Tent trade-offs and considerations

[Phillip Tatti]

I decided to go with the Stratospire 2. The space for two people was just too nice. Also at 1 lb 4 oz per person the weight still isn't bad.

If it turns out that a different tent would have been better, the turn around time on the gear swap forum sure is reassuring :]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. That lil bug out sure looks interesting and if I can convince my friend to go floor-less in the future it will be at the top of my list.

Ill post some pictures and maybe a video when I get it.

[robert van putten]

Wait!
Have you considered the TT Squall 2?

It's my solo tent and I quite like it. I've had it through a rather nice thunderstorm one night and stayed perfectly dry. It's as light as many solo tents and roomy enough for two, or better yet as a roomy solo tent for you and all your gear.

My squall 2 overlooking Deer Lake in Stevens county Wa.

I also have the Supersized version, the Rainshadow 2, and use it as a double tent with my wife.

I find these tents to be quite simple and fast to set up ( only one pole! I've even set my Squall up using a spade instead of a pole one night…)
very weather worthy and light!

Last weekend we got nailed by one heck of a storm in a very exposed location above the tree line, and the Rainshadow weathered it just fine. The very strong wind was blowing from the side, which is supposed to be bad in these tents, but it was no big deal. Some water was blown through the side mesh but we didn't get wet and I could have prevented it if I had bothered to get up and do something about it.

[Phillip Tatti]

Yes I considered the Squall and it was really appealing. I just wanted something with a little more support for the larger fabric panels. I wont rule it out in the future if the SS2 is too much tent though.

[BPLwiia]

Is the weight of the SS2 more than you were hoping in a solo tent?

[Phillip Tatti]

Just wanted to give an update. I got the SS2 in the mail last week. Finally got it seam sealed etc. Here are my thoughts so far.

The tent is super roomy for two people. Plenty of room inside the inner for various things and the vestibules easily hold a backpack etc. Its pitched size is correspondingly large but not as bad as I thought. Lengthwise its close to the MH Lightwedge 2 my friend has, but it is definitely wider.

After adding 2 MSR Groundhogs for the apex guyouts, adding zipper pulls, and seam sealing, mine weighs in at 47 oz. I got lazy and used MSR zipper pulls, so those combined with the two extra stakes are ~4.3 oz. Add in my inexperienced, liberal seam sealing job and the tarptent website's claimed weight of 40 oz seems reasonable.I have extra 1mm cord that I will most likely make new zipper pulls out of instead. The tent is also stable without the apex guyouts staked in, but since they are there I figure it's not a bad idea to carry the 2 extra stakes along. Considering it will be split with two people, the .8 oz for the two stakes is trivial.

Setup Tip: I like to set it up by staking out the 4 door corners first. Make sure these are tight in the short dimension but you don't have to stretch it out in the long dimension. This leaves some slack for the supported side corners. By using the supported sides and your poles,you can get a taut inner and sidewall while keeping the supported side pieces roughly upright. Long story short: Its easier to get a tight pitch with your poles and the pitchlock corners.

Other random thoughts…
It comes with the longer Easton Nano Nails. Very nice

The door stake out points have shock cord on them which is a nice touch. This means there is shock cord directly on either side of the door zipper which is nice to relieve tension from the zipper.

Craftmanship is good. Only 1 or 2 loose threads that I saw and the stitching had no issues.

Ill post some more thoughts after I give it a field run this weekend.

[Daryl and Daryl]

Franco,

Loved the music that went with your video. The crowd watching you must have liked it too given their enthusiastic applause at the end.

[Phillip Tatti]

Just weighed the zipper pulls I had, guess I read the package wrong. 6 zipper pulls and the 2 extra stakes are ~1.5 oz total. Guess I really slathered on the seam sealer haha

[Author]

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