New pyramid tent by SlingFin: Cinder Cone

We’ve been very pleased with their shelters. Looking forward to finding our more about this pyramid tent from them.

I want

I wonder if it will have…

• Peak vents (looks like it, up there on the sides);
• A typical square footprint, or something with more aspects (ie, how close will we get to the word “cone”)?

And does anyone know what that line running corner to corner on the ground would be for?

EDIT: Reviewing the IG post comments it is in fact a 9′ x 9′ square with a 6′ peak.

And does anyone know what that line running corner to corner on the ground would be for?

Just guessing, but could it be a way to judge the placement of those 2 corner stakes to get a symmetrical stakeout?

I wonder if it will have…

Peak vents (looks like it, up there on the sides);

Seems to have two of their “through vents” I’m sure they call them, if you look at the video for the Slingfin Crossbow you can see more info on how this style of vent works (around the 4 minute mark).

Hey folks! Sorry I missed this thread- my google alert let me down. I have the answers you seek!

Happy to report I survived the Tour Divide and the Cinder Cone passed the test with flying colors.

Yes, it will be a 9′ x 9′ square, and JCH is absolutely right- the diagonal cord positions the opposite corners at the proper distance, to avoid the dreaded “rhombus” during setup. That’s the trickiest part of setting up a square mid, and this system eases the setup process significantly.

Two high drawstring thru-vents and one large low vent/window.

We received our shipment of Cinder Cones from the factory last week. I just finished shooting photos of it for our website, and once they’re edited we’ll get it up on the site, hopefully next week.

A full mesh insert for the mid with a sewn-in tub floor will be available later this fall (development took a bit longer for the insert).

Min weight (mid only) is 1lb 11oz.

Happy to answer any more questions. I’ll post all the details on the SlingFin website next week!

Thanks, Tim. Congrats on completing the Tour Divide!

Thanks, Alex!! It was quite an adventure!

Just wanted to let you all know that the Cinder Cone is up on our website. I’m waiting on some stock photos from ALUULA before I do our “hard launch” with email newsletters etc. but the tent is in stock and all of the technical details are posted!

Quick report to share that my buddy and I used my new Cinder Cone to take our pups up to the Green Lakes in the Three Sisters Wilderness this week. After climbing South Sister, we were pummeled by hail, rain, cold, and wind all afternoon and throughout the night. I’m pleased to report that the Cinder Cone held up great! No seam sealing needed, resisted wind forces admirably, kept us 5+ degrees warmer than the ambient temps, and still managed to ventilate much of the inevitable condensation from the four of us due to its ingenious venting. I took a leap of faith and sold my beloved HMG Ultamid 4 to buy this beauty, and I have to say, it feels like an upgrade!

Looks good! What do you think of the vents? Do the little details really improve overall ease of pitching vs. any old silnylon pyramid?

Woohoo!! Love to hear that! Glad you had a great trip! I still haven’t gotten up South Sister, it’s been on my list since I passed the Sisters on the PCT a decade ago…

It is a great looking shelter.  I would be curious to know why someone would choose this over the more established competition – i.e. MLD SuperMid, Seek Outside Cimmaron.

Vents functioned very nicely! We got stuck inside our tent for an afternoon by sheets of rain, and the circular openings sealed up perfectly to keep out the worst of it, and then opened up elegantly to vent overnight to release condensation. Didn’t get to where we needed to try out the bottom vents, but I’m sure that in warmer conditions, the chimney effect will work nicely!

So glad to hear that! Thanks for updating!

I just picked up mine. Sold a Nemo Dagger 3 Osmo to get her. It’s a leap of faith, but I have been looking for a lightweight canoe-tripping tent with extra space and modularity. I have high hopes that this could be an incredible canoe shelter as well as a solid minimalist car camping option. It was nice that, even with the inner, the price was more approachable than the insane cost of DCF mids with an inner offering from competitors.

I know BPL and most of the outdoor industry have western lean, but canoe tripping in lightweight Kevlar boats is very similar to packrafting/UL backpacking/bikepacking in its mission and gear, especially where I do it in the Adirondack Mountains of NY (6 million acre protected area), Boundary Waters, Canadian provincial parks, etc.  Excited to try lashing 2 paddles for the center pole and to cold fall nights where the inner isn’t needed.

I’m really interested in getting one of these and adding it to the other slingfin tents I have.  I don’t suppose anyone’s ever saw anywhere that they’re going to release a half-size inner for it by any chance? I did try emailing Slingfin directly but haven’t had a reply yet.

The summer midges are so bad in Scotland that using it without an inner is not really an option, but what I would really like is a half inner to sleep in and then leave half of the space for storage and equipment, cooking etc.

Hey Kevin, I haven’t seen an email or contact form come in from you- when did you send it? You can also email me directly at tim@SlingFin.com.

We’ve gotten a lot of requests for a half inner for the Cinder Cone, and it’s in our design queue. Our factory’s capacity is pretty booked up right now, so it will be at least a year until we get it produced, but it is something we are planning on making, as long as the design/costing ends up being feasible to roll it out.

We haven’t seen the canoe paddle setup yet- please send us photos when you try it!

Hi Tim. As long as we have your attention: Any chance of a solid or semi-solid inner being in the works for the Portal 2P? :-)

Hi Tim. As long as we have your attention: Any chance of a solid or semi-solid inner being in the works for the Portal 2P? :-)

as well as a Cinder cone with a half inner, I’d also be interested in adding a solid inner to my Portal.

Hey Kevin, I haven’t seen an email or contact form come in from you- when did you send it?

Was a good few weeks ago now, I’m sure I just sent it through the contact form on the website. But no big deal, I know how busy you guys can get.

Kev

That’s been by far the most requested feature on the Portal. We’re not going to do a full solid inner (it still is technically a three-season tent) but a partial solid inner is on our short list. We’re in the prototyping phase now making steady progress and hoping to make it happen fall of next year.

Sounds great Tim!