Some gear reviews lately
Gus
about tents.
I have a good knowledge of quite a few of the tents reviewed and I
really dissagree with some of the rankings.
In particular the rating of "ease of pitch". I will try to highlight
various tunnel tents to explain what I mean. All ratings are out of 4
Macpac Olympus = 3
WE/Sea to Summit First Arrow = 2
WE/Sea to Summit Second Arrow = 2
Snowgum Flash = 2.5
Snowgum Caddis = 3.5
Of all those tents, they are all Integral pitch tents with the
exception of the Caddis. The Caddis requires three poles to be clipped
on to the inner tent then the outer fly clipped over the top. And for
best pitch there are extra vlecro tabs on the inside of the fly. But
yet the Caddis rates at the top for ease of pitch. In many respect the
Caddis is very very nice tent, especially for the price.
Honestly I with my tent buddy can pitch a first arrow in under a minute
if need be. Of all those tense the Snowgum Flash is the easiest to
pitch as it has two poles that are both colour coded. And if you have a
W.E. Second Arrow with markings (duct tape) on the poles then that
should be easier still as it requires less pegs.
Anyway, maybe it's just me but I personally don't understand why in
Australia's potentially very wet climate that tent which is inner pitch
first can be rated so highly.
It seems like all the ratings favour tents that are inner pitch first.
My ratings would look more like this
Macpac Olympus = 3
WE/Sea to Summit First Arrow = 3
WE/Sea to Summit Second Arrow = 3.5
Snowgum Flash = 3.5
Snowgum Caddis = 2
What are your thoughts, do people place their priorities in the wrong
places when buying a tent? And there seem to be an aweful lot of well
built but poorly designed high end tents.
thats just my thoughts
Roger Caffin
> about tents.
> I have a good knowledge of quite a few of the tents reviewed and I
> really dissagree with some of the rankings.
> exception of the Caddis. The Caddis requires three poles to be clipped
> on to the inner tent then the outer fly clipped over the top. And for
> best pitch there are extra vlecro tabs on the inside of the fly. But
> yet the Caddis rates at the top for ease of pitch.
This probably shows that the reviewer is used to camping only in dry
conditions using a pop-up dome. Trying to transfer this mentality to a
tunnel tent doesn't work. You KNOW this.
> Anyway, maybe it's just me but I personally don't understand why in
> Australia's potentially very wet climate that tent which is inner pitch
> first can be rated so highly.
Maybe because the reviewer was looking for a pop-up design?
Bit of a farce, really, in bad weather.
> It seems like all the ratings favour tents that are inner pitch first.
Exactly.
> What are your thoughts, do people place their priorities in the wrong
> places when buying a tent? And there seem to be an aweful lot of well
> built but poorly designed high end tents.
The Chinese/Asian factories do have fairly skilled workers. Their sewing is
quite good.
But they know stuff-all about design, and ALWAYS try to push the design
towards ease and speed of manufacture.
In addition, most of the Chinese/Asian production is oriented towards
America, where novice campers and really stable fine weather are the
dominant conditions. Hell - some of their 'double-skin' tents have a
mosquito-netting inner tent, and the vendors suggest you take just the inner
tent most of the time!
I have to agree with what's underneath your comment: because production has
gone to Asia, we have lost both local production AND the high-end
high-performance market. Everything has been dumbed down.
We wanted 'cheap': we got 'cheap'.
Cheers
Roger Caffin
Jenny
David Noble
>
> Anyway, maybe it's just me but I personally don't understand why in
> Australia's potentially very wet climate
I always thought that Australia was the driest continent.
that tent which is inner pitch
> first can be rated so highly.
I have to agree that tents where the inner is pitched first are always
slower to pitch.
However - I have owned a number of tents over the years - here are some
comments on them -
Paddy Pallin Era Bellender - made out of stormtight japara - a very
waterproof cloth. A great tent - used in very wet conditions in Tasmania
and New Zealand and never let any water in. Did not have a floor - you
had to use a large plastic ground sheet as a tub. These tents could be
pitched anywhere - which was useful in off track walking in Tasmania -
eg it would be hard to pitch a tent with a floor in buttongrass tussocks
or tight rainforest. Planty of room to cook inside on a stove. However -
slow to pitch - it used a lot of pegs and not very good in the wind.
When my first one wore out eventually - i bought a new one without any
hesitation.
North Face West Wind - the original model that did not have an annex.
The inner pitched first then the fly went over the top. This was a nice
very light weight (2.45kg) two person tent that I used for many years
ski touring. The Olympus tent seemed to be based on this tent - and was
larger, had an annex, had integral pitching, but was significantly more
bulky and heavier.
Fairydown Sting - a larger two person tent (elongated dome - with four
wands - it looks like a tunnel, but is self supporting except for the
annexes -which are pegged out) - with an inner pitched first. This tent
had annexes at each end (well before the Olympus did) - and was my main
tent in Tasmania and NZ and ski touring for many years and a lot of good
trips. Eventually the wands started to fracture - not catastrophically -
but I have not bothered to have them fixed up or replaced. This tent is
good in the rain and wind but not as good as an olympus a shedding a lot
of snow.
As I was doing some long solo trips in Tasmania or trips with three
people on them - I decided to buy a lighter tent - but one still capable
of standing up to harsh conditions. So I bought a Macpac Minaret. This
is significantly lighter than an Olympus and a lot less bulky in the
pack - it is very roomy for one person (a good tent to be stormbound
in), very easy and quick to pitch (even in the dark - because the wand
sleeves have reflective tape on the entrances) - and this tent can fit
two people in quite comfortably if necessary. The annex is smallish but
Ok for gear and cooking.
All the time I have tended to cook inside the tent (in the era and the
westwind) or in the annex - never outside (I have used gas almost
exclusively since 1977)
I have used Olympuses a fair bit (club ones) - and think they are a good
tent - but don't like their bulk and weight. My sting was just as heavy
- but having a separate fly - meant that one person could carry the
inner tent and the other - the fly, pegs and poles - two small
individual bundles. It is slow to separate an olympus and even slower to
put it back together.
I have never worried too much about whether the tent has integral
pitching or not. Certainly the minaret is very quick to pitch and this
is good in the rain when you pitch the tent. BUT - I find tents get a
lot wetter from condensation overnight under the fly and from dew on top
- and unless you sleep in - quite often the tent is wet when packed away
in the morning. With integral pitching - the damp roof is rolled up and
this often dampens the rest of the tent. If you can take the fly off
first - then you can often hang it up in the sun - either in the morning
or later during a rest break.
I still use my minaret a lot - ski touring or in tassie/NZ but when I
took it to California (Sierras) in 2004 - I realized it was overkill for
the conditions - far too heavy in a place where there is almost no rain
in the summer. But the mozzie net was very handy indeed.....
My most recent tent - had been a Mountain Design Neutrino 1 - a very
light (1.2kg) tent. It is quite roomy for a one person tent and has an
annex big enough to cook in. I have tended to use it a fair bit in the
Blue Mts - in summer - to escape mosquitoes. It is not much heavier or
bulkier than a light fly and ground sheet. If I go to the Sierras again
- then this would be the tent I would take. I recently did four weeks of
walking in the mountains of Europe - and the tent was excellent - but
conditions were pretty mild. I only bought this tent after seeing one
pitched in a showroom in Hobart (the best place to look at tents - as a
lot of the shops seem to have a whole floor full of pitched tents that
you can actually get inside of) - then i waited till there was a sale in
the Sydney shop...
In Europe - this tent got much wetter from dew that rain, and it was
certainly good to take off the very wet fly, shake it and pack it in an
outside pocket of the pack ready to dry at lunchtime. Being lightweight
means it is a bit flimsy - I have put a few small holes in the floor -
eg due to accidently standing on spondonacles) - and one wand did start
to fracture slightly - and was quickly replaced under warranty (the tent
was only about a year old at that stage) - and the pegs that came with
the tent were appalling - far too heavy.
I have looked at plenty of other tents - and listened to other's advice
- but am still to find the perfect tent. It has always been some sort of
compromise.
Some other issues to consider -
How dark is the tent inside? If the fly is too dark - then it can mean a
dark and gloomy tent - hard for reading in or playing cards during a
stormbound day. Both my Minaret and Sting have dark blue flys - but the
Minaret is much lighter inside. The first and second arrows that I have
seen all seem very dark inside.
The new macpac tents do not have shock cord on the guys - this meant
they were much harder to pitch on the tent platforms in Tasmania.
The little loops that you use to tie up the mozzie netting or the door -
the ones in the Neutrino are not as good as the ones in the Minaret or
the Sting. The ones in the Sting however - did let in a (slight) amount
of rain. Small things like this are important. I also missed the
Neutrino have a door zipper that could only be opened from the bottom. I
missed the double zipper for ventilation when cooking in the annex.
Dave Noble
Dzung Nguyen
which was purchased at Paddy Pallin in Melbourne over 13 or 15 years ago
(?). It was mostly used on pack carry walks, was worn out and is used on
some Friday nights. My current tent is a Macpac, Microlight Multi Pitch
purchased on special a couple of years ago. Major contents include: tent
fly + inner, 1 tent pole, and pegs. Total weight is 2.2kg. I like the
microlight due to points: quick setup/unpack even in the dark, choice to
seperate the fly from the inner (in case of rain, packing can
be done under the fly), storm guys added to keep tent stabalised in high
winds,
and the possibility to cook in tent having breakies in bed with beanie on.