Backpacking Tents

[Unimog]

There has been a lot of discussion over in the sleeping bag thread about this. Here is a new place for it to live.

I'm particularly interested in lightweight tents. I have an older GoLite tent 2-person right now. At around 4 lbs, it is not really worthy of the GoLite name, but it has been a pretty good tent. For 4-season, it is a little bit lacking as it is single-wall and there is no good way to close off all the airflow. For summer and shoulder seasons, it works great, other than the weight.

So Steve got me thinking with this post:

I have also noticed that my tent makes a huge warmth difference. Some of my tents are super warm, and some are super cold.

I'm hoping he can expand on this: Do you have some single and double wall tents, or are some of them tarp tents without complete coverage from wind? I'd like to find something warm and light for 4-season camping and then maybe something lighter for summer and better weather 3-season. I'm hesitant to go with a tarp style tent just because I'm not familiar/comfortable with the idea. I'm ok sleeping in the open, but I like having an enclosed place to stash my stuff and sleep.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Here are my experiences from various experiments. Double-wall tents have always been warmer for me. I have a couple set ups.

1) REI Quarter-dome double-wall tent. Warm. Not light. Clammy in the summer (when the rain fly is on). I've had this tent for 200+ camping nights, and from tempts to -8* to 80*. Fantastic tent for the price, but not very light.

2) HMG Echo II tent. Very light. Very warm. Not very big, tough to sit up in. A little more involved to set up. This shelter acts more like a double-wall tent. it's a bug net underneath a tarp. The tarp has a beak, and the foot area has a wind break too. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a 5+ hour rainstorm with this shelter because it's so hard to sit up in. I've only slept in this tent about 5 times, but it has been very warm each time.

3) Zpacks Hexamid Duplex. Extremely light. Cold, even when pitched close to the ground. Plenty big enough to sit up in. Easy to set up. I've only used this once (10-15* weather), so take it with a grain of salt. Even pitched close to the ground so the vents were blocked, this was a very cold tent.

4) US Army gore text Bivvy. Heavy. Warm. Fits my pad and sleeping bag in it. I've slept in temps from 3* to 40* with this thing. I really like it, and despite it being gore-tex, I haven't had condensation issues with it.

5) Outdoor Research Bivvy. Only used once, @ -7*. Clammy, wet, and didn't breathe well. It was very warm up to that point though.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Eric, you're welcome to borrow any of my tents.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Has anyone seen one of these in person? I think I may sell my zpacks duplex and get one of these:

[video=youtube;f8wq4WNZ7i4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8wq4WNZ7i4[/video]


no vestibules, but it's light and cheap for what it is.

And another pitching configuration:
[video=youtube;-fWS8jX6JUo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fWS8jX6JUo[/video]


I wonder how breathable it is.


Edit: they also make a version with a vestibule and more breathability on the main door. This is probably the one I'd want:



Edit 2: one more video comparing them.
[video=youtube;BF-JIKsB0ow]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF-JIKsB0ow[/video]

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'm really digging this one too, but it looks pretty small for two people:

[video=youtube;OfFne6dmXvE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfFne6dmXvE[/video]

 

[sixstringsteve]

Anyone else recommend some cool trekking-pole shelters? I'm not super happy with my duplex. It's light for sure, but it's not that great in windy conditions.

 

[Unimog]

I'm really digging this one too, but it looks pretty small for two people:

[video=youtube;OfFne6dmXvE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfFne6dmXvE[/video]

That looks pretty small for one!

 

[ozzy702]

http://www.tarptent.com/contrail.html

http://www.tarptent.com/notch.html I own this one and like it so far. I ordered it with the extra guy out attachments and it seems sturdy.

http://www.tarptent.com/stratospire1.html

http://www.tarptent.com/stratospire2.html My buddy Mat owns this one and loves it. You can get it with extra guy outs as well that make it pretty solid.

http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/tents/LunarDuo.html I also picked this guy up on sale but haven't tried it. People seem to like it and the price was right.


http://www.tarptent.com/momentdw.html Not a trekking pole shelter but with the cross pole it's supposed to be super sturdy. Condensation has been listed as a con but only in super humid areas with it buttoned up.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Well, I just polled the trigger on a Big Agnes Scout 2 plus.

It's heavier than my zpacks duplex, but I think it'll be a better fit for me. With the duplex, I didn't get enough protection from sand blowing into the tent. I realized that for my needs, I want the bathtub floor to come up at least 6-12" for protection against sand. Hopefully the Scout 2 plus does the trick and keeps the sand out. I'm not a huge fan of the number of stakes it requires, but other than that it seems great.

If it turns out not being so great, backcountry.com has a great return policy.

 

[ozzy702]

I'm really digging this one too, but it looks pretty small for two people:

[video=youtube;OfFne6dmXvE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfFne6dmXvE[/video]

The duo has 22 sq/ft... so it's fine for a solo shelter but good luck squeezing two into that thing. 28 sq/ft is pretty close quarters for two dudes and I'm a lot more comfortable at 35+.

 

[ozzy702]

Well, i bought the Big Agnes Scout 2 plus. It's heavier than my zpacks duplex, but I think it'll be a better fit for me. With the duplex, I didn't get enough protection from sand blowing into the tent. I realized that for my needs, I want the bathtub floor to come up at least 6-12" for protection against sand. Hopefully the Scout 2 plus does the trick. If not, Backcountry.com has a great return policy.

I was actually thinking about that the other day when I setup my tarptent. In the desert the sand is just nasty when the winds pick up. I'm contemplating looking at their "solid" inner for that very reason.

 

[sixstringsteve]

my REI tent did great and didn't get any sand in it. My zpacks had about 2 cups of sand in it after about 30 seconds. Deal-breaker for me with how much desert camping I do. I'll be selling that tent, despite its awesome design and super low weight.

 

[mesha]

Desert camping is such a quandary. I love mesh for the breeze and breathability. I hate mesh because it lets in the sand. Waking up covered in sand is the worst.

 

[sixstringsteve]

i know. It seems like you either need tons of wind protection or tons of ventilation because there's no wind.

 

[ozzy702]

A few years back I was camped in Moab and a huge wind storm rolled in one evening. No rain at all, just violent winds. I woke up to a solid half inch of dirt, dust and sand inside the tent I was using because the fly didn't go down very far. It was a miserable night and clean up in the morning sucked.

 

[mesha]

i know. It seems like you either need tons of wind protection or tons of ventilation because there's no wind.

We need an all mesh inner tent with removable tie in panels made out of m50 or something like that.

 

[ozzy702]

My hilleberg would do fine in the desert but I'm not packing that thing around unless I have to. It's relegated to mostly winter duty.

 

[mesha]

My hilleberg would do fine in the desert but I'm not packing that thing around unless I have to. It's relegated to mostly winter duty.

Hillebergs do well everywhere, but are heavy. That is the problem. There are a lot of tents that do well in the desert, but are heavy or not very breathable.

 

[ozzy702]

my REI tent did great and didn't get any sand in it. My zpacks had about 2 cups of sand in it after about 30 seconds. Deal-breaker for me with how much desert camping I do. I'll be selling that tent, despite its awesome design and super low weight.

Was this the quarterdome T2 that did well in the desert?

 

[Unimog]

I'm anxious to hear results. My golite is horrible in sand.