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australia:tents_coolnights

comparison of full nylon 2P and 3P tents for colder nights

comparison some of the best freestanding full fabric 2P tents in 2021

feature Sea to Summit Telos TR2 PLUS MacPac Apollo Mont Dragonfly Exped Orion II
price on sale $AU879 $AU349-397 $AU999 $AU1199
season usage 3+ season 3-4 season 4 season and still great in summer 4 season and still good in summer although consider Extreme version with silnylon UV fly
best for.. ultralight hiking in warm or cool areas tough design great for 2x schoolkids or car camping; alpine hiking; very spacious all purpose tent although there are lighter options for most hiking needs; tall people; 1-2 adults hiking; unprotected sites eg. Iceland, alpine base camps; high rain/wind cool-cold climate areas; car camping for those with bad backs
weight 1.7kg 2.8kg 2.65kg 3.2kg
packed size 13 x 13 x 48cm 56 x 21cm 44x18cm + 45cm poles 42 x 16cm
storm / wind proofing ?good very good excellent excellent
livability in prolonged rain 1P dubious, inner space the smallest; OK excellent as spacious, waterproof floor and zip ceiling vents excellent thanks to large vestibules and doors
set up in rain without inner wet yes no yes with footprint? yes
pole attachment clipped 2 threaded to inner; velcro to fly; clipped all threaded
poles 8.5 and 9.0mm 8.5mm T6 9.6mm DAC 9mm DAC
colours green or grey blue with white inner green with yellow inner red or green with yellow inner
inner tent 20D nylon with mesh ceiling vent and mesh upper part of doors 40D all nylon 20D all nylon (15D on 2020 model) 30D all nylon
floor 30D 8000mm floor 70D 10,000mm 70D, 25,000mm 70D 10,000mm
fly 15D silPeU 1200mm with apex vent silPU 1500mm with above door overhang vents 30D sil PU 2000mm with above door vents which align with inner vents which can allow nice bird hide capability 40D PU 1500mm with above door overhang vents (Extreme has SilNylon)
inner height 105cm 115cm 110cm 125cm
internal width 109 to 134cm 130cm 140cm 130cm
internal length 215cm 210cm 220cm 215cm
internal area 2.62sqm 2.86 sq.m 3.08sq.m 2.7sq.m
vestibule width 75cm ?75cm 70cm 95cm
vestibule area 1.6sq.m 1.8sq.m 2.3sq.m
ingress/egress good good good excellent
door size 100x100x88cm (approx) 130cm base x 83cm high
dual layer door NO, 2/3rds nylon, upper 1/3rd mesh full, rolls up to non-wind end full rolls up to upper/rear of tent full, rolls up to centre of tent
door position triangular base at end triangular starts at non-wind end central triangular base at bottom central D doors
door rain protection with fly open OK if pegged out OK if pegged out but need to bring a clamp to do so as no peg hole on the door that opens seems good but only if pegged out, less protection if folded fully back very good as deep vestibule overhang
ridge pole upward concave to give extra height to doors NONE std convex convex to ground
ability to open wind end vestibule yes, entire fly can be opened at each end and left attached in middle for fast closure if rain comes yes but no tie back so need to bring a clamp yes also has part way pegging options - half way at foot end on left and half way at head end on right, while 1/3rd the way on left head end and 1/3rd the way on right foot end; this allows for best vision out on left side with best wind chill protection to upper body on right side irrespective of which end is head end; no, unless remove ridge pole and use guy ropes
fully nylon sealed inner dust proof mode NO yes yes yes
zippable open inner vents only upper part doors? only doors doors and ceiling vents - all dual nylon/mesh only doors
can set up without fly yes and can also have fly attached in middle and ready to apply yes yes yes but more difficult and need guy ropes
can set up with fly only yes and can be used as Hangout sun shade mode with trekking poles to elevate one end no ?possibly with footprint yes, easy
extra features Hangout mode; fly can stay on in middle only; pack comes in 3 parts for sharing and also doubles as tent pockets and diffused holder for ceiling lamps; tough design for kids with proven durability to last over 20 years of hiking; poles pass through inner tent's tunnel attachment which can wear out over time and does prevent setting up with fly only; use as a bird hide; has most waterproof floor and the strongest poles which double cross; gear loft; 3 ceiling carabiners; asymmetric door zipping and vestibule pegging options so left side of head gives max. vision while right side gives maximum windchill protection to upper body when fabric on each of the doors is half unzipped irrespective of which end you have your head so if wind direction changes 180deg during the night you can just swap head position without need to rotate the tent; extra height for tall people; large doors; hybrid tunnel design with ridge pole to ground; gear loft;
potential cons may not be as stormproof or durable; much less spacious inside; a little heavy for everyday hiking; no vents apart from doors; not a lot of vestibule rain protection when open; only one ceiling carabiner, no gear loft; long pack size; a little heavy for everyday hiking; plastic clips might be an issue if stepped on; 2nd pole needs to feed through the plastic clips on 1st pole so need to pitch at home first to understand this; heaviest and most expensive of the 4; poles need to feed through tunnels of the fly thus can't be used without the fly;
other versions mesh version: $AU849 3P version Polaris NB. 2020 version only has 15D nylon inner; 2021 version has 20D; Extreme version has UV protected silnylon fly but gets saggy and takes longer to dry when wet; Orion III is a 3P version;
seems this tent is no longer stocked by MacPac Compared to full nylon Mont Moondance II, the Dragonfly is 10cm wider, stronger pole layout with shorter poles, larger vestibules with additional peg out options, 30D fly instead of 20D, 70D floor instead of 40D, more storm-proof, door are full dual mesh/nylon not just the upper half for greater ventilation options and is thus 560g heavier

other 2P full fabric tents

  • TarpTent StratoSpire Li solid inner version
    • dual trekking pole, fabric canopy tent with Dyneema, cuben fibre 8000mm waterhead fly but requires seam sealing
    • set up fly first to avoid inner getting wet in the rain; 1-oz Dyneema flooring;
    • under 850g; 0.96sq.m vestibules x 2; packs to 41 cm x 12 cm;
    • $US699
    • 1035g, dual trekking pole tent; $US339;
  • Marmot Fortress 2P
    • one door is full mesh and full fabric
    • other door is full fabric without mesh for bottom half then dual mesh/fabric top half
    • annoyingly, the ceiling vent does not have mesh to stop insects!
    • canopy 40D Polyester No-See-Um Mesh | 68D Polyester Taffeta
    • floor 70D Polyester Taffeta 2000mm
    • 1500mm fly
    • 9mm DAC poles; packed size 53.3 x 17.8cm ;
    • 2710g;
  • Marmot Fortress Ultralight 2-Person Tent
    • 600g lighter version to the above at 2110g
    • packed Size: 18 x 46 cm / 21 x 7.5 inches
    • 68d Polyester Taffeta 190T 2000mm floor
    • 68d 100% Polyester Taffeta 1500mm fly
    • 40d 100% Polyester No-See-Um Mesh
    • 68d 100% Polyester Taffeta inner
    • floor area: 2.97 m2; height 107cm;
    • $AU719
    • 3 season tent
    • 2 9.6mm DAC poles with a standard convex cross pole
    • 20D ripstop nylon inner with only top half of each door having dual mesh/nylon plus dual zippable ceiling vents
    • 20D silNylon 2000mm fly with dual ceiling vents
    • 40D 25,000mm waterhead floor
    • 2.09kg (2021 version is slightly heavier than previous version as uses 20D canopy instead of 15D)
    • 216 x 128 x 100cm high internal area 2.86 sq.m
    • 70cm vestibules
    • packed size 33 x 15cm? + 49cm poles
    • $AU879
    • US designed civilian version of their military tent to be a versatile, tough, durable 2P 3 and 4 season tent depending upon configuration
    • 70D tub floor on inner which is almost completely mesh attached to a the common 2 crossover aluminium pole system with transverse pole but in this case they all join in the middle at a hub
    • two large doors, 30D Multicam fly has a generous vestibule with 3“ wide storm flaps
    • 70D groundsheet
    • the AI version (“All-In”) includes the Cold Weather pack which has a full fabric windbreaker which encloses the inner mesh to convert it to a 4 season tent plus snow/sand stakes
    • 19”x8“ 500D heavy duty stuff sack
    • 4.4kg! $US586

3P full fabric tents

  • Exped Venus III DLX EX
    • 4 season, 4.9kg, extra large vestibule making it 4.45m long
    • 115cm high
    • $AU1995
  • Exped Orion III
    • 4 season, 3.6kg
    • build similar to Orion II above but 160cm wide and 140cm tall and total length 3.5m not 3.1m
    • $AU1299
  • Big Agnes Copper Spur Expedition HV 3
    • 4 season
    • 1200mm silnylon fly
    • minimal door mesh area so perhaps too warm for Australian summers
    • 10,000mm floor
    • 2.8kg
    • 229 x (158 to 178) x 104cm high
    • 76cm vestibules
    • packs to 51 x 20cm
    • $AU929
  • OnePlanet Goondie 3 Nylon
  • OnePlanet Wurley 3 snow
  • OnePlanet Wurley 3
  • MacPac Polaris
    • 3-4 season 3P version of MacPac Apollo aimed at school groups
    • 217 x 180 x 120cm high 3.6 sqm floor area
    • 75cm 0.8sq.m vestibules supported by ridge pole which extends to ground
    • 40D nylon inner
    • 1500mm PU fly
    • 70D PU 10,000mm waterhead floor
    • packs to 60 x 22cm
    • 3.53kg
    • $AU459 on special but seems to be discontinued - perhaps due to feedback on design problems
    • issues: fly touches inner which compromises rain proofing and the floor is not as waterproof as it could be according to reviews, and can't pitch inner taut; when opening the fly door during rain, the water runs into the inner tent; fly zip constantly gets caught in the storm flap;
  • Marmot Fortress 3P
australia/tents_coolnights.txt · Last modified: 2023/01/03 23:50 by gary1

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