Gear

Hello all,

I've been reading some of the great commentary on tents within this forum, but I have some missing information that would be helpful to me.

I've just bought a Terra Nova Ultra Quasar, based mostly on its weight because I want to be able to drag it around solo if I have to (usually wouldn't be the case).

However, from reading about the changes to the quasar over the years, from the old pre-2005 version where the only difference between the quasar and ultra quasar was (apparently) the flysheet (or was that an even older version?), I want to figure out if it's possible to make modifications to strengthen it.

What I'd like to do ideally is to at some point pick up either a modern standard quasar (used) or else an older quasar (possibly even a Wild Country branded one) and use the parts from that to strengthen the current ultra quasar I have in various increments. This way (if it worked) I would have a lighter version, which should I ever need some extra strength and confidence, could be mixed and matched to a higher weight.

So my main question is, how different is the current ultra quasar to both the current standard quasar and to the older standard quasar? Are the different components compatible? If not, where do the incompatibilities lie?

And just in general, which parts changed in the quasar over the years? Does anyone know how the new ultra quasar fares when compared to the old one?

A pretty complex question, which I guess is why I've had so much difficulty finding an answer. If anyone can help me, even partially, I'd appreciate it very much.

 Thanks!

Thanks for that R_Mac. It rules out the poles in a Wild Country Quasar, but there's also likely to be a stronger flysheet and ground sheet... though perhaps the wear and tear in a used one would cancel out the benefit, and it'd be nice to get something with both poles and a flysheet I can use.

John - How would I go about doing that? I'm pretty new to tents and have mostly done single day trekking or places where I didn't need to camp. I'm assuming you don't mean two poles in one sleeve because that surely wouldn't fit. So what do you mean by dual pole? How would you set that up?

Oh right. Thanks!

The other thing I'd ask then is, what do you think the relative benefits of doing that are, compared to a stronger flysheet and stronger pegs? What would make the biggest difference when it comes to keeping the thing standing in extreme conditions?

I think with most new tents (before the UV gets them) the poles will be the first thing to go as at the end to day they're the thing that holds the tent up. You can dual pole hillebergs and some other mountaineering tents.

> stronger pegs

Well pegs that don't come out help alot. The bigger thing IMO is where you put it.

Hi Barry

I would contact Terra Nova first to see if they could supply a replacement pole. Sometimes they can be very helpful, but sometimes not.

Other companies which can supply replacement poles -- or have done in the past -- include Hampton Works and Scottish Mountain Gear.