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Post by cweston on Jun 7, 2020 4:56:05 GMT -8
This is clearly a pretty popular choice.
2 questions:
1) I'm 5-11. Lightheart says it's not recommended for people over 5-10. Anyone over 5-10 using this tent?
2) Small vestibules: I understand that there's plenty of room for gear storage inside the tent proper. But what about entry/exit in the rain? My experience with multiple tent/vestibule configurations is that smaller vestibules usually means more water gets in the tent on entry/exit.
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Post by bluefish on Jun 7, 2020 8:33:16 GMT -8
We have the Duo, and as it has similar length, I'll comment on the height issue. I'm 5'10 and the space above your head and above a quilt is not very great. A fat pad and a zero degree bag would not work for me. The vestibules are OK good enough for getting your shoes off and on out of the rain, but sketchy for cooking. Not a bad shelter, and good customer service, but we found better suited for our needs and wants. Did get a few years, maybe 30 nights out of it with only 2 tiny holes and a zipper that broke in high winds, but was field repaired. We abandoned the use of Ti shepherd hooks, this tent needs more robust stakes, especially if the long panels get wet and start to sag. At that point you wish you were 5 even. The peak in the center is narrow, so if you open the vestibule door fully, rain pours in. You have to crawl out with the door halfway unzipped to prevent water incursion. Not fun in a muddy area.
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Jun 7, 2020 10:24:03 GMT -8
I'm 5'2" and am "comfortable" in it but agree with bluefish about headroom. I'm short enough that I can shift toward the foot-end, so that my head is in the taller part of the tent. I'm particularly sensitive about headroom which is probably why I prefer the end-entry style when it comes to solo tents where I'm super weight-conscious. I remember Lightheart having a "solong" version of the tent. Is that an option?
Reading bluefish's description about sagging reminded me of one somewhat miserable night in the rain camped at Nordhouse Dunes. Not much helped but I was lucky that it was warm and it was just an overnight. I've had other wet nights that were OK though I think I had to adjust the tension at some point. I'd chalked up the Dunes experience as inexperience in sand + rain.
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Post by cweston on Jun 7, 2020 11:48:33 GMT -8
Reading bluefish's description about sagging reminded me of one somewhat miserable night in the rain camped at Nordhouse Dunes. Not much helped but I was lucky that it was warm and it was just an overnight. I've had other wet nights that were OK though I think I had to adjust the tension at some point. I'd chalked up the Dunes experience as inexperience in sand + rain. One of my worst tent fails was in sand, along Sand Creek near the Great Sand Dunes in the Sangres. I was altitude sick the worst I've ever been in my life, and made an early camp because a storm was coming. The ground was pure sand, and my tent stakes were really struggling to hold. In between pukes, my tent completely collapsed multiple times. It was also ground zero of the brief mosquito season there. Pretty pictures don't always tell the whole story. There are definitely some conditions in which a freestanding tent is a huge advantage. Sand is definitely one of them. |
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Jun 7, 2020 12:49:31 GMT -8
Broadening this topic a bit further (no thread drift to see here, move along, move along...) - for those who have used a true pyramid as well as what I call an offset pyramid tent, which do you prefer?
I have an old style MLD Solomid, which is a true pyramid. From time to time I've thought that I might prefer and offset pyramid like the Lightheart Solo, but have never used one. Maybe there isn't much of a difference. Maybe it depends on personal preference. Maybe it depends on whether or not two people will be in the tent during a long winter night, trying to sit up and play cards.
Thanks.
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rangewalker
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Post by rangewalker on Jun 8, 2020 11:50:56 GMT -8
Following: Good first hand information by jazzmom . ****Updated June 10. Made my order. Had a great conversation with owner/designer Judy Gross. Judy is doing a segment of the CDT from Lander north to Idaho/ Montana thru the Winds and Yellowstone NP in August. My 2020 budget for hike/bike/birding/photo is toast for the rest of the year into next. It looks like they are making a limited run of the Solo with an awning. I am 5'9" and tend to thinner pads. I know less than R2 pads are the new cotton, so I will die :D I am being a real gram weenie this year, I have two maybe three trips of 5-9 days before winter and 6-8 ounces less for a shelter is a big deal. And I am big on good and easy line tighteners to address flap and sag. I have refit every shelter for years. I even stake out bivys. I lost a good winter tent in '19 because of inattention and bad stakes. So I would stick with the sand/snow combos I have developed. Anymore if I am headed to the high alpine with scant bare ground, I carry a couple to four rock or snow baskets and extra tent cord. Same for deep sand. |
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rangewalker
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Post by rangewalker on Jun 10, 2020 9:45:28 GMT -8
1) I'm 5-11. Lightheart says it's not recommended for people over 5-10. Anyone over 5-10 using this tent? When I told Lightheart I was checking out the Solo/Awning model, the first question they asked me was how tall I was. They are pretty firm on their caution about over 5'10". |
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Jun 10, 2020 9:56:02 GMT -8
I used sand anchors and took extra cordage on the Lost Coast. It helps - makes it easier to use rocks to stake out any tent. And freestanding didn't matter a shred, my friend broke a pole on her tent when the wind gusted hard - there are always going to be conditions in which any tent will fail. I've used the Lightheart in the alpine granite slab, in sand, in any subalpine or alpine conditions - groundhogs or sand anchors on the load bearing stakes, ti hooks on the extra guy points for ventilation. My extremely tall fishing buddy 6'+ bought the SoLong Duo. He uses it for SAR, with his granddaughter, and likes it as much as any tall person making do with a tent. My 7' 8" bf has a Tarptent Cloudburst. Won't even try.
I haven't had issues with rain, but - my usual practice is to: unzip, open the umbrella, stand up with my feet still inside the tent (easy to do with the sloped sides), step out into my crocs which are waiting in the vestibule. Close the fly behind me to keep the interior dry.
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rangewalker
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Post by rangewalker on Jul 8, 2020 5:57:32 GMT -8
 My Lightheart solo-awning on its first trip, (July 4 weekend) It will do. It is a good utility tent for me. The first pitches were odd but worked out. It did really well in some sideways rain on the second night and stiff winds the next morning. This is my first single side door tent and I like to lay with my head at the door end. that makes it a left hand reach, especially odd feeling for me with right zipper bag. That is nattering nit from me that I will get over. The diamond floor looks odd too, but it turns out is great for organizing in the tent and not rolling over stuff tucked in the corners. For next year, I will get the carbon fiber poles for bikepacking. |
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