idahobob
Trail Wise!
many are cold, but few are frozen
Posts: 198
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Post by idahobob on Jun 30, 2016 12:24:47 GMT -8
The trend is for all quality tents to get lighter and lighter, and yet they are strong enough generally. I really like tarptents (tarptent.com), and mine has held up well in wind and rain. The sylnylon is old and thin from use, but it never ripped. Tarptents are within your price range also. I highly recommend them and think they are sturdy enough, but you can't above these light weight tents.
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Post by reptocarl on Jun 30, 2016 12:45:59 GMT -8
Guys, Your opinion about the Kelty TraiLogic TN 2 tent? It is about a pound lighter than the half dome and has intermediate fabric thinkness. Tents: REI Quarter Dome 2 Tent MSR Hubba Hubba NX Tent Kelty TraiLogic TN2 Tent REI Half Dome 2 Plus Tent Minimum trail weight 3 lbs. 1 oz. 3 lbs. 7 oz. 4 lbs. 4 oz. 5 lbs. 1 oz. Canopy fabric 15-denier ripstop nylon/20-denier nylon mesh 20-denier ripstop nylon / 15-denier nylon mesh 15-denier no-see-um mesh 40-denier ripstop nylon/20-denier nylon mesh Floor fabric 30-denier ripstop nylon 30-denier ripstop nylon 45-denier nylon 70-denier taffeta nylon Rainfly fabric 15-denier ripstop nylon 20-denier ripstop nylon 40-denier coated nylon 40-denier nylon Didn't that tent win a Backpacker Magazine editors choice award?
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jazzmom
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a.k.a. TigerFan
Posts: 3,064
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Post by jazzmom on Jun 30, 2016 13:12:03 GMT -8
So, is the denier weight of the tent fabric the only criteria you're concerned about? I find that really strange because the four tents you've listed are VERY different from each other. The Kelty and HH have similar traditional dome tent pole designs. Nice and stable, though the Kelty has those bent poles to give you more vertical walls. The resulting head-room is nice, but there may be a wind-stability price for those vertical-ish walls. The QD is a strange hybrid -- BA Fly Creek mashed up with the HH; the complicated pole hub design doesn't give me the warm-and-fuzzies, to be honest. The HD+ is huge compared to the others.
Still, if the fabric weight is that important to you, you should understand the specs. Do you know what a "denier" means? It's the weight, in grams, of 9,000 meters of thread. I've made (sewn) gear and the difference between a 20D and 30D nylon is hardly noticeable. I *might* be able to detect the difference side-by-side of the same fabric line, but other fabric characteristics, like the ripstop vs taffeta, the ripstop pattern, any DWR or coatings, would impact the *impression* of "thickness" much more. I don't know that I would rely on that impression in assessing how "fragile" a fabric is.
I hiked with an MSR Hubba Hubba for a long time. I think it's a classic. MSR, so far, seems to have resisted going to extreme lengths to lighten their tents. I still use the same HH often, though it's mostly relegated to car-camping duties these days. Nothing "fragile" about that tent, IMO.
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Post by dayhiker on Jun 30, 2016 15:38:31 GMT -8
Apparently you can't compare the old Hubba Hubba with the new:
"MSR has sacrificed the durability of the old Hubba Hubba for a lighter weight tent, as is often the sacrifice with light weight or ultralight gear. We have seen a Hubba Hubba NX tear in moderate winds when it was not properly guyed down. Site selection and proper set-up are very important with this tent to prevent it from getting damaged. See our Buying Advice Article for more info on site selection. It has the same weight fabric as the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2."
That said they did like this tent.
(same link as before)
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almostthere
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putting on my hiking shoes....
Posts: 696
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Post by almostthere on Jun 30, 2016 18:14:32 GMT -8
"when it was not properly guyed down" covers pretty much every tent ever set up.... Cannot count the times people I've gone out with have neglected to guy out their tents. Which leads to amusing scenarios like chasing the tent, or watching it climb a tree. Or just the whining about condensation -- friends who work at REI giggle about all the returns because it got too wet inside the tent.
Site selection is ALWAYS important in California, these days, with all the billions of dead trees. It won't matter what the fly is made of - a falling dead beetle-ridden branch will go right through any nylon. It was plenty important before, too -- don't set up in one of those depressions that are so invitingly free of debris or rocks, where it's obvious water collects in the rain. That leads to floating.
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tigger
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Posts: 2,547
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Post by tigger on Jun 30, 2016 19:27:55 GMT -8
Just for reference, my Golite Shangri-La 5 was made from 15D silnylon and went through numerous crazy strong storms (Including multi-day arctic 70 mph storms). The only reason it failed was the door was opened while facing into the wind and it tore at the door seam. The fabric itself was fine. This storm was clocked at 100 mph Here's some storm footage that finally took out the door on the ice sheet of Greenland -
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jun 30, 2016 20:15:05 GMT -8
"when it was not properly guyed down" covers pretty much every tent ever set up.... Cannot count the times people I've gone out with have neglected to guy out their tents. Which leads to amusing scenarios like chasing the tent, or watching it climb a tree. Or just the whining about condensation -- friends who work at REI giggle about all the returns because it got too wet inside the tent. Site selection is ALWAYS important in California, these days, with all the billions of dead trees. It won't matter what the fly is made of - a falling dead beetle-ridden branch will go right through any nylon. It was plenty important before, too -- don't set up in one of those depressions that are so invitingly free of debris or rocks, where it's obvious water collects in the rain. That leads to floating. SO true. The impact force of a flapping piece of fabric is multiple times higher than just wind pressure pushing steadily on a taut surface. Classic way for a good sail to fail: steady winds are fine but flapping and snapping like a whip and they'll get blown apart.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Jun 30, 2016 20:57:25 GMT -8
That's a good point. I experienced a very intense storm once below Phantom Terrace surrounded by a couple maximum sized groups. The only tent that failed was the one with the heaviest fabric (it was really what I would consider a car camping tent). It died of being poorly pitched. During that storm, the wind got under my Tarptent Contrail), lifted up the floor (including my sleeping pad an legs), and threw a handful of stakes. A few minutes later everything was fixed and I was back asleep. The heavy-duty tent next door was ripped from the vestibule through the roof and rain funneled in on the occupant. I think he might have been impaired, since he made no attempt to improve the situation. He was still sleeping when I hit the trail the next morning, taking advantage of a brief lull in the storm.
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Post by wander2016 on Jul 1, 2016 2:45:45 GMT -8
Well the Kelty will arrive tonight. For some strange reason, my options now are:
Kelty Trail Logic TN-2 Backpacking Tent REI half dome 2+ REI quarter dome 2
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jazzmom
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a.k.a. TigerFan
Posts: 3,064
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Post by jazzmom on Jul 1, 2016 4:26:50 GMT -8
It's hard to give advice in a vacuum. You voiced a vague fabric concern, got three pages of comments, no responses. The original tent you wanted to switch out is still on your list. What are you actually trying to decide here?
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Post by bradmacmt on Jul 1, 2016 5:17:40 GMT -8
Hi Guys, I just went for my first backpacking trip recently. On this trip I had taken a brand new REI Quarter Dome 2. The tent is great but I found this tent has a very delicate fabric. My particular piece had a manufacturing defect too, so it is going back anyway. So I was looking for a 2-person, similarly priced, backpacking tent that has a more sturdy fabric. Please help! Find a clean/new, pre-2015 MSR Hubba Hubba... stouter than the REI Quarterdome by a fair bit. Great tent.
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almostthere
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putting on my hiking shoes....
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Post by almostthere on Jul 1, 2016 5:43:32 GMT -8
It's hard to give advice in a vacuum. You voiced a vague fabric concern, got three pages of comments, no responses. The original tent you wanted to switch out is still on your list. What are you actually trying to decide here? Finnegan begin again.... if if this were a date, I would have snuck out and called a taxi after the first ignored question.... Communication is SO important.... i have long suspected that Kelty makes the REI branded tents, in much the same fashion Komperdell makes their trekking poles... If so, you are deciding between three models of the same brand....
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Post by bradmacmt on Jul 1, 2016 6:04:53 GMT -8
i have long suspected that Kelty makes the REI branded tents, in much the same fashion Komperdell makes their trekking poles... If so, you are deciding between three models of the same brand.... I tend to think Big Agnes makes their tents, and Osprey their packs.
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almostthere
Trail Wise!
putting on my hiking shoes....
Posts: 696
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Post by almostthere on Jul 1, 2016 6:25:39 GMT -8
i have long suspected that Kelty makes the REI branded tents, in much the same fashion Komperdell makes their trekking poles... If so, you are deciding between three models of the same brand.... I tend to think Big Agnes makes their tents, and Osprey their packs. Now that they have lighter tents -- perhaps. It's already been noted that they are much lighter than they used to be... The older Domes were built like a Kelty. And it would make sense that it's Osprey, because REI packs are another pack that have completely failed to be comfortable for me, and I can't wear Osprey for the same reason....
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2016 7:23:20 GMT -8
A number of years ago, I picked up a Sierra Designs 4 season Dome tent. I was setting it up when a friend of mine brought his brother by who was visiting from Korea. I learned the brother, worked at the plant, in Korea, where the Sierra Designs tent was sewn. I also learned that the REI 4 season dome tent was sewn at the same plant. The plant was supposed to change over the equipment settings and materials, after doing a Sierra Designs run before doing an REI run. The plant accountents figured it would be more cost effictive to use the same materials and settings for the REI run then to pay the workers to switch the production settings and materials to a lower spec.
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