I have been looking at UL tents for months now and still cant decide.

TT moment looks like a good tent, and great weight... But camping in the northern rockies, I want something that will be warm and stormproof, (moment looks like it might be drafty). How far is the fly off the ground?

The scarp 1 seams bomber and warm, but the weight is getting a little high. Also, its a 4 season convertible tent, and could fit two in a pinch.

Vaude Power lizard is pretty light, "two man tent", but pricey, hard to find, and I would rather buy from a 'cottage company' if possible.

What I am looking for is a UL tent with good wind protection, and room to sit up and is a plus. I am shooting for a base weight of <10 lbs, although around 11 lbs is more realistic right now. I dont hike with trekking poles, so those options are not in the picture.

Not sure what I am looking for in this thread... just need some help making a decision! ;)

Scott
I would not expect the Moment to be warm in a conventional sense.
By that I mean that it will be draughty in strong wind , however it may prove to be warmer in a different way.
If you block wind completely , or close enough, in most situations you get condensation. If at around 40f or under, that will make you feel colder than at a few degrees less but with dryer air.
Here are some unofficial pictures of the Moment in wind attack mode.
In the first you can see the end vent closed and the floor up. There is a mesh sealed gap of about 15" between the floor and the vent
The next is the non door side with the floor up. As you can see the floor rises (by about 2") over the bottom of the fly (about 8" away at the pole) So you will still get the wind in but deflected by the fabric and diffused by the mesh.
On the door side the floor is up about 5" , and that is about the gap between the fabric and the ground at the pole.
All around the fly is 4 to 5" above the ground.



The last two shots are of the same area. The first one is from eye level laying down, the next from above .
Franco
franco at tarptent dot com

Edited by Franco on 05/30/2010 03:47:41 MDT.

Geez, I love this design. Great pics.

Scott,

So you want something "warm and stormproof" but you don't want the weight of a 4 season tent (even one as reasonable as the Scarp.) Hmmm.

I have a Moment. Great little tent. For winter camping it's much better than what I was using -- a flat 6x10 foot tarp. (Yes, in winter in NC. Yes, it was fine.) I put my money into nice fluffy down in my sleeping bag.

Not sure how the Moment would fare in the Rockies, but for me it's working out very well. Plenty of space for me and gear, good headroom, excellent storm protection, etc. I have been using Tarptents since 2004 and I've never had any (what I would consider) serious problems with condensation.

Good luck.

I guess I may have some unrealistic expectations... The moment is looking good right now. I was a little concerned that wind would blow right through the tent. but looking at those pics, it appears to have more coverage than I initially thought.

I really like the Moment but silnylon and I are fairly soggy combination due to condensation. The only two sil tents I have been able to use without experiencing this are the Contrail and the Hex 3. I have had tremendous condensation even with a Wild Oasis. Is the ventilation sufficient on the Moment stay fairly dry...equal to the Contrail?? Franco? Anyone? I would really like to have a Moment for use in wet climates.

I have only used the Moment in my backyard, however grass does produce a good amount of condensation.
Because of the end and top vents , as well as the usual 360 degree TT mesh, air circulation is pretty good in my opinion.
Note that the entry is rain protected so you can leave the door partially or fully open as well as propping the non door side up.
One advantage that the Contrail has is the space over your head. That dissipates most or all of your warmer breath so possibly this
is the reason why you have had better luck with this than some others.
Franco

Here is a sample pitch. It looks about as benign as one can get:


but the next morning:




I am going to need a tent to keep me dry with consecutive days of rain. The Moment would keep the rain out but if the Wild Oasis with all of its ventilation provides these results I am afraid that the Moment will be somewhat similar??

Edited by johnk on 05/30/2010 23:07:50 MDT.

Wow.....that looks like a lot of condensation considering you even had the door open. It's hard to get more ventilation that that. Maybe leave the blue camp chair at home and use that weight towards a double wall :)

Edited by dandydan on 05/31/2010 01:48:39 MDT.

The door was zipped shut most of the night but there was still ample ventilation. Yes, a double wall tent is being considered. Dan, you have a keen eye to pick the chair out from that little corner peeking through. I suspect you may carry one yourself? :>)

Edited by johnk on 05/31/2010 10:22:41 MDT.

Henry is adding clip in panels for the Moment which will offer superb protection from condensation. He has been testing the Moment in Scotland for the last two weeks so it should be be a superb option for the Moment.

As you can tell Martin from the post that this is the tent that I would like to order. So there will be an upgrade to the Moment??

Defiantly according to Henry. Clip in panels like the Rainbow has. He emailed me the other day about it. We discussed some stuff about the TGO Challenge he was planning to do and as a part of that the Moment was discussed. Henry has been using his new version in Scotland. A long test. Hope that helps.

It sure does! Thanks for the info Martin.

"Adds 120 grams but eliminates any condensation issues--I stayed completely dry." - Henry wrote that to me the other day in a email. A good tent just got very good.

I would welcome anything to reduce condensation in single-wall tents. I seem to be in the minority here, but condensation always seems like a huge issue for me here in the Pacific Northwest. I finally understood after hiking in the Sierra during during the summer what a joy it is to backpack in lower-humidity climes - waking up in the morning without having to shake out the tent was welcome.

Dirk

Any idea when the clip in panels for the Moment will be available for purchase? Definitely makes the Moment a more interesting tent for me (scandinavian conditions).

Right now Henry has the only one.
He arrived back to his home a few hours ago from Scotland , so he is going to be very busy catching up in the next few days.
The liner should be in production soon.
Existing shelters will need two clips to be attached to the fly take it.
When more details are available I will post them.
Franco

Scott,

Have you considered bringing along a UL breathable bivy? This would provide the extra wind protection and water condensation barrier that you are looking for without adding the weight of a double wall tent.

So this Moment modification will, essentially, take four ozs of drapery turning it into a double wall shelter??? Is this the idea Franco, Martin? Sounds like a great solution.