Tents

Yeah, true. Although my instruction to them is normally that I'll sort it out and that they'll have ti buy special detergent and that I already have the stuff so I might as well do it myself...

Anyone have experience with this First Ascent tent?

www.outdoorwarehouse.co.za/first-ascent-peak-tent.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=31july2015_new_in_store_and_online

Looks like a bigger version of the Cool Mountain from the pictures... Pretty heavy though

I can comment on BD as I have a Skylite. It is a high spec with 3 poles and has performed very impressively for its 2kg weight. It handles extreme wind and even heavy snow very well. I also have a Bibler but haven't used it for 2 years cause it's 1kg heavier.

PS. I don't know if you have experience with single wall tents but they are designed for mountain use and tend to have too much condensation for other use.

In this case I do find that the Bibler material which is essentially gore - tex with a wicking backing works a lot better than the BD fabric so you need to decide what is important before you buy.

Also looking at the First Accent tent range....I am very frustrated with tents and need to find the right one!! Been looking at imported tents but it takes 7 weeks for tent poles to be imported if needed and at a huge price. If I purchase a tent and during a hike the poles get snapped or bend in the wind, I must be able to sort it quickly as I hike regularly. The First Accent(Peak) 3 man/4 season tents are too heavy at 3.86kg. The 2 man/3 season (Lunar)tents are a decent 2.59kg and look like they have good luggage area in the 2 bells for 2 people. What I like about the First Accent tents is the following which they have on their web site...........(How can I repair my tent poles?

All our tents come standard with a field repair kit. Poles are serviceable in the field. If you break a tent pole, repair the break temporarily by splinting the pole with the supplied aluminium sleeve. This is called a repair sleeve and can be replaced once used at most outdoor retailers. The aluminium repair sleeve is fitted over the broken pole section and taped into place. Duct tape or even plaster roll can be used for the taping)....Wow!!!!! this is awesome news to me after being let down by a K-Way tent. Has anyone had any experience with the First Accent Tents??

I'm just going to come out and say it. I don't trust FA gear.

I've had 2 recent experiences where their stuff failed badly. Firstly I bought a pair of
Their softshell gloves that proved to offer no wind or cold protection. I wore them only once and tossed them. 2ndly I went on trip up Giants pass in the snow last weekend anld my buddies brand new FA gaiters came appart and resulted in him being wet. In fact the "water proofing" did not work. He plans to write a letter of complaint to FA about this as he ended up with 1st degree frost bite.

So no, I can't recommend them at all.

Hey ASL, sorry to hear about your bad experience. I can recommend the old Backpacker brand for gaiters, if I may, R185.00 for a pair and it's made in Gauteng. They still make decent backpacks, but those bags are not exactly very light.

Edit: www.backpacker.co.za

I see that CapeUnionMart have the MSR Elixir 2- and Elixir 3- person tents on their website; cost a lot more than SA tents but also significantly lighter [R3999/2.1kg Elixir 2 & R4999/2.53kg Elixir 3]. For those who are wary of support levels it would be worth getting written assurance from local MSR distributor Outward Ventures of their spares and backup before purchasing.