Well the Mini Peak was waiting for me when I got back this morning.

I've never done a review before so please bear with me.
I bought the Mini Peak on EBay on the 8th of September and it arrived today, the 16th September, not too bad comming from China. Including P & P it came to £62.00, again not too shabby.

Heres what you get in the package.

Errecting the outer shelter was very easy although I wonder how easy it would be in a high wind.

Plentyt of head room and space.
.
Attaching the inner bug tent was more problematic however. The inner has no specific way to attach the upper part to the pole or flysheet, there are a couple of eyelets and I guess that's their purpose but their not well placed or particularly obvious (sorry no photo of this). Pegging out the inner also required I nip indoors and grab some pegs from another tent. Only nine pegs were supplied and although that could work with doubling up on peg usage (pegging the inner and outer to the same peg ~ potentially not good) I would rather have had more peg options.
Another issue with the inner tent is that the nettting has a tie back on the end wall but not on the front. You can see in the pics that the front mesh is just hanging loose.
Stitching and seaming look good, the zips are not of the highest quality but look robust enough.

Thats it for now, ask if theres anything I've not been clear about of you'd like to know more. I'll be field testing the tent over the weekend with a two night/three day hike across the West Mendip Way. (extreme in the same way kittens are!)

[todd]

Nice pics, Richard!

What are the specs (weight, your height, etc.)? Also what is it made of?

Thanks, Todd

[Aaron Reichow]

I'd never even heard of this company before- looks like they have some nice enough options if you're trying to go cheap and lightish like myself! :) I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.

[John Mc]

Luxe Mini Peak II OnlyNZ$179.00
+Shipping

Use a trekking stick or pole to pitch.

Features:

•Versatile lightweight pyramid style tent with twin entrances
•Uses a trekking pole (not included) or similar to pitch (helps to reduce total carry weight)
•Single person full mesh inner tent with waterproof floor included
•Roll top stuff sack
•75D Rip Stop Polyester fly with 1500mm waterhead and factory seam sealed
•Nylon taffeta floor with 4000mm waterhead and factory seam sealed
•Reflective guy ropes, attachments and zipper pulls
•Large vestibule for storage
Specifications:

•Sleeps: 1 – 2
•Entrances: 2
•Dimensions: 250cm L x 210cm W
•Mesh inner dimensions: 225cm L x 85cm
•Height: 137 – 140cm
•Weight: 1.30kg
•Packed dimensions: 35cm L x 14cm Diameter
Fly Material: 75D Rip Stop Polyester PU coated
Floor Material: Nylon Taffeta
Inner Material: Breathable Polyester with No-See-Um Bug mesh inner
Fly Waterhead rating: 1500mm
Floor Waterhead rating: 4000mm
Poles: Uses a trekking stick or pole (not included)
Colours: Orange, with Navy Blue Floor

[Angelo R.]

item# 280559704060 if anyone is interested.

Edit: The Luxe site says the weight is +/- 1.3 kg (~2.8lbs).

[Aaron Reichow]

There are some other interesting Luxe Outdoor tents on eBay as well- wish I had some spare cash to do some testing this fall!

Luxe Outdoor Habitat – copy of the MSR Hubba Hubba:
http://item.ly/280559706063

Has some good reviews on Trailspace to boot:
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/luxe-outdoor/habitat/

Luxe Outdoor Speedup, which looks like a copy of the ID SilDome
http://item.ly/280560896600

Luxe Outdoor Mini Peak II
http://item.ly/280559704060

[Richard Fraser]

Thanks for adding in the tent specs, I could not find complete info on their site. However when I weighed the tent (including pegs and bag) it came to a total of 1500g. Not too bad but I wonder where the extra 200g came from :)
Of course there's also the added weight of a trekking pole so I'm not sure how much weight I've saved all in. I do have a lot more space though :¬)
Richard

[carl becker]

If you are going to use the trekking pole to hike then it is multy purpose and not really part of the tent weight. That is about $96 in the USA. Looks like you have lots of room in this shelter. You might be able to shave some weight by changing the tent pegs. Ti pegs can be 6 – 10 grams ea.

[Franco Darioli]

My mini Peak II with pegs and stuff sacks comes at 1350g.
BTW, have a look at the new Lightwave. Just got that yesterday . Nice finish.
Somewhat similar to the Laser in size but with vents (….)
Franco

[Thomas Gauperaa]

I've posted some photos of mine here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gauperaa/

[andrea cockerton]

Hi Richard,
This is the only review i can find on the web regarding this tent, so i am very curious, how did the field trials go, i am looking at this as an option : )
Cheers Andrea

[Franco Darioli]

Errecting the outer shelter was very easy although I wonder how easy it would be in a high wind.

it can be easy. This is how I do it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xShpfttHtzc&list=UU0PuLUKvG7Fxxex5BMVK4vw&index=13&feature=plcp
Franco

[andrea cockerton]

Hi Franco, i see you were involved in the testing and recommendations of the version two. Is the tent able to cope with heavy rain and how is the ground sheet in terms of keeping you dry? Your opinions valued, cheers Andrea

[Franco Darioli]

Hi Andrea
I used to be in contact with Luxe for a few years (till the Lightwave came out ) and did some experimenting/mods/suggestions with some of their shelters.
Since 2006 I have used only Tarptents but still fiddle with others and have used some as loaners.
The Mini Peak does take heavy rain , I have tested that in my backyard..
One downside of that polyester fabric is that it absorbs rain so it gains a lot of weight when wet. It however dries pretty fast and does not sag as much as silnylon.
The floor is strong and high enough for boggy areas.
I would not recommend it if you are over 180 cm (5'9")
BTW, it is symmetrical so you have exactly the same space either side of the pole so you can choose wich side to use for entry/exit
(you can move the inner to the other side once erected)

Franco

[andrea cockerton]

Cheers for your post Franco : )

[andrea cockerton]

OK, ive checked out the tarptents and keen to know more, have you trialled any one person tents in this range, what would you recommend?
Cheers
Andrea

[Franco Darioli]

Yes, well, I have tried them all…
better contact me at
[email protected]

[Bob Bennett]

"The floor is strong and high enough for boggy areas.
I would not recommend it if you are over 180 cm (5'9")
…"

I'm interested in this tent for a 10 day trek – I'm 6' 1" and the specs on the length say 225cm or over 7'. I'm just curious why you would not recommend it for someone over than 5'9" are the measurments off ?

Thanks!

[Ty Ty]

Isn't this a Duomid with half inner?

Does anyone have the weight without the inner mesh part?

[Ty Ty]

Bob – I think one of the issues with pyramid style tents is that the sloping walls leave you with not a lot of space between the floor and the wall. Take a second look at the pictures and imagine how close the wall would be to your feet and face the taller you are. The 7' measurement is edge of floor to edge of floor.

[andrea cockerton]

Sometimes its good to be a 5'3 shrimp! : )
I am still undecided if this is the right tent for me or have found anymore reviews.
Happy tramping, take care

[Bob Bennett]

Tyler, that makes perfect sense, thanks for pointing that out.

[Author]

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