New HMG Unbound Tent

[Sam Farrington]

You can make an A-Frame out of platinum. bit it’s still a pup tent.

[Monte Masterson]

Finally someone uploaded a YouTube video of the Unbound 2 tent. Not really a very good one mind you. The guy only has 5 subscribers and 97 views and the music is annoying, but at least the viewer is able to get a little better look at the floor.

Bonding the corners of the floor to the the fly is what allows the Unbound’s fly to be pitched lower to the ground than the Duplex (and still provide enough usable space). Yes it certainly looks less “airy” than the Duplex….as in hardly any air at all. Maybe it’s just the way the tent is pitched that makes the floor look flat, droopy and only a few inches off the ground. Otherwise the tent looks good. I must say the zippers do look nice and the reinforcing X pattern on the panels would certainly provide some solace of mind when the panel tieouts are deployed. The floor still has me scratching my head though.

[Mike]

Still better than the Duplex.

[Monte Masterson]

Perhaps you’re correct Mike. The floor may not be a huge issue in actual real-world use. The 2 large entries might provide enough ventilation. And even though they add probably 3 oz to the weight, the zippers do look very nice.

[JCH]

With the design advances in the XMid 2P Pro, I would not even consider buying a Duplex or Unbound new… maybe used at a discount.  My opinion only.

[Mike]

Yeah I agree JCH. There’s not a good reason to buy a tent that isn’t like the XMid or the SD High Route. Though I still own a Dirogo, and I think it’s the best winter tent period. It got a bad rap.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Absolutely “NOPE”, no more “pup tent” designs for me. I like my solo TT Notch Li and for two I’d get the CF Stratospire.

[Monte Masterson]

Another view of the Unbound 2. It’s the young lady’s first YT video and it’s short, but you can get a look at the tent at around 1:40. Provides a little more visual of the floor. I geuss the slits of mesh on each end are better than nothing. Whether it’s enough I don’t know. One of the panel tieouts is deployed and I must say I really like the bonded Y shape reinforcement strips. Tent looks pretty taut as well.

[Dan E]

When did they start making stuff in Mexico?   I thought most of their stuff was made in Maine

[Scott Roach]

Dan E, during the early days of the pandemic,  with demand sky high,  they sourced a factory in Mexico to keep up is what I read somewhere.

[Dan E]

I wanna say that I really have nothing against products made outside the US but if you are gonna be a cottage type manufacturer and charge cottage prices than it should be made in house.  I noticed that even the ultamid tents are now outsourced

[Monte Masterson]

When you’re as big as HMG or Six Moon Designs and you’re wholesaling to major online retailers are you really a cottage company anymore? In the earliest days perhaps but when you’re also outsourcing labor to other countries it’s more like a mainstream gear maker.

Better Mexico than China IMO. Keep the business nearby in North and Central America. Nothing against East Asian people (leadership is another story). Create more jobs right next door in Mexico and then people won’t be so desperate to come to the US. I’ve worked with lots of Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants in automotive sub assembly. Virtually all of them are fast and smart. They’ll dive right into demanding line leadership roles, jobs that require memorizing a lot computer commands and involve nonstop paper work. From the stories I get $5 an a hour is about average in Mexico for manufacturing jobs, at least the kind which requires you be fast and able with your hands.

[Brad W]

I wouldn’t consider HMG cottage anymore. But like you said, they sure love to keep those ‘made in my basement, one order at a time’ pricing.

[AG]

just set up the Unbound 2P in the backyard. haven’t used it yet on the trail. ask me anything.

 

initial thoughts

• 25.22oz in sack [website says 23.97oz] which is 6oz more than my Duplex. but 3.5oz lighter than my Duomid+inner.
• Veeeeery similar to Zpacks Duplex. main diff is: zippers on doors; vents on doors; the mesh vent gap at toes and head is narrower.
• seems more seaworthy overall; less splashback; vestibules have more coverage; etc.
• i like the shape of the netting zippers.. seems easier to pull them w/ one-hand than the rainbow zipper on Duplex

 

things i don’t like

• guy lines only attach to one door at a time — will put weird stress on zipper??
• top and bottom zipper pulls are same color so you don’t know what you’re grabbing — swap bottom zip pulls for green?
• still only 48″ wide — wish there was a tent like this that could fit two 25″ pads.
• workmanship *does* seem worse than previous HMG gear; sewing is a bit sloppy; small issues w/ DCF taping, etc. this is a pity since workmanship was a big selling point for them previously
• note: floor is light at 0.8 oz — this seems odd coming from HMG. need to carry groundsheet?
• the gear pockets are very big w/ a sloppy opening — doesn’t seem good for small items like headlamp. maybe only good for large items like a windshirt?

honestly i had high hopes, and it’s pretty good. but i honestly can’t tell if this is better than a duplex. might be a toss up. if i was in a protected setting — green tunnel, always camping in the trees etc. — i would prolly take the Duplex. but i still need to try this baby on the trail.

[Charlie Brenneman]

Because of the shape of those panels I wonder if two people could put both sets of trekking poles to use. One for the apexes and the other to do a mock dipole end strut/pole setup? Short tie-out to a half extended trekking pole and then guylines to the corner stakes? Maybe that would put too much tension on the fly when not totally designed for it. But it could add more stability overall and alleviate need for 8 stakes (use 8 if really windy).

[Eric Blumensaadt]

The reason there are so many other tent designs other than the age-old “pup tent” style is that the newer designs tend to give more useable space for the same floor space.  But if you like this style then HMG seems to have the best build of all that I have seen.

I still feel that if you’re going to pay the big bucks for Dyneema “fabric” then get a more advanced design. That’s why I like my TT Notch Li and Dan Duratons X-Mid Pro 2 Dyneema tents. Great ventilation top to bottom and in good weather,  side to side with both fly doors open and excellent design offering relatively large vestibules that are needed in foul weather. Also a taut pitch is easy due to good designs and manufacture.

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