australia:tents_coolnights
comparison of full nylon 2P and 3P tents for colder nights
see also:
- Remote Equipment Repairs - tent and camping repairs Hoppers Crossing, Melbourne
- I don't sell any of these nor do I receive any remuneration if you buy them, and I have not personally reviewed all of them, they are listed here to give you perspective
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;
- $AU259 on clearance special; https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/marmot-fortress-hiking-tent-2-person-tangelo-grey
- 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
- 4 season
- 30D silnylon fly
- 100D 5000mm floor
- doors are half nylon half mesh
- 225 x 145 x 106cm high with total length 3.75m
- vestibules 82.5cm
- 2.73kg
- $AU919
- OnePlanet Wurley 3 snow
- 4 season education tent
- 75D fly with snow valances
- 210D 5000mm PU floor
- 225 x 195 x 106 cm high total 3.75m long
- 3.9kg
- $AU799
- OnePlanet Wurley 3
- 4 season education tent
- 75D fly
- 210D 5000mm PU floor
- 225 x 195 x 106 cm high total 3.75m long
- 3.5kg
- $AU649
- 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
- 1500mm fly
- 40D inner with top vent and half-mesh doors
- 68D 2000mm floor
- 70cm vestibules
- internal 219 x 158 x 117cm high total 3.24m long
- 2.89kg
- packs to 56 x 20cm
- $AU494
australia/tents_coolnights.txt · Last modified: 2023/01/03 23:50 by gary1