Ventilation in double wall tents

You'll find some great information on exactly your question in the following links:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=91190

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=90917

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=90827

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=89918

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=88290

Hi.
I have read all the past threads already (more specifically, I have printed them out and spent an entire afternoon with papers and pencil) and the asnwer to the questions I'm asking now, is not there.
But may be you should take your own advice.

If it is truly hot and miserable, a solid wall "inner" will be stifling. Breeze or no breeze.

Even a net tent will be hot if there is no breeze, especially if it has (very fine) "noseeum" netting.

If it was me, in the tropics, in the jungle, I'd do a 2P net dome, and a polyurethane coated tarp. When it gets cold, I'd start using the fly for the tent.

The Solar 2 inner has a mesh door and a mesh triangular "window" at the back, and that is how it gets that excellent ventilation rating by Outdoor Labs .

(from http://www.moontrail.com/terra-nova-solar-photon-2.php take a look)
Essentially the more mesh the inner has ,the more it will let air circulate inside the inner, the more fabric the inner has the warmer will be both in warm and cold weather.
At your height, sitting on a mat (even the thin ones) you might touch the top of that Solar inner.
The Tarptent DR could work for you , it does have more headroom and certainly more scope for airflow, however it will be cooler high up but that is where your clothing should do the job.
Rather than setting the tent up inner only when warm and then adding the fly if it rains , you just open up the sides fully and you end up with similar ventilation and views as with a tarp but will take you less than a minute to batten down if needed.
Like this :

You can use trekking poles with the DR in several modes.
For the "freestanding" option ( a bit fiddly ) ,
as extra frame support for high winds or some snow (they slot under the vents and hook up to the ends of the cross apex strut)
or for the "rain curtain" option so that you can leave one side open on a rainy day.

franco@tarptent

> wether an all mesh inner provides more or less ventilation than a nylon one.
Simplistically, a mesh inner gives a LOT more ventialtion than a fabric one.

But what really matters far more is how much ventilation the FLY provides. If the fly has no ventilation, the inner is not going to make much difference. And that is what the review points out.

Cheers

So may be the Moment DW and the Strato Spire 1 are better options for an all-climates tent?

Be aware that Franco is a TarpTent representative, and that is the only line he will suggest.

They are good tents, they have lots of fans, they deserve their reputation.

Just saying …

I officially have an headache now! :)

that franco@tarptent might have been a good clue about my connection with Tarptent…
(I edited that comment to add a comma, not the @tarptent bit)
BTW, I have been inside both the DR and the other tent, one does have more headroom than the other no matter who I work with.

Alessandra,
as others have tried to suggest, you can't get a tent that is perfect in the jungle as well as at 4000m.
So you need to compromise .
At which end you compromise the most (more ventilation /larger floor area or more wind/snow protection and a smaller shelter or heavier ) is up to you.

Mesh inners provide more ventilation. More mesh = more ventilation.

For hot, humid conditions, select a shelter which you can leave the fly very open, even during a hard rain. A tarp with either a "net tent" of all mesh walls, or a hammock with bug netting and covered by a tarp is what I would want. Bugs will drive you crazy faster than heat or humidity. :)

Edit: With experience pitching the tarp, it can work in many cold environments, but not all.

Allesandra, if you are concerned about ventaliation I wouldn't get an enclosed free standing tent. Get one of the tarp tent style tents that you prop up with trekking poles or vertical poles. Pitch the guy lines out enough so there is ventilation.

If you are worried about creepy crawlies in the jungle you really should have a hammock. You can buy a hammock locally. Maybe you could have someone mail you a tent when needed.