Which tent
Hi,
Does anyone have experience with the Quechua T2 ultralight pro? It's only 2kg, so seems ideal for keeping the weight down. However, I read one review that said it has horrendous condensation problems.
Any advice on this or other lightweight alternatives welcome.
Thanks
Tony
Posted: Fri, Jun 25, 2010, 8:17
My view is you get what you pay for.
I have seen some good(ish) reviews for the T2, mainly in comparison to the price, not aware of serious condensation issues though. The T2 is a budget tent and not high quality material or construction.
More expensive lightweight alternatives are Hilleberg Akto and Terra Nova Laser, mid range you could look at the Vango Helium (I use the 1 man helium, but the 2 man is not much more in terms of price and weight). Smaller bivvi styles could be considered, like the Jack Wolfskin Gossamer if you are going light and fast.
There are a number of tents by MSR, Mountain Equipment, North Face, Marmot, etc and everyone will have an opinion/favorite.
Beware of taking the published weight stats too seriously as they can vary considerably and often you need to replace the pegs from the ones provided, visit ALPKIT for their range of lightweight pegs that aren't too expensive. I did see a review, however, that the T2 was actually lighter than published!
Think you really have to consider what the priority is, weight, size, headroom, single/double skin, cost etc, and this will reduce the list significantly and give a couple of good viable alternatives.
Good luck,
Ming.
Posted: Wed, Jul 7, 2010, 16:43
Hi Tony,
My boyfriend and I hiked the GR20 from South-North in early June this year. As we are both relatively lightweight, we decided to invest in the MSR Carbon Reflex 2 (around 500 USD retail, but I got it on eBay for 349 :-)
I can highly recommend this tent! It weighs around 1.4 kg including footprint, and it is very easy to set up and take down. In addition, it proved to be very stable and the inner tent stayed completely dry the few nights we experienced heavy rainfall.
I do not have experience with any of the other tents on the market, but I found that the Carbon Reflex tent is well worth its price tag in weight and quality.
Best wishes,
Lizette
Posted: Wed, Jul 14, 2010, 22:06
Hi Tony,
Given that most pitches are on rocky sites, I would recommend that you go for a geodesic design. It can be a real pain trying to pitch a tent that requires pegging out tight on rock or snow!
The North Face Tadpole is a good two person tent, and not too heavy at 2.3kg. It is self supporting and hasn't escaped yet with a couple of lardy trekkers holding it down!!
Cheers,
Simon
Posted: Thu, Jul 15, 2010, 17:01
Hi Tony,
Whichever tent you choose I'd recommend that each person carries a Karrimat or similar and puts it under the tent to protect the groundsheet. I've just completed the walk using a Terra Nova Voyager Super Light tent (1.5kg) and a Thermarest Neoair mattress, both performed really well but several of the pitches are on hard earth covered in small stones and I was always nervous of a tear/puncture as these lightweight materials are not very robust and I feel that having piece of mind would more than justify the weight, it's the one thing I regretted not having taken with me. I carried half a dozen titanium "nail" type pegs and they proved their worth on the harder pitches.
Slainte,
Bruce.
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Posted: Sun, Jun 20, 2010, 9:38