Lightweight Shelter Roundup (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008)

This is a preview of a member exclusive premium article.

Many tents are touted to be "lightweight" and we even see the word "ultralight" in the name of a tent. There is a lot of misleading information out there, and a lot of heavier shelters (by our standards) are being hyped as "lightweight," and they win awards from other magazines. So, do you buy it? A five+ pound three-season two-person tent is not ultralight or even lightweight; it's not even close. There are literally hundreds of shelters on the market, but only a small fraction of them are truly lightweight and well suited for lightweight backpacking. Our interest is in that select few.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

Double-Wall Tent (Three-Season)
Single-Wall Tent with Floor (Three-Season)
Floorless Shelters
New Double-Wall Tents
Terra Nova's Laser Photon is Claimed to be the Lightest Double-Wall Tent in the World
Believe it - New Ultralight Tents From MSR With Carbon Fiber Poles
Big Sky Introduces the Convertible and Montana, Breaks the Three-Pound Barrier
REI Updates the Quarter Dome
Big Agnes Introduces a 2.25-Pound Double-Wall Solo Tent for 2009
Integral Designs' New BugDome Converts the SilDome to a Double-Wall Two-Person Tent
Nemo Introduces the Go-Go EX for Tall Hikers up to Ten Feet
Sierra Designs Introduces Seventeen New Tents for Spring 2009
Not to Be Outdone, The North Face Introduces Nineteen New Tents for Spring 2009
Mountain Hardwear's Helion 2 Features Cutting Edge Lightweight Components
Trends
New Single-Wall Tents
The Gossamer Gear The One is as Light as a Tarp
Tarptent Introduces the Sublite, a Nineteen-Ounce Solo Tyvek Tent
New Six Moon Designs Refuge X Weighs just 17.5 Ounces, and It's a Two-Person Tent!
Big Sky International Introduces a Lightweight Single-Wall Tent
The New AntiGravityGear O2 Tent has Cross Ventilation and Loads of Floor Space
The North Face Flight Series Tents
Is the eVENT Tent Really Gone? The Code Name is Rab Summit Mountain Bivi
Trends
Tarps
Bivies
Coming Soon: Backpacking Light's 2008 Single-Wall Tent State of the Market Report

# WORDS: 4590
# PHOTOS: 20

--- End of free preview ---

Member Exclusive

A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.

Membership Login

* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events

This topic is empty.

Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)

Author

Posts
Sep 9, 2008 at 2:26 pm #1231099

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

Lightweight Shelter Roundup (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008)

Sep 9, 2008 at 3:28 pm #1450655

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

Hang-em-high does not seem to have a search function, and the Tyvek is listed NOT under Fabric. Look under Paper!

cheers

Sep 9, 2008 at 5:25 pm #1450677

Adrian B
BPL Member

@adrianb
Locale: Auckland, New Zealand

Do double wall tents with all mesh inners really differ that much from single wall tents with bathtub floors?

Sep 9, 2008 at 10:07 pm #1450701

David Ure
Member

@familyguy

Nm

Sep 9, 2008 at 11:50 pm #1450706

Andrew Dolman
Spectator

@andydolman

Please use metric units in addition to imperial.

Sep 9, 2008 at 11:57 pm #1450707

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

> Do double wall tents with all mesh inners really differ that much from single wall tents with bathtub floors?
Well, they are probably heavier … :-)

Depends whether the bathtub floor is held up by netting to the roof. If it is (how else do you hold it up?), then both should be insect-proof. In that case, no functional difference.

The netting inner tent is a marketing thing – 'you can leave the fly behind' in the American summer. Don't try this in other countries – the weather may not be quite as stable!

Cheers

Sep 10, 2008 at 12:08 am #1450710

carlos fernandez rivas
BPL Member

@pitagorin
Locale: Galicia -Spain

About the rab summit extreme, there is a thing that i dont understand … I read frecuently that the exchange lite were a heavier cloth that event

But the new summit its bigger (taller) and lighter … ¿there is a new cloth?

How it can be compared to event?

If someone could give me more info about this tent is welcome

Its important because im interested in one high altitude tent for my next mont trip to nepal and the older summit is one of my favourites …

Sep 10, 2008 at 4:34 am #1450719

Woubeir (from Europe)
BPL Member

@woubeir

Take a look at this for more details:
http://www.anatolyivanov.com/prose/en/AI.7.00143/

I don't know if Will tried to be ironic or that he really thinks exchange lite is something new, but in reality Exchange Lite is just a proprietary name used by RAB/Outdoor Designs. It used to be an air permeable version of gore-tex; today they use it for eVENT.

Sep 10, 2008 at 6:03 am #1450726

Ken Thompson
BPL Member

@here
Locale: Right there

Looks a lot like a double rainbow. Big Agnes does the short strut pole also.

Sep 10, 2008 at 6:18 am #1450727

Joe Clement
BPL Member

@skinewmexico
Locale: Southwest

I know this forum looks down at REI gear in a big way, but I paid $219 for a T3 last weekend. After replacing the stakes, and losing the storage bags, it weighs 4.55#. That isn't bad for a 3 person test, with 2 vestibules. You gotta admit, they're trying; albeit as much as they can while trying to reach a mass market.

Sep 10, 2008 at 7:48 am #1450736

gdinero senior
Member

@gmoney

Ok – so if BPL stakes weigh 6 grams each… just what is Terra doing to get down to a 1 gram stake? Or was that just a typo?

Sep 10, 2008 at 8:29 am #1450740

Huzefa @ Blue Bolt Gear
Spectator

@huzefa
Locale: Himalayas

IIRC, BPL sells 1 gram stakes too.

Sep 10, 2008 at 10:10 am #1450743

Slo Hiker
BPL Member

@slohiker
Locale: NC Foothills

Me too, David ….. I'll likely pass on the Carbon Reflex @ $450: My '06 Hubba was purchased new for $150, and my Fibraplex Carbon poles costs $115 … total weight with everything is 2 lbs 10 oz at a costs of $265.

Sep 10, 2008 at 1:17 pm #1450767

Scott Smith
BPL Member

@mrmuddy
Locale: Idaho Panhandle

As always, very well organized and detailed..

I LOVE this stuff !! And am grateful that this forum exists so that contributors , like Will, can share .

Thanks BPL !

Sep 10, 2008 at 3:33 pm #1450783

Walter Underwood
BPL Member

@wunder
Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

How about the Stephenson 2R two-wall four-season tent at 2.75 pounds? No mesh inner walls. My friend has one and loves it. I've been snow camping in that tent.

Perhaps you could borrow one and review it.

Sep 10, 2008 at 4:00 pm #1450789

Lynn Tramper
Member

@retropump
Locale: The Antipodes of La Coruna

Stephenson's tents obviously didn't qualify for this review because they were not at this OR show. However, their tents are certainly worthy of inclusion in an overall comparison of lightweight double walled shelters.

Sep 12, 2008 at 2:54 pm #1450992

David Ure
Member

@familyguy

Nm

Sep 13, 2008 at 12:12 pm #1451036

Will Rietveld
BPL Member

@williwabbit
Locale: Southwest Colorado

Hi All. I have been away for a week hiking on the CDT. Here are my responses to some of the questions raised about the shelters roundup.

Tyvek: On the Hang 'em High website, click on "catalog", then enter "Tyvek" in the search box and it will come up.

Terra Nova 1 gram stakes: They actually weigh 1.28 gram (.045 ounce) each. They are like tooth picks, and I wonder how well they will secure a tent. It takes 12 of them to stake the Laser Photon. I think some heftier stakes are needed to secure the 4 main guylines on the tent, at least.

ID Bug Dome/SilDome Tent: They use the same pole, and the combination makes into a double wall tent if the SilDome is laid over the BugDome with pole. I don't know if they attach together so they can be set up as a unit.

Stephenson's 2R: I don't believe this is a new tent. Note that our Outdoor Retailer LW shelters roundup only focuses on new tents hitting the market in 08 and 09, and does not cover older models.

Exchange Lite Fabric: I double checked and was told that it is an eVENT product. I believe the GTX product is FLO2.

Best, Will

Sep 13, 2008 at 1:34 pm #1451044

David Ure
Member

@familyguy

Nm

Sep 13, 2008 at 2:54 pm #1451048

Robert DeMoro
BPL Member

@demoro

I have the Stephenson 3R. Tons of room for two and gear. Great so far. It is relatively light for a double wall at a little under four pounds; however, it also seems to be extremely sturdy. At least for me, it is a good compromise bewteen light weight and the insistence that in so far as possible equipment failure is not an option when deep in the backcountry.

Sep 15, 2008 at 1:29 pm #1451185

Andy Dixon
Member

@sideshowandy

excellent assessment, hope the author doesnt mind me posting a link here:

http://www.anatolyivanov.com/prose/en/AI.7.00143/

note the vestibule!

Sep 15, 2008 at 3:32 pm #1451195

Rog Tallbloke
BPL Member

@tallbloke
Locale: DON'T LOOK DOWN!!

I note the weight of the vestibule in addition to the 2kg tent is not quoted. :-)

Good article though, and comments about the need for a tent made me think. I still like the roominess of my Hex 3 which is pretty bombproof in high wind, and big enough to not have to worry about condensation too much.

Half the weight too, including a MYOG Tyvek bathtub groundsheet.

Roger: The hex 3 has loops sewn in to support the bathtub walls.

Sep 18, 2008 at 7:10 am #1451486

Ryan Gardner
Spectator

@splproductions

…

Sep 25, 2008 at 1:10 pm #1452220

Matt Lutz
Member

@citystuckhiker
Locale: Midwest

I was going to say the same thing about the MSR tents. They look great, but I'll take my DoubleRainbow over a double wall for any 3+ season hike. I like being able to set the tent up in the rain and not worry about soaking my tent floor. I guess it is kudos to Henry Shires – imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Excellent article – please keep it up.
Author

Posts