torpified wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:10 pm
I think I also said this last year: I'm ready for a new tent! My big agnes Flycreek 1p is getting threadbare, and the older and more decrepit I get, the more attractive a tent with a side entrance becomes.
The Flycreek is semi-freestanding, and has a mostly-mesh inner tent you can use without the rainfly if you're audacious enough to bet against overnight rain. Thanks to this, I was once able to witness the Perseid meteor shower from a slab next to Sequoia National Park's Precipice Lake, made famous by Ansel Adams https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot ... tails.aspx. It felt like there were meteors going off in my head. This has left me irrevocably committed to (semi)free standing double-walled tents with mostly-mesh inners.
What's in the running:
BA Tiger Wall 1p. Concern: a bit leaky?
Nemo Hornet Elite 1p. Concern: also a bit leaky?
Nemo Hornet 1p. Concern: a crushing 2 oz heavier than the Elite.
I'm leaning toward the plebeian Hornet---but I'd be grateful for advice, gut feelings, premonitions, etc.
Have you considered TarpTent? I'd look at the Notch (trekking poles) or Moment DW (has pole). I have a 2p version of the Notch (not currently made) and really like it. You couldn't use your REI dividend, of course, but there's always something else you "need" .
Thanks for the tarptent lead! I've thought about those, but have two hangups:
1. They're not free standing, so it seems like you have to stake them out really well to get a taut pitch. A fair bit of my camping is in really rocky surrounds that make planting stakes a challenge.
2. Even if I could get them staked out, because they have just a few anchor points, I'm not sure how they'd hold up in howling winds/torrential downpours. Have you tarptent users had good luck with bad weather?
(1) I can't speak to where you camp, so won't try and talk you into non-mostly-freestanding, but I have seen pics of them in pretty rocky places. I typically don't camp in places where it's anything more than an occasional annoyance finding a spot for a stake. There's plenty of discussion on backpackinglight.com (and others) about them.
(2) While I haven't used mine in extreme conditions, it's held up well in thunderstorms and some steady IR winds. One thing I like about TT is the minimal number of required stakes--but there's plenty of guy outs and tie downs to really secure it when needed. And it's a lot less likely to tear because of the fabric and quality of construction. Some will say the Notch is a little hard to set up, but my 2p ver isn't at all once you practice it a couple times.
One other thought is that with TTs it isn't as easy as most to just throw the fly on or off, since in most designs the fly supports the inner tent. It looks like the Bowfin might be the exception. But it may be worth chatting with the owner (Henry) if you're at all interested. He seems to be very candid about his products and what they're good for--and not.
Was just throwing it out there--have fun shopping!
I bought the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 two years ago. Although it is a two person tent it weighs less than the tiger wall, but like you said, mo side entrance. I drop my poncho at the door and crawl in and out. no fuss no muss. and I love spreading out my gear.
My BA Copper Spur has served me well. I went with the 2man (which, let's be honest, is really like 1.5) because I like to have a little more interior room after a 5-day Minong rain-out, and was willing to carry the weight if it meant more comfort on a rainy afternoon. With the dual side doors and vestibule/fly, you can have all your gear under one side and still use the door on the other.
thanks, all! It's nice to have options. I'll report back on how this drama turns out. (Last year I went into REI intending to convert my dividend into a tent, and emerged with a sackful of new darn tough socks instead . . ..)
IncaRoads wrote: Sat May 23, 2020 12:11 pm
torpified - any decisions yet on your new tent?
Though this thread left me Tarptent curious, I converted my dividend into the plebeian 1P Hornet. But I haven't gotten a chance to use it (the tent) because I'm in CA under a shelter-in-place order, and I'm leery of camping in my yard because it's teeming with nature's most menacing wildlife: the banana slug.
It seems like things are slowly opening up, and I'm a handful of miles from a system of trails and back country camps in the local mountlets. I'm hoping, once we're allowed to overnight in the woods, to give the tent a testdrive.
Pictured: from Nov 2019, the view of one of the local backcountry camps through the front door of my Flycreek.
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