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. 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. 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. 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hey all, regarding small tents. Be sure and test the length of the tent when shopping. I have an older NF Starlight 2(ha!) person tent which is about six inches too short. Under normal conditions, this is just annoying. When it is storming out,the end of my sleeping bag gets soaked from being in contact with the end of the tent. Last year I got a great deal on a Sierra Designs Lookout (http://www.campmor.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgrfnbr=447 62&cgmenbr=226) which is a massive three person, three/four season tent. I love it for kayaking because it is just so *huge*. I can ply racquetball in the thing. I save the ultralight packing for hiking. -Patrick *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Patrick Maun wrote: > Be sure and test the length of the tent when > shopping. I have an older NF Starlight 2(ha!) person tent which is > about six inches too short. I believe it is a law of the universe that all tents are six inches too short. They design them for the average person, forgetting that that ignores the half of the population that are taller. I gave up trying to find a two-person tent that is long enough for me. I bought a North Face Expedition 25 three-person tent that is nine feet long (oval dome design).. It's a bombproof mountaineering tent that's great for Amie and I. It, like all serious four season tents, doesn't have great ventilation for really hot nights. On the other hand, when the wind is howling you can set up in the open and enjoy a good night's sleep while the others cower in the woods and battle the mosquitoes. You won't easily get this into a small kayak hatch either. I've split it into three stuffsacks (tent, fly, poles and stuff) and the tent stuffsack is compressed. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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/ ***************************************************************************
Wow, Ralph. You folding boat guys ARE weird! I don't think I've ever been on a trip where anybody could carry all their gear to the beach in one trip, let alone their boat. I only care about getting a smaller tent so that I have room for the telescope AND the tripod. To paraphrase Beavis and Butthead: If I wanted to worry about weight, I'd go backpacking. Mike Wagenbach Let every student of nature take this as a rule--that whatever his mind seizes and dwells upon with peculiar satisfaction is to be held in suspicion. -Francis Bacon *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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