Macpac Minaret Tested

Macpac Minaret Tent

Price: £320.00

Weight: 2.6 kilos total / 2.4 kilo in use

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.

4-season mountain tent with bombproof reputation Not cheap

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.

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.

Performance
Value

Macpac web site

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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