Abandoning the RTT for a ground tent...
- Thread starter Viggen
- Start date
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
I get Cabelas catalogs at home a lot.
They have a slew of different style tents.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...at20075&parentType=category&parentId=cat20075
They have a slew of different style tents.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...at20075&parentType=category&parentId=cat20075
Moody
Needs to get out more
Food for thought-I have been using the Mountain Hardwear Trango 4 for a little over 4 years now.
It has been in use in super cold climates for winter use, and just recently on the White Rim trail where it was quite hot. It has mesh over the two large doors, but can be zipped closed, and has a zippered/meshed roof vent.
I love any classic Buckminster Fuller design...
It has been in use in super cold climates for winter use, and just recently on the White Rim trail where it was quite hot. It has mesh over the two large doors, but can be zipped closed, and has a zippered/meshed roof vent.
I love any classic Buckminster Fuller design...
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Well, most of those tents are extreme condition tents because they're designed to fend off winds in excess of 35mph, snow loads exceeding 6", and assume the poor saps inside will be storm bound and need extra vestibule space and other storm worthy features. So, that means more poles (more complicated set-up), few if any vents (hot), and a lot of features like ski loops, multiple guy-line points, and so on. If you don't need to fend off 35mph mountain storms and snow loads that would crush most tents, you may not need a traditional "4 season" tent which really is a "4th season" tent - winter.
That said, if you don't mine the more complicated pitch and features you may never fully need, some tents like that Trango 3.1 might be fine. With two doors, you can sorta vent that tent if positioned well. I have a first generation Trango Assault and it's bomber. It has survived 45 mph wind storms at 13,000. I also cooked my brains in it on desert nights at even 45 degrees.
I guess I wonder if a 4-season tent is really what you're after. What about a convertible tent?
toddunderscore
New member
My Sierra Designs is an older, 4-season tent but what I loved about it is that the 4-season part of it was optional. An extra pole can be taken along with the set-up to give it more support and the fly doesn't have to be put on. Voila, 3-season, very well ventilated tent.
The extra pole and rain-fly were great for even the occasional desert monsoon with high winds and and sudden drop in temperatures. In southern Arizona I was on a trip where the lesser tents in the group had to be tethered to vehicles to keep the wind from pitching them around. My 4-season additions kept mine solid as a rock.
The extra pole and rain-fly were great for even the occasional desert monsoon with high winds and and sudden drop in temperatures. In southern Arizona I was on a trip where the lesser tents in the group had to be tethered to vehicles to keep the wind from pitching them around. My 4-season additions kept mine solid as a rock.
ETAV8R
Founder of D.E.R.P.
I'd like to know what you're rig is. I was considering an RTT but recently decided upon a Flippac. Unless you need, enjoy, or are backpacking there are other options to take into consideration. I have one backpacking tent and one family size tent and both have served me well. I cannot wait to take the rig out with the flippac and be able to camp within 5 minutes. Good luck on your search for what is right for you.
Need For Speed
Supporting Sponsor
I have started to consider a military GP small instead of a RTT?
Viggen
Just here...
Its a '95 Disco with 4" lift, 3 link front, full SD rack, ARB with 9k Warn, etc... Its already a little top heavy and due to it being built to be able to go pretty much anywhere, adding 150 lbs to the top will just make it worse. I love watching my girlfriends eyes on the angle meter as we go around off ramps. Im comfortable with a little lean and she is getting there too. Add more weight and we will both be watching it. Ill get some pictures posted as soon as I take some, i.e. not Blackberry photos.
Flounder, good points on the tent and I really appreciate your feedback as it seems you know quite a bit. Im getting what youre saying in that these are mostly winter tents that are listed as 4 seasons. I did some more searching around looking at 3 season tents with good fly designs to completely cover up the tent if the weather gets bad. Im on the east coast and will be in the woods around WV, PA, and VA so a good, stable tent is what Im looking for that can handle anything. Im not going to be out there camping in 6" of snow but want to know that if it does start snowing while I am out there, it can handle at least 3" or so on it before I start to worry. Rain, moisture and ventilation are probably my biggest concerns. I would like easy ingress/ egress for times where the weather might turn and we need to eat inside (another reason against the RTT for ease of access).
So, revised and narrowed options are:
Mountain Hardware Habitat 5 - Nice and big, weird floorplan but very tall and seemingly roomy
MSR Mutha Hubba HP- Upper end of pricing but roomy and great fly cover with ventilation
Big Agnus Gore Pass 3- About the same as the MSR but without the price
Nemo Asahi 4- Cool design with the rain fly that can be used as canopy on its own
Nemo Losi 3P- Nothing but great reviews
The North Face Minibus 33- Cool design and lots of room
Flounder, good points on the tent and I really appreciate your feedback as it seems you know quite a bit. Im getting what youre saying in that these are mostly winter tents that are listed as 4 seasons. I did some more searching around looking at 3 season tents with good fly designs to completely cover up the tent if the weather gets bad. Im on the east coast and will be in the woods around WV, PA, and VA so a good, stable tent is what Im looking for that can handle anything. Im not going to be out there camping in 6" of snow but want to know that if it does start snowing while I am out there, it can handle at least 3" or so on it before I start to worry. Rain, moisture and ventilation are probably my biggest concerns. I would like easy ingress/ egress for times where the weather might turn and we need to eat inside (another reason against the RTT for ease of access).
So, revised and narrowed options are:
Mountain Hardware Habitat 5 - Nice and big, weird floorplan but very tall and seemingly roomy
MSR Mutha Hubba HP- Upper end of pricing but roomy and great fly cover with ventilation
Big Agnus Gore Pass 3- About the same as the MSR but without the price
Nemo Asahi 4- Cool design with the rain fly that can be used as canopy on its own
Nemo Losi 3P- Nothing but great reviews
The North Face Minibus 33- Cool design and lots of room
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
I'm currently in SLC at the Outdoor Retailer show and I've already seen a lot of really great tents, but nothing really new enough to have me modify my original recommendations going into 2011. With that list above, the only stand out is the Habitat 5. That's a biggie. The rest are somewhat smaller car camping or backpacking tents.
TNF Minibus 33. For the record - I hate TNF as many true industry people do. Many of us hate TNF for what it was and what it is now. That said, the Minibus 33 is one of maybe 6 products they have I'd buy. This out of probably 1000 items in their inventory.
With those choices above - no brainer. NEMO. The Losi 3p may be a 3 season tent, but there's some serious beef with that design. I certainly trust in the strength of that tent. I really like NEMO's tents. The downside to NEMO? Since they're so innovative and forward thinking, it's a certainty that what ever you buy from them today, you'll want to buy their updated tents in the near future.
Viggen
Just here...
Flounder, again, thanks for the input. Its great to be able to talk to someone with a large amount of knowledge. Ive been looking through REI's site, which is where Ill be going to buy it for instant gratification. I hate waiting for things in the mail...
So, REI has the
- Nemo Losi 3P- What worries me is the immense use of mesh rather than solid walls. I wonder how long the mesh will last
- Nemo Losi Storm 3p- Same as above but with less mesh and more solid walls. I know it comes at a loss of some ventilation but also has more privacy without the rain fly.
- Mountain Hardwear Habitat 3- Looks like a great tent with good reviews
- The North Face Minibus 33- Best mix of solid walls and mesh that I have seen. I know its not the NF of past but this, like you said, is pretty nice
Weight is still a slight bit of an issue. Ill be going out of the Disco most of the time but the ability to pack it myself and walk into the woods is appealing too. The all mesh tents are light and ventilate well but scare me a little bit in terms of durability.
So, REI has the
- Nemo Losi 3P- What worries me is the immense use of mesh rather than solid walls. I wonder how long the mesh will last
- Nemo Losi Storm 3p- Same as above but with less mesh and more solid walls. I know it comes at a loss of some ventilation but also has more privacy without the rain fly.
- Mountain Hardwear Habitat 3- Looks like a great tent with good reviews
- The North Face Minibus 33- Best mix of solid walls and mesh that I have seen. I know its not the NF of past but this, like you said, is pretty nice
Weight is still a slight bit of an issue. Ill be going out of the Disco most of the time but the ability to pack it myself and walk into the woods is appealing too. The all mesh tents are light and ventilate well but scare me a little bit in terms of durability.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
This is good. You've narrowed your search to models that are excellent car campers with at least some backpack worthy weights to them. These would be relatively heavy for pack tents, but you could do it no problem.
The Minibus is really an excellent tent. How TNF produced that design is beyond me. They must have robbed the idea from some savvy designer.
The walls are very vertical, it has generous vestibule space on both sides, two large doors so one person doesn't have to crawl over the other, and the fact it looks like VW bus is just cool. There are other cool features like pockets that are accessible from the inside AND outside. Sounds trivial, but how many times have you put your headlamp in a pocket at night and forgot to take it out in the morning. You can grab those pocketed items from the outside. Or, reach through into the vestibule without opening the whole door. Glow in the dark zipper pulls and other details are a nice tough. Just go into that knowing - TNF sucks if you have a problem, but REI will take care of you.
Regarding the Nemo tents, I would go with the 3P given your concerns. One thing I know about the Nemo tents - you won't be let down by the build quality or level of service provided by that crew. I just spent an hour today with the Nemo sales guys reviewing their line at the trade show. Fantastic company. The fact the owner is an ExPo member, avid overlander and all around super cool guy is just a bonus.
The Minibus is really an excellent tent. How TNF produced that design is beyond me. They must have robbed the idea from some savvy designer.
The walls are very vertical, it has generous vestibule space on both sides, two large doors so one person doesn't have to crawl over the other, and the fact it looks like VW bus is just cool. There are other cool features like pockets that are accessible from the inside AND outside. Sounds trivial, but how many times have you put your headlamp in a pocket at night and forgot to take it out in the morning. You can grab those pocketed items from the outside. Or, reach through into the vestibule without opening the whole door. Glow in the dark zipper pulls and other details are a nice tough. Just go into that knowing - TNF sucks if you have a problem, but REI will take care of you.Regarding the Nemo tents, I would go with the 3P given your concerns. One thing I know about the Nemo tents - you won't be let down by the build quality or level of service provided by that crew. I just spent an hour today with the Nemo sales guys reviewing their line at the trade show. Fantastic company. The fact the owner is an ExPo member, avid overlander and all around super cool guy is just a bonus.
Viggen
Just here...
I am liking the list more too. Im going to throw out the Habitat 3 due to its weird floor plan and the Losi 3 because more of it is mesh and I dont like that due to durability and lack of privacy. I would rather be a little bit warmer while sleeping than be wide open to everything/ everyone. Is it the quality of TNF that sucks or is it the customer service. I have a couple of their base camp duffel bags and theyve held up quite nicely. So, that leaves the Losi Storm 3P and the Minibus. Theyre both about the same size and both about the same packed weight. The Minibus has more mesh than the Losi Storm but not as much as the Losi 3P.
vs.
vs.
nwoods
Expedition Leader
To my eye, the North Face Minibus 33 is a better design. The stress points seems to be better accommodated, I REALLY like the zipper configuration which should better allow one-handed zipper operation, and the access to the pockets from the outside as mentioned before will be very handy. The way the mesh "V" comes down on each end will greatly increase circulation with the fly on as well. This dovetails thoughtfully with the vents in the fly located directly above the V, to allow a chimney effect. The fly also has two adequately sized vestibules, which is similar in concept to my BaseCamp tent and has proven very useful for me.
All other things being equal, that North Face Minibus 33 would get my vote for the reasons described above....but I would probably still chose the BaseCamp tent over either of them
All other things being equal, that North Face Minibus 33 would get my vote for the reasons described above....but I would probably still chose the BaseCamp tent over either of them
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
My similar conundrum.....
http://forum.ih8mud.com/camping-outdoor-gear/398430-rv4-oz-tent-beta-test.html
http://forum.ih8mud.com/camping-outdoor-gear/398430-rv4-oz-tent-beta-test.html
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
The only bummer with the Minibus pole configuration is the rather large flat area created at the center of the roof. Put a couple inches of snow up there and you have a project for the rest of the night or day. Mine pooled a little bit of water there in a big dumper. Regarding your zipper comment, there are some smallish corners on the zipper path that annoy me.
The Minibus is all about vertical walls and fun little details. The Nemo tent above is far more capable of fending off foul weather and the build quality will only be trumped by the company support should you need it.