Bushwalk Australia

The pyramid or tipi shaped tents that a lot of people are using these days (and which don't appear to be available in many Australian stores... grrrr) appear to be reasonably strong, and quite light, according to reports and reviews. I've not actually seen one in use anywhere yet.

They appear to be mostly minimalistic, and I've not yet found a configuration that I'd be really confident with in higher altitude areas in Winter in Tasmania.

I can't afford to have a different tent to suit different scenarios, and am never likely to have more than two tents for my own use - ie, a two person tent and a 1 person tent. Therefore if I'm going to investigate buying one of these tents seriously, I need to find one that can cope with all Tassie has to offer at altitude in winter, including strong winds, lots of rain, and deep snow.

The pyramid or tipi shaped tents seem to come with either just the canopy (with no ground sheet or inner 'nest'), or with a ground sheet, or with a 'nest' (ie, the inner tent), and the nest appears to be just mesh in the all the models I've seen so far. I would much prefer to sleep in a mesh nest most of the time if the weather is suitable, but I really do need a more enclosed inner tent for those bitterly cold windy nights which I seem to cop my fair share of.

Additionally, I'd really like to have an integral pitch tent (ie, one where the 'nest' and outer canopy - fly - are pitched/packed together at the same time). It's not essential but I've gotten used to it, and I like it that way.

Can anybody point me to a good pyramid or tipi shaped tent that meets these criteria, and is less than 2 kg (including pole)?

Of course, it'd be good to also hear some first-hand reviews of such a tent, but that might be asking for too much.

Tassie can be wild (or so i have heard) but it can't be much wilder than Victorias high country in the winter, and my old style Chouinard Megamid has taken everything the weather can send.

I have no experience with any of the newer Sylnylon tents but they share the same basic configuration.

I use a bivvy sac inside almost all of the time in winter so the lack of a groundsheet or floor has never bothered me, and in summer the ability to raise the tent well above the ground means my kids had somewhere to change clothes while standing up ( they had their own sleeping tents ) and I used a small tarp to make a decent porch too.
Tarp BTW was and is the Moss "Pentawing" if I ever get the funds I'd buy a newer one in Sylnylon i think or something very similar.
I never got around to buying the tub floor but with one these would be even more versatile in summer as fewer creepy crawlies would get in also I hate mossie bites but i have a separate mesh for that if I remember to pack it

It sounds like a good flexible arrangement.

For my own walks (and my own personal preference), however, I always need a ground cover, as the ground is nearly always wet (frequently sodden/muddy), and I always need walls as protection from flies and mozzies (except in winter, when I need walls for extra warmth). Since I'd be taking all the components with me anyhow, I'd just prefer to have them all built into one unit (with the option of separating the inner and outer, but I've only ever used one component alone once in my entire life).

Ie, I'd rather have one single tent product with everything integrated, instead of having a combination of separate canopy, bivvy, ground sheet, mozzie net and/or tarp.

A good inner nest to look at are the bear paw design pyra net and or penta net 2. Both fit in most tipis and he can modify them to put 10" sil nylon sides. Can also do a 70 denier floor/sides. I think it's a good compromise as you still have mesh above that but high silnylon sides to help with spindrift. I've not used one but I've seen one in the flesh and they look great.

That would be my ultimate set up. Pentanet in a golite shangri la.

If you had a Megamid ( you can't they stopped making them ) you could integral pitch the inner and outer together I believe.

if you were really handy with a sewing machine a pyramid is probably easy to put together, all panels are the same size and shape.

Hey SOB
How about NP's Shangri-la 3 for sale + nest
http://www.sunnysports.com/Prod/GOLTSL3 ... %26Hit%3d1
I got the Shangri-la 5's nest from these guys in 5 days!!!
If the no-see-um doesn't block out enough wind/snow whatever maybe you could sew/velcro on some mods....
I now have the Shangri-la 5 but unfortunately can't give you any reports from winter/snow usage... but so far I am very happy . It certainly did well in a big storm & that was before I got the nest. Kids slept thru it all . Maybe you could check out some US reviews- they get their fair share of snow.
Cheers
Lizzy

Yes, I did like the look of the Shangri-la, and the reviews everywhere appear to be very good.

My main concerns with it were:

• the nest (as is) would be too cold for me on some walks, and I'm not confident and modifying stuff (I'm very good at stuffing such things up big time).
• it's not integral pitch (as far as I can tell, the outer canopy and inner nest must be pitched packed separately, but I'm not absolutely certain about this
• even if I did manage to successfully modify it, it would then be not as light weight as I would like (I expect that would take it over the 2kg mark)

However, the Shangri-la is very tempting.

Hi son of beach,

I'm selling the TT moment to pretty much to do what Lizzy has mentioned. I was originally going with a modified nest from the guys I mentioned in my above (bearpaw) post but we've changed my mind and will use a golite nest in it with tyvek footprint so the whole floorspace is nest vs smaller nest with vestibule. This is so we can put 2 plus bub in it.

I might still get a bearpaw inner for it down the track for solo winter use. I've chatted to the guy via email recently and he can pretty much do any mod you want ie he's even done all five sides in silnylon for someone for winter use. So if your not keen on doing the mods but want a lighter nest with high silnyon sides for the SL3 then I'd check out his website. Some cool stuff on there. I think it's http://www.bearpawwd.com
Cheers
Mic

Thanks Mic. Getting that bearpaw guy to customise the nest may be a great option. I need it to be mostly enclosed, but with still enough mesh to breath nicely (and to avoid condensation in the nest).

If I ever get enough money together to buy a new tent, this is an option that I think I will take very seriously.

Oh and to add I was thinking about the integral pitch for gnarly weather and came up with the following (possible- I'll try it when I get mine and get back to you). If you had a slightly larger stuff sac to accommodate both nest and tent then the two could be packed together so the nest was in the tent (making sure doors marry up when you pack it down). Then you could roll out with two together simply peg nest corners and tent corners together and then go inside and stand pole up and make and adjustments. This would obviously only/maybe work if using the SL3's nest.

Now I'm sure this is all good in theory but give me a couple of weeks and I'll get back to you on my success.

I'd be very interested to hear about your integral pitch trials. I've not seen these tents in person, but if the inner nest mearly hangs from the outer canopy by velcro, or clips of some sort, then I see no reason why it couldn't be done that way. It's just not advertised or discussed anywhere that I can find.

PS. How much space is there in the SL3 nest? Does it fit 2 comfortably?

Son of a Beach wrote:I'd be very interested to hear about your integral pitch trials. I've not seen these tents in person, but if the inner nest mearly hangs from the outer canopy by velcro, or clips of some sort, then I see no reason why it couldn't be done that way. It's just not advertised or discussed anywhere that I can find.

PS. How much space is there in the SL3 nest? Does it fit 2 comfortably?

I don't have it yet so can't comment but looking at it's floor plan I'd say two plus gear easily.

There are clips that go from the nest to the tent hence why I think it would work fine ie set it up once at home then bring it down attached. If you used the tent (685gs ish) then nest (700gs ish) plus hiking poles (which I carry anyway). For non rough camping I'm sure the 70d floor would be fine and then if you know your going somewhere dreadful under foot then get someone like http://www.gofastlite.com to cut you a tyvek footprint for it (I reckon that would come in at 200-300g). Not super dooper light weight but I think it will be a solid set up for the weight (especially if your after a tipi).

Once I get mine I'll trial it for you and comment in here again. I might even take some video

We use a Hex 3 (790g) with either tarp bivy's and polycro floor if it is not a wet area, a tub floor (630g) if it is wet but not buggie, and the nest (1030g) which is a tub floor with mesh in wet buggie areas. We have used this above the artic circle, in snow in the alps, above the treeline in many areas. It is roomy - we are both over 6ft - if you have to wait out weather is easy to seperate inner and outer when they are wet so as to spread the load. In bad weather it is great to be able to very quickly put up a roomy shelter to have lunch etc. We use trekking poles and carry ti stakes/nail as well as carbon stakes for soft ground and above treeline vegetation. it is not a 5 season shelter - but then neither are any lightweight shelters IMHO
it is a big shelter so finding space is often a struggle if you go off track a lot (we do) so get used to pitching over marmot holes occasionally!

so get used to pitching over marmot holes occasionally!

I would be worried about my nuts doing that.





Particularly the macadamias, boy they are expensive...
Franco

Hmmm - will have to try pitching & packing the outer & nest together.
You can also pitch the outer first & then insert the inner so the inner stays dry- it is raining now- maybe I'll go experiment

Just pitched the outer (Shangri-la 5) in the rain & then added the inner- was a little fiddly but inner stayed dry you could easily reverse this process for pack up. Will try packing both together & pitching later...
The 5 does need a big footprint. It is great for me , hubby & 2 kids & was a palace for just hubby & me- but for under 3kg I'll take the palace if I think there will be enough space!!
Lizzy

Not sure if this type of thing will meet your needs & I have only had mine a few weeks & used it on 2 trips- but here are a few photos to give you a better idea (bearing in mind that this is the Shangri-la 5.)

Lizzy that's a nice looking pitch you've got there. Question. Do you find pegging the tent and nest on the same peg achieves that tight pitch or do they require separate pegs for tent and nest.

Cheers

Mic

Hey Mic,
I am still getting used to putting up the tent but am getting there! I peg it out into a square tightly first, then put in the pole & then peg out the middle guys. Some of the nest pegs are sharing with the outer pegs, but most are different. I have left a fair bit of slack in the outer so that they can be tightened up- it stretches a bit when wet- so I would prefer to use a few extra pegs to allow for this (but maybe there is a better way?). Was going to try just lengthening the pole a bit to take up the slack too.... I can still go up about 3 levels.
Cheers
Lizzy

Thanks for that. Looks like some fun times to experiment before it goes down the snowies in march/April.

Just went and pitched Shnagri-la 5 outer & nest together after rollng up together- was pretty easy & not very fiddly. However, if the outer was really wet I think the inner would stay drier being packed up first & seperately and then pitched under the outer after it has been pitched.... if that makes sense???
Lizzy

Thanks for that. I agree and will mostly keep them separate. It's just good to know if your headed out for an overnighter and the forecast is looking doubtful. Thanks again

Lizzy wrote:Just went and pitched Shnagri-la 5 outer & nest together after rollng up together- was pretty easy & not very fiddly. However, if the outer was really wet I think the inner would stay drier being packed up first & seperately and then pitched under the outer after it has been pitched.... if that makes sense???
Lizzy

I always do that with the Nallo if the fly's wet - which it usually is as I'm normally up and about at first light, and frequently pack up well before the dew's dried off.
Maybe it's time I took a towel to get rid of the worst of the moisture . . .

Yes I'm going to give a sham-wow a go on my next wet adventure. That should get the tent nice and dry.

Hi Nik,

I think there are still some pics on the site of the small tipi (SMD Oasis). I was going to try a review of this and a couple of others but havent had enough chance to test them all. I think theyll be too small for my liking (for a single pole tipi) I have used the Golite Shangri-la 3 (S3) a fair bit, very nice,seems like what your after, probably the strongest of the ones ive seen (just in having 6 sides and not giving anything away to lighter weight fabric). Ive got one with the nest if you want to borrow it for a while? But i'm a bit pressed to go into it much more atm... I am happy to answer any questions:

-I have one modified with a mesh skirt attached (as with the Oasis), v light with tyvek sheet. The size (of the S3) makes condensation manageable without an inner tent.
-Theres a mega topic on one of the UK? sites... Talk and pics of a 'half' nest that I was thinking of trying at some stage...
-I found the pole extended not good and joining two poles with a tube the strongest option so far
-They will still need clearing as the whole diameter gets a bit smaller with snow, not bad though... I wouldnt want to go much smaller than the S3 with single pole tipi if snow is expected..
-If using the S3 inner nest, they can be pitched together but easy to separate (inner can be pitched from inside fly) as mentioned
-Same peg points used for the nest/fly
-Im kinda thinking that that MLD trail tarp with added zip and able to be pitched to the ground would be an ideal design (ie two pole points but still tipi style/shape, unlike the Tarptent design, which would have to be the best way to get one smaller 'full tent style' but still a bit small for my liking) for just snow loading alone (the symmetrical S3 style would have to be better in wind though...)
-The S3 mesh doesnt matter as much for warmth as the shelter can be pulled down to the ground.

Hope this helps for a start

Son of a Beach wrote:
Can anybody point me to a good pyramid or tipi shaped tent that meets these criteria, and is less than 2 kg (including pole)?

was going to suggest you one of these, but its abit of a stretch to fit that last criteria of yours.
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/field-operations/tents-shelters-and-huts/tents/polar-pyramid-tents

Thanks Nuts... very useful info. Do you think if the weather is very cold, and windy, and it was pulled down to the ground, that there would be a condensation issue?

I'm certainly leaning in the direction of the S3 at the moment, but I won't be in a position to buy anything for a very long time yet, so I may still change my mind.

ninjapuppet wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:
Can anybody point me to a good pyramid or tipi shaped tent that meets these criteria, and is less than 2 kg (including pole)?

was going to suggest you one of these, but its abit of a stretch to fit that last criteria of yours.
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/field-operations/tents-shelters-and-huts/tents/polar-pyramid-tents

That's a ripper! Probably One Planet making them?

Nik, not really, the pole is a pivot point (so you can choose the side and amount of ventilation needed).

That's a short answer, the reality is that they will (as with any winter tent) get some condensation, in some conditions at some stage.
With (something the size of) the S3 and its access you dont need to touch the walls (which shed condensation to the perimeter/rim anyhow) (which is also why the inner tent (above the floor/'rim' level) i dont think necessary).

It's such a simple and versitile design though this and other considerations make it complex to explain without actually using one, pm sent

hmmm... maybe worth trying with the floor & mesh skirt, for starters, and then can add to it later on if necessary.