Macpac Hemisphere - First Look

Macpac Hemisphere Tent - First Look

Price:£420.00

Weight: 3.9 kilos (includes stuff sac, storm guys, additional pegs, pole repair sleeve)

Features: Four-pole dome design piches inner first, four 7075-E9 Easton aluminium poles, YKK zips, main and rear entrances, window in main door, vent in main door, storm guys for blizzard conditions, UV40 UV resistant, lightweight, double rip-stop PU-proofed fly fabric., bath-tub floor. Also available in XPD expedition version with snow anchorage for £520.

Tough and roomy base camp tent Not cheap and not light

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The Concept New Zealanders, Macpac are best known for their bombproof tunnel tents like the Minaret and Olympus. Simple tough designs that last for ages and combine a relatively light packweight with fast pitching, good strength and high stability - we've been using Minarets for ages here and it's a great design.

The Hemisphere takes that basic build quality and applies it to a multi-pole dome design aimed more at base camp or car campers in serious conditions. It's a geodesic-type dome design and as well as being inherently strong, also offers more head room than the Macpac tunnels together with two entrances for more versatility and kit or dog storage.

If you're after a backpacking or lightweight mountaineering tent, the Hemisphere's probably going to be OTT, but if you're planning to climb or walk from a fixed base, perhaps with porters or burros to carry your kit in for you, then the increased space and comfort are worth looking at. Oh, and you get a window in the main door too, so you can check out the weather without it checking you...

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Features Pretty much all the core Macpac construction details carry over into the Hemisphere. That means you get four 9.0mm 7075-E9 Easton aluminium poles, which are a claimed 10 per-cent stronger than the thinner versions used by most brands. The fly is a double rip-stop polyester UV-40 fabric that's reckoned to resist the ravages of UV light twice as long as nylon.

There are two entrances with decent sized porches for kit storage and cooking, the main one is multi-adjustable and allows you to mix and match openings and direction to suit the weather, while the simpler second entrance can also be used at a pinch. Pitching is inner first, unlike the tunnels which go up all in one, but you can use the inner on its own in calm conditions. Lots of storm guys promise good stability in bad weather.

Inside there are kit storage pockets a go go - ideal for keeping things neat and tidy - and a central loop for hanging a torch. Obviously you also get an integral insect netting door. Finally, the groundsheet is Macpac's tough as old boots bath tub design. Our Minaret experience tells us that you'll never need an additional 'footprint' sheet, these things simply don't leak, even after heavy use.

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In Action We're not going to lie, the OM budget precluded trips to the Alps or Himalaya, so our brief experience of the Hemisphere has been confided to the UK in spring and early summer, so we can't tell you that it'll definitely stand up to mega-storms. Based on our Minaret experience though, we certainly wouldn't be betting against it...

Pitching is pretty straightforward once you've read the instructions. Not as simple as Macpac's 'single-pitch' tunnels, but faster than most geodesics. All four poles are thankfully the same length. The first two slide through sleeves in the inner tent, the others clip round the sides. The inner then is free standing and all you need do is throw the fly over and clip on with snap buckles and Velcro fasteners. It feels pretty stable just like that and can be moved around, but if it's windy, numerous storm guys allow you to wind everything up drum tight.

The bright blue fly with pale inner look great and that's not as irrelevant as you might think. When the weather's down and you're confined to base, there's nowt as depressing as a dark, gloomy environment. The Hemisphere's roomy inner is bright and spacious. Near vertical sides mean loads of headroom - we could kneel straight up easily - and there's enough floor space for two in luxury or three with a bit more of a squeeze.

Loads of storage too, both inside in lots of mesh pockets and in the two porch areas, which can both be accessed from inside the tent. Macpac's door designs are good too, giving a range of options when it comes to cooking and venting. the rear door is a simple two-way slit with tie-backs, but the main entrance - complete with window - allows you to mix and match opening options to suit the wind direction. You also get a frontal vent, though you'll need to improvise with door openings at the rear.

Like we said, the Hemisphere feels bombproof, but storms don't appear to order, so we can't say for definite that it'll survive. We'd be surprised it it didn't though.

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Provisional Verdict

Spacious, tough, mountain base camp tent with all Macpac's customary build quality and attention to detail - it'd be just the job for an extended mountain stay or even car camping in Scottish winter conditions. The two door entrances add versatility and bright, light colouring lifts the spirits on grey, gloomy days.

Pitching isn't as fast as with the tunnel designs, but once you've worked out where the poles go, it's pretty quick. Some tests complain about having to seal the fly seams yourself - the proofer is provided - but it's an easy enough one-off job, which wouldn't put us off the tent.

At four kilos odd the Hemisphere's not exactly light, but split between two for a carry-in it's not that bad either and the increased luxury should make the suffering worthwhile. If you're in the market for a hard-nosed basecamp tent and can afford the £420-odd asking price - £520 if you want the snow-anchor specced Hemisphere XPD expedition version - we don't think you'll be disappointed.

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Macpac web site

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