Optimum tent design – facts versus fallacies and preferences

[wayno]

swiss design, what more can you say,,, ( except we won't mention mammut)

[Giddy_up]

swiss design, what more can you say,,, ( except we won't mention mammut)

It works for me and my style of bush walking wayno, safe, dry, durable and roomy. Plus it has very good attention to detail, the penalty is weight!!!!


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[wayno]

yeah i'm a big fan of exped sleeping bags, well thought out design details there. top quality materials...

[sthughes]

swiss design, what more can you say,,, ( except we won't mention mammut)

Just wondering what's wrong with Mammut? I've only ever owned 2 Mammut items, both have been great so far, however one is quite new so longevity is still unknown on that one.

[wayno]

ent posted recently about one of his jackets that the stitching and seams fell apart on in no time...

[sthughes]

Oh. I have an old day pack, and while the stitching has about died holding a nylon loop it is about 10 years old, so no complaints. The other item is a new Goretex Pro-shell jacket I just spent 7.5 days wearing in on and off rain/drizzle/snow and were quite stoked with the performance! Nothing quite like pit zips and big, easy to access pockets!

[stry]

I thought that the Akto was already too small for you (?) the Soulo has less usable length ..

Less usable length perhaps, but perhaps quite a bit roomier with steeper walls, more height over more of the area, whilst having no significant increase in maximum height etc. ?

[Moondog55]

I'm not all that tall [6'1"] and I have trouble getting enough leg room, those over 6'6" must be in real trouble

[wayno]

there must be an operation for that.....

[Ent]

I thought that the Akto was already too small for you (?) the Soulo has less usable length ..

Yet to erect it. The problem with the Akto was the very low ends. The Soulo had more height and on a quick crawl in appeared more suitable. Time will tell.

It is a total myth that a tall single person's tent exists that is livable in adverse conditions. So decided to go with the "best" single person tent. Hilleberg designs at least consider adverse conditions with their zip setup. Most manufacturers just do not understand pitching a tent in freezing driving rain and then living in it. For warm weather a MSR Nook is great but in horrible conditions it is a terrible tent.

Cheers

[stepbystep]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

[Ent]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

But you are not a big dude!

[stepbystep]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

But you are not a big dude!

Hmmm.... true that. Just thinking about "optimum tent design - facts vs ......"

[Strider]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

So what is your recommendation?

[stepbystep]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

So what is your recommendation?

For a big dude, I'm not sure, as you'd know I love my Scarp 1 but even I'd like a touch more head room so probably no good for an ent. Some sort of hybrid between a goondie and a scarp perhaps?
No one person can design a shelter suitable for all.

[Ent]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

But you are not a big dude!

Hmmm.... true that. Just thinking about "optimum tent design - facts vs ......"

If you were a bid dude you would find that 1.5/2 person tents still are too short and low for most big dudes as it is tent length and height that counts more than width. Also big dudes do occasionally like to save weight on gear so a solo tent is a better choice. Also you will find condensation can happen in just about any tent design and the best solution is to have enough length to avoid pressing the inner to the fly. As said big dude tents claims are largely a fallacy with maybe the exception of the Hilleberg Kaitum 2, which while light for a two person tent is still rather heavy and peg dependent for solo use.

[stepbystep]

Hmmm.... true that. Just thinking about "optimum tent design - facts vs ......"

If you were a bid dude you would find that 1.5/2 person tents still are too short and low for most big dudes as it is tent length and height that counts more than width. Also big dudes do occasionally like to save weight on gear so a solo tent is a better choice. Also you will find condensation can happen in just about any tent design and the best solution is to have enough length to avoid pressing the inner to the fly. As said big dude tents claims are largely a fallacy with maybe the exception of the Hilleberg Kaitum 2, which while light for a two person tent is still rather heavy and peg dependent for solo use.

If I were you I'd sell some gear and have a tent custom made.

[doogs]

I've got one of these, I'm not a big bloke though but I have plenty room Something different and a big porch too. http://www.lightwave.uk.com/sites/defau ... _sheet.pdf

[Strider]

Pretty sure if I was a big dude I'd be using a 1.5/2 man tent in winter. The Soulo, although a bomber tent will give you condensation issues in Tas and if conditions are truly awful a dual vestibule tent is fabulous for the simple reason that as the weather swirls and shifts while tent bound you always have a space on the leeward side of the prevailing conditions. This feature has been invaluable on multiple occasions for myself.

So what is your recommendation?

For a big dude, I'm not sure, as you'd know I love my Scarp 1 but even I'd like a touch more head room so probably no good for an ent. Some sort of hybrid between a goondie and a scarp perhaps?
No one person can design a shelter suitable for all.

The only thing that concerns me with my Scarp is strength. However, that said, it hasn't seen any extreme conditions (at least since I've owned it - Robert?).

[stepbystep]

The only thing that concerns me with my Scarp is strength. However, that said, it hasn't seen any extreme conditions (at least since I've owned it - Robert?).

It's an excellent tent and it's plenty strong enough. I've camped in several exposed locations and it's stood up to sustained strong wind. Get out there Strider and use it, it's awesome!
Ent would need it to be longer by 6 inches and a touch higher in the middle to contain his bigness, this would undoubtedly create design/strength issues??

[doogs]

The only thing that concerns me with my Scarp is strength. However, that said, it hasn't seen any extreme conditions (at least since I've owned it - Robert?).

It's an excellent tent and it's plenty strong enough. I've camped in several exposed locations and it's stood up to sustained strong wind. Get out there Strider and use it, it's awesome!
Ent would need it to be longer by 6 inches and a touch higher in the middle to contain his bigness, this would undoubtedly create design/strength issues??

Maybe he should get a haircut?

[sthughes]

Hmmm.... true that. Just thinking about "optimum tent design - facts vs ......"

If you were a bid dude you would find that 1.5/2 person tents still are too short and low for most big dudes as it is tent length and height that counts more than width. Also big dudes do occasionally like to save weight on gear so a solo tent is a better choice. Also you will find condensation can happen in just about any tent design and the best solution is to have enough length to avoid pressing the inner to the fly. As said big dude tents claims are largely a fallacy with maybe the exception of the Hilleberg Kaitum 2, which while light for a two person tent is still rather heavy and peg dependent for solo use.

If I were you I'd sell some gear and have a tent custom made.

Where's that damn "like" button when you need it

[north-north-west]

The only thing that concerns me with my Scarp is strength. However, that said, it hasn't seen any extreme conditions (at least since I've owned it - Robert?).

It's an excellent tent and it's plenty strong enough. I've camped in several exposed locations and it's stood up to sustained strong wind. Get out there Strider and use it, it's awesome!

Mine hasn't seen a lot of use, but it's had some very bad weather, on both the Larapinta and the Anne circuit. Strong winds, driving rain, hail, etc. No sweat. It's a lot stronger than it looks.

[Franco]

How about we give our silnylon a sexy name and charged $300 extra (we can include an extra set of pegs for that too) ?
Will that help ?

[Moondog55]

I'm not a "BIG dude" I consider myself borderline; but I do find most solo tents too small. Both too short and too low. If Eureka ever decide to bring back the original Firelite in silnylon I'd be buying one in a flash [ I considered it more suitable for my needs than the similar Flashlite from SD. In good weather I don't need a tent; just bug protection and in bad weather I want all the tent I can get. I found the Firelite solo too small; to save weight they not only made it narrower and shorter but lower as well and the weight saving was minimal ; about 200grams from memory.
Mind you I did modify the tent fairly extensively as there were no guy points or tie downs in the original design. But with little cost it was adaptable to use fly only in good weather ( although I never did) I'm still a fan of tapered tunnels; especially if you can get the back into the wind

[Franco]

I'm in Altona now, you should pop around to see some not so small LW solo shelters...

[Moondog55]

I'm in Altona now, you should pop around to see some not so small LW solo shelters...

Love to Franco, except for me this discussion is theoretical until I win the lottery

[Franco]

No problem, I don't sell them anyway...

[Joomy]

I'm not all that tall [6'1"] and I have trouble getting enough leg room, those over 6'6" must be in real trouble

One of the many great things about the cottage industry is they don't seem to pretend that tall people don't go camping as much as the main stream brands. Many of their designs are such that even someone 6'6+ can use their products. Also since items aren't pre-produced many of them are willing to modify one of their designs to suit. For example the Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo has 2.3m of usable length and the Zpacks Hexamid Long has 2.7m of usable length!

How about we give our silnylon a sexy name and charged $300 extra (we can include an extra set of pegs for that too) ?
Will that help ?

Franco, are you saying that you believe the Silnylon used by Tarptent to be of equal quality to that used by Hilleberg? It's my understanding that triple-coated Silnylon Hilleberg uses is quite unique. I'm genuinely interested as I've not been able to find this info.

[Scottyk]

I'm not a "BIG dude" I consider myself borderline; but I do find most solo tents too small. Both too short and too low. If Eureka ever decide to bring back the original Firelite in silnylon I'd be buying one in a flash [ I considered it more suitable for my needs than the similar Flashlite from SD. In good weather I don't need a tent; just bug protection and in bad weather I want all the tent I can get. I found the Firelite solo too small; to save weight they not only made it narrower and shorter but lower as well and the weight saving was minimal ; about 200grams from memory.
Mind you I did modify the tent fairly extensively as there were no guy points or tie downs in the original design. But with little cost it was adaptable to use fly only in good weather ( although I never did) I'm still a fan of tapered tunnels; especially if you can get the back into the wind

I got a one planet goondie 2 recently to use as a solo tent. At 1200mm wide at the head and 1000mm at the foot I really don't consider it a 2 man tent. It's got excellent head room, nice steep ends and twin vestibules. At 2.1kgs I think it's a great solo tent for tall people. It might not be as bomb proof as a hilleberg suolo but I don't need a tent that can handle polar gales in Tasmania.
The lack of integral pitch has been discussed on here as a negative but I think it's over stated. It's no trouble at all to wipe out a tent when it's just been pitched with a chux and once you roll up an integral pitch tent wet and pitch it the next night you'll need to do this any way.