Gear

Has anyone tried one of these tents and can say whether they are any good or not?

Thanks.

Link to Novae X3

Not tried it, but its cheap as chips here

http://www.yeomansoutdoors.co.uk/products/tents/2-4-man-tents/coleman-novae-x3-tent-2009-00000.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=FebClearance2010

Hence my post, haha.

Noone tried or seen them in the flesh?

Ive ordered one anyway, I'll report back if it turns up.

Well the tent arrived today and it is great quality, its a mansion for its weight too.

It weighs 2.3kg, is nearly 3 metres wide in total, and the inner is all solid except 2 end sections of mesh around 15x8 inches, so should be quite warm.

I have posted some pics if anyone is interested, I would definitely recommend it for someone looking for a large 2/3 man backpacking tent, especially for £69!

The tent is shown in its sack next to a Proaction Hikelite one man tent for comparison.

Hi Rich - looks interesting

questions for you please:

what is the inner height like for sitting up in? (how tall are you?)

are the doors solid or mesh or both (2 layers)?

What length is it when you lie down with sufficient space at each end and your head and feet are clear of the inner? By that I mean is there sufficient internal length for you and how tall are you? A lot of tent manufacturers save weight by shortening the tent and/or making the tent curve or slope a lot at each end (using less fabric and hence less weight). This means that internal dimensions are irrelevant as you lose a lot at each end due to the slope of the inner.

Sorry I'm a cynic with tent internal lengths, but from experience for me any tent less than 225cm internal is not usuable for me due to lost length effects. I'm only 6'5" or 196cm so I am effectively losing 29 cm or more.

Looks a good tent though. Which I think Coleman has been on a learning curve with their lighter backpacking tents over the last few years and could end up becoming quite good at it. Kind of like Vango is becoming.

I'm only 5' 8" so there is loads of room for me. The inner has a height of 90cm.

The inner is 220cm long and the ends go pretty much straight up as you can see on the pictures. The inner hugs the shape of the outer.

The doors are solid. On the fifth photo above you can just about see the mesh vent, there is just one of them at each end, the rest is solid.

Thanks Rich

On the plus side, foot n head room looks good with those upright walls

but at 90cm max my head would be touching the inner except at the very apex when sat up ....  

bargain though mmm

I remember seeing a review of the vaude power lizard on youtube a few months ago. It had a problem with water ingress, which sounds just like that mentioned in the previous post. The video showed the tent, with the inner dropped, in steady rain. The rain was finding it's way from the outside, into the inner, via the tapes upon which the tensioning system hung (possibly by the same capilliary action as mentioned above.) Whether it was a one off or not, I can't say but the drips were coming in from most, if not all, of the tapes.

I guess it would be possible to waterproof the tapes (if it is the tapes from where the leaks came) with dollops of proofing, both inside and out.

I must say, I fancy the Novae and at the price I've seen them being sold for I think I'll take a gamble and take a bit of preventative action and waterproof the outer at the stitching points.

The Novae 3 looks massive and its not too bad a weight, so I think the Novae tw might give a solo user masses of room, for not to bad a weight at all.