Big Agnes String Ridge VST 1.5 Tent

Use-case:

This is an unusual tent, and probably not destined for tremendous popularity, but it works very well for my particular use case. Specifically, I use this for three season alpine trips in the Colorado mountains, with a large and fairly restless dog.

Description:

Structurally, it’s a bit of a unicorn, a single-wall trekking pole tent, requiring two poles in an asymmetrical set-up. The canopy is sil-poly and it weighs in at 22oz fully kitted out with stakes, guy lines, and sack. While not as light as DCF, the sil-poly packs down very small and has good tensile stability. In terms of size, it fills a unique niche between typical one-pole 1P mid-style tents (e.g. Zpacks Plex Solo, which has a modest amount of extra floor space opposite the pole), and two-pole 2P tents (Durston X-mid, Zpacks Duplex, etc.), which are extremely spacious, but require large sites that can be challenging to find in an alpine environment.

You can see the specs on the manufacturer’s page. Notably, the tent is 28″ wide at head and foot, widening to 44″ in the middle. The side walls are nearly vertical but the end walls slope gradually. These photos show how much space there is for my pad and 90lb Max.

Visually, the String Ridge 1.5 is a tent only a mother could love, it is truly dorky. Pitching can be laborious, with 9 stakes for typical use. I often go around the tent three times. In the first pass, I stake the four corners. Then I stake the poles with long guy lines (long pole on the vestibule side, short pole supporting the “wing” on the opposite side), as well as the vestibule. Then, after adjusting the corners, I stake out the head and foot.

You really need to see photos to understand / appreciate the design.

Features:

One benefit of the design is the large triangular mesh panel protected by the wing, which creates more ventilation than in a typical single-wall tent. I usually leave the smaller vestibule door open also, and when using the guy line on the vestibule side, I can roll up both sides of the vestibule and leave the whole side of the tent open. There is an L-shaped zipped opening on one side of the mesh.

The tent has two small mesh storage pockets at either ends of the mesh wall. Strangely, the pockets are open on one side, instead of the top, so you insert items in horizontally. While it’s nice to have the storage to organize small items, things often fell out when you remove other items. I may modify the pockets at some point.

There are a couple of loops on the ceiling by the pole pockets, and I tied a piece of guy line between them for some extra organization.

Strengths:

The size of the tent is a major strength for me, it’s a Goldilocks size, personally. Ventilation is good for a single-wall tent, and it’s very light for a non-DCF tent. Those are three major upsides.

I rode out several severe storms in the tent, including one lengthy thunderstorm with strong wind gusts and hail. I kept waiting for the pole to fall out from under the wing and the tent to collapse, but it never happened. I can only guess that while the pitch looks weird, it has a lot of anchor points, and the sil-poly material reduces sag so that the guy lines stay taut. After several storms, I became pretty confident in the tent, but obviously it doesn’t feel as solid as a more symmetrical and streamlined design.

Room for improvement:

As I mentioned above, set-up is tedious. As purchased, one particular weak point was the pocket for the short pole on the “wing” side. Actually, there really isn’t a pocket, just a little lip of fabric that you can insert the tip of the pole handle in. The expectation is apparently that the handle will stay in place mainly due to friction and the tension of the guy line. This made set-up even harder, because until everything was taut, that pole tended to fall down. And even after the tent was set up solidly, that pole was unstable with respect to sideways movement. So after a few trips, I decided to modify the tent by adding a small piece of shock cord. I sewed it to the vinyl pocket with needle and thread and it worked well, but in retrospect it would have been easier just to make a couple of holes, thread the cord through, and tie knots. This made a huge difference in set up and stability and after wrapping the cord around the handle, it even pulled the panel down a little to create a pocket.

I was so pleased with this modification that I actually contacted Big Agnes to tell them about it, but they weren’t interested in hearing from me. After a couple of days I received an email from customer service informing me that their design team was very busy improving their products and didn’t have time to review comments or suggestions from customers. So this improvement will just be our secret.

Quality:

From my perspective after using it for about 20 nights, the tent is built very well. Everything seems solid, neat, and well made, with good materials and construction, as you’d probably expect from Big Agnes. I really have no notes in terms of QC.

I haven’t had any issues regarding durability or reliability, but I guess time will tell.

Value:

At an MSRP of about $550, this tent seems pretty expensive for what it is. However, it’s sold at REI, so most people will be getting at least the 10% rebate, and I also got an extra 5% off that with my REI credit card. Of course, there are usually a few opportunities each year to use a 20% off coupon, which can be combined with the credit card rebate. So I think most people will be effectively paying $420-$470.

Comparisons:

In my quiver, this tent sits between my Zpacks Plexamid and my Durston X-Mid Pro 2. The Plexamid is a great tent, so light and easy to pitch, but it just isn’t big enough for me and Max. The Durston is so thoughtfully designed and spacious, but after using it for about 30 nights, I found myself struggling to fit it into campsites almost half the time. It would be lovely if the String Ridge were DCF and 5-6oz lighter, but even in sil-poly it’s the same weight as the Durston.

My other firsthand comparison, would be a Nemo Hornet 2p, which is a good tent for what it is, and also sort of a 1.5 person tent. But it’s much heavier, double-wall, and free standing. Just more than I want to carry.

FWIW, I can fit two large dogs in the Nemo and the Durston. I haven’t tried that yet in the String Ridge, but it might be tight.

Thanks for the thorough review. The String Ridge is a bit large for my needs, but I don’t see how you could beat the space to weight ratio when it comes to a woven tent. Also the 20D Hyperbead polyester with a 4000mm fly is a major leap forward for Big Agnes, which has always made tents that leak in sustained heavy rains (most are silnylon 1200mm to 1500 mm).

Good point, Monte. This series of tents is a major departure for Big Agnes. Not only the fabric, but I really can’t recall any other single-wall or trekking pole shelters.

Of course, who knows if they will last. IIRC, Big Agnes experimented with some DCF tents, but I believe they are all discontinued now.

That is one ugly duckling. Was wondering that that beak thing was. Seems like a great weight to area ratio though. Thanks for the detailed review.

PS they should really take your advice on the beak wing pocket thing.

PS they should really take your advice on the beak wing pocket thing.

Well, if someone here replicates it, that’s enough for me.

I once made a thread about modifying a sleeping bag with snaps so it could double as a quilt. The following year someone contacted me to ask if I had any extra materials because she wanted to do the same thing, and I was thrilled. ;-)

I was a little bit quick on the draw in dismissing this tent. You’ve shown that a little vision and a bit of knowledge can make all the difference. Take what works for you and make it work better. I found it confusing in the original pictures. I’ve been schooled. I’m glad you found a home.