R. Saunders Spacepacker

Peter Clinch
Reviewed: 29 November 2007

2 PEOPLE, 2 PORCHES, UNDER 2 KG

Excellent combination of light weight and usable space
A decent porch and two doors on each side makes life easier
Excellent materials
Pretty tough and weather resistant, for its weight
Fly first pitch
Excellent venting possibilities

Not a tent for taller folk when used 2 up
Limited space in front of face when lying down
Rather floppy inner
Though it is pretty tough for its weight, don't expect world-beating performance in snow and gales

I've owned one of these tents for around 17 years now. My first one was stolen in a burglary 10 years ago and I couldn't see anything I'd sooner have than a straight replacement, and although the market is now much better served with genuine 2 person tents under 2 kg, I think I'd still stick with the Spacepacker.

It's light enough to use solo, in which case you get masses of space, but it's big enough to use as a genuine 2 person tent. While the inner is small for 2, the fact that each user gets their own good-sized porch with a choice of 2 doors makes an enormous difference to the tent's usability. Even when camping solo I much prefer 2 porch designs, and there are still very few other 2 porch options under 2 Kgs.

Fabrics are double silicone elastomer coated high tenacity ripstop nylon for the fly and breathable ripstop nylon for the inner. The fly is not seam taped because of the silicone, but in my experience doesn't leak and you can use a seam sealant if you're paranoid, and since seam taping weakens the fabric and adds weight I prefer things the way they're done here. The fly seems remarkably tough, and the inner is breathable while being lightly proofed to keep drips of condensation etc. at bay. The pole seems like a quality item and the one on my tent has taken a lot of flak over the years. The pegs are a bit bendy, but having said that I've never managed to break one, and they're easy to bend back straight...

The main problems of the tent come from the inner, which is hung from hooks along the ridge seam and then pegged out for a degree of taughtness... but only a degree. Since it's quite loose it's fairly easy to push the inner against the fly, and the sloping sides hang in close to your head when you're lying down, which can give something of a face-full-of-nylon effect lying on one's back if you're as tall as the tent would take (my wife is 5'10"/1.78m and I think that's as tall as you'd want to be using it two up, solo you can sleep diagonally which makes life rather airier!). Matters improve with careful pegging and tensioning of the inner's attached guys, but this can be fiddly and you're still nothing like the nice taught inners with all-in-one pitching like a Hilleberg. But while that's not perfect, I think it's a good trade against the tent's other advantages.

In a serious blow it stands up pretty well, especially if the wind is blowing along the pole. In really strong gusts it's like those old Weeble toys: it wobbles, but it doesn't fall down, the pole bowing in and the tent partially flattening to spring up again afterwards. Snow loading is similarly coped with acceptably rather than perfectly, the sides being steep enough to shed snow at the ridge but not steep enough at the ground, so snow gradually builds over from the edges, shortening the living space as it goes... A good sharp kick from the inside will usually knock most of it off, but you'll always get some shrinkage of living space in heavy snow.

The two porches aspect means that through-ventilation is potentially very good, and one half of each side of the inner has a zip-out mesh panel so you can keep bugs out while letting air through. It's possible to roll back the entire side of the inner where it opens on to the porch (porches are at the users' sides, rather than head/feet), and each porch has two doors and both can be rolled back to give an unsurpassed through-vent which is glorious on a gently breezy summer evening

If you're doing long two-up trips (we're happy for a week, I think longer than that would be a bit of a hack and we take something bigger but heavier), or at least one of a pair is taller than 1.78m, the Spacepacker Plus would probably be a better bet. It weighs a bit more, but still probably less than other alternatives that retain 2 good sized porches.

Doug Dando
Reviewed: 14 September 2005

STILL A GREAT TENT FOR THE VERTICALLY CHALLENGED

weight, stability, space, ease of pitching.

headroom sitting up, headroom lying down, small doors, price

Don't buy this tent if you're tall 1.60+

Jan Challis
Reviewed: 04 February 2003

Stable, spacious - brilliant!

Light - 1.8Kg-ish, two entrances and huge porches, room for two, bombproof, cozy, packs small, fabric inner (not just mesh) with mozzie mesh zippable panels.

Takes a little practice to realise the outer-s zips need to be left open a little, even in rain, to reduce condensation on the outer.
Could be a little claustraphobic as the inner''s walls slope steeply at the ends (can fall onto face of tall people).

A fantastic 3-season tent, albeit a little pricey. Having said that, the tent is made of top quality (silicon-elastomer outer, ripstop inner tent - not just mesh), materials. It also has zip-open inner tent vents with mozzie mesh for warm nights.
The single-pole design is very stable and yet quick to pitch, and offers two big doors on each side that give access to two massive porches - in plan the outer is almost circular, which give enough space for a 90-litre pack on both porches, with enough space left over to cook.
The inner floor is rectangular with enough space for two cozily, or plenty of room for one.
Headroom is a little limited (less than 0.9 metres, but it's worth it for the extra wind-shedding this offers.
Also available is a bigger Spacepacker Plus model.
I'm dead chuffed with my Spacepacker!