 use a plastic bulb thingy they give away with washing liquid for the pole
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 Chilly in Cairngorm - broadly pleased with the tent so far, but is it just mine that the groundsheet loops on the fly seem to be attached too low?
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looks like anice pitch.what you using inside?
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 @ Montgomery Wick Not just you. They're OK if it's pitched really high but otherwise they need fudging.
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Hi All,
I used my SL3 and inner nest for about two months over a four month period whilst travelling around NZ (Nov '09 to Mar '10).
This is the longest that i have ever lived out of a tent and it experienced lots of different weather conditions from torrential rain, through to baking heat with high humidity.
I would like to share my experiences (2009 SL3 housing 2 smallish people with internal nest fitted and pegged separately).
I apologise in advance for stating the obvious!:
1) Firstly, I used iron-on seam sealant to protect the stitching around the vents, where you can actually see day light through some of the stitching holes. Big Mistake. It was a pain to get it to adhere and it all peeled off in the first heavy rain storm that the tent encountered. Best go for painting on liquid sealer!
2) We loved the flexibility that the tent could be pitched low when it was cold and wet (in the southern Alps) to help retain some heat and pitched high during hot and/or humid weather to allow for better airflow and cool things down. Also the light levels inside were excellent for a green tent.
3) The nest was ESSENTIAL for a good nights sleep as you watched the flies, mosquitos, crickets, moths, etc make a home in the top of the tent between the tarp and the nest. Also, it stopped hedgehogs trying to set up home under the tarp.
4) We did get wet a few times with water ingress from said holes in the stitching (we were miles from anywhere and had to live with it). However, during really wet days where the ground was completely sodden, water would penetrate through the groundsheet of the nest making stuff damp. This forced us out of the tent on a couple of occasions. I would recommend another impervious layer underneath the nest ground sheet.
5) For 2 smallish people, the overall floor space and height was excellent.
6) This tent is quick to dry! For drying off before packing, we would wait until the outside of the tarp was dry, inverse pitch it (i.e. re pitch the tarp inside out) to dry off the condensation inside (5 mins normally did it). Once dry it would be removed and packed giving the nest a chance to dry and air. We got a micro-dustpan and brush and would brush down the insects and dust from the tarp/nest too.
7) Quick packing hints:
Tarp:
- Lift off the tarp and shake out the bugs
- peg the top loop of the tarp to keep it fixed and taught whilst folding away. This also helps when its windy.
Nest:
- Remove pole for packing with the nest
- only unpeg two of the nest pegs and fold the hexagon in half to let the exposed half to dry out
- bring the dried bit back to its original position, unpeg the opposite two pegs and fold over to dry the other half of the nest floor. The nest at this point only has two pegs attached along the fold line. It keeps it taught and stops the wind blowing it away! Drying half of the floor at a time means that the nest material stays off the ground.
- Fold the nest up (we folded it into three layers, then brought the ends in to form a rectangle.
- Roll with its own pegs and the pole.
Lots of people admired the SL3 and were amazed by the space inside and its lightness. As a semi-permanent shelter for two months, it performed admirably, especially as i took it in my airline luggage. It fitted perfectly into its setting and brought smiles all round. Just seal it properly first!
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Forgot to add that baby-wipes were excellent for cleaning the outside of the tarp, especially from Pine resin.
Also, the tent survived some incredible winds coming off the southern ocean, allowing us to sleep soundly. However, i did put shock cord through the extra loops at the bottom of the tarp and pegged them too.
Keep tenting
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 There's obviously a variation in the 'waterproofness' of the groundsheet on these. I had 5 OM members in mine last year for an after Clachaig party last year. It was hosing it down all night, and by the morning the tent was in a mini lake, yet no water came through. Mine was the older Hex 3.
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.JPG) Al - thanks good test and an interesting review and tips  a lightweight footprint would be recommended then? Polychro - or the doubleglazingshrinkwrap stuff would be light enough for that.
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hi all has anyone come up with a solution for a halfnest yet as really want 1
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as i,ve mentioned before bob at backpackng light is SOON to make one...i,ve found that the inner from my atko fits very well with 4 pegs and a bit off stretchy string if you cud find a second hand atko inner?
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| Edited: 24/04/10 21:18 |
Anyone tried the Vango Adventure Tarp as a budget porch? Of course this is not a solution high up in the mountains, but looks nice for camping in sheltered areas.
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 Second attempt at a inner, works pretty well will be making another one soon.
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looks good keep us posted please
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hi been really lucky with tent just had first rain and the seams leaked? i think? what are peolpe using to seam seal and are you all just sealing the top sections or all the way down? ta peter ans oscar dog
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I've been using an Akto for the last 10 years, mainly cyclecamping in the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and last year 4 weeks in the US. It's never let me down but I'm now finding the need to crane my neck forward when sitting increasingly uncomfortable (getting old!) I attract insects & react badly to bites so an inner tent is essential. ULG are offering a Shangri-la/Nest package for £250 and I'm quite tempted.... How much headroom is there with the nest in place ? How small does the complete bundle pack down and how long are the pole sections ? How much hassle does not having a porch cause? The inner looks big enough to store damp gear away from the sleeping area. Is cooking inside (using a Trangia) a safe operation if done carefully ?
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I've been using an SL3 since the end of January. I like it and, insects aside, don't feel the need for an inner tent. I don't fancy the bugnest for a whole number of reasons. One idea I'm toying with for midge season is adapting something like this. Alternatively, SMG (who altered the stock groundsheet for me) might be able to knock up a custom inner for a reasonable cost. Answering the earlier post, although I lived in the tent right through Feb and March in the Highlands, the rain was never bad enough to determine whether the seams leaked! I sealed them later anyway, top to bottom; they withstood torrential rain and hail on Thursday without letting in a drop. Condensation hasn't been an issue, with one exception. There was a night in Torridon when a huge mask of knobbly ice built up inside the tent by dawn; I started cooking just as the sun hit the top of the tent, a 'perfect storm' of heat that caused the higher ice to melt, raining down on me (because it couldn't run down the irregular ice crust). In fairness, on other nights down as low as -19C that wasn't a problem, and in fact I've experienced less problems with condensation and ice than I've had in small two-skin tents of a similar weight.
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Andrew - headroom is almost the same with the nest, as without it - i.e. plenty - unless you are 7' tall! Personally I find the full nest can be a pain if there has been heavy condensation or rain as the outer door is so close to the door of the nest, that often get little dribbles of water dropping into the inner just by the door as it gets opened. This is only a problem with the nest, or the full floor pegged out, when there is a tent full (I use it with my partner and 12 year old son sometimes). With a half/3/4 floor or solo it's not a probelm as there is bags of room to avoid it. A SL3 with a half (solo) nest is a palace for one camper.
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Using the Akto inner for bug proof sleeping looks an intriguing possiblity, though the ends would be floppy and in your face. I'm almost exactly 6ft an have no issues lying down in the Akto. Using the SL3 is your head a good distance from the fabric when sleeping ?
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Andrew - it's 8 feet across with steep side walls..........
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Except price, wind/waterresistance and durability?
