MH Direkt 2 4 season tent

[Bruce Tolley]

The new Mountain Hardware 4 season tent at 2 lbs 8 oz l(25 sq feet) looks almost too light to be true for a 4 season tent. From descriptions on the web, it appears to be double walled.

Compare the MH EV2 single wall at 4 lbs 5 oz (31 sq feet) and the BD Firstlight single wall at 2 lbs 13 oz. (27 sq feet).

Has anyone seen this tent or used it? I suspect anyone over 5 feet 10 inches will not fit into it.

[EndoftheTrail]

No direct experience whatsoever… but looking at specs and pics, 81" length coupled with inward curving dome walls very likely means one end or the other of your sleeping bag will touch the walls. Not good for any single wall tent. My 'regular length" MB fits only up to 5'10" and I had trouble with 82" floor dome tents. Most "regular size" bags are designed for 6 ft., which would be even worse. Sleeping diagonal won't work because of the tent's limited width.

But great for people who use S sleeping bags.

[Sam Farrington]

Did not like the 36" height either. Sounds like too small overall.

[Ken Thompson]

Maybe this should be linked to the midget backpacking thread.

[NW Hiker]

It looks pretty good to me, don't know what you guys are looking at :)

44" high, 25 sq ft, that nice EV2 material and under 3 lbs. No way I would do 2 people, but as we all know by now the rated capacity nowadays is never accurate. Would be good for 1 person smack in the middle, with gear on the sides.

It's really a cold weather climbing tent, and they don't describe any other way

"The Basics

Our lightest two person expedition tent ever built by Mountain Hardwear, the Direkt 2 is designed for ultra-light high altitude alpine climbing.

Capacity 2
Minimum Weight 2 lb. 8 oz. / 1.12 kg.
Packed Weight 2 lb. 15 oz. / 1.32 kg.

Measurements

Floor Area 25 sq. ft. / 2.4 m2
Number of Doors 1
Number of Poles 2
Number of Vestibules 0
Interior Height 44" / 112 cm
Packed Diameter 5 in / 13 cm
Packed Length 10 in / 25 cm

[David Ure]

@Ken LOL!

It's going to be pretty short for even one of average size to use a high loft bag without pushing against the walls. This is an issue with the ID MK Lite series as well, not to mention the BD Firstlight. ID does acknowledge this fact and has an XL version that is 86" long. Even with the sloping walls, additional height, and the increased length, it is not exactly palatial.

On the other hand, Ueli Steck isn't that tall.

[Ron W]

It's not double-walled. I think they were just going for the lightest high-alpine capable 2-person tent. The next one to hold the distinction will probably have a 78" long floor. :)

[Richard Fischel]

The guys this tent is made for are pretty happy to have anything to crawl into. This tent was designed to be small and light with no real consideration for comfort. Nobody cares if your sleeping bag touches the ends of the tent or if there isn't alot of headroom. Sure they could add a few square feet of floor space, but the guys using it would rather be packed in like sardines then have to chop a larger platform to set up on. They could also make it a few inches taller, but that would just increase the windage.

This tent is a pretty specialized tool for use in a specific environment by climbers that are accustomed to being in miserable conditions most of the time anyway. This tent is pretty much a palace to them.

[Ron W]

Right…it's just another specialized tool for the market it was designed for.

[Dustin Short]

"Right…it's just another specialized tool for the market it was designed for."

It was designed for Ueli Steck and his alpine style ascents in the Himalaya (along with much of the other gear they introduced this year). They put in the R&D with him for his expeditions which was great branding and advertising for MH. Turns out that a bunch of yuppies who love Ueli (and even dirtbags) thought a lot of the gear he used was pretty cool and wanted it from a major manufacturer. So yes, it was actually designed for a VERY specific market of one man, probably with the intent that the technology would trickle down just like automobile manufacturers building professional race cars and eventually using that knowledge for all other cars.

Only makes sense, since there was demand, for MH to sell it directly. I disagree with their pricing structure since they're basically capitalizing on Ueli's name and people with more money than sense…but if they have profitable sales, accurate specs, and are still providing something of value, then you can't fault them for the habits of their consumers.

[Art …]

so no one in this thread actually owns a Direkt 2 ?
has anyone actually tried one out in a store ?
or seen one at all ?
can anyone vouch for the accuracy of the weight ?
does the weight include stakes or not ?
I'm pretty interested in this tent … for very specialized purposes.

[John Whynot]

There's a thread from August of this year, over on cascadeclimbers.com discussing it. There's some useful information in it, and several pictures of an actual Direkt 2. The thread is in the Gear Critic forum, second page of thread topic listings (there doesn't seem to be a search function for non-members)…

[Art …]

John – thanks.
looks like a palace for one, or a very cramped fit for two.

[Joseph Monashipour]

Just added the following Mountain Hardwear's Review page for the Direkt 2 tent.

I have used this tent on two multi-day trips, first with a hiking companion in Patagonia, then for only myself in the Eastern Sierras West of Bishop CA in early September.

Pros:
– Lightweight (although a few ounces more than originally advertised on the Website).
– Waterproof (but not seam sealed).
– Quick to dry (lift it up in the wind like a windsock).
– Sleeps two average hikers (we even managed to keep our boots and backpacks between our feet and the zippered door)

Cons:
– Bending the poles into place is a challenge.
– The poles will not easily align, and will not stay aligned with the intersections of the four walls. The Velcro tabs are too long and therefore can't quite hug the poles (hence they feel a bit flimsy; beta version syndrome?)
– When the top vent opposite the door is fully opened, it is still too small to ventilate enough to prevent condensation. One definitely needs to also unzip the bottom of the door. This makes the tent unsuitable for camping where there are insects.
– I was surprised that such a reputable manufacturer had not seam-sealed the tent. (same Beta version syndrome?)
– Page 4 of the "Owner's Manual" states: "to further stormproof your tent add two internal guy systems to the inside of your tent by using the cord and cord cleats provided and the webbing loops sewn into the interior walls and roof. Join the two pieces of 96" cord, forming one long cord. Tie one end of the cord to point B (Fig. 4a) at one inside corner of the tent…"
There were no cords and cord cleats in the package, and I still haven't found "the webbing loops sewn into the interior walls and roof". (Beta version syndrome, or wrong booklet in the package?)
– The flap material over the door zippers is caught in them every time, unless you use both hands and operate the zippers carefully. (Beta version syndrome?)

Conclusions:
The tent is good for high altitude mountaineering. It is 2 lbs lighter than my other MHW tent which has two walls and weighs 5 lbs. But I dread the thought of struggling with the poles and velcro tabs in rain and snow and wind.
Mountain Hardwear should seam-seal it, and install a mesh screen inside the door to make it usable in bug season (since one has to unzip the bottom of the door for ventilation).
Mountain Hardwear must do something about the annoying problem of zipper flaps getting snagged in the zippers.
It would be helpful to have a bigger vent (most people who want a lightweight standalone tent from a reputable manufacturer will not use it in the rare atmosphere of the high Himalayas.)
Those long loose Veclro tabs must be replaced with a better precision design.

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