hello everyone,

I recently bought a 2nd hand Saunders SpacePacker which came without instructions on how to pitch it, and even though i figured out how to pitch the outer, i cannot for the life of me  setup the inner inside !!

The inner has ties that just dont seem to tie onto anything on the inside of the outer?

And does the inner peg down with its own pegs or does it use the same pegs as the outer? 

Has anyone got instructions or can help?

I did e-mail Saunders ages ago but got no reply.

Thanks for any help.

John

I used to have a spacepacker plus and I'm trying to remember. I think the inner gets positioned after you put the outer up and you then peg out the four corners of the inner with separate pegs (separate to the ones you used for the outer, that is). I always used to lay the inner tent in place while I was inside the tent and then peg it from the outside by just reaching under the outer bit to find the thing you need to peg. Then you get back inside and lift up the middle of the inner and hook it in place along the pole (there should be attachments). Mine also had funny little guy lines on the inner that held up the bathtub bit of the ground sheet that also had separate pegs to do them.

I'm a bit jealous - I loved my spacepacker and would have bought another one if it weren't for certain things beyond my control.

Thanks Cath, yes i did think that the inner pegged seperately (uses a lot of damn pegs does this tent

All i need to know now is where them little tie things on the inner tie too?

Also did you find the tent was fairly waterproof and what was condensation like?

Thanks

John

There will be differences between the mk 1 and the mk 2.  Do you know which yours is? (if not, measure along the ridge-pole tensioning tape.  A Mk1 should be ca. 267 cm and a Mk 2 should be ca. 295cm.

Before I go into exhaustive detail on how to pitch a Mk 1 inner, i'd like to be sure that's what you've got!  If I recall correctly the Mk 2 has a fettled inner pitch and I've never seen one, so probably won't be able to help you there. 

 With regards to Saunders and email, they're really not terribly good at it.  OTOH, I've always found them pretty good on the 'phone, so give that a go: 020 8500 2447

Pete. 

Onto the other questions I just missed...  remarkably weatherproof aside from odd drips coming through the zips, but the light inner proofing is easily enough to see them off.  if it's a Mk 1 then the seams won't be taped (can't tape silicone elastomer), and you may want to proof the ridge seam just to be on the safe side.

Condensation is not a problem on the inner: the material is quite breathable and you've got a full vent in each door to a good sized porch, and if you open up the tops of the door zips that's 4 chimney vents in the outer.

Pete. 

Hi Pete,

If you mean the black webbing that holds and tensions the pole then its about 267cm long, its definately not 295cm.

Thanks for the phone number as well, i will give them a try when i get some time, but any help appreciated.

Cheers

John

I've also just noticed in the user reviews of this tent that it has mosi nets on the inner doors, well i havent got them !

Just basic zips on the doors which is the same fabric as the inner, i.e. No mosi netting to be seen!

I suppose thats what i get for buying 2nd hand off someone that didnt have a clue about the tent

John

My spacepacker had a cotton inner and no mozzi net - it was very old.  Never had any major problems with condensation and used it in some very foul weather with hardly any problems.  It eventually died after about 15 years use (I got it second hand about 16 years ago and it was quite old then) but the problem was that the groundsheet on the inner started to leak.  I did consider reproofing it and carrying on because I really liked the tent but then I was persauded that it would be better to go for a new one instead.  It was fairly old and grubby, I must admit.

I'm not sure what you mean about the inner having ties that don't seem to tie onto anything.  Unless they are to keep the doors open - but presumably you would have worked that out!  Or maybe they're similar to the little guys that I had on mine?  Then again, I expect the design has changed quite a bit since my old one was made.

Sounds like a Mk 1 then, clincher will be no seam tape on the fly (should have thought of that to start with...).

The inner attaches to the outer on 2 (some specimens have 3) hooks that link the inner's ridge to the fly's.  That's the only direct contact between the two.  If by "little tie things" you mean short lengths of chord at the sides of the inner doors, they're purely for tying back the inner doors when you're inside for ventilation and/or easier access to the porches.

Other things to pitch the inner are the 4 obvious corner loops and the 4 trensioning guys.  You can either peg those out separately, or I find it's okay to save 4 pegs and hook them to the same pegs as the 4 non-door pegging points around the fly's circumference.  It's worth experimenting  with the inner tensioning guys, they make a pretty floppy inner into a, errr,not quite so floppy inner and definitely help pull out the bathtub, as Cath notes.

Once it's hanging up and tensioned, get inside and you'll see how to roll back the doors and tie them up to the outside edges.  One thing I really like about the Fengpacker is the way you can roll back the whole of each side of the inner.  Couple that with opening up all 4 of the outer doors (they have their own tie points and cords on the ridge pole seam, if you're wondering what those ones are!) and you have a peerless view and ventilation, making it one of the best tents for a warm, sunny evening you can find anywhere.

HTH, Pete. 

Cath, there is no cotton on this one its all nylon, and yes you are right that some of the tie backs on the inner are for tieing the doors back, however there are 4 guylines at the bottom corners of the Inner (4 in total) and i havent got a clue what they are supposed to be for?

Enlighten me someone

John

Thanks Pete, i may be able to figure it out now, tells you what i wouldnt like to pitch this thing in a howling gale, faffing about with all them guylines and pegs etc, give me back my old Ferrino tent anyday

Hi again John, Saunders had a rather odd policy back in the 80s, maybe since, that there was no such thing as a standard model or standard price (that could help to explain why such excellent tents seemed to lose a lot of their retail outlets, I imagine!).  So a Spacepacker may have had either a cotton or nylon inner, and it may or may not have had mesh inserts with zip-out panels in the doors, and may or may not have had snow valances...  If you realised this then you could order what you wanted, but of course if you didn't then you might end up assuming the one you'd just bought will be the same as some other random example you'd seen or read about.

My impression is if you buy one today it will be a nylon inner with zip-cover mesh panels and no valances at a given RRP (unless you specifically ask otherwise!), but that certainly hasn't always been the case.

Even without the mesh panels, as long as the fly's in good condition I think it's a cracking tent, and you'll be hard pressed to find anything that will go 2 up under 2 kgs with 2 good-sized porches.  I've been using one for 17 years now, and while the competition have caught up I still don't think it's been seriously bettered.  If mine disappeared I'd probably get another...

Pete. 

John, pegging a hoolie is okay, because the outer is easy and once that's done you can go inside and finish it at your leisure.  You don't need to deploy the 4 tensioning guys to use the tent, but they do make the inner taughter and pull it away from your face.

I usually lossen the runners on them as much as I can, then hook them out from the outside and slip them onto the non-door fly corner pegs.  Once on those pegs, slide the runner to tension them up and pull out the inner. It's a finishing touch rather than a fundamental necessity though.

Pete. 

however there are 4 guylines at the bottom corners of the Inner (4 in total) and i havent got a clue what they are supposed to be for?

Mine had those - I think they're meant to keep the little side bits of the bathtub standing up.  Not sure whether they really work.

Thanks Pete, i also forgot to mention that there is only one hoop on the flysheet to hang the inner from, i suspect that there should be another because there are 2 hanging points on the inner and there is a small rip in the flysheet where the previous owner had (get this) used a safety pin to hold another hoop (which i have) , this botch job had no doubt caused the tiny rip at the top of the flysheet. And of course has not helped me in trying to figure out how to pitch the inner !!

Do Saunders repair there tents at cost?

Thanks again,

John

Not sure whether they really work

 "Up to apoint, Lord Copper"...  they help, but not as much as you'd really like them to, in other words!

Do Saunders repair there tents at cost?

Depends how one defines "cost", but IME they're certainly fair.  I used to have a Snowcat which I wanted extra guying points on the main tunnel, and a good job was done  for what struck me as a very fair price.  Again, I'd use the 'phone to negotiate this, rather than email.

 Pete.

Thanks Pete and Cath for all your help,

Well i'll need the small hole in the flysheet repairing with the missing loop to hang the inner onto sewn back in as well, and i dont have the original bag either, the bag it came in would fill an whole 50 litre backpack on its own !!

Just one more question: How come where you peg out the flysheet there is metal loops for the pegs and also rubber loops?

Cheers Big Ears

John

Metal loops and rubbers gives you a choice...  Usually use rubbers as they will keep the tent in tension, but the hooks allow you to attach extra pegging points like clip-on valances. 

You'll also find a small hook/loop at the base of each of the flysheet doors, which you can hook together to keep the tension off the zip, or use to have the zip undone for ventilation while not having the door flap around.

Pete. 

I fitted small elasticated cord loops to the pegging out points on the inner of mine and then just used the pegging points for the outer.

Fewer pegs - easier to pitch.

Thanks again Pete.

druid, i but the only problem with that would maybe smaller vestibules and a limit on moving the inner about to make bigger vestibules. At the cost of only 4 pegs.