gear review Tents With tents there’s always going to be a compromise regards weight against durability and longevity. The lighter the fabric, the more prone it is to UV (sun) damage and the less longevity you will get from it compared to heavier fabric, so bear this in mind when going ultra-light. That said, modern fabrics have remarkable strength to weight ratio. Indeed when you look at some of the ultra-light tents you’d think that merely blowing on it would cause a tear let alone stand up to strong winds, but they do. The light weight of the fabrics often means that the Hydrostatic Head (HH) figures – a way of measuring how waterproof a fabric is, higher is better – are lower compared to beefier fabrics. It’s not a problem though as the tents are waterproof and will stand up to inclement weather, but it does mean more care is required, especially with the groundsheet. We feel that unless you really need to keep the weight to a minimum then a tent footprint is well worth using. With any tent in this review we would recommend first pitching it at home before heading out – some are trickier to pitch than others. We tested tents for two people given that it’s you and a climbing partner, so don’t forget those ear plugs.
Brand/Model
Price (RRP)
Packed weight (grams)
Inner tent dimensions (length x width/ narrowest x height)
Alpkit Ordos 2
£225
1,300
208 x 136/105 x 102cm
MSR Freelite 2
£390
1,400
213 x 127 x 91cm
Terra Nova Solar Photon 2
£480
849
225 x 130/84 x 100cm
Vango F10 Xenon UL 2
£325
1650
210 x 130 x 100cm
Ferrino Atrax 2
£340
1900
210 x 130 x 100cm
Alpkit Ordos 2 Weight: 1.3kg RRP £225 A very lightweight and well-priced three season tent for two people, the Ordos 2 is well-made considering the cost. The fabric on the fly is 15D nylon ripstop (HH 3000mm), the inner uses a combination of mesh and 15D nylon panels, the groundsheet is a 20D nylon (HH 3000mm) and all the seams are fully taped. The tent is freestanding and is inner pitch first but you can also pitch the outer on its own to go lighter, shaving 426g off the weight. The three DAC poles come in one joined-up section (hub design) and colour-coded webbing on the flysheet and inner helped with pitching. Whilst tent pitching was fairly straightforward (our sample didn’t have instructions) the tent sometimes got out of shape, causing the main ‘ridge’ pole to curve in an S-shape. When this happened it took some tweaking of the tension on pegging points and guylines to get it right. Also make sure that the Velcro tabs on the inside of the flysheet are tightly wound around the poles, otherwise everything moves around. Something that did cause concern was the pole that went across the back of the tent – it was a bit long and just overshot the reinforcement points that protect the fly. The flysheet goes all the way to the ground to keep out rain and this can lead to condensation on the inside. Alpkit solve this with a vent at the tent front that can be fastened open to allow airflow. Condensation was held at bay though small amounts of moisture did form on the fly. The bathtub style groundsheet was thin and in wet conditions did get a bit damp so we’d recommend using a footprint. The tent stood up well to the rain and wind though so no complaints there. Materials wise, as you’d expect in a
Alpkit Ordos 2
lightweight tent, you have to take care, and in particular, the mesh on the inner was easy to tear, the inner door is entirely mesh with some in the roof too and at the foot end. We would like to see a stronger mesh. In terms of fit it was fine for two people, feeling spacious enough with two mats fitting side by side but the porch was small and couldn’t accommodate two sacks, one had to go in the tent thus losing some space. Inside there two mesh storage pockets and tabs sewn into the roof to hang things from. The stuff sack it came with was a tight fit fully loaded but it made for a very small pack size. In summary, a lightweight, small pack size and incredibly low priced tent – worth a look if on a budget. However, with some tweaks, it could be that much better.
Ferrino Atrax 2 Weight: 1.9kg RRP £340 A well-known brand in Europe, the innovative Italian company of Ferrino have been producing tents since 1890 so they know something about making them, and the Atrax 2 is testament to this experience. This two person tent is inner pitch first and comes with two entrances, one on either side, and the benefits this adds. The fly is made from
20D nylon ripstop silicone-coating (HH 3000mm), the inner tent is out of the same material and mixed with netting, the bathtub groundsheet is a heftier 40D nylon ripstop floor (HH 3000 mm) and all the seams are factory taped. The quality DAC poles are all linked together into one unit with the now standard shock cord plus radial points, and along with the long central pole with a forked end there’s a central cross pole to maximise headroom. Pitching is simple and very quick, again one of the quickest on test, and it comes with instructions and a great repair kit. The tent packed to a conveniently small size too so no quibbles there. Due to the cross pole design the inner and headroom is pretty roomy. Again similar to the MSR tent (see review below) the inner is predominantly mesh and Ferrino have built the nylon panels up the sides to around one third height to give protection from breezes when sleeping. For odds ’n’ ends there’s a large storage pocket at one end. There’s also a diamond-shaped nylon panel in the roof to catch any condensation trips. In an effort to combat condensation they’ve included two vents (their Air Aeration system) on the fly close to the entrances and this works very well to control any build up of moisture. 6
www.climber.co.uk Sep–Oct 2017
18 Climber - Sep/Oct 2017.indd 75
75
27/07/2017 20:27
With space for two mats side by side and two people you don’t have a feeling of being hemmed in. The only downside is the concave shape of the side wall/doors that encroached a little into the living space but this does make for a roomier porch and, after a while, you fail to notice it, especially when lying down. Each porch is a fair size and each takes a pack and shoes with no problems and the zips on the entrance are easy to find given their bright yellow colour. That can also be said of the two fast adjustment guylines and pegging points that are all bright yellow. In use, it was well-received by the team and worked well, apart from one thing that we thought could be improved. On the flat rear end of the tent, where your head would be, there’s no pegging to pull it out and because of this the inner and outer touched, especially when there was wind blowing. Whilst it didn’t cause too many problems with damp ingress, it would be a simple fix to solve it and would add barely any extra weight. Other than that the tent was very stable and certainly waterproof given the amount of rain it had to withstand during a wet weekend in the Lakes; and the groundsheet didn’t get damp.
To sum up, we liked it. A very well-made tent built by a company with a fine pedigree and, whilst not the lightest on test, it certainly provided a bombproof shelter with the convenience of two entrances and looked striking with the contrasting trim against the green.
MSR Freelite 2 Weight: 1.4kg RRP £390 The MSR Freelite 2 is a freestanding, inner pitch first, lightweight three-season tent with a good liveability factor. It uses 15D nylon ripstop Durashield coated fabric (HH 1200mm) for the flysheet, a 10D nylon micromesh for the inner and 15D nylon ripstop Durashield (coated HH 1500mm) for the bathtub groundsheet. There are aluminium poles all in one unit – a double-forked main pole and a centre cross pole to maximise headroom. The inner is mainly mesh to keep weight down and aid ventilation and MSR have built the nylon floor tub up the sides to give some protection from air flow when you lay down. Some liked the amount of mesh, especially in hot weather, some weren’t sure it was right for the UK climate as
wind will blow through the inner but did concede that if you had only one super light tent to use here and abroad this would be a good one. Two good sized doors, one on either side, provide easy access – an entrance each so no climbing over each other to go pee – plus it offers more space to stash your bags and shoes if you wish to leave maximum space in the inner tent. Two mats fit easily side by side, even rectangular ones. Headspace is very good due to the cross pole and near vertical sides so you can comfortably sit up. The spacious interior offers comfort on longer trips with some room to move. There are a couple of small pockets in the inner tent to stash things. In terms of waterproofness and condensation build-up, there were no leaks when it rained but there was a small amount of condensation, probably due to the lack of vents and the fact the fly went all the way to the ground. It stood up well to wind with virtually no movement in the side walls but then it wasn’t tested in strong winds. Set up was very quick and easy, taking less than five minutes, plus there are instructions on the stuff sack/bag. We do like instructions.
We tested tents for two people given that it’s you and a climbing partner, so don’t forget those ear plugs. Ferrino Atrax 2
MSR FreeLite2
The bag to pack the tent in is oversized making it easy to put it away and comes with compression straps to reduce the size – which is very small by the way. If you want to cut weight further (the inner weighs 428g) you can erect the outer only and use the MSR footprint designed for this tent. An excellent, well thought out tent, that offers a good living space and convenience with two porches all in a lightweight package. It pitches quickly too and stands up to bad weather well. A firm favourite with most of the team and worth considering.
Terra Nova 2017 Solar Photon 2 Weight: 849g RRP £480 The three-season Terra Nova Solar Photon 2 Tent has been recently updated with stronger poles and it remains one of the lightest, freestanding two man tents on the market at 849g. Not shabby for a two skinned tent.
76 Sep–Oct 2017
www.climber.co.uk
18 Climber - Sep/Oct 2017.indd 76
27/07/2017 20:27