2 x 2 man or 1x4 man tent?

[wildernesswanderer]

Hey can I ask with the Macpac Olympus, it it able to be pitch inner and outer together like the Hillebergs. I was in the Melbourne City store today and ask there and they didn't know.... ummm you don't know how your equipment works ;( I'm curious and I hear good things about the Macpac tents as well.

[Son of a Beach]

Yes the Olympus is integral pitch. People usually keep the inner and fly together while pitching or packing up. You can also pitch either one without the other.

[Gusto]

I bet Blacksheep would be horrified to hear that his stores don't know the answer to such a basic question.

The Poles go through a sleeve in the fly. The inner attaches to the fly. The fly can be pitched both with and without the inner tent.

[wildernesswanderer]

Thanks for the replies, serious contender then. And I do like Macpac stuff. I've been looking at the Jannu and Tarra but they are so hard to find here and while I can just from the states I am a little partial to supporting local where the price difference isn't that much. Knowing the Olympus can be pitched this way makes it look good too. I have to get one in the next 6 weeks so going though the pros and cons

[iGBH]

No local dealers for Hilleberg except for one place in ACT.

At the end of the day, even if you buy local it's not necessarily your local retailers making the money. Retail margins are tight - it's the big aussie distributors who are inflating local prices.

Macpac tents are good. Hilleberg are a step above.

[rucksack]

iGBH, I don't know if this makes any difference, but these are the round numbers in Australian dollars for the three tents that I mentioned:

Olympus (on the Macpac web site): $900 - and $810 for MWC members, but they do have regular specials, so can often be bought for less that these prices;

Nallo 2 (on the Hilleberg web site): $600 but you would have to add postage from the US to that, if buying on-line; and

Scarp 2: (on the Tarptent web site): $325, and again, you have to add postage from the US to that figure.

And, then there is the Macpac Minaret, which weight-wise is comparable with the Nallo 2. The vestibule is smaller than the Olympus, but so is the price: $750 and $675 for MWC members, and like the Olympus, the Minaret can be on sale for less than these prices.

rucksack

[kmcgreg]

Any thoughts on Exped tents?

[blacksheep]

I bet Blacksheep would be horrified to hear that his stores don't know the answer to such a basic question.

The Poles go through a sleeve in the fly. The inner attaches to the fly. The fly can be pitched both with and without the inner tent.

Mortified.

Olympus (and other tents, packs, s.bags too) are going to have a short promo on them, 40% off, from next week.

If you go to city store, have Duncan show you the tents, or Bernard. Sorry you were served by a staffer light on product knowledge.
Cam

[Moondog55]

The tents themselves can be a little smaller if you are going to be using a tarp as well, as the packs can go under the tarp. Also great big orange garbage bags can come in handy to keep packs dry in pouring rain if you ever do have to keep them outside,.
An alternative could be to also take a big single pole tent such as the Megamid/Megaglite in place of the tarp, this may not weigh much more than a tarp if you were going to take a pole for the tarp anyway and I often did this when bushwalking with my kids, pole weighed a bit but the time saved was priceless.
In fact the kids were why I bought my first Megamid

[wildernesswanderer]

No local dealers for Hilleberg except for one place in ACT.

At the end of the day, even if you buy local it's not necessarily your local retailers making the money. Retail margins are tight - it's the big aussie distributors who are inflating local prices.

Macpac tents are good. Hilleberg are a step above.

Um there is one major factor that you totally missed, it helps the staff in the Australian stores stay employed, and I would rather help a staff member in a Australian store feed their families than help a guy overseas.

Like I said if it's not much different I'll buy in Australia, when it's way different well then I'm also not going to give my money away either.

Thanks for the info on the Macpacs as well. I know of the store in OZ that does the Hillebergs and for not much more than the US either.

[nq111]

By reputation the Exped tents are very good.

(Don't quote me) but I seem to recall that model you are interested in winning some test of tents in Germany where they were put in front of the propeller wind from some planes.

I have no direct experience of them however.

[kmcgreg]

Making progress...ordered 2 x Eped Venus ii extreme tents....they look like they will do a great job.

Will let you know how I go with them in the wild.

[ninjapuppet]

You've probally come across my post here, but i also have a Exped Venus.

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9029

Comes in 3 fabric weights: Ultralight, standard and (yours) extreme. All should pitch the same
Just got to keep in mind, that the outer has a strong tendency to sag and come into contact with the inner, causing water to drip into the interior space.
Maybe it wont happen so easily with your extreme version, but its something to keep in mind with the UL version where the silnylon stretches.

[Solohike74]

The choice woudl depend on whether huts are much of an option for the trip. When huts are eminently suitable and the tent is for mere backup, thats an ideal situation to consider lighter tents, bivy bags etc.

[north-north-west]

Just got to keep in mind, that the outer has a strong tendency to sag and come into contact with the inner, causing water to drip into the interior space.
Maybe it wont happen so easily with your extreme version, but its something to keep in mind with the UL version where the silnylon stretches.

I don't know if this is just me, but it seems that's more of a problem with domes than tunnel tents. I know my old Salewa sagged easily once it had had as much use as the Nallo now has, but it's not an issue with the Nallo.