Big Sky Soul or Evolution tents

I love my Chinook 2P. Was convinced about BSI by a friend who loves his Revolution 2P. I’ve found production quality and real world performance to be fantastic. I think, as you said, the catch is the occasional issue around ordering and communication (I had to check up on my order, but once I did, it shipped quickly), and that they don’t seem to advertise the way other companies do. I’ve heard frustrations about the ordering process, but I’ve yet to come across a negative review of a BSI tent in actual use.

I have a Big Sky Soul 1P that I bought off of ebay (I think or maybe gearswap) a couple of years ago. I don’t think it had ever been used  before I got it, but I had to re-shock-cord the poles – the old shock cord had completely lost its stretch.

Anyway it appears very well made – but to be honest I have not used it other that to set it up and experiment with getting in and out and where I might put my pack if I used it (the vestibule is tiny). I mostly hike with my brother and so I don’t use solo tents that often. When I do hike solo I typically use a Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis with a z-packs solo cuben bathtub floor (and a piece of polycro to protect that). I bought the Soul thinking I might need a more bomber solo setup, but the lighter weight (my Soul weighs 35 oz with stakes vs my Wild Oasis setup that weighs 24 oz with stakes) and easier side access of the Wild Oasis always seems to win – so it still sits on the shelf.

Which brings me to the main disadvantages of the Soul from my brief experience to date.  The front access combined with the small size make for an interesting entrance process. I have to literally back into the tent. I have to back up to the entrance, slip my shoes off, and then kneel down as I back into the tent. If I go in head first it is too tight for me to turn around (it might be worse for me because I have a bad back and I don’t really bend in the middle to easily). I already mentioned the small vestibule – big enough for a pair of shoes. And last – when you unzip the entrance to get out roughly 1/3 of the tent floor is exposed to the weather. Other tents also suffer this issue – but to a lesser extent in my opinion. It’s also probably not great in the wind – at least from side anyway. It is also pretty short. The dimension says 84 inches – but I found that when I put a pad and sleeping bag in it it is likely the foot of the bag would spend a lot of time pressed against the bathtub floor at the end – so I worry about condensation.

All that being said – I have been pondering selling the Soul and getting the 1p Evolution – which is side entrance, has a much bigger vestibule, per the specs is slightly lighter, also has a 12 inch longer floor length. So if i were you I would skip the Soul and get the Evolution (unless you want to buy my Soul ;-)!.