New OD Box/ MontBell Tent

I had a chance to get into Tokyo and take a look at the OD Box/ MontBell Uno Shelter today. Actually I was hoping to meet Brett there, but we couldn’t coordinate our times. Would have been fun, Brett! Next time.

The Uno is LIGHT! When I picked it up I could barely believe that it was a shelter complete with door and poles. The fabric is 15 denier, so half that of silnylon and feels gossamer thin. I really wondered if I would feel safe in there if any wind really began to blow. But then, it’s the same material that MontBell uses in it’s zelts, so it’s been tested. And I’ve seen zelts take quite some beating. To make setting up easier and make the whole package lighter, the poles are housed inside the tent, like the BD Epic tents.

The entrance is really low, just like on the BD FirstLight, but not so low that it was ungainly to get in. Sitting up inside is just right for someone my height (I’m 5’10”, but I iimagine it would be a bit low for taller folk. The length, as everyone feared, is very short, in fact the man I was talking to said that usuable length is 195 cm, rather than the listed 200 cm. When I lay inside both my head and feet brushed the ends of the tent; if I had been in a sleeping bag it would definitely have been quashed up against the tent walls.

The ventilation system has been carefully thought out. There is the hoped for screen door, though only half the door size, but there is also a unique and ingenious mesh around the perimeter of the door so that even when the door is closed air vents around the door, protected by the hood. Another vent is at the back, on the roof.

It’s a marvel of a little tent, but I think perhaps my $300.00 would be better spent elsewhere.

What actually struck my eye was another tent on the floor: the Arai Raiz 1. I knew about this tent, but never really looked at it carefully before, thinking that it was just another boring Japanese tent. The store manager pointed out its special features and I was intrigued. Aside from being made of a proprietary breathable material, the Raiz 1 has another ingenious feature… the floor can be unzipped on two adjacent sides of the tent, so that you can pull back the floor and use the area right by the door as a makeshift venstibule where you can cook in the rain. The side of the tent can also be lifted for taking off dirty shoes, When you’re done, you just rolled the floor back into place and zip it up. The zips are placed higher up on the wall of the tent to create a bathtub floor. And the Raiz 1 is longer than the Uno… forgot to get the measurements. I had no trouble lying full length inside. The whole package, including Scandium poles, pegs, guylines, and stuff sack comes to about 1 kg, the store manager said. This tent is a best seller.

And I wonder where all my money goes!

Miguel:

Only a true gear geek would brave typhoon, earthquake, and nuclear plant mishap to check out tents! You win the prize. Brett is a wuss.

Thanks for the additional info. on the BD and Arai tents. I too am impressed with the perimeter mesh vents — very ingenious indeed!

One thing though, I think I much prefer a traditional "window protected by awning" type vent, rather than the "limpy round tube sticking out" type vent.

Ok, gone with the Uno, hello Raiz 1 – but, will it fit a 6'3" canadian person? Brett, you going to be dropping by anytime soon?

Miguel – thanks a bunch for the great info – very much appreciated.

Steve

The uno has less ventilation than a Eureka Zeus Exo…whoa!

I agree; Miguel is hard to the core! He travelled on rickety old, above ground, country trains with an ever present danger of high winds and aftershocks knocking his car off the tracks; just to collect this info for BPL. Lightitude merit badge!

The Arai does look like the more intriguing tent, and still only a kilo..

Now that all the danger is past I will bravely venture out of my urban skyscraper and ride the safe..uh I mean 'dangerous subterranean' subway to measure the Arai and see the Uno firsthand.. ;)

Edit; I think this is the same tent.. manufacturer says its 205 by 100; Ill check the usable length..
http://www.arai-tent.co.jp/lineup/tent/gore.html

The Arai looks fairly tiny, too. Must get dimensions. Now if you could crossbreed the two—the mystery W/B canopy of the Arai with the interior poles (allows canopy to spill wind and snow better, easier to tape or seamseal, convenience of setting up tent from within, out of the elements) and more sophisicated venting design of the Uno. The floppy tunnel vent in the Arai photo has been done better by other manufacturers, usually by stiffening with wire, and can be a very effective, fairly stormproof peak vent.

Thanks for the link, Brett.

Judging by the name, the Gore Raiz tent is wp/b with Goretex laminate. Interestingly, this single wall tent is heavier than Arai's two-wall models. For comparison (l x w x h) and lbs, oz:

Air Raiz 1 — 81x39x39 — 3, 0 — double wall
Air Raiz 2 — 83x51x41 — 3, 7 — double wall

Trek Raiz 1 — 81x31x39 — 2,12 — double wall
Trek Raiz 2 — 83x43x41 — 3, 4 — double wall

Gore Raiz 1 — 81x39x39 — 3, 7 — single wall
Gore Raiz 2 — 83x51x41 — 3,12 — single wall

The solid-fabric Trek Raiz 1 and 2 inner tents can be swapped for all-mesh substitutes for summer use. See "Kaya Raiz".

Last I heard, a kilo (the weight M. heard quoted) was equivalent to 2.2 lbs. That's a big dif—3lb. 7oz. to 2.2 lbs. And boring old gore-tex, not propreitary at all.

Is what Miguel saw a different version of the Raiz 1?

Oops… I looked at Miguel's post again and noticed that the tent is called Arai Raiz — not Gore Raiz. I didn't see Arai Raiz anywhere in the tent product pages — but looking again, it's in the 'shelter' page! So why is this a shelter and not a tent??? Anyway…

Arai Raiz — solo tent — 79x39x37 — 2 lbs, 3 oz.

Tent fabric – 30D ripstop nylon with PU coating
Floor – nylon taffeta
Poles – 8.88 mm Scandium

The last paragraph on the webpage is in RED (warning?). Ignoring the words written in the Japanese alphabet and reading the Chinese words, it says something about the possiblity of condensation — and usage of tent with that understanding… Perhaps Miguel or our Japanese forum members can translate more fully.

Hope I didn't steer you wrong with that link; your knowledge of Chinese characters is of course more useful than my grasp of the Japanese kanji. Evidently the vents would be critical since the fabric does not breathe. If snowfall closes the vents you concevieably suffocate.. but for the mesh MB put around the door. It is not just a feature, maybe it is a neccessity.

"The last paragraph on the webpage is in RED (warning?). Ignoring the words written in the Japanese alphabet and reading the Chinese words, it says something about the possiblity of condensation — and usage of tent with that understanding… Perhaps Miguel or our Japanese forum members can translate more fully."

Yes, both the Arai Raiz 1 and the Shelter have the same warning about condensation. As far as I'm aware neither is made of a breathable fabric. My friend who owns the gear shop in Yamanashi did recommend the Shelter. However Nippin have a scandium poled shelter with a breathable but not entirely waterproof fabric, same as the BDs but it predates them by quite a few years.

Oh, and the text says, in part, "these are not tents" – I presume because they're single-skin and not breathable.

That Raitz 1 is a sexy little tent. I have wondered for some time why the zipped floor has not been used with the Stephenson's Warmlites, however thought better than suggesting that to them…
This has already been done in other tents BTW.

What I would suggest is for Ben 2 World (but not enough tents) to buy it and install a no see-um door so that we could consider this as a 3 plus season tent. While he is doing that he can also find a piece of flexible plastic to keep that top vent open.
I supposed that since the floor can be unzipped ,(so that Miguel can sleep with his legs sticking out), a strip of mesh and a guyout point could be added to have side ventilation.
Thanks in advance, Ben.

Miguel, is the zip a two way version ? If not , there is more work for Ben to do.
If you are still going to Ticino, and if you get the time take a rail trip from Locarno down to Domodossola ( my home town) about 2 hours, and then to Stresa 30-50 minutes, have a look at the islands and take a ferry back to Locarno, 2 to 3 hours depending on the ferry.
Franco

What, the Raiz does not already have a mesh door? D.O.A.; shame; it could have been a contender..

Overall, I like the design of the OD Box better — but it's still DOA "as is". Now, if they lengthen the tent to at least 82", then I would be interested.

Wonder if there's a 2-person version?

Franco, Ben is building a city of tents that extends from the States across the Pacific to China. Why else would he name himself "Ben 2 World"? I heard that he also enjoys placing his fingers in the roof vent while sleeping and thus keeping the vent from collapsing in the wind. I myself have devised a new way of regulating heat by the amount of exposed legs outside the tent. After all, rain pants aren't really needed anyway, so realistically one ought to be able to get by with legs inside or outside all way up to the hips. This is the reasoning behind making a tent that is too short for taller folks.

I didn't notice if the zipper is two way, though from the quick glance I got at the corner where the zippers from the adjacent sides of the tent meet, the zippers looked pretty simple.

About the fabric. The manager I spoke to said it was a breathable proprietary fabric, not non-breathable like the Uno. He said that it was different from the Gore-Raiz. When I turned over the fabric in my hand it had a white coating similar in texture to the inner face of Breeze DryTec of MontBell, though it is not a MB fabric. It is true that the Arai homepage warns that the fabric is non-breathable and prone to condensation, so I'm not sure what is going on.

The manager and I also spoke about how products like the Uno are developed. He lamented that because MontBell was huge and run by people who were slow to change their thinking, it was very difficult to develop products like the Uno. OD Box has apparently been trying to get several companies to put out a product like the Uno for a long time, with very light materials, internal poles, breathable fabrics, but no one listened. Because OD Box is a small company it is very hard for them to stock items and therefore they can't manufacture in bulk. The only way they could produce a product like the Uno was to work in collaboration with MontBell. I asked if there is going to be a two-person Uno, but because MontBell seems reluctant to take the risk of producing such products he said it is unlikely. He also said that OD Box and MontBell had initially thought of using a breathable fabric but that none of the breathable fabrics was light enough and fully waterproof at the same time. Even eVent was too heavy.

Franco, I've written down your recommendation for traveling around Ticino. I'll have a week to slow down and relax after walking in the Alps, and I was thinking that Ticino or that area would be nice to visit. Still not sure yet, since I'm playing a lot of it by ear and also just want to go as things come up without planning too much. Thanks for the suggestion.

Someone mentioning setting up tents across the world???

Someone mentioning setting up tents across the world???

Egads! A Ben doppelganger! Ben, watch out, there's a new tent pimp in town!

"About the fabric. The manager I spoke to said it was a breathable proprietary fabric, not non-breathable like the Uno … It is true that the Arai homepage warns that the fabric is non-breathable and prone to condensation, so I'm not sure what is going on."

What is going on is that the fabric has a PU coating (which is called "S-Fletcher" – perhaps the manufacturer?)and Arai say on the Raiz 1 webpage that this PU coating will allow a little moisture to dissipate. In other words there's a minimal amount of the molecular transfer you get on a PU coated WPB material but not enough to make this genuinely WPB.