Tents

diverian wrote: @ ghaznavid : It better be a good as you say or I might consider legal action!

[insert standard disclaimer with limitation of liability clause here]

I have been very happy with mine. Having paid R1 400 for it 2 years ago, I rate that as money well spent. No regrets.

I purchased the Cool Mountain II 2 weeks ago after sharing the same tent with @ Ghaz on a hike in December and I can vouch for the ability to stand up in bad weather, in about 15mins Mother Nature trashed down some serious rain and hail on us and the tent stood firm.
Would be quite a cool pic on the escarpment with all our new tents.

JonWells wrote: I've had many good years of use out of my lightweight 2 tent. I find it very quick and easy to set up, and I haven't had issues with it not being freestanding.

Once the poles are in place, as soon as it is pegged diagonally, the tent pops up.

I can also attest to it being impressively wind and waterproof. I've had it up in some strong winds and pouring rain, and never had any issues.

Headspace is a little on the low side, but I'm 200cm tall and can sit up in it, just...

2 Other things to consider:

1) I wouldn't recommend this tent if you plan on sharing it with another person, it would be very cramped.
2) The flysheet doesn't extend all the way to the ground, so a blizzard might cause some issues


Disclaimer- I cant compare it to any other hiking tents, as this is the only one I've owned so far...

I agree that the headspace is a bit limited but that you can sit in it.
I have only used this tent as a 2 man tent (haven't had the luxury of having it all to myself) and it does get a bit cramped in there especially when your tent roommate is 6ft3in 100kg odd. We had to store pretty much everything in the tiny bell which is a pain.
Consider the weight differences between the tents as well. If you are using this as a 1 man tent then it is 1,9kg per person, as a 2 man it is 950g each (if you could split it exactly in two). The Cool Mountain II is 2,9kg IIRC. That is a lot of extra weight just to have a flysheet that reaches the ground with snow flaps. Seeing as I am on a lightweight diet - every gram counts. Your personal preferences may differ.

Cape Union Mart now show the Black Diamond Mirage 2-person tent (R3800 / 2000g) on their website which I had not noticed when previously trawling for tents, does anyone have any thoughts/insight/comments regarding it's suitability as 3-season Berg tent? To me it appears that pros & cons are:

Pros: great brand, lightweight (claimed 2000g), spacious for 2 (2,39x1,47 compared to say 360deg Cool Mountain II @ 2,1x1,3), aerodynamic profile, uncomplicated; American testers report it is smaller & heavier than other 2-person tents available to them, but it seems lighter and larger than locally available contenders.

Cons: fly does not reach right to the ground, single access, lower water resistance than CMII, no headroom at far end, and probably most importantly even at the CapeUnionMart price it is almost twice the price of a 360deg Cool Mountain II (Mountain Mail Order have the Mirage listed at R5595)

My husband and I own the Black Diamond Mirage 2, and have taken it on two three-day hikes in the Drakensberg. The only time we had any issues with leakage was when we pitched it in a very small area (almost on top of another tent) in cold and rainy conditions, and didn't tension the flysheet properly. Other than this one occasion, we have had no problems with water/rain. Both my husband and I and all of our gear fit inside the tent. It isn't palatial, but out of all the tents we looked at it was the only one where my husband's feet and/or head weren't touching the tent inner when he lay down (so it would probably be good for taller people, at least in terms of lying down). The vestibule isn't huge, but we have cooked in it fairly comfortably while sitting in the doorway of the tent. In terms of wind: the design of this tent has held up quite well on our hikes, and I have never been concerned that something is going to break or tear. Because the flysheet does not come all the way to the ground, wind can make the tent feel pretty cold, so select your campsite with this in mind. This is a 3 season tent, so it isn't as warm as heavier 4 season tents, because the tent inner has large panels of mesh to reduce weight. The most fantastic thing about this tent is the weight, especially if you share the load between two people. In terms of weight to floorspace/liveability, this tent is a winner in my opinion. The quality of tent itself also appears to be very good. I do agree that this tent is very expensive, although the Cape Union Mart Price is about R300 cheaper than what I paid for it, and the best price you are going get for this tent I think. Here are a couple of pics of our tent:


The Mirage is in the foreground, the Black Diamond Squall is in the background (this is a 3 person, 4 season tent in comparison to the 2 person, 3 season Mirage)


My husband in front of the tent


The tent flysheet encrusted with ice one morning on the escarpment


Mirage being set up in the foreground, Squall being set up in the background


Mirage on the right, Squall on the left

I should also mention that if you buy the groundsheet for the Mirage (it must be purchased separately unfortunately - I think I got mine from Mountain Mail Order), you can pitch the groundsheet, poles and flysheet first and then crawl inside and attach the tent inner (useful in rainy weather). I suppose you could also leave the tent inner behind if you were okay with having a lightweight shelter without a bathtub floor, but I have never tried this and am also not sure how much this set up would weigh.

Would you recommend using a ground sheet under the tent? (where is the camping spot in the last picture?)

Thanks for the BD Mirage tent report Ruth, very helpful.

LouisvV, good reasons to use a tent footprint include:
Protects the tent floor from sharp stones/objects.
Provides added insulation under sleeping pad/mattress.
Gives additional water/damp-proofing if the footprint fits correctly.

I plan to copy Captain, who has made a footprint from a MPI All Weather Blanket which would achieve all of the above (see Tents thread page 11 post #56583) and can be used in an emergency.

@ andrew r, PLouw ended up taking it. I posted it to him - maybe he can post a photo of it on the site to give an indication of what the end product looks like. Note that the edging of the ground sheet sits about 15cm back from the flysheet so that rainwater does not pool between the the ground sheet and the floor of the tent. I used a permanent marker to mark out the correct shape of the tent footprint on a sheet of dpc as a template. I then tried to make the template as symmetrical as possible before trimming the actual groundsheet - rather make mistakes with your cheaper template. If PLouw does'nt post the pic on this thread I'm sure you could just PM him to send you a pic.

Thanks, here is a pic from the CUM store of the MPI all-weather blanket



www.capeunionmart.co.za/mpi-all-weather-blanket