What tents are you guys using?

[ZeroBike]

What do you all think of the scarp 2?

http://www.tarptent.com/scarp2.html

I take it that noone has one but does anyone have an opinion on t based on anything they have heard?

[jags]

like it to be a bit taller ,looks to be a great tent but not for me .The Tee Pee tent seems the best of the bunch only thing i would like the bottom of it to be much closer to the ground.
GREAT TO BE ABLE TO SIT UP INSIDE AND COOK .

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product583.asp?PageID=126
what do you guys think of this.

[ZeroBike]

like it to be a bit taller ,looks to be a great tent but not for me .The Tee Pee tent seems the best of the bunch only thing i would like the bottom of it to be much closer to the ground.
GREAT TO BE ABLE TO SIT UP INSIDE AND COOK .

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product583.asp?PageID=126
what do you guys think of this.

4.5KG!!!!!

How do these Tee Pee (or Wigwam's as they were known when I was child!) fair in high winds, i.e. Scotland or somewhere like that?

[jags]

well the indians never had a problem with them.

[Danneaux]

I take it that noone has one but does anyone have an opinion on t based on anything they have heard?

<nods> Yes, sorry, Zero. It looks like a nice tent from what I could see in the ad copy, but I have no firsthand experience. If I find some reviews on the 'Net I will send the links your way.

GREAT TO BE ABLE TO SIT UP INSIDE AND COOK

Ohhh, jags...you've just described my greatest touring fear: Cooking in the tent. For awhile, I worked ancillary to the medical field and for 3.5 years was a hospital outpatient myself and so was in contact with hospital burn patients...sadly, many got there by cooking in tents. Long before that, I made it a Golden Rule for myself to not cook in the tent...or under an overhanging flysheet while in the tent, so I instead stand around outside in the pouring rain while clad in my rain jacket, rain dripping off my nose while I tend my stove and cook my meals. I then sometimes retire to the tent to eat, but no cooking inside. To make it a hard-and-fast rule, I use a 1-person tent to remove temptation (no room for a stove inside).

I realize this is an individual quirk of mine, but having repeatedly seen the results of what can happen in a moment...well, it put me off, so I still feel duty bound to offer the general caution to use real care if you cook inside. Stoves can flare unexpectedly (even cartridge types that are usually reliable as can be), or a foot can accidentally knock the pot off the stove leaving the flame to rise... and most tents don't have a second door, so one has to escape through the fire. Just a well-meant "be careful if y'do" from me.

All the best,

Dan. (...who seems to have only one phobia, and this is it)

[Danneaux]

Hi Zero!

Here are some targeted links to reviews of the Tarptent Scarp 2; the first is targeted toward use while bike touring, and may prove the most helpful to you. There is a YouTube video review in the links as well, and a comparison to the Hilleberg Akto:
http://velophileaustralia.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/user-review-tarptent-scarp-2-lightweight-all-season-tent-for-cycle-touring/
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=21884
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8FP4z0elk
http://alanrayneroutdoors.blogspot.com/2010/11/scarp-2-first-impressions.html
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4091&start=30

Hope this helps.

Best,

Dan.

[rualexander]

<nods> Yes, sorry, Zero. It looks like a nice tent from what I could see in the add copy, but I have no firsthand experience. If I find some reviews on the 'Net I will send the links your way.Ohhh, jags...you've just described my greatest touring fear: Cooking in the tent. For awhile, I worked ancillary to the medical field and for 3.5 years was a hospital outpatient myself and so was in contact with hospital burn patients...sadly, many got there by cooking in tents. Long before that, I made it a Golden Rule for myself to not cook in the tent...or under an overhanging flysheet while in the tent, so I instead stand around outside in the pouring rain while clad in my rain jacket, rain dripping off my nose while I tend my stove and cook my meals. I then sometimes retire to the tent to eat, but no cooking inside. To make it a hard-and-fast rule, I use a 1-person tent to remove temptation (no room for a stove inside).

I realize this is an individual quirk of mine, but having repeatedly seen the results of what can happen in a moment...well, it put me off, so I still feel duty bound to offer the general caution to use real care if you cook inside. Stoves can flare unexpectedly (even cartridge types that are usually reliable as can be), or a foot can accidentally knock the pot off the stove leaving the flame to rise... and most tents don't have a second door, so one has to escape through the fire. Just a well-meant "be careful if y'do" from me.

All the best,

Dan. (...who seems to have only one phobia, and this is it)

Don't forget the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning from using a stove inside a tent.

[jags]

yes dodgy right enough but i would be sitting inside cooker outside i dont like the idea of getting fried inside my tent.

[jags]

Hi Zero!

Here are some targeted links to reviews of the Tarptent Scarp 2; the first is targeted toward use while bike touring, and may prove the most helpful to you. There is a YouTube video review in the links as well, and a comparison to the Hilleberg Akto:
http://velophileaustralia.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/user-review-tarptent-scarp-2-lightweight-all-season-tent-for-cycle-touring/
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=21884
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8FP4z0elk
http://alanrayneroutdoors.blogspot.com/2010/11/scarp-2-first-impressions.html
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4091&start=30

Hope this helps.

Best,

Dan.

i stoppen watching as soon as the guy said you have to seam seal it yourself that would be a big no no for for me.

[Danneaux]

you have to seam seal it yourself that would be a big no no for for me.

I seem to take a belt-and-braces approach and seam-seal the outsides of even my taped seams. Absent taped seams, I seal both the inside and outside, and inspect the tent bottom and flysheet at the start of every season, doing touch-up as necessary.

It beats being unexpectedly wet, but -- My! -- it sure is a hassle; agreed!

I do notice the Scarp 2 uses siliconized nylon, with which I have had mixed results. It is extremely light, can be user reapplied/reactivated, and doesn't rot/mildew as quickly or in the same way as urethane coatings. Those can be big pluses. However, I've noticed it does have drawbacks, depending...:

• The inner surface is really slick, so if one camps on a slope, it is possible to awaken on the other side of the tent, having slid there.
• In heavy downpours and wind-driven rain, there can be some "misting" inside.
• The silicone can transfer to sleeping bags, pads/mats, and fingers...the last being of issue if you are a contact-lens wearer; it changes the surface tension at the lens and tears bead up instead of spreading smoothly across the lens -- ouch. This was a problem for me, and has caused me to also avoid siliconized-nylon stuff sacks and compression sacks as well. The MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets) for similar silicone fabric treatments state it can remain in the outer dermal layers of skin/fingers for as much as 90 days after direct contact and is transferable, so protective gloves are advised for contact-lens wearers. Not a problem for most, but it seemed worth noting if contact lenses are in use. Most people never think about it as a source of lens discomfort. A touring partner found the more he toured, the redder his eyes became and the more uncomfortable his contacts. Once he replaced his tent with one that used urethane-based waterproofing on floor and flysheet -- problem solved.

Contact lenses aside, siliconized fabrics have opened up a whole range of ultralight design possibilities for outdoors gear, and can be an appropriate choice if the drawbacks aren't a problem for your own use.

All the best,

Dan.

[bikepacker]

jags. I think this would be a better tent for you. http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product615.asp?PageID=36
Bob at Backpackinglight rates it highly.

I may get one to try but at the moment I have a Shangri La 3 on the way to me and an Oooworks nest http://oookworks.com/index.php being made as I write.

[jags]

Cheers bikepacker looks good like to see a video on it though has it an inner attached pitch all in  one.
hope the bigger tent works out for you it looks  great ,is that the same tent that guy Steve had at watlington also one of the ladys has one   jean i think .

[ZeroBike]

• The inner surface is really slick, so if one camps on a slope, it is possible to awaken on the other side of the tent, having slid there.

I have seen this mentioned in forums about the Scarp people recommend putting some spots of silicone onto the floor so that you wont slide around.

[Danneaux]

the Scarp people recommend putting some spots of silicone onto the floor so that you wont slide around.

<nods> Yes, this helps greatly and is a recommended task before much use.

Best,

Dan.

[ZeroBike]

i stoppen watching as soon as the guy said you have to seam seal it yourself that would be a big no no for for me.

Apparently you can pay extra to have it done in the factory but TBH having to seam seal a tent it wouldn't put me off it.

People say that its common place to have to seal tents yourself if you buy them from small manufacturers, the reason being that they simply dont have the space to put the tents up and have them dry out after they are seam sealed.  In order for manufacturers to do that they need significantly bigger premises.  So I have been told that its not unusual for small manufacturers to reduce costs by not seam sealing in the factory.