Anyone got one of these?  http://www.warmlite.com/start.htm

If so, any good? They seem to be incredibly light and the makers claim the tent is virtually condensation-free in all conditions. They also have floored porches, seem to require hardly any pegs, appear to have no guy-lines and yet have been stable enough for use as a shelter when climbing Denali.

Plus, they've been manufactured for over forty years, yet would appear to out-perform my Nallo 2, if the maker's claims are to be believed.  Anyone used one?

There are definitely OMers who's got / used these tents. 'Stove Man' springs to mind, but others too. I know all the users who've posted have had positive reports, so hopefully they'll be along to give some first-hand feedback....

I know the Forum Search facility is a bit pants but have you tried searching for other threads? 

Go to Mad Jim's handy search page here

http://external.theboyhope.com/omsearch/

and put in Stephenson's Warmlite - you'll find a few threads...... 

I've got the Warmlite 2R. Bought it a few months ago having talked to Alan Sloman who used his 2C for his LEJOG walk last year.

See here, here and here for my thoughts and experience so far. 

Early tests haven't been overly promising but the first one was in conditions that would have tested the anti-condensation properties of any tent, and the second was hampered by having pitched in the middle of a puddle (blush!).

From a stability point of view, however, it has performed fantastically - hardly any movement in strong winds (we went for the optional stability straps, and used them to minimise movement).

And it is amazingly light for the size.

Although it only needs three pegs to pitch it (one at the back, two at the front), so far I've found that 7 (including one on each pole base) makes it easier to get the tight pitch that's required for it to work and be stable. As you say, it doesn't require any guy lines.

Thanks for the info.

Gayle: its sounds from your experiences as though the condensation issues have not been completely eliminated by the design, although Alan Sloman's experience does seem to be different having, as he says, wound the tension up tight to keep the double layer part separated.

I camped for years using a Vango MK3 STD - all cotton - and never experienced any condensation at all. As a result I have never really got on with nylon tents as I always find them to be soaking in the morning in anything approaching cold conditions. I have listened to all of the advice about keeping all of the vents open, etc, but to me that seems counter intuitive. One of my tents is an Akto - keep the end vents fully open, and door vent, and I have the inner mesh vent unpeeled. Result in cold weather - top of sleeping bag soaking wet, from the condensation running off the inner (I assume - maybe the condensation forms because the whole inner is below dew point i.e. venting the tent so much has brought the dew point to the outer of the sleeping bag rather than the outside of the inner). 

To my mind, if you cool the outer surface of the inner by having the vents fully open, condensation is bound to form. If you seal the tent up though, there is no-where for water vapour to go and the inner, and items within the inner, get soaked from the condensation transmitted from the inside of the outer. 

The Warmlite seemed to address this by keeping a layer of dead, warm(ish) air in between the inner and the outer on the mid section, which is not susceptible to cooling from vents as on a conventional two-skin tent. Water vapour generated inside the inner is vented away from the chimney effect generated by the top and bottom vents provided by the door. The inner mid-section, as I understand it, as supplied standard has an aluminised outer (I assume to prevent the temperature of the inner fabric getting to the dew point and allowing condensation to form). Has yours got this feature?

The theory seems good. Hope your works for you next time you use it!

Manchester Rambler - That's exactly how I understand it to work.

As Gayle has mentioned, I used my Warmlite 2C on my 2007 Lejog walk of 1,687 miles http://alansloman.blogspot.com and Wanda never missed a beat.

I had owned an Akto for 12 years previously, but the Warmlite outperforms the Akto in every respect: Its roomier, sturdier and lighter.

On the condensation front - I have always been very careful to limit the possibility  by careful cooking systems and being careful with wet weather gear.

Itis not a tent I would give to youth groups though as care needs to be taken with the materials - the poles are very high-tech (and could be fragile if abused) and the tent materila is very lightweight so care does need to be taken with it.

All in all - a little marvel.

Manchester Rambler - yes, we have the aluminised material for the inner skin of the mid-section.

I must stress that the night that we suffered so badly with condensation not only was the pitching far slacker than it should have been, but there really wasn't a single breath of wind all night.

We proved on the second outing that it can cope with two people breathing in cold temperatures as long as there's a wind blowing (and we had pitched it properly that time). I'm yet to see whether it can cope with two people breathing in light winds.

Gayle: thank you for your reply. I hope that the Warmlite meets with your expectations next time out. I'll be keeping an eye on your blog to see how it fares.

Alan: thank you for your reply and for the link to your blog. The Warmlite looks extremely interesting and does seem to have real advantages over the Akto. I guess one limitation would be the requirement to use only canister-mounted gas stoves for cooking inside the tent, given the fact that the porches are floored, unless there is any way of using a meths stove inside without it tent on fire or melting the groundsheet!

Glad you like the Backpackers Club (of which I am also a member). See you at a meet sometime.

The Warmlite looks very interesting. I don't suppose that there is anywhere in this country where I could see one pitched. Ie, I assume that I could only purchase direct from the, American, manufacturer?

Gayle you may be missing a trick: in light winds take it in turns to breath; in no wind, neither of you breath at all.

I won't detail all my experiences as they're scattered around the forum already, but suffice to say that I have a warmlite 2R S LD (2R, Side windows, Large Door in warmlite-speak). It's a great tent, used for a year of round-the world travel, including a 2700mile PCT thru-hike.

 We do get a bit of condensation, usually when pitched in cold, still conditions. If its windy then there's no condensation, and if you leave the side windows open for ventilation, then that prevents most condensation as well. Most of the time we'll get a bit on the single skin end sections, but so little that a couple of wipes with a small square of packtowel and its gone. The condensation is less that I get on equivalent double skin nylon tents, tho' that is only on the inside of the outer, so you don't really come into contact with it like you do with the warmlite. however, if you're long-distance backpacking, then with a normal tent, you still end up lugging much more moisture than we do with the warmlite.

Anyone who wants to see it is welcome to visit me in Essex (near Brentwood), and i'll put the tent up in the garden.

A nice offer 'stove man' that I will also be pleased to offer - I live in central Cambridgeshire and will be pleased to help. My 'Wanda' is a little honey!

Email me if you wish to see Wanda.

Simon - I don't think that you'll see one pitched in the UK except in the hands of one of the few UK owners!

But if you are based in the Derby area as your profile suggests, then I'm not very far away at all if you'd like to have a look at one in the flesh.

Hi Geoff

I wouldn't be too keen on using a Trangia inside for two reasons: the fumes it gives off and for the possible damage to the groundsheet following a burning meths spill.

I use a butane cartridge stove with a three legged plastic spreader on its base for stability and cook using 'Real Expedition Foods' so only ever need to bring water to the boil in a kettle with a lid, so reducing steam and hence condensation in the tent. Obviously this is only necessary in crap weather, otherwise i am outside enjoying the Great Outdoors.

Not an ideal tent for a Trangia, I would say.

I know nothing about the safety/fume issues of using a meths stove in a tent, but from the spillage point of view, would a square of Thermawrap sort of material (the silver stuff that goes behind radiators) provide the necessary protection of the floor?

It's very lightweight and pretty flameproof too.

I really doubt it Gayle - if you knock over the Trangia (difficult to do I know, but it is a possibility) then you will have burning meths spill all over the floor. It will choose where it wants to go right down to the bottom of the tent!

If you knock over a cartidge stove then at least you just have to stand it back up again. I always stand mine on my Thermarest blow-up sit mat. - a small price to pay if it falls over.

It would be really easy to put a trangia just outside the door and reach out to use it...

Then again, to go with an expensive, new, specialised, ultralight, custom made tent from the US, why not drop £20 on a much lighter more efficient stove as well? Or make your own combining a normal pepsi-can stove with a much larger aluminium dish to trap any leaking meths.

Or if you really like Trangias get a gas conversion (note the Markill one is half the price of the "official" one), which leaves you with the stability of the original but adds vastly better cooking control and less smell and faff refueling.

Since getting a gas conversion for mine I very rarely use it with the spirit burner any more, gas is just fundamentally nicer to cook with.  Hence you don't hear "now we're cooking with meths!" spoken as an indicator of progress...

Pete. 

I am a subscriber to backpackinglight.com but I can't find any reference to your stove. I have however found the full article quoting the performance of the Snow Peak GS-010A and its  CO emissions are the second worst of those tested, 314ppm on low power and 317ppm on high power.

I'll look again later to see if I can find a reference to your stove.