New HMG Unbound Tent

[Joey G]

https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/products/unbound-2p

[Murali C]

more like a Zpacks Duplex competitor….

[Monte Masterson]

Yea, definitely a slightly smaller copy of the Duplex or The Two. Simple A frame that’s been around forever. HMG is very scant on the dimensions they list though. Hard to get a real comparison. Has a 0.8 DCF fly so about the same weight as the Duplex. Probably pretty bomber and well constructed. Price is in the Duplex range too.

I’d be interested to see how taut the Unbound pitches and how well it does in strong winds compared to the Duplex. And I wonder how HMG did their cat cuts? ZPacks updated their Duplex cat cuts a few years back to (supposedly) provide a more wind worthy pitch.

Surely HMG will be providing Ryan with a new Unbound to try out. Will be awaiting the review.

 

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

The video lists the fly as 0.8oz but the specs suggest it is 0.5oz since they list DCF5, DCF8, and DCF11  for the materials while saying the floor is DCF8 and the reinforcements are DCF11, leaving DCF5 as the fly presumably. A 0.5oz fly would be surprising from HMG, but I do think 0.55oz is the way to go for a fly because 0.8oz is 40% heavier while not improving the main vulnerabilities (delamination, abrasion).

For sure the floor is 0.8oz (both the video and product page say this), which is also surprising from HMG since 0.8oz (CT2E.08) has the much thinner/less abrasion resistance outer layers compared to the thicker floors they (and most others) normally use for a DCF tent.

It looks like they are adding DCF backed tape to properly reinforce the bias (diagonal) on the end panels too, so the diagonal forces won’t stretch the material apart:

Peak vents are a nice touch but don’t seem to have any way to close them, nor prop them open so they’ll probably sit there partially open.

Looks like a nice tent. Quite a few nice improvements compared to the Duplex (fly zippers, bonded, peak vents, reinforced bias) but also quite a bit heavier and with a less durable floor.

[Joey G]

Yeah, the floor was the thing that stood out to me the most.

[Ron Bell / MLD]

Video clearly shows the .55 fly specs listed –  the words go by very fast.  Sides look like bonded & shapped panels (vs only adding bias DCF overtape) and that is what they note in the video.  Personally, I would rather see the fly as .75/.8 DCF  for a total gain of only about 3.75oz and then it could last 2X longer and no worry on light to medium 4 Season use, but I am  – for sure  – biased.

[Monte Masterson]

A Duplex with .74 fly and 1.0 floor weighs 20.5 oz. That’s why I assumed the 24 oz Unbound has a DCF11 floor, DCF8 fly and DCF5 vestibules. Wrong. I’m trying to figure out why the Unbound weighs so much with a 0.8 oz floor and .55 oz fly. Larger vestibules perhaps? Or maybe all of the extra reinforcing adds up.

Update: I just got an e-mail back from Sarah at HMG. Yep, DCF5 fly, DCF8 floor and DCF11 reinforcements.

[Brad W]

So copied the Duplex, added zippers, changed mesh door entry, near worthless vent and made out of country. They seem to put a lot of effort into to the hipster marketing style.

[Ryan Jordan]

The nature of the design of this type of shelter, not the fabric, makes it a fair weather summer shelter. Heavier fabric and bigger vents aren’t going to make this an inclement weather shelter in very cold, windy, or snowy conditions. So yes this does look like a shelter targeted primarily at summer thru-hiking to compete with the Duplex.

It will be interesting to see if the seam design on the canopy can resolve some of the pitching issues that plague the Duplex.

The zippered vestibules and mesh inner door design of the Unbound 2P will be a welcome change for many users.

[AG]

seems like all the previous criticism of the dirigo on bpl paid off

–expanded interior head space
–doesn’t drip into bathtub when doors are open
–ditched the gimmicky wpb fabric
–netting at toes and head (instead of roof sewn to bathtub)
–add vents
–go a bit lighter
–slightly less offensively expensive

… honestly it looks pretty good to me. a duplex but more seaworthy

[Matthew / BPL]

Slight derail: I read several comments in this thread that seem to find zipped vestibules an improvement over the Duplex. I spent three weeks (one JMT hike) in my Duplex and then sold it for a 1P shelter so I am familiar with the design but don’t have deep experience with it. I’m curious if people find the lack of zippers on the Duplex a problem. I sure didn’t in the several storms I experienced in the tent (two were quite intense with shifting winds that hit us from all sides). I liked the simplicity of not having zippers and didn’t find that I had rain or wind coming through the overlapping doors.

[Monte Masterson]

Yes the zippers are one of the main reasons the Unbound weighs 5.5 oz more than the Duplex (with a more durable 1.0 floor). And waterproof zippers as long as the Unbound’s can get HEAVY (obviously). I do like the looks of the Unbound though. Maybe better overall than the Duplex, but at that kind of weight penalty it would have to perform a lot better. By the time you add stakes, lines, 1 mil polycro groundsheet (a must) and stuff sacks you’re looking at a packed weight of over 28 oz!

[Murali C]

Mathew – there is a video by Homemade Wanderlust (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q48PDYOjS0w) which shows her Duplex XL suffering in the high winds. She was speculating that zipppered doors may have been better. But, I suspect the main issue is the door being higher and not reaching the ground allows wind to pass through from one vestibule through the living area to the other vestibule. I don’t think zippers would have helped. Having the doors close to the ground and preventing wind getting in is more important I think.

[Murali C]

Maybe the doors on Unbound 2 tent goes all the way to the ground looking at the pictures – if you pitch the whole tent low. I am not sure you can do that with Zpacks – maybe it can be done there as well.

[jscott]

Murali; this was my thought too. It looks like the Unbound pitches lower than the Zpacks. For me, this is more important in terms of wind than rain. Zpacks seems invested in a design that includes a ‘beak” that doesn’t come down far enough for my taste. The beak allows for better ventilation, true. It also allows wind to potentially balloon the interior of the tent. Granted, this never happened with my Hexamid solo. I suppose the design expects a pitch with the door, and the ‘beak’, turned away from the wind. Fine. But when pitching in a storm, and minutes are crucial; or when winds are variable, this adds more than a bit of fiddle factor.

and so I like how the Unbound can pitch low to the ground all around.

[Sam Farrington]

Take an almost ancient A-frame design, add DCF, and it’s the talk of the town.

[Joey G]

For me, can you pitch it with only 4 stakes? When tents like the Xmid and upcoming dipole exist, why would you choose this Unbound or Duplex?

[Brad W]

@Mathew I have never wanted or needed zippers on my Duplex and it’s been through some hellacious wind/rain. I like being able to peak out without unzipping anything.

@Joey 4 stakes in very fair weather. Ryan did a wonderful job of showing how weak the apex ridge can be on the x-mid with only 4 stakes used.

[Monte Masterson]

The Unbound appears to be somewhat smaller than the Duplex, at least that’s what I’m able to glean by looking at the vague and incomplete list of dimensions HMG provides. For example, Duplex is 100″ long and 53″ wide at the ridgeline, whereas the Unbound just says 90″ long and 48″ wide. Is that only the bathtub floor or the overall dimensions of the main body (not including vestibules)? If the Unbound is really only 90″ long total from end to end (fly) you can bet that it has much less headroom and livable space than the Duplex (both are 48″ high).

Also the Duplex fly appears to extend out a lot further past its 90″ X 45″ floor on each end, thereby providing more splash and spray protection as well as ventilation. Correct me if I’m wrong. Heck, even with the Duplex’s seemingly larger size over the Unbound  ZPacks still offers an XL version for taller hikers. How is a 6′ tall and up person going to fit in the Unbound? Maybe solo laying diagonally might work.

The Unbound does appear to have deeper and larger vestibules that go closer to the ground though.

Considering the Unbound weighs 5.5 oz more, I’d go with the Duplex, especially if I was a taller backpacker. And the Duplex floor is a much tougher 1.0 DCF. Price is the same. For someone 5′ 10″ or under and not too worried about weight, the Unbound might be a more bomber and wind worthy choice.

[Murali C]

Joey: there is video comparison of Duplex and X-mid pro 2 where the reviewer said he will choose the Duplex if there are 2 people in the tent as Duplex has more head room/ side room for two people.

I wish Zpacks would go to 0.8 floor as almost everybody uses a polycryo/tyvek to protect the DCF floor even though 1 osy DCF is pretty tough. Much easier to replace polycryo/tyvek.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

That YouTube review of the X-Mid Pro wasn’t accurate because he wasn’t sitting in the high parts of the X-Mid Pro. He was basically using it and measuring it like you would for the Duplex instead of taking advantage of the unique attributes of the X-Mid. I talked to the reviewer about it and he has agreed they only tried it once and weren’t sitting in the high parts and it would have been more spacious if they were. He’s considering issuing a correction. The X-Mid Pro 2 has a diagonal ridgeline so with two people you do need to sit offset a bit to get max headroom. This is a small change in behaviour but it quickly becomes second nature to shift a bit as you sit up (you already do this in most tents without realizing it) and if you do that you get quite a bit more headroom than the Duplex because the diagonal ridgeline is much longer so the two occupants can be further apart. All other reviews of the X-Mid Pro note how spacious the headroom is.

Regarding the 4-stake pitch, the main advantage here is not so much that you only need to bring 4 stakes, but rather that a tent that can pitch with 4 stakes will have a simpler setup. There’s a lot less guesswork and measuring to stake out a rectangle rather than a hexagon. Once it is up, you would often add two more stakes (at the doors) with the X-Mid Pro and Dipole, but the basic pitching process is still simpler than the Duplex/Unbound where you need 6 stakes for the basic shape and would normally use 8.

I wouldn’t say the X-Mid ridgeline is ‘weak’ with just 4 stakes. In the BPL video Ryan mentioned that the X-Mid Pro is more stable/rigid with just 4 stakes than the Dipole and works well for a lot of conditions. But yes adding more stakes certainly beefs it up. Ryan found a rigidity advantage for the Dipole once more stakes are added, but I think that was largely because I supplied shockcord on these extra stake points so they are stretchy and don’t anchor the peaks like static cord does. We also supply a bundle of static cord with the tent and the tent is immediately and dramatically more solid if this is used at the door stake points. Originally we made the shockcord stock because it is quicker/easier to use, but people aren’t always realizing that using the supplied static cord would be better for rough weather so we are switching to making static cord standard for the next run. With static cord, it is remarkably robust once the door stakes are added (6 total). Typically it would be 6 stakes for the X-Mid and Dipole, and 8 stakes for the Duplex and Unbound.

“Duplex is 100″ long and 53″ wide at the ridgeline, whereas the Unbound just says 90″ long and 48″ wide. Is that only the bathtub floor or the overall dimensions of the main body (not including vestibules)? If the Unbound is really only 90″ long total from end to end (fly) you can bet that it has much less headroom and livable space than the Duplex (both are 48″ high).”
I’m pretty sure HMG’s specs of 90″ x 48″ are just for the floor (versus 90″ x 45″ for the Duplex). They list the size as 90″ x 48″ and it’s clear 48″ is the floor width so most likely 90″ is also referring to the floor. HMGs pictures show the fly extending a decent bit past the floor by ~5″ (circled below). I wish they had more info, but it appears that the floor length is 90″ and then there is about 5″ of fly overhang for a similar fly length as the Duplex.

[R L]

I had reservations with that video as well.  I feel he was basing from sleeping head to head.  Personally, at home we have a cal king.  I text her to ask howz it going over there.  If I’m trying to squeeze us into a 48-50” wide shelter out in the woods, I can make do with head to toe.  At least when we sit up to talk or play cards, we’re facing each other.  Adapt and move on.

[David Sugeno]

I’m curious if people find the lack of zippers on the Duplex a problem.

As with most things, “problem” has to do with priorities.  I bought my Duplex in 2015 and it is my favorite tent, by far, that I have owned.  Do I like the hook system on the vestibules?  Not particularly.  They are, in my opinion, more difficult to use than a zipper.  But I balance this inconvenience against the fact that a zipper would add more weight, and a more likely failure point.  Balancing out all the various factors, if choosing between a Duplex and the Unbound, just looking at the specs, I would probably still go with the Duplex.  This is without taking into account the many options, including the X-mid, that have  come along in the past 5 years or so.

[Monte Masterson]

Looks like the Unbound’s floor is sewn directly to the fly at the corners and then opens up with some noseeum to create a slight arch or semi-circle, maxing out the gap in the middle. At 1:34 of the video you can clearly see it. Am I wrong? Is it a true floating floor with a 5″netting gap all around like the Duplex? I don’t think so.

 

 

[Brad W]

Ooh, not sure I like that.

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