Tent vestibules and TENT VESTIBULES

Stronger than a Bibler Eldorado?? Or a VE 25?

Now that would surprise me!

> Note that winds push equally against equal surface area measured perpendicularly. > The force on a horizontal wall is identical the the force on the same size wall if
> it had a sloping surface;

IF and only IF the object is suspended in free space. That does not describe a tent.

Even in a howling storm, wind speed at ground level (I mean at grass roots level) is close to zero. Small bushes will give quite different windspeeds near ground level compared to, say, short grass. Wind does funny things at ground level: it can scoot up and over a contoured tent quite easily, or it can scour the snow from around the base of a large rock. Mind you, wind speed at the surface of snow is often very different from wind speed in exactly the same place without the snow.

> assuming the bent hoops are guyed out to prevent them from distorting inward.
And this is key to much of alpine tent design. Large unsupported fabric areas are going to fail, but well-guyed curved poles at close intervals are quite robust.

To each his own.
Cheers

Gavin,
first thank you for the opportunity.
The SS2 is a somewhat difficult tent to work out till you see it in person.
So maybe some photos can help
1) condensation trapping

You can open all of the four door panels independently so it is easy enough to manage condensation according to the weather.

2) no outside viewing in poor weather

It's raining outside

3) gear stored in the door

two packs inside that vestibule, 1x 60l 1x 75 l
(not that you would have two almost full packs in one vestibule, the other is the same size.

And now for the delicate matter of cooking inside a tent..
(insert your own warnings here)
The SS2, just like the other TT double wall shelters, has an integral pitch, so you set them up with the inner attached.
It happens that by undoing 3 mitten hooks you end up with a lot of cooking space inside.
A bit tight for my Weber :

but enough for some others :

So Franco, how often do you take the Weber grill backpacking? Does it pack down small? Great picture! : )

I still think Sierra Design's "war on vestibules" is silly. You know what you get when you don't zip closed a well made vestibule? An awning. Seems like marketing to me

Awnings and fog=damp everything.

Great post Franco.

Fog gets everything wet, awning or not!

John,
Weber and Tarptent both made in good ol'USA.

(if the those products where made here,I would buy them)

Oh, the Weber…. Great comic relief!

The second SD tent in that video looks like some weird sea creature trying to dance a jig.

Would be nice if that wind lab had a turntable floor to see 360 degree performance.

Hammock and tarp:
1- check
2- check
3- check
4- you sleep better
5- Chicks dig 'em.

Sold.

Richard wins.

I am going to a hammock.

"If you check out our new Convert Shelters for 2015, you see a unique solution to this dichotomy, where the vestibule can zip off and when it is, it is "replaced" by an awning over drop door."

Is "The War on Vestibules " over then?

"Is "The War on Vestibules " over then?"

Next up. The War on tent floors and how the back stroke is a natural movement.

Sweet.

No floor needed for a hammock. Richard still wins.

>>No floor needed for a hammock. Richard still wins.<<

No trees… ummm…. uhhh… ;)

Bob, are you telling me that there is no one best approach?

It's lookin' that way to me! :-]

Somewhere near Mt. Marcy, Adirondacks, where awnings don't do an awful lot.

Welcome home!

.

I think the awning is a great idea. On almost every trip, I wish I had a way to see out of the tent in rain. Both during the afternoon thunderstorms and night time ones. I am looking forward to seeing the SD 2015 lineup! While most vestibules can be rolled up, not many tent vestibules can be left open in a rain. Those that claim a "drip free" rain fly are marginally so at best, an only in light rain.

Ben

"5- Chicks dig 'em."

True, but it's pretty much a solo-sleeping option.

Stephen:

No turntable, but at this tunnel in Korea the tents can be set up in any orientation, since there is plenty of room. At the UW tunnel, you are severely restricted by the width of the tunnel

Franco:

I had not seen the SS2 in that level of detail, particularly at the footbox corner. It does look like there is enough coverage to keep the doors open in straight down rain, which is key IMO. You would need to trim down from the top for blowing rain.

I agree with the others that the Weber is a classic!

Ken:

War on vestibule is not over. Original vestibules were created for snow as an actual "vestibule" to get your body in to prevent spindrift from entering the shelter. The "war on vestibules" is limited to 3S conditions where outside viewing and condensation management are crucial. It is true that a "well designed" vestibule can offer awning coverage, as shown above. The advantage of awnings only is that they can be left open in blowing conditions too, using the WP door to trim the bottom and keep the window (view and ventilation) open….

Bob:

Agree those are poor conditions for an awning. ;)

Most hammocks have tarps that create overhanging awnings, allowing ventilation and viewing in poor weather…….

Roger, I prefer the term 'dome' to 'pop-up' because it sounds more distinguished. As with tunnels, there are gooduns and baduns. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. The rest of your comments were gooduns, though. As usual.

M Glavin, the mid I speculated about looks like nothing on the SD site. And the weights! Yipes. As the editor has to keep saying, this is Backpacking LIGHT. A pyramid can be very light, approaching a pound even without using Cuben. That is not the kind of stuff you sell to the mass market. That is OK. We understand. But a bit less of the blitzkrieg approach would certainly be appreciated. Although I suppose protesting excessive marketing hype on the internet resembles a voice crying in the wilderness next to a blown over tent. Oh well, I should have known enough to keep the tent design comments on the MYOG forum. To paraphrase Lucinda Williams, 'I know it, I know it, but I just can't let go.'