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Macpac Minaret
Tent
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Price:
£320.00
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Weight: 2.6 kilos total / 2.4 kilo in
use
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Features: H 100cm
L 260cm W 120cm, rolled size 40cm x 15 cm, tunnel
construction sleeps two, large single vestibule, adjustable
front inner to tailor vestibule size, vents at front and
rear, internal mesh pockets at sides and ceiling, UV40
polyester fly fabric, polyester inner with bathtub
groundsheet, Easton E9 aluminium poles.
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4-season mountain tent with bombproof reputation
Not cheap
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A lot of magazine tent tests seem to be based on 20 minutes in the
back garden, and even when they're not, it's hard to use a tent
enough to know how it will perform in the worst conditions you can
imagine. This test isn't like that - we've been using this Minaret
for the past two-and-a-half years and before that we had ... another,
earlier Minaret, so we do kind of know what this tent is about.
It's been to the Andes, the Alps, Scotland in winter and all over
the UK in pretty much all conditions, so we know how it works when
the going gets tough and that's pretty damn well. In fact we can't
think of another tent we'd choose instead.
For starters, general build quality is excellent. One guying point
pulled away from the inner under duress, but that's it. Everything
else has stayed resolutely intact. Macpac credit their New Zealand
location with its notoriously wet weather for keeping their designs
tough and the tent's never leaked. Most impressive is the thick
groundsheet fabric which keeps soldiering on regardless of abuse.
The earlier version suffered slowly from UV degradation after a
year in the Andes, but the current Minaret has a UV-resistant fly
material - 40 denier double-ripstop polyester fabric with polyurethane multi-coat inner proofing - and seems more resistant to the deadly rays. Polyester is twice as resistant to UV as nylon, say Macpac and more resistant to sagging when wet. No breakages
either from the shock-corded Easton alloy poles. Standard pegs are
adequate t-section items, but we supplemented them with four bomb
proof Easton pegs for the main guying points.
Incidentally, the tent comes with a tube of sealer for the
flysheet seams. Some people mutter darkly about this, but it only
take minutes to apply and we've never suffered a leak.
Pitching
One of the joys of the Minaret is that pitching is fast and easy.
The inner and outer are semi-permanently connected with Velcro
fastenings front and rear. Pitching is simply a question of running
the poles - equal lengths - through their sleeves in the fly, pegging
out the rear, then flamboyantly pulling the front forward and pegging
that too. Six guylines later and a couple of minute after stopping
and it's up.
The only drawbacks are that you can't split fly and inner easily
for shared loads - you have to juggle other items like food instead -
and it makes the tent harder to dry effectively if you pack it wet on
the last day of a trip.
Once up, the Macpac feels bombproof and has survived some
seriously nast y weather. As with all tunnels, well-anchored and
tensioned guys are crucial to its strength - unlike with geodesics -
but get them sorted and the whole tent has rock-like solidity to it.
You can also, incidentally, pitch either the inner or fly
independently, but we've never bothered.
The Facilities
The Minaret may only weigh 2.6 kilos - Macpac says 2.4 useable
weight - but it's a reasonably roomy two-man tent with all mod cons.
The colours have deliberately been kept light for a touch of sunshine
on overcast days and there are more internal pockets than you can
shake a gerbil at. The reaonably upright walls mean that most of the
internal space is useable and normal height people can sit upright.
Throw in two mountaineers, big sleeping bags and a load of clothing
though and it can get a tad cosy...
The porch is roomy enough to store two decent sized packs and just
about cook, plus you can play with the size by moving one corner of
the inner back and forth. Doors tie back neatly with elasticated
loops and you can choose any one of three options depending on the
wind direction. There's an anti-insect mesh on the inner door and
Velcro-fastened vents at the front and rear of the tent - the latter
can be opened from the inside, unlike the earlier version - provide
enough ventilation that condensation isn't a significant problem.
Suitability
Some users insist that only geodesics are tough enough for winter
use, but in our experience that's cobblers. We've used the Minaret on
glaciers at altitude, solo trekking in the Andes at 5000 metres - at
2.5 kilos it's just about light enough - and in Scottish winter
houlies and it's never let us down.
The weight savings over most geodesics make it an attractive
option, especially shared between a team of two. To be honest, the
only occasions we'd consider another tent would be at very high
altitudes where every gramme counts and a single skin assault tent
does the job better and for base camp festering in poor weather when
it would be nice to have an enormous dome tent complete with video
etc. For anything else, the Minaret does the job.
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Verdict: Incredibly versatile and
well-made, top quality mountain tent that's survived
everything we can throw at it. It weighs a mere 2.5 kilos or
so, pitches in a matter of minutes, has bombproof stability
once guyed out, all the comforts of home inside and has
never leaked. We've used it for everything from high
altitude mountaineering and trekking to gentle car camping
in the Lakes and unless you really need a larger tent, it's
near impossible to fault. Ultimately a geodesic might be
slightly stronger, but we wouldn't bet on it. If you're
after a new tent that pretty much does it all and can afford
the £320 asking price then stop looking now.
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time:
Incredibly versatile
and well-made, top quality mountain tent that's survived
everything we can throw at it. It weighs a mere 2.5 kilos or
so, pitches in a matter of minutes, has bombproof stability
once guyed out, all the comforts of home inside and has
never leaked. We've used it for everything from high
altitude mountaineering and trekking to gentle car camping
in the Lakes and unless you really need a larger tent, it's
near impossible to fault. Ultimately a geodesic might be
slightly stronger, but we wouldn't bet on it. Living
accommodation is surprisingly generous, porch is big enough
for storage and cooking. Great tent - a modern
classic.
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