Looking for Tent Feedback

[Johnnycakes]

I'm thinking about adding another tent to my collection. I'm looking for a fairly light 2-person tent that can also be pitched with the fly only (and a footprint) in case I want to travel very light.

Anyone have experience with nylon vs. polyester rain flys? I understand that polyester is supposed to be better as it is less affected by humidity (taughter pitch under broader range of conditions) and less affected by UV.

Anyone have any preference/hindsight with regards to tent entrance? Do you prefer entrance along the length of tent, or along width of tent? I'm leaning towards the entrance along the length of the tent because it seems like it would make cooking in the rain easier, and still allow room to get in and out of tent with the stove going just outside the door.

How beneficial is a second tent entrance?

How about continuous pole sleeves? I'm leaning toward pole sleeves vs. clips. It seems like a tent with pole sleeves would be easier and quicker to set up, especially the tents with pole stops at one end of the pole sleeve.

I'm also leaning towards a tent that can be packed up with the rainfly attached, to make for even easier pitching (especially if it's raining). Has anyone had a tent like this, and how beneficial was this feature?

Any feedback on tents using hub/pole configurations, such as the MSR Hubba Hubba or the Big Agnes Seedhouse Superlight? It seems like these tents would be somewhat cumbersome to set up.

 

[jbreen]

I'm in the same position...

I will take nothing but a polyester fly this time -- my old tent fly is stretched, sags, and touches the tent in the rain, cutting off some air circulation.
Dead-end pole sleeves to speed set-up are a want (not need).
I like the attached fly idea -- could have used that on more that a few occasions.

My very first tent had two doors and while I miss having them, no tent I've had since then had it. Two doors were great for for nightly exits though.

Jim

 

[rondak46]

I have two side doors....

.... on my TNF Talus. I really like the pair of doors.

Mike

 

[Rick]

Jcakes -
I do like tents with poly flies better than standard pu coated nylon, but some tent makers have been going to the ultralightweigth syl-nylon, but I don't know the stretchability of the nylon (I have a new BD betalight syl-nylon tarptent, but haven;t tested it except for 35 mph winds gusitng to 50.

As for the side entrance, I am currently doing a gear test for ALPS Mystique 2.0 with 2 side entries. My first impressions are that I don't like the tent materals or construction, though I really like the side entry over my other front entry tents (Timberlite, Gossamer, JW Soloist, and Kelty Windfoil 2). I found with my hiking pole I can create 2 very large porches where the air flows through the tent very well. Ther eis also much more room to sit and take your boots off and then swivel your feet around into your bag.

As for continous pole sleeves (CPS) , they cut down on the breathability of the tent and I honestly tyhink they take a little longer, even when sewn shut at one end. My Kelty WF2 offers the above, along with the ability to keep fly clipped to tent and set it up together. The CPS make the tent more sturdy and wind resistant and offer a better curve inside for headroom but it takes longer to take the tent down as you need to unthread the poles (pushing them through from the closed end, but the nylon mesh tends to always bunch up at each pole section.

The times I have set my tent up as one unit, something always gets twisted backwards or upside down and I spend 5 minutes unclipping and reclipping (a real pain in the dark) trying to figure it out.
I now keep the fly separate from the body as I find it to be a quicker setup when done separately.

If you are looking for 4S, then definitely the pole sleeves make for a stronger tent, if you are looking for 3S, I would stick with clips - Lighter, faster and allows air to circulate between the tent and fly much better.

Good luck