Mountain Hardwear SuperMegaUL 2 Review

Brad,
Agreed with almost everything said in your excellent review; yet I hated the tent and returned it. Guess that just goes to show how subjective the whole tent thing can be.

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Mr.Farrington: could you elaborate as to why you disliked it so as to help the rest of us decide as to purchase or not? Thanks.

Thanks for the great review.

I just learned about the new Golite Imogene UL2, which looks strikingly similar to this MH tent. The Golite tent is a 2-person double-wall free-standing tent with a trail weight of 2lbs 6 oz and costs $249. It has substantially more mesh in the tent body, 20D ripstop nyon in the floor and 10D ripstop nylon in the fly. Height of 39", area 29.6 sq. ft, and 5.7 sq ft vestibule.

I wonder how they compare in the real world testing?

Danny, it looks like the MH is a bit narrower but longer. It is also freestanding. The Golite still requires the two rear pegs (at each corner) to keep the tent up. This isn't required with the MH.

Hi Stephen,

I typically use a tarp or Golite SL2,so I just stuff them in the outer mesh pocket of my pack.

But when I do use a tent, I just put the poles vertical in my pack, and stuff the tent body and fly on the OUTSIDE of my trash compactor bag liner.

But it can vary depending on weather. If I'm expecting wet weather, I'll bring something to stuff the tent into, like a stuff sack, because I don't want mud and wetness free flowing in my pack.

If I wasn't expecting wet weather and my tarp/SL2/tent is wet, I just revert back to stuffing it in the outside mesh pocket until it dries.

That would be my concern also, all the more why the Tarptents (Moment DW) look more inviting. I was looking at this MH tent as a possible use for solo ventures, but not so much now.

Lapsley,
This design has a ridge pole. As Brad appears to acknowledge in his article, what happens is, after a foot or so, the area behind the front hoop becomes, in essence, a pup tent shape, just a steep walled triangular A-frrame.

Another thread just started on GEAR has some good insights on how cramped this shape can be. Franco suggested there to make a full size string model of the tent shape to get an idea of just how cramped this can be. Roger commented that there were lots of A-shaped tents around fifty or so years ago. Putting a hoop, or a bowed triangle (Big Agnes) at the front of the A-frame provides a little more space near the door, but not much else.

I think people see the hoop in front, and tend to imagine that the arc continues along the length of the tent. It doesn't, unless there are other hoops along the length, or at least at the rear, and the fabric is tensioned to maintain the Quanset hut shape between the hoops. Roger uses several hoops, Warmlite and many others use just two, or three at the most. Adding a ridge pole destroys the arc over most of the tent's length. Goodbye head and shoulder room.

Another concern is that the 10 and 20 D(denier=thread weight) materials are also pretty new to the market, and there is still not much feedback on how they will stand up, if you want the tent to last for more than a few seasons. Not a deal-breaker necessarily, but something to consider.

Having used 'side-entry' tents (you enter alongside the sleeping area) for a long time, I just could not see myself giving them up to have to crawl into one end of an A-frame, like we did in basic training. With a tunnel, or a solo width dome tent, I might consider an 'end entry', but not with this design. The INSIDE heights at the entry and highest point are not very high, either, and manufacturers often list only the OUTSIDE height without saying so. They also make these tents on the short side. Seven feet of length isn't really seven feet if the fabric slopes sharply inward above the foot end.

Those are the reasons recalled for not liking the tent, and if i had to buy someone else's design would favor one of the side-entry TarpTents or LightHeart Gears. Don't mind stooping, but hate crawling. Probably more hangover from that basic training.

Dave – the Golite is freestanding as well. The back two corners do need to be staked out to get the full structural stability and room, but this would be the same as what is needed for the vestibule for either tent too.

Anyways, the two tents look strikingly similar, and are very close on paper. However, the Golite goes for $250 while the MH is $450 – seems hard to justify the extra $200.

Just trialed a Super Mega UL 2 last weekend. I'm 6'4", 238 lbs and had no problem with space or headroom at all. I bought this for my sons for an upcoming Philmont trek and I'm now thinking about buying one for myself to replace my GL Shangrila 1. Was really impressed with the form, fit and function of this tent. Add a Tyvek footprint and you're "cooking with gas".

Thanks for posting this, Thomas.

I couldn't agree more! I've lost track of the number of tents I've owned but all of them have had condensation at some point or other. The tent that would appear least susceptible to condensation, a Gossamer Gear/Tarptent Squall 2 which is basically a tarp attached to a floor with netting presents with condensation before I even get in it. I own several Hilleberg tents and they all have vents and they all have condensation. One of the least problematic is an Easton Kilo which is very similar to THIS tent. As I live in the PNW, I always carry a small camp towel or tent sponge to help deal with condensate.