Unicorn xmid

[Jakey]

Stormstar looks quite an interesting tent. A few things to point out (which I’m sure you have considered) but you did mention being a problem with other tents you owned:

- Footprint size. The Storm Star is massive and considerably larger surface area than the Nallo and many other tunnel tents.
- Weight is nearly 2.7kg. Am I correct in remembering that you have ruled out tents 1/2kg lighter?
- Pack size will probably be fairly substantial…..

I think I recall that you liked the Helm 2 but it was heavy (2.4kg) and bulky?

The Kuiu does look a great option for winter base camp though

 

[Jww]

Yeah I did, but then I started looking at the unna which they list as 2046g, plus foot print, poss 10mm poles(way down the line) and it goes up n up

They say 2.4 plus pegs, I use Easton




xmid 2 is 83"x100" for reference, the unna is a skinny mini @ 90"x43"

im planning to take a leaf out of @dovidola book and pack in the outer pocket like the scarp

thats the plan, luckily its free to list on ebay now

 

[Jakey]

They say 2.4 plus pegs, I use Easton

My Unna is 2365g *with* pegs and 10mm poles included

 

[BogTrotter]

From what I recall of condensation issues, wasn’t it the case that an inner stuck to the canopy making it useless?

Greater internal volume, doors and vents would reduce condensation, a full footprint and a tight inner will help too. Probably being self standing without geometry issues will be a great advantage.

Fact is, most lightweight tents compromise on the thickness and durability of materials. Weight wise, many ‘older’ tents would be viable competition but now, just not available for order.

 

[Jww]

My Unna is 2365g *with* pegs and 10mm poles included

mines same when i use sky hooks....

 

[Jww]

From what I recall of condensation issues, wasn’t it the case that an inner stuck to the canopy making it useless?

Greater internal volume, doors and vents would reduce condensation, a full footprint and a tight inner will help too. Probably being self standing without geometry issues will be a great advantage.

Fact is, most lightweight tents compromise on the thickness and durability of materials. Weight wise, many ‘older’ tents would be viable competition but now, just not available for order.

yeah i had pitching issues with xmids, due to awkward pitching sites, found they needed a fairly flat pitch to get them perfect.

how ever friday was a cold still night, so no matter how many vents there would of still been wet

 

[dovidola]

Enjoy the Stormstar, and come back to the Scarp when you want to cut some weight.

Then, pay a hypnotist to teach you "I am happy with my tent".

 

[WildAboutWalking]

Condensation is just one of those things that happens from time to time, a minor inconvenience at worst.

 

[Jww]

scarp is a good tent, wont deny that. not sold on the ultra stuff just yet.

 

[dovidola]

scarp is a good tent, wont deny that. not sold on the ultra stuff just yet.

Nor am I - Ultra fabric looks fantastic but it has yet to stand the test of time, unlike silnylon. I'm generally sceptical of the next great new thing, which more often than not proves rather less wonderful than promised. Air Fryers still seem to be wowing folk though...

It's a bit like a car. No matter how exhaustive the testing by the manufacturer, there's simply no substitute for a couple of years' everyday driving by your avarage car (ab)user for teasing out the inherent faults. I prefer not to be the guinea pig. Better the devil you know, etc etc

 

[Chrissie Pebbles]

???
Very surprised. Had they used the corner guylines?

My Niak has never folded in on itself...

 

[Jww]

So decided to load my pack up as if the kuiu was here



2l on one side the 600ml on the other to give the impression of tent and poles, also filled the bag with my winter sleep system, and as many extras as I could to get the weight up to the 9.1kg.

Had a weigh on the scales and it was correct. Carried fine tbh

Hopefully a happy compromise

 

[little1large1]

You got the Oil out or most of it ?

 

[Chrissie Pebbles]

I suspect cuprajake is referring to me in that "I was told the niak would be a condensation magnet"...

Well, I happen to be correct and I would never use it in cold/wet environs.

I also stated:

"Of course, there are times when any tent will be drenched by heavy condensation.

But there are also plenty of times when it can be greatly mitigated if there is a breeze - good site selection and a well vented shelter (ideally 2 doors) makes a significant difference"

Let's see how Stormstar goes. I have one; it suits certain conditions well....

The Niak is a cool tent compared to something like a Nallo, but I love my Niak and have never had anything worse with it than any other tent, and certainly nothing that caused me any problems, and the only condition I haven't used it in, is snow. I wouldn't plan to put a heavy snow loading on it. The worst condensation I can ever remember in a tent, was our Allak3 just this last weekend, but even then a wipe down with a microfibre cloth, a really good shake, and a reasonably careful 'folding' before packing, and it was fine to use again the next night. As you say, there are ways of mitigating against stuff and dealing with stuff - part of the whole backpacking experience to be honest. I don't believe any shelter is perfect, we have to find what works for us 99% of the time, and deal with the other 1% (or whatever % you think you're dealing with...)

 

[Jww]

You got the Oil out or most of it ?

Yeah most of it, used wd40 as suggested, which got the majority of the stain out.

 

[mjh]

ive sought counsel from so many people, its hard to keep up,

most think i probably jump in, but there's many hours spent reading, speaking with people, researching stuff, carefully working out weights pro/cons, it may seem dismissive but i do try whats recommended, it doesn't always suit but till you try it you can never say for certain.

But that is part of your problem - you probably spend far more time than most on research but you never give yourself time to gain experience…as it tends to be one or two uses and then you’re done. Stop that cycle and you’ll be in a far better position. Even if you’re only losing a bit on each transaction of buy/sell that will all mount up but I’d argue the financial side isn’t half as important as just getting out there with one tent and learning how to use it/ what conditions it works in and what it doesn’t.

That way you will actually learn from your experience and be in a much better position to know if you *actually* need a 4 season tent for X/Y/Z conditions. And what to do if the conditions change on you.

 

[BogTrotter]

But that is part of your problem - you probably spend far more time than most on research but you never give yourself time to gain experience…as it tends to be one or two uses and then you’re done. Stop that cycle and you’ll be in a far better position. Even if you’re only losing a bit on each transaction of buy/sell that will all mount up but I’d argue the financial side isn’t half as important as just getting out there with one tent and learning how to use it/ what conditions it works in and what it doesn’t.

That way you will actually learn from your experience and be in a much better position to know if you *actually* need a 4 season tent for X/Y/Z conditions. And what to do if the conditions change on you.

I disagree.

If a product doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. The last thing I’d want to be is the compromise in order to make it work.

I think there’s far too much emotional involvement in ‘gear stuff’ than sheer practicalities.

It’s been interesting following this thread for its ruthless honesty.

 

[mjh]

I disagree.

If a product doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. The last thing I’d want to be is the compromise in order to make it work.

I think there’s far too much emotional involvement in ‘gear stuff’ than sheer practicalities.

I think you’re missing my point ie that if you don’t have enough knowledge or experience how do you know something doesn’t work. Anyway what tents don’t work

For Jake’s use most “proper” tents (ie from recognised manufacturers) will have some form of functionality ie they will provide some degree of shelter from wind and rain. Will they all be perfect? No but they don’t need to be and a fruitless search for the perfect unicorn tent ends up where we are today with lots of suggestions and ultimately frustration going round in circles.

I agree with you about practicalities vs emotion. I don’t see a tent as something to get emotional about! They are inanimate objects to do a job.

 

[Jww]

Depends what you class as 4 season

I'd guess most of us don't need a tent that can take 2ft of snow fall,

How ever we do need a tent that can regularly take 25-40mph winds

Does that mean most 3 season tents are out the window? Or do we technically need a 4 season shelter for it's strength?

And while I've not ventured as far as many I've found it's not always easy to find a protected pitch.

Scarp had 3 camps, that's probably a tent I would compromise on, but it did have a 250g quint craft footprint fitted which put it around 1600g. Plus pegs

Had I not liked the scarp it would have been binned off after the first use, it's another reason I tried so many xmids as they offer cracking space.

I'm lucky in the fact the rest of my kit is light weight, so even with such a heavy tent my load isn't huge,

I have the trailstar, a lanshan inner has just come for it, that makes it about 1kg plus pegs, poles and a dcf ground sheet,

I also have the tarp xmid which is ridiculously light at 360g plus 232bivy, poles pegs and dcf ground sheet

This last year I've had one night that I had a few bugs, bar that I've had no bug issues because it's been raining or blowing a gale

 

[little1large1]

I agree it's a great post, and I feel the same I see nothing at all wrong with buying stuff trying it and then getting shot of it, if a person's budget allows this, I think many more people more than likely would use this approach maybe, also it's a Forum people have there favourite go to brands from everything to an sleep pad to spoon to a shelter, again nothing wrong with that, also unless people are forthcoming you may never actually know there experiences and then it's easy to judge. I think it's universally accepted there isn't a "Messiah" shelter out there, and ultimately they are all fairly similar, with certain tweaks here and there.

From my reading of here and in Jakes own words he has been in this hobby a year? I wonder how many of the "vintage" lot would if given the chance when they started do exactly the same thing? But it would have been much harder with far less choice of course, and of course there would be no "Trek lite" to bounce ideas off one another.

Anyway all good fun and I look forward to the next episode and brutal (in his opinion) review.

 

[mjh]

Depends what you class as 4 season

I'd guess most of us don't need a tent that can take 2ft of snow fall,

How ever we do need a tent that can regularly take 25-40mph winds

Does that mean most 3 season tents are out the window? Or do we technically need a 4 season shelter for it's strength?

And while I've not ventured as far as many I've found it's not always easy to find a protected pitch.

4 season - not really unless camping in snowy conditions winter for extended periods and unavoidable weather conditions. Most of the time in the UK a genuine 4 season tent is overkill. As an aside I suspect there are some tents marketed as 4 season that I wouldn’t trust in genuine heavy snowy conditions!

3 season - absolutely not necessary for them not to be considered. The consequences and likelihood of failure need to be considered. I’d be fairly amazed if any/many of the tents you’d tried couldn’t manage 25mph winds and I doubt they are as regular (or high) as you might imagine. But that comes back to what happens if they did fail - you’d have an unpleasant night or you’d have to pack up and either find somewhere more sheltered or go home.

 

[Jww]

It does look a bomber shelter and agree probably more than I need,

9.3mm poles 3 of, hilleberg style external clipping system. Dual zips,

Stupid glow in the dark rams head

 

[Jww]

4 season - not really unless camping in snowy conditions winter for extended periods and unavoidable weather conditions. Most of the time in the UK a genuine 4 season tent is overkill. As an aside I suspect there are some tents marketed as 4 season that I wouldn’t trust in genuine heavy snowy conditions!

3 season - absolutely not necessary for them not to be considered. The consequences and likelihood of failure need to be considered. I’d be fairly amazed if any/many of the tents you’d tried couldn’t manage 25mph winds and I doubt they are as regular (or high) as you might imagine. But that comes back to what happens if they did fail - you’d have an unpleasant night or you’d have to pack up and either find somewhere more sheltered or go home.

Yeah but why put yourself in that position, been out 3 times in succession were the winds have been over 25mph with stronger gusts.

I'd rather not have to try and navigate the side of a hill by head torch

 

[Jww]

@Mole

Before you said something about the duomid XL, and I kinda glossed over it,

When I pitched and the windward side was bowing in, can you explain more Vs the other mids you were saying about


Cheers

 

[BogTrotter]

I think you’re missing my point ie that if you don’t have enough knowledge or experience how do you know something doesn’t work. Anyway what tents don’t work

If I got wet in a tent, or it wet my stuff, or I had difficulty pitching it in wind, or it was a pain to pitch because of geometry then it would be fair to say it didn’t work. Trying it twice wouldn’t fix those things, only some sort of intervention.

Buying things that don’t work shouldn’t be the norm.