One person's walk to lighter gear

[Onestepmore]

Our Nallo 3GT has a solid panel over the mesh door, so you can configure it either way, depending on environmental circumstances.
NB you can choose to use a mesh inner, or a solid inner for greater seasonal options.

The Marmor Alpinist (single skinned 4 season tent) door has different mesh/solid options too for the doors and ventilation
The inner vents also have the option of closing up to make them solid http://marmot.com/products/alpinist_2p see video
Door and multi use of vents here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTDNB-P3F2w

Has anyone expereince with this Marmot tent?

[Ent]

The Hilleberg range had probably the best range of closable mesh due to their doors generally having such panels. Most USA designed tents have mesh which can not be closed off.

For serous winter tenting I love my Hillebergs so have to carry the extra weight.

Cheers

[Franco]

From Wayno :
does anyone do a hiking tent where you can change how much of the internal wall is mesh?
Some (at least) of the Macpac tents, like the Olympus and the Minaret, have a double door , mesh and fabric. You can have both or either open.
Not really practical to do on the side walls because of the added weight and bulk as well as fabric tension , anyway the air flow there is less than at the entry point.

[Ent]

Through a whole lot of ambitious planning minus the scales and commonsense wound up with 33 kilograms in my pack with the bulk being luxury supplies for a slap up meal. It was interesting though the role the lighter gear played. The minus 1 Western Mountaineering Mega-Lite plus Thermarest NeoAir took up very little space and weight. The Nook tent was carried as an emergency shelter only so minus the groundsheet was compact and light. The main weight saving was chucking out stuff and removing duplication. There were three mules so much the same happened in everyones pack to carry a massive amount of supplies for a larger party. Certainly generates a lot of respect for guides that day in and day out haul such loads.

The heavy lift was to be done by two One Planet McMillan packs (85 and 90 versions) plus a MacPac Torre. As the pile of goods mounted up on the lounge room floor it became apparent that maybe a pack shuffle might be required so I raided my cupboard and dragged out my One Planet Shadow and Mungo packs. Arrived at the packing station, friend's lounge room, and then the enormity of the task became apparent. Base load had to be reduced to the minimum. Here the advantage of lighter and more compact gear showed. Much to my surprise the pile of supplies fitted into the three packs so the next step was making sure the recipients could carry the load. In an exercise of stupidity I had hauled 38 kilograms once before on a flat track and while not recommended made it, just! The fellow adult had hauled near twenty eight kilograms over a long stage before so it was just a case of gritting his teeth and grunting. He actually managed to bet my pack weight by at least a kilogram so won the heavy lift award for the trip.

The younger member of the team was lighter loaded and that is where the challenge became. The MacPac Torre was his father's and size 3 in the back length. It quickly became apparent though his son was nearing his Dad's height he was a different build with long legs and short back. Now I am not a fan of MacPac, as is well know, but his Dad likes the pack and has haul decent loads as the family mule. The simple issue was it was the wrong size harness for junior and despite numerous attempts it was not going to fit right. The McMillans have the exact fit plus system which means that the pack can be adjusted on the person. This makes fitting dead easy while the MacPac Liberator Harness needs to come off the back to be adjusted. No great issue if the pack is only worn by one person, as likely most packs are, but a real pain this time.

So as midnight approached and hour wasted the Torre pack was ditched and my One Planet Shadow pressed into service. Now my Shadow is a long so suited to my 6' 3" height and this was not a promising start as in the MacPac range I am a size 4 back length so rather hoping against hope that it would adjust up right. One and half minutes later the pack harness looked good even if it appear way down the adjusting stay. Quick repack and everything fitted, just! The Torre 90 litres was not required. Most pleasingly junior that while been stoic had when fitting the Torre was doing the usual pulls and tugs which are tell tale signs that the fit was not right, while with the One Planet offered to take the pack of my hands permanently. Most pleasing the lighter 1.6 kilogram Shadow verses the 3.3 of the bigger more solid Torre brought junior's load down just under the "recommended" ratio of pack to body weight. The ultimate test would be the next day as the clock chimed midnight it became that day.

The big McMillans performed much as expected. They took the load well so the only side effect was rubber legs on the long relentless climb. The One Planet Shadow was the pack to watch as it was clearly not the size a competent pack fitter would sell but junior revelled in the load and was rather prone to making too many, come on slow coach type comments to the heavy lift brigade on the trip. Arh the joys of youth. Five hours later we arrived and junior started to question me did I really need so many packs and could he help out may storage problem by looking after it.

The return trip was a doodle as even I went close to being under 10 kilograms. But it does show that with careful selection lighter gear can perform extremely well. The Neoair/Exped sleeping mats are as comfortable as any heavier mats. The warmer forecast meant that the lighter sleeping bags worked well. The down jackets meant warm evening while chatting and cooking in the hut. The One Planet Shadow at half the weight of the bigger packs carried a sensible load for junior comfortably.

Cheers