M. Wagenbach wrote: > > Ralph, > > What don't you like about the Zephyr XT? I am currently leaning towards that > one, though the new Moss Hooped Outland is tempting, mainly because it's US-made. Nothing really except weight. I am into as lightweight camping as possible with the criteria being simply this: Can I carry my disassembled kayak, camping gear and food for a week as well as normal day paddling stuff like PFD, emergency kit, paddle, etc. and do so all on public transportation _without_ resorting to a cart. So every pound counts in this mindset. The Zephyr as it is raised me nearly a pound over my original kit that had a simpy bivy tent...but its ease of setup, freestanding aspect and sit-up headroom seemed to justify the extra pound. The XT version of the Zephyr adds yet another pound or so with its two vestibules and other material. So I just am drawing a weight limit. BTW, that criteria of pretending you had to carry your boat et al is a good one to start with for lightweight camping and then starting to allow slowly some extra poundage. Less weight means less of a load to paddle, a livelier boat, and less to haul back and forth from the landing spot to where you have set up your camp. > Here in RainyWorld, I hate to consider anything without a vestibule, though > I am trying to convince myself that a minimal tent with a tarp hung in front > of it if not moving camp each day would be better. I tend to consider tarps > as "free" gear, since they can be carried on deck with little concern for > salt-saturation, stability or loss. That is my philosophy. My camping list includes a lightweight tarp, in this case the Eureka annex, which is meant to mate with some of its tent (not the Zephyrs) but could be placed strategically with other tents as a quasi-vestibule or be free-standing away from your tent. It comes with one pole and can be rigged with a paddle or a tree to be fully functioning separately from a tent. > > Does anyone have any idea how the fly on the Zephyrs stands up to wind and > rain? The illustration I have doesn't tell me anything about what holds > up the peak of the Zephyr's or the scoop vent of the XT's. I have not tried it in heavy winds. I have no doubt that at 40 knot winds it might have a rough time. But when facing such winds, the only thing that holds up is somehthing like the Northface VE's. I recall a trip that I wasn't on when savage winds blew through a kayak campsite and trashed all the tents except one of those Northfaces. Its occupants woke in the morning from a restful night of sleep wondering what happened to all the other tents!!! Lightweight means sacrifice or some foresight as to where you pitch your tent, etc. ralph > > Mike Wagenbach > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Apr 23 1999 - 14:23:31 PDT
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