"Best winter inner" inside an Octopeak

[Patrick]

I've had it in mind that I'd like a half inner for my Octopeak for a while, but the Luxe one saves almost no weight over the full size inner. The "Best winter tent setup" thread set me wondering if this 3F inner from Aliexpress would do the job, and so when they came back in stock this Autumn I ordered one. It arrived a week or so ago and today I had a chance to pitch it in the garden.

It does work well. The base of the central pole needs to be offset to one side by about 10cm, but it doesn't look as if that's going to be a major problem. Other than that it fits well and gives plenty of space for two with a really huge vestibule for cooking etc in. The T door setup is better than the Luxe J zip arrangement, allowing two people to sit side by side in the entrance to the inner, and to stand up there using the full headroom of the outer. Unlike with the full-size inner, this setup pitches outer first. I think this is going to be a perfect setup for bad weather for two of us, at about 1.1kg per person. I think we'd even squeeze two adults and a child inside.

It just needed longer strings put on the corners to reach over the outer's pegs, and obviously a string on the apex to reach to the top of the pole. I might sew loops onto the seams to mate with the toggles halfway up the Octopeak's seams to stop the sides sagging, but certainly in the garden it makes a nice taught pitch with little sag anyway.

I accept this isn't "ultralight", but shared between two of us I think this is a good weight, particularly for the amount of space we get.

 

[Odd Man]

Looks like your Winter Inner is a W/inner!

Wow. You could park a small Japanese car in there.

 

[dovidola]

I like it. A 2P tent you can stand up in with full size separate living room and bedroom at under 2kg without stakes. UL goes glamping.
Luxe really needs to lighten up all its inners - I believe it's costing them sales.

 

[el manana]

Love that @Patrick , who needs a bothy!

 

[Stuart]

As a slight variation on this idea, I'm (still) looking into a good option for us a family (2 adults, one 9 yr old).

I'm wondering if putting a square large 4 person Ali inner in a large 8 sided or 6 sided tent, either a Luxe or an Ali one, would work? Anyone tried this?

I really want a porch space for storing gear and cooking in bad weather and the standard 4 person inner plus tent doesn't leave any porch to speak of.

 

[Patrick]

I've wondered about this too. However, I'm not sure you'd get any more usable porch space with the square Ali inners than you do with the Luxe one. The dimensions, from memory, look to be similar to the Luxe along the two straight sides - the sides which face the doors in the Octopeak - and the other two sides simply have the point cut off, creating unused and inaccessible space at each side, but porches front and back which are very similar to the Luxe version.

I'd agree the lack of porch is the biggest failing of the Octopeak. What we have tried with some success is making an open porch by lifting both sides of the zipped opening and fixing a triangle of tarp between to make a roof. Gives a reasonable space to cook under, though I've always shut it back down at night. I put a picture of the arrangement up a while ago - here, by the look of it.

[Edit - Incidentally, there is actually space for two adults and a typical nine year old - ie two full length sleeping mats and one short one - side by side in the Ali "two person" inner in the pictures at the top of this thread. You can see how the two 50 x 180cm foil mats in the picture are a long way off covering all the floor. It would be pretty cosy with three but, given that you've then got a huge porch to leave all your stuff in, doable...]

 

[Klaus E. Werner]

@Stuart & Patrick:
Similar situation here. I resolved it by getting a (slightly smallish) Astagear Whisperwind aka LocusGear Khufu to my set of tents - and our 9yo is happy with his own tent now!
Not much weight penalty, and tranquil nights

 

[Stuart]

I've done a bit of rough geometry and the only way I can see my idea working would be a 2.4m sq inner inside the huge 3.7m Knot Octo but that implies a very big footprint.

I'm not sure I'd be happy with the three of us inside the Ali inner in the original post. And I'm not sure our son is ready to go in his own tent alone yet. But then they surprise us all the time...

I think the search continues.

 

[Patrick]

I suppose the other option if there are only three of you inside a normal Octopeak is to unpeg one corner of the inner by the door when you want more cooking / vestibule space. You could then pull the inner floor back while still sitting in the inner's door to cook etc.

I think the Octopeak is a great tent. We use it with five of us inside, two adults and three teenagers - which is cosy(!), but works. Adding it up over various trips the five of us spent over a month of 2019 inside it. I think it would be a spacious and reasonably light choice for three.

 

[cathyjc]

I Adding it up over various trips the five of us spent over a month of 2019 inside it. I think it would be a spacious and reasonably light choice for three.

Making how many £'s p/p/n ??
My guess is the economy looks very good too .

 

[Patrick]

Making how many £'s p/p/n ??

Ah yes, I hadn't thought of doing that particular sum! Calling it £2 ppn makes it seem a very good buy, doesn't it - I'm feeling less guilty about what was our most expensive tent purchase to date already

 

[stonemonkey]

I suppose the other option if there are only three of you inside a normal Octopeak is to unpeg one corner of the inner by the door when you want more cooking / vestibule space. You could then pull the inner floor back while still sitting in the inner's door to cook etc.

I think the Octopeak is a great tent. We use it with five of us inside, two adults and three teenagers - which is cosy(!), but works. Adding it up over various trips the five of us spent over a month of 2019 inside it. I think it would be a spacious and reasonably light choice for three.

Bloody hell!! you get 3 teenagers inside it with 2 adults? well done... i cant even get my teenager in a tent, just doesnt want to know.

its all about make up and having an internet connection... sadly, and no my kids dont live with me, im just a part time dad really, have them twice a week, im sure things would be different if i had access more often in the early years.

 

[Enzo]

I ordered the 3.7m knot Oct but it was never sent and Yuki took my money
Plan was to use 2 X 2p 1.2m wide knot inners in there, would give space for cooking etc