"New" Locus Gear Dome Tent

[Alexander L]

Has anyone actually reviewed the Djedi?  I recently bought one and I’m very impressed with it.  Can’t wait to try it out.  It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for as everything else was more compromised.  Of course the real compromise was the cost but I (personally) think it’s priced fair given the engineering, build quality and the use of cutting edge materials so I hope the discussion does not fall back into ‘it’s not worth it’ rat hole.  I’ve spent similar on my shell jacket and pants so I think it’s justified (again for

me

).

My one concern was around the ingress of rain when the door is open but I also have the VT vestibule which eliminates that issue.  I plan on using this tent for everything (except when I take the dog!)

[William Chilton]

I wonder what the longevity of the DCFevent is like. Since it is the mylar/PET layer that is standard DCF’s Achilles heel, in could be that the cost is not unreasonable compared with standard DCF shelters.

[Michael Harvey]

This thread has gone quiet but I thought I would give it a poke… Alexander, my write up in a different forum is not a formal review, but I do give a pretty detailed account of my experience with the Djedi on the Uinta Highline Trail a few weeks ago where we had an unusual amount of sustained, heavy precipitation. I experienced most of the problems that Roger and others anticipated this tent would experience in those conditions: rain coming in through the front door despite the optional rain beak I took with me; heavy condensation build-up despite the breathable fabric; and unless I can find another explanation, water that pressed its way into the interior through the floor.

In contrast to some of the speculation, however, the tent was fantastic in the wind and easy to set up. The poles were never in any danger of breaking, and after guying the tent out, it was very sturdy and peaceful to sleep in.

As others have noted, this tent really is not an all-in-one, all season tent. It shines in the winter in snow, in high and dry and windy conditions, and when there is bug pressure. But in sustained rain, the tent fails and caused me to move into one of my daughters’ Nemo Hornets until the weather improved.

Mine is for sale if anyone is looking for a well made and very livable tent after taking in all of the important caveats about it.

[Alexander L]

I read your update on the other post and I have to admit that I was surprised because I experienced the opposite when it comes to water infiltration.  I had it out last late October in Northern Canada and it rained heavily all night.  There was so much water on the ground that the tent was totally surrounded by a couple of inches but the bathtub floor held fast.  Admittedly, I did have lots of condensation but temps started in the mid 60s-F before the rain and fell to 10F by morning when I woke up to a layer of wet snow.  I had the door closed the entire evening.  Since then it’s been my main year-round tent and I have never had any issues with leaking.  I can only speculate but I would guess your tent may have a defect in the taping??

[Stumphges]

Michael, you experience with the floor is definitely a surprise, given that Locus Gear are using a special DCF formulation with a layer of TPU for more durability. There are lots of stories out there of conventional 1.0 oz DCF floors with two layers of fragile mylar successfully holding off puddles and rivers of water under them. I think your floor must have some holes in it, or maybe there is a leaking seam. Alternatively, maybe the special TPU formulation of DCF being used is flawed or defective.

[Christopher S]

No tunnel vent like a true mountaineering tent, tiny zippers, and a lack of other ventilation options made this a hard pass for me. Samaya looks like they are making much better options for actual mountaineering.

[Michael Harvey]

Alexander and Stumphges, I am very surprised at the water ingress issues I experienced as well. It is possible that I am misinterpreting the evidence (e.g., condensation could be running down the walls and under gear and puddling in the slight depressions in the floor created by that gear); or there could be pinholes or tears in the floor that I hadn’t detected beyond the three that I had previously patched (including one in the field on this trip). It’s also possible that there simply is a defect in my actual tent. I have a relatively early production model and there may be manufacturing issues that have been resolved. I know that Locus continued to tweak the tent as they sent me some additional velcro attachment points for the poles to install myself on the tent interior maybe 3-6 months after my purchase.

Whatever the reason and despite pretty encouraging experience shaking down the tent in less fraught situations that included freezing rain (the tent continued to seem to breathe even with the door zipped shut and a coating of frozen water on much of the exterior), snow, and hot high-humidity environments where breathing still seemed good and condensation only minimal–all of which gave me good confidence for taking the tent out on an expedition-length trip–in the sustained, back-to-back days of heavy precipitation that we experienced, and despite using the rain beak, keeping wet gear out of the tent or in vapor barriers, careful pitching and site selection, drying the tent interior each day as much as possible, and leaving the door unzipped as far as possible without letting rain/hail/sleet/slush/snow enter the tent directly, managing moisture in the tent was untenable, at least for me.

As I said elsewhere, having the two Nemo Hornets along for my daughters allowed us to happily carry on in exactly the same storm systems and wintry conditions that resulted in multiple helicopter evacuations of other hikers while we were out. (For example, here: https://movingmountains.press/2021/08/20/uht-day-3-into-a-new-reality/)

I have sold the tent to another BPL member and confirmed that they have read all of my posts and understand all of the negative experiences I had. They intend to use the tent as a winter-only tent and I know the tent excels in snow and cold and dry conditions.

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