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Post by dirthurts on Sept 23, 2016 18:21:55 GMT -8
Interesting to see they dropped DAC's Aluminium poles in favour of Easton glass-fibre poles. Wonder if they're everything this makes them out to be. From what I understand, the biggest difference is they can bend much farther before they break. I'm not sure if they're stiffer or not.
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Post by ukpacker on Sept 23, 2016 23:26:31 GMT -8
I don't think that's really a game changer though, i have camped in storms using several tents over 3 decades and not yet broken an aluminium pole, i don't really believe it's a problem that needs fixing.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Sept 24, 2016 12:55:55 GMT -8
I just read up on them. Apparently, they are carbon fiber poles, not fiberglass. I'm assuming this must be what they are talking about. I have seen quite a few bent aluminum poles on our Arctic traverse and ran into the issue myself up in the Cascades during some raging winter storms. I'd be interested in doing some further comparison. tentpoletechnologies.com/?page_id=631
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Post by bradmacmt on Sept 24, 2016 14:24:37 GMT -8
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Post by ukpacker on Sept 24, 2016 15:52:18 GMT -8
Well that does not sound too promising , i know my Akto has withstood those kind of wind speeds a few times even if it does shake rattle and roll , winds like that are a regular occurrence in the hills here from October onwards so i suppose i shall stick with my trusty Soulo for winter snow and look to save weight elsewhere. Just ordered a 950 fill sleeping bag which should make a big difference to overall bulk of my kit, we have a company in the UK called PHD who source the most amazing down.
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Post by dirthurts on Sept 24, 2016 18:05:45 GMT -8
A bit of testing on the new MSR's... Concerning the Access tent, if wind is getting up and under the tent, isn't that more just bad positioning than a tent failure? The vestibule seems low enough for a shelter that's designed to be used below treeline... I can understand the benefit of testing it above treeline in the winter, but that's not really the point of the access is it?
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Sept 24, 2016 18:45:21 GMT -8
Looking at the pole design, does this really surprise you? In conditions like those, significant guylines and/or pole structure is needed. That Access tent looks like a disaster waiting to happen...and apparently it did.
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Post by tipiwalter on Sept 25, 2016 5:10:19 GMT -8
Concerning the Access tent, if wind is getting up and under the tent, isn't that more just bad positioning than a tent failure? The vestibule seems low enough for a shelter that's designed to be used below treeline... I can understand the benefit of testing it above treeline in the winter, but that's not really the point of the access is it? The Access is hard to figure as it's not yet on the MSR website and so it isn't clear if it's supposed to be a 4 season tent. It has a 20 denier fly with a 1200mm hydrostatic head which to me puts it in the 3 season category at best. And Odin only knows what the floor denier is, probably 30 denier---too thin for my liking. I prefer a 70 to 100 denier floor and a minimum 3000mm head on the fly and 7000 to 10,000mm on the floor. "Bad positioning" is that worn out and overused excuse for when tents fail---you should of found a "better location". But a good trustworthy tent can be placed anywhere and withstand anything, short of lightning strikes or tornadoes or falling trees (or avalanches). The Access seems to be sold as a mountaineering tent so of course I would expect it to perform perfectly above treeline. The Akto or the Allak or the Staika or the Soulo do just fine above treeline.
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Post by ukpacker on Sept 25, 2016 8:55:24 GMT -8
If the outer fabric doesn't touch the snow surface that just creates a blizzard of spindrift snow swirling between the two skins and around the porch, even with the Soulo in a strong breeze i need to block any gaps up with snow on the windward side and stronger winds seem to create a vortex that produces spindrift coming from all directions. Noticed a review on the home page for a Big Sky Chinook which comes in several available options depending on how storm worthy you need it to be, i have however spent enough money on kit this year so with a new Thermarest Neoair all season and down bag i shall see if i can make do with the reliable Soulo for a few more years, shouldn't be too long before i am too old for this malarkey anyway.
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Post by tipiwalter on Sept 25, 2016 9:56:54 GMT -8
If the outer fabric doesn't touch the snow surface that just creates a blizzard of spindrift snow swirling between the two skins and around the porch, even with the Soulo in a strong breeze i need to block any gaps up with snow on the windward side and stronger winds seem to create a vortex that produces spindrift coming from all directions. Anyone who has winter camped in a blizzard totally understands your point---Spindrift!!!! If it's bad enough it will even come under a 1 inch high perimeter edge of a full length fly. I sometimes place my food bags in the tent vestibule on the ground on the windy side. One good thing about my Hilleberg tents is that they all have full length ground-hugging flies, as seen in this pic with my Staika. In a good blizzard snow wants to go everywhere. Note dog snout on left. Where's the best place to be in a blizzard at 0F?? Inside a four season tent, in this case a red Staika. And not under a tarp. Back in 2009 I pulled a trip into the NC mountains and found this guy in the morning trying to get his tarp lowered to the ground to avoid high wind spindrift covering up all his gear inside. My green Keron tent handles spindrift well and the front vestibule can be protected by placing food bags along the windy edge.
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Post by ukpacker on Sept 25, 2016 13:13:07 GMT -8
Nice pics, yes the Swedes know winter well, they do have 6 months of the stuff, when you see some of the places they homesteaded 100 years ago it's easy to see why many gave up trying to farm the north and emigrated to the USA.
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Post by dirthurts on Sept 25, 2016 15:59:43 GMT -8
"Bad positioning" is that worn out and overused excuse for when tents fail---you should of found a "better location". But a good trustworthy tent can be placed anywhere and withstand anything, short of lightning strikes or tornadoes or falling trees (or avalanches). "Bad positioning" is that worn out and overused excuse for when tents fail---you should of found a "better location". But a good trustworthy tent can be placed anywhere and withstand anything, short of lightning strikes or tornadoes or falling trees (or avalanches). By this reasoning, practically everything but a four season tent is a bad tent. I can't say I agree with you here. A tent doesn't have to usable in all conditions to be "trustworthy" tent. There are simply some tents designed for certain purposes, and the Access obviously isn't made to go above treeline. The documents aren't available to the public yet, but the press releases show the Access specifically as a "below treeline" tent. That doesn't make it non-trustworthy at all. It just gives it a different purpose. It's meant to be warm and light, with a slightly improved wind support system.
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Sept 25, 2016 17:26:46 GMT -8
I just read up on them. Apparently, they are carbon fiber poles, not fiberglass. I'm assuming this must be what they are talking about. You see, I can't find anything from Easton themselves claiming these Syclone poles are carbon fibre. I see Syclone 'Advanced Composite' thrown around a lot in official marketing, but nothing about carbon fibre which is strange because 'carbon' is featured prominently on the actual carbon fibre poles found in your link. I'm not too concerned about it, just curious as to how they are constructed to get the claimed "80% more [resistance] to bending and breaking than aluminum poles in wind and flex testing."
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Sept 25, 2016 17:56:18 GMT -8
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I wouldn't chance anything but aluminum poles until the newer alternatives are well established in the community of users I trust. It's too soon for that to even be possible in this case.
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franco
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Post by franco on Sept 25, 2016 18:00:07 GMT -8
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