New LIghtweight Sea to Summit Shelters

[Michael B]

These look pretty interesting, it is nice to see more options for freestanding tents from the big names.

https://newatlas.com/outdoors/sea-to-summit-ultralight-tents/

[Bonzo]

Cool design; I like how they flipped the poles to get more space inside.  Wonder how it does in high winds… 🤔

 

[Michael B]

Likely won’t make a huge difference in wind performance unless there is a huge difference in fly surface area. I doubt it is much if any difference compared to similar tents.

They didn’t really flip the poles, they are still curved downward – they just rotated the pole upward at the center a little bit to counter the sag at the ends of the poles. Pretty good idea, I think they may end up generating more force in that hub than they want.  Hope they did their math right.

[J-L]

Some parts of the design seem gimmicky (pole bag acting as a lightbar?), but I am glad to see a major manufacturer selling both mesh and solid fabric inners (although it’s not clear if the inners will be sold separately):

https://seatosummitusa.com/pages/ultralight-backpacking-tents

The 1P Alto has a nice floor plan for its inner too.

[Chris R]

I think the “hang out” mode is also called the “running after your tent as it blows across the landscape” mode.

[JCH]

It’s nice to see a large company trying “new things”.  I take a bit of an exception however to calling these shelters “ultralight”.  Both versions of the Alto are nearly twice the weight of the current generation of ultralight non-self supported shelters.  Also heavier that comparable shelters from Big Agnes and others.  And at $400+, they are also not “ultralight” on the wallet, albeit on par with BA etc.

3 different stuff sacks?  Clearly not ultralight. Kudos however for thinking about a way to pack a tent that will appeal to someone who has never packed a tent into a backpack.  Marketing!  WAY too complicated and heavy.  I can already hear the REI salesperson excitedly showing this off to a customer new to backpacking.

I also have questions about the vents – look like they will do a really good job of venting, but being positioned on a near horizontal surface and being so large, will they seal up when needed?

These new shelters *look* really nice.  I hope we get some hands-on reviews soon, and see some more shelters from STS that truly are ultralight.

[Michael B]

Adventure Alan did a review on the Telo 2P and had good things to say about it. It seems to be in line with the Copper Spur – floor dims are almost spot on; Telos is a little wider, a littler shorter, but over 4” taller, and with slightly larger vestibule space. At minimum trail weight (unsure is that is an apples to apples with the BA definition of minimum trail weight), the Telos 2P is about 8oz heavier, but packs smaller (according to spec). If some of the extra weight is due to the stuff sacks (too many if you are a weight weenie) then that is easy to ditch that weight. I am sure many will trade the weight savings for the extra head space, which I don’t see any direct spec comparisons for online. Obviously the extra few ounces saved will be the priorities for others. Comparing it to non-freestanding shelters is not an interesting or even fair comparison, as that is not even an option many people looking at this shelter will even entertain. I am sure the next iterations of these shelters will be even better.

[Bonzo]

Comparing it to non-freestanding shelters is not an interesting or even fair comparison, as that is not even an option many people looking at this shelter will even entertain.

Agreed.  I would like to see a direct comparison to a Portal as AA mentioned in his review.  For that matter, I’d like to directly see a Portal by itself, as well; can’t seem to get my hands on one anywhere.

[Michael B]

The Portal seems to be a more traditional style dome (no hubs, SF seems hub-averse), giving less headroom at the ends of the tent than both the Copper Spur 2 and the Telo TR2. It falls, weight-wise, in between the two, closer to the Copper Spur. The height seems similar to the Telo, but the pole structure will definite result in overall reduced headroom comparatively. Definitely trades worth considering. I think S2S can do a little better, but have no reason to believe that they will achieve mind blowing weight reduction without sacrificing durability. I also am curious about the functionality of the vents; AA mentioned that they zip closed if needed, and it looks like there is a lip around the perimeter to limit entrance of wind blown rain, a very thoughtful feature, IMO. I expect good reviews to start popping up as people start to buy it.

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