Tents

I saw one of the new 360 degrees Outdoor Warehouse tents called the STORM 3 the other day.

www.outdoorwarehouse.co.za/tent-storm-3.html

At R2300, for someone wanting a 4 season 3 person tent on a (relative) budget, this might work.

It looks really good and the price is reasonable. I hate it when they don't state the weight on the website!!!

Compare it in price and quality to the K-Way Treklite 3 which has a proven track record in the berg.

That also worries me, if they don't state the weight, its probably not that light. I know my Treklite III is 3.5kg, and feels a bit like carrying a house around...

I have an Outdoor warehouse just down the road, they usually display the weights...I'll have a look.

OK, I popped into Outdoor Warehouse and had a cloer look at their new 360⁰ STORM III.
It's advertised as 4.5kg and is really big inside...3 big guys comfortably, 4 no problem, 5 in an emergency. It is going for R2299 and is the closest thing I have seen to the old Isodomes when you factor in the price. I'm actually impressed...but only a good berg storm will be the true test.

Specs below:

So lets do a comparison to the Treklite III tent (which I see has come down in price since i bought mine - copy paste off the CUM website)
* Size: (110 + 215 + 65) x 190 x 130 cm
* Packed weight: 3.3 kg
* Total weight: 3.5 kg
* Waterproof rip stop polyester flysheet
* Taped sealed seams on flysheet
* Seam sealed bath tub groundsheet
* Lightweight 8.5mm pre-bent aluminium poles
* Lightweight aluminium pegs
* 6 internal pockets in main tent
* YKK zips used exclusively

So its lighter and bigger than the Storm III, and its considerably cheaper. I have still never slept in my Treklite III despite it reaching the escarpment twice (if all goes according to plan I should be sleeping in it on the night of 16 December this year - the "if all goes according to plan" referring more to the weather than the group, before I get replies from members of the group who are on this forum ).

From what Boerkie says seems that the Treklite III is a good High Berg tent, and if the Storm III can comfortably take 4 guys, then a Treklite III which is 20cm wider should equally comfortably take 4 people...

phew!!! Ok now that i've read through this entire thread (had to split it in two sessions ) I can also say the following:

I got a treklite 3 in 2007 (when it was still R1100 ), since then I have used it in the berg (I'm from cape town) once in a hail storm and snow and pouring rain, there were pools all around the tent, and still we were dry inside. I have also been in a cloud break in Jonkershoek when I was measuring the rain for cape nature and in that night it rained more than 100mm, we also got out next morning totally dry. And in the last 4 years I've used it for every time I've gone camping, so it's withstood the test of time so far, doesn't have any bad signs on it yet. So I'd say there isn't a better tent in its price range available in SA.

Then lastly about the whole Cape Union Mart thing, I'd like to add on to what Intrepid said a while ago, that CUM is serious about there after service. I've taking expensive gear back to them before and they didn't even blink, just gave me a brand new one. So for me if you know that's what your gonna get, then it makes me even comfortable to go for the treklite 3.

Is 1.5kg per person still the bench mark??

1.7m wide for 3 big fellas?? Well maybe, but they would have to be good friends, and the Kit???Not in the vestibule at Tugela top over Easter weekend..


Tent weight-- yes often a contentious issue.
Lord alone knows what minimum pack weight means. I hike in the berg where you need, an inner and outer, all the poles and all the pegs and a bag to stuff them in and maybe even a ground sheet (Footprint)so I often ponder what they mean by that.

Take a scale to the shop and weigh the sucker there and then.

I was comparing the StormIII to the older K-Way Annapurna, not the TrekliteIII. The design shape and snowflaps of the StormIII looks very similar to the old Isodomes too. It just looks and feels a little bit more robust than the Treklite III. Just for interest, is Outdoor Warehouse well represented in other provinces? Its worth going to have a look at the storm III if you are in the market,but I must admit, R1.6K for a solid, lightish summit tent is not bad.