I'm almost ready to buy a Warmlite tent, either a 2R or 3R, but something has been brought to my notice. There is a ground level 'guttering' made of mesh at the ends. Seemingly this is to allow any condensation to escape into the ground.I'm worried that any water pooling under the tent after rain, or snow melt, could enter here. Have any Warmlite owners had a problem with this?

The ground level mesh is for bottom to top airflow to reduce condensation. It is high enough the ground water does not enter.

I'm not meaning the low mesh vents Richard, i'm aware of them. I've read that there is also a mesh 'gutter' running along the floor/wall intersection at the single-wall ends, to allow any condensation to drip into the ground.
I would like to hear if anyone has had a problem with standing water entering there.

Yes, standing water would have no trouble coming in through the ground level mesh. But without this mesh, water would quickly accumulate when you enter/exit the tent since the vestibule opens right onto the tent floor. It's a balancing act between keeping the rain out versus keeping ground water out. As I recall, the Warmlite is not a true bathtub floor either, so water can also enter via floor seams around the edges. Best to avoid pitching it in a pond!!!

You're getting me more worried now Allison. I've often woken to find standing water under my tent due to a nightime downpour or snowmelt. As every tent i've used has had a bathtub floor, this hasn't been a problem. This doen't sound like a practical choice for a wet climate, yet folk do use them in wet climates, and love them!

Well I hike in some very wet climates and I don't like the WarmLite at all. It's not just the leaky floor, but the lack of insect netting on the door, the poor ventilation (which Stephonson's blames on the user), and that it gets incrediby hot. It's really more of a winter tent than a wet/warmer weather tent IMHO (it's like sleeping in a plastic bag in summer temps). But as you know everyone has a different perspective on what makes a good tent. They are light, wind stable if pitched properly (and the wind doesn't shift too much) and Warm...the side window option is a nice feature too.

I reckon i could live with a lot of those things Allison. I only intend to use it as a cold weather / winter tent. I didn't even know about the mesh 'gutter' in the tent until recently. There is no mention of it on the website. Someone on another forum told me about it. He has used a 2R in very wet conditions, Alaska, NW Pacific coast etc, and loves the tent. He said you just have to be aware of it and choose your site carefully. He hasn't had any problems with water coming in. If water coming in is a major problem i might pass, as i can't afford to get a wet down bag in winter. Like i said earlier, snow melt and saturated ground are common in Scotland.
It's a lot of money to spend on something, if it leaks.

You might be better with something like a Double Rainbow with bathtub floor. It's a pretty solid design, and adding the optional inner makes it nearly a double skinned tent. Much better in the rain and insect department, and cheaper too! Just make sure it also has the ridgeline grommets that allow you to add your trekking poles/sticks for extra support in gales...

Or take a punt on the WarmLite. You can always resell it here if it doesn't work out...

No matter what tent I take, I always carry a bivy bag too. You never know when your camp side will turn into an impromptu river!

Mike, why not ask these folks about there UK use of the tent in question. They speak highly of it.

Alan Sloman at http://alansloman.blogspot.com/

Mick and Gayle at http://gayleybird.blogspot.com/

Thanks Martin.
I've done just that.:)

My 2R & 3R Stephenson tents work very well in alpine conditions; both have side windows so keeping cool is not a problem, be that as it may, when exposed to mountain sun I do take them down during the day as they are very easy to set up when I come back during the day. When pitching on snow I have never experienced any spring/summer melt getting into the tent and I never picked a tent site in a depression where water would run down hill into a tent let alone cause a problem with a Stephenson. Stephenson tent floors do not leak. Whether or not one has insect netting on the front door, the door still has to be opened to get in and out and the fact that Stephenson ops for double zippers on the front door for storm strength continues to be overlooked. I have never had a problem keeping insects at bay by just opening one half of the front door just like I would do if it was insect netting. I camp/climb in the Cascade Mountains Washington State all four seasons; the Stephenson’s work great in that environment as does my Hilleberg which is also an excellent tent manufacturer.

Hi Mike,

zero experience with the Warmlite but given the price, you definitely want to make the right choice.

There is a new shelter coming out from MSR that is a tunnel in design called the Skinny Too - the ventilation v.s. storm proof configuration is quite interesting. Go to www.spadout.com and click on the video link from the Outdoor Retailer show. You will see a link to the video on the right hand side.

Thanks for the advice guys. I've ordered a 2R. It seems to have everything i want in a winter tent. I plan on using it on high, exposed mountain pitches, so its ability to handle high winds will be tested!

>I have never had a problem keeping insects at bay by just opening one half of the front door just like I would do if it was insect netting.

I don't understand this statement. You open the door but the insects don't come in?? Or am I misunderstanding your post.

Agreed that site selection will prevent most problems with the mesh floor panel, but when you go hiking in areas that can get over a metre of rainfall in 24 hours, and then the biting midges and mosquitos come out in their billions, the seemingly small things like mesh floor, lack of rain-protected entry, and no netting over the door can become very big things (when the whole hillside becomes a waterfall for instance)! As an alpine tent I think it's a very good design, especially considering the weight. We struggled with it in more tropical conditions...

How do you Warmlite users cook when it's very wet or there's a lot of insects - does anyone cook in theirs? If so what with?

I obviously haven't used it yet, but bugs wont be a problem in winter. I can't remember the last time i actually cooked in the porch of a tent, so i'll get around that. As for groundwater, i've contacted 2 people who use one in the UK, and only once has water entered the tent with one of them. That was down to bad site selection, and they thought it would have been worse in a 'normal' tent.
I can't wait to try it! :)

Peter

I've commented before that an ideal modification to a Warmlite with side windows would be to remove (or add a zipper to) the mesh of one of the windows. This would allow you to cook, AND enter the tent without letting water in. Lacking this MOD you just have to cook outside. No way you would cook in a Warmlite as-is.

Mike

Site selection will solve swamp problems most of the time. Those hopefully rare times when you don't have a choice you just have to survive a miserable night.

I remember one of the worst nights I had was when we were stuck, lost in a white-out and deluge on a ridge in a chain of mountains called "The Dragon's Teeth". The name says it all...in the end the only place flat enough to pitch a tent (there were three of us) was in the middle of a small tarn! You can't carry a tent that will cover all conditions you might ever meet, but the WarmLite is not a bad compromise.

What colour did you get??

Hi Allison. I've ordered one with light blue ends and navy blue centre. I thought about getting the wind stabilizers, but didn't. I figured if it was going to get that bad, i may as well have an exciting night! :)

Did you get the side windows??

Agrred RE: wind stabilizers. If things got that bad I would take the tent down and use it as a bivy bag! Worry about the condensation when the crisis has gone.

PS: That night in the tarn we actually stayed dry! This was many moons ago when lightweight tensts were unheard of. We had a three person JanSport with a bombproof bathtub floor. The floor was just high enough to keep out the water, and we managed to pave a narrow stone path from the door to solid ground. If we had been in a Warmlite (or any silnyon floor for that matter) it would have been a different story...but with the use of GPS perhaps I'll never be in that situation again!

Allison

yes you have thanks - I've contacted a specialist company (www.scottishmountaingear.com) and just need to get the tent sent up to them so they can give me a price.

Mine's yellow and blue! With the windows. And not yet used, although I might use it in 2 weeks on a trip to Scotland - it's the Warmlite or Gatewood Cape.

I'd still be interested to know what others do about cooking in the tent tho.

Edited by sewing_machine on 09/09/2008 15:32:04 MDT.