Teaser: Sierra Designs High Route 1 FL Tent — Skurka

[Jorge Villalobos]

Skurka just posted the first pics of a shelter he’s been co-designing with Sierra Designs. Looks very similar to a Tarptent StratoSpire or YAMA Swiftline to me. Link.

[[ Drew ]]

• $290 MSRP
•  Weights
  • Tarp: 21 oz
  • Nest: 14 oz
  • Minimum weight: 2 lbs 3 oz
  • Includes eight stakes, guylines, and an oversized stuff sack, because squeezing a frost-covered shelter into a tiny stuff sack is the worst.

[Ken Thompson]

For comparison.

https://www.tarptent.com/stratospire1.html

[Brian B]

First Hilleberg makes the Enan… At least SD is innovating stuff sacks :)

[Stuart .]

It really does look like a more colourful 3/4 Stratospire 1. And Skurka is so far in bed with SD that his tweets asking for ‘opinions’ are quite transparent. Hey, but we all have to make a living somehow, and so whyever not?

[J-L]

 

Deleting part of my post. Realized the intent could be taken wrong and don’t want to derail the thread

That said, I can see this tent appealing to backpackers who want something similar to the Tarptent Statospire, but want to be able to buy from a normal retailer, or have something with a little smaller footprint, or have a tent without those struts. Looks like a decent design IMO

[Bob Moulder]

There’s only so much you can do with 2 straight poles. Not surprising that there are many similarities.

 

[Nick Gatel]

Oh, my, gawd… that shelter looks sneakingly similar to a TT Stratosphere!!

Has anyone ever noticed that a TT Scarp 1 looks sneakingly similar to an Akto?

Has anyone ever noticed that most cottage mids look sneakingly similar to a 1980’s Chouinard Pyramid, which looks sneakingly similar to the shelters used by the Plains Indians for hundreds of years?

Most A-frame shelters look similar to me, as do most domes.

It is not unusual for companies, who are entering into a new market segment, to assemble a small team of designers and subject matter experts to develop product and no one is looking at the current offerings in the marketplace. I suspect this is the case with this shelter. Andrew has nothing to sell but his knowledge and his reputation, and he cannot afford to tarnish his reputation. I honestly believe the shelter was truly designed independently from what TT offers. I have a feeling that Andrew is an upstanding individual, even though I have never met him.

I have heard many people of the “UL” persuasion criticize Andrew for selling out to SD, of course if he were working with one of the popular cottage manufacturers, we would probably hear a synchronous BPL cheer. It is only natural that Andrew would get into gear design, he is extremely qualified to know what works and what doesn’t. He can’t continue hiking full time… you can’t make a good living at it or develop meaningful relationships with other people. I am thrilled to see that a gear manufacturer has partnered with him.

So if you need a new shelter, which I suspect most BPLers don’t since it appears that most already have several, and if this shelter fits your needs and you can afford it, then buy it. If you don’t need a shelter or it doesn’t fit your needs, then you shouldn’t buy it, even if Andrew helped design it. No need to criticize the shelter or Andrew.

I won’t be buying one. I don’t need a new shelter.

 

 

[Sam Farrington]

The TarpTent has the little two-legged A-frames at opposing corners to increase head and foot space. This one has … not so much. Just another pup tent.

[John S.]

Only resembles stratospire, not the same at all. More like an old Brawny shelter.

[David Chenault]

I’d like to bump this to provide a few details on what is really an excellent shelter that will serve a lot of folks well.

Skurka and I recently spent three nights in a production sample while hiking the northern half of the Continental Divide in Glacier NP.  You can see a video of the trip, including the High Route surviving 40 mph gusts and grape-sized hail, here.  What is really outstanding about the design is the amount of head and elbow room for the footprint.  Skurka and I are both a hair short of six feet, and had plenty of room for both of us and our gear.  It was easy to squeeze it into little patches of flat grass on high alpine benches.

The major downside, as can be seen in the video, are the flat walls.  No way to make those bomber in strong winds (without crazy reinforcement, i.e. heavy).  Compared to a heavily angled mid like the Seek Outside BT2 (my go to) the High Route has more headroom, a smaller footprint, and better ventilation in the rain (we had essentially no condensation, albeit in not enormously challenging conditions), at the expense of wind resistance.  40 mph seemed like close to the limit for the High Route, while the BT2 shrugs off wind that strong with ease.

For folks who really need serious 3+ or outright 4 season wind shedding another option would be better, but for those for whom such conditions are rare, and for whom venting and livability is more relevant almost all the time, the High Route will be a really nice option.

[Paul Magnanti]

I’ve said it before, there is a niche that is waiting to be filled. Something to fill the need between really light, but long hike/niche focused cottage-type gear and the bomber offerings sold by REI and similar.

Gear that is not fancy, reasonably light, effective, fairly durable and versatile for a wider range conditions than simply walking well-maintained trails for the typical person. What I call “bread and butter” gear.

GoLite used to make gear of this type.

Seems like SD’s newer offering are in this niche.

 

[Scott Nelson]

Dave,

Fun video, but the fish-eye lens makes Skurka’s pack look fat!

[Steven Maxfield]

Dave,

Great video! Little dicey in places. Reminds me of my mountaineering days. Sent you a PM about the shell you were wearing.

[David Chenault]

The SD proto Andrew had was indeed quite wide at the base, every bit of 14 inches I’d guess. Shape reminiscent of the old Golite Pinnacle.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Nice video. Yeah that pack has an unflattering shape.

The SD HR 1 FL tent looks useful. The design is akin to a TarpTent SS1 with the vestibules and corner struts deleted. Doing so gives the tent geometry that is much simpler to pitch and would also save some weight, while largely retaining the interior space.

It’s definitely a good addition to the market. It’s pitched as a “high route” tent but it looks really well suited to below tree line camping where non-freestanding shelters are easy to put up and the winds are lower. It would be nice to see SD put out a lighter version of the shelter with 15-20D fabrics (e.g “Elite”) and then a beefier “High Route” version.

 

[Roger Caffin]

They have to reinvent the A-frame tent?
We had those here in Oz in the 50s and 60s. And the huge flat panels were just as susceptible to the wind back then. Ah well, fine for mild 3-season use to be sure. Easy to make too i imagine.

Cheers

[Gregory Allen]

Nice video! Now I just have to go take something for my motion sickness. Dicey in spots seems an understatement to me…

[James holden]

im not sure what the advantage is other than it comes from a big company and is seam taped …

most decent trekking pole setups (mids, modified A frames, etc ) would probably handle 40 mph+ wind …

and most weight around the same or less …

hmmmmmm

;)

[Andrew Skurka]

The similarities to the SS and Swiftline were addressed here, http://andrewskurka.com/2016/sierra-designs-high-route-tent-imperfections/. I have posted a lot of other info about it, too. I think Dan stated the differences most clearly above. And he would know — find his long term review of the SS online.

I can tell that many of you are skeptical of its weight, but you really need to see one — the size and ventilation more than make up for it, assuming that you are tired of coffin-sized shelters and low hanging side walls. Its storm-resistance is good enough for me at least, which means that it will be for most others too. As Dave pointed out, overall the package is much more practical for 3-season trips than a conventional mid.

[Nate S]

i think tent manufacturers think Canadians sleep in igloos so we don’t need good tents. One day we’ll get a bunch of good ones available up here… Without customs and shipping charges

[Boyan B]

Sorry for the necro bump, I have been in the market for a more wind-resistant tent for the past few weeks.  Until today my choices were narrowed down to the TT SS1 and Scarp1.  I was partially held back by the ***ginormous*** footprint of the SS1 and the healthy weight of the Scarp 1, which is probably too much of a tent for my needs.

The HR1 has the appeal of the SS1 sans the yuuuge footprint. The rectangular footprint makes it simpler to pitch than the SS1.  Sure the vestibules are small but I personally don’t store much there other than shoes and muddy goretex pants.  Most everything that does not fit i the inner stays in the backpack which remains under a rain cover at all times.   The ability to pitch the entrances in various configurations is a nice touch.

The one thing that I don’t like about the HR1 is that it is only available with a mesh inner.  I often camp in the desert or in windy conditions in the Southwest where blowing sand is a problem.  If this thing was available with a semi-solid inner I would be all over it.  According to Andrew Skurka SD has no plans to offer a semi-solid inner.  Any suggestions on how to adapt something else?  The inner is 30x90x43 inches.

[John Brown]

I picked one of these up a few months ago. Untested other than the backyard, but design seems to deliver on promise of small footprint/lots of headroom and elbow room. Set up is fast and straightforward. Build quality is top notch, better than the cottage tent I own. Will report back after real use.

[Franco Darioli]

“The rectangular footprint makes it simpler to pitch than the SS1. “
That is how I pitch the SS1 , starting with the rectangular floor area then I pull the vestibules out.
You can see it in my SS2 set-up video clip .
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyQT9JHloQM&t=2s)

[Andrew Skurka]

@Franco –

Can the SS be pitched that way even when the fly is being set up independently of the inner tent, like if it were being used without the inner tent during non-buggy seasons?

I still have not seen a SS, so this is educated speculation. But in that video, it looks like you utilize the rectangular footprint of the inner tent to give the shelter shape, and can ignore the excess fly fabric along the sides that will eventually become the vestibules. But without the inner tent, this “guide” is lost, and it’s difficult to determine how far to stretch those side lengths, so the pitch becomes more finnicky.

This is part of the reason that SD went with vertical doors (in addition to dry exit/entry and ventilation even when it’s raining). By giving the fly a rectangular footprint, the pitch is easy even when the fly is used on its own (as I do for all but 6 weeks per year).

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