Sea to Summit 625 gram Solo Tent/Shelter

[johnw]

Crikey, anyone seen one of these yet :
Sea To Summit Specialist Solo Ultralight Hiking Tent Shelter
http://www.seatosummit.com.au/home.php
Weighing just 625gms for the Solo and 846gms for the Duo...

I wonder what the performance is like.

[corvus]

Yes had a look and very short on important detail ! wonder why??
corvus

[Moondog55]

Borrows from the Karrimor Marathon which was a great little tent in anything except Alpine environments, some-one here mentioned a while ago that they wondered when it would come back

[ILUVSWTAS]

Interesting!! Im not huge on STS gear, but who knows... My Terra Nova is only 700 and something grams, i've not had any issues with it yet.
Tents under 1kg are becoming more the norm nowadays!!

[dee_legg]

Spoke to the STS rep about this tent a few weeks ago. He basically just said that it has been designed for the American market.

[Lindsay]

Looks good on paper (so to speak) but as others have noted, very little detail.

[Overlandman]

Just wondering if anyone has tried the Sea To Summit Duo or Solo out in the wild.
Regards Overlandman

[Moondog55]

Just re-read the page, no dimensions listed, just area and a single skin with no flysheet, that isn't a tent in my opinion it's a bug shelter.
Shame as the original Karrimor Marathon was a really good tent in all except Alpine conditions.

[Jeff78]

I just acquired this STS solo tent today, shall test it out tomorrow as Melbourne will have a 1-4mm rain.
Will let you guys know if this single layer tent is worthy.
Stay tuned.

[Onestepmore]

How did it go? I have been looking at one of these for my husband.

[David M]

Spoke to the STS rep about this tent a few weeks ago. He basically just said that it has been designed for the American market.

So they don't think Australians are interested in light weight as well?

[bushwalker zane]

Looks good on paper..

It looks like it's made of paper as well..

[wayno]

http://www.seatosummit.com.au/specialist.php

i can't even work out if its single skin with a vestibule or double skin, single skin are trouble in the wet weather
s2s use good quality materials but the more flat surfaces on the tent the worse they are standing up to high winds, flapping noise alone being one problem.
i'd rate it as a summer tent and wouldnt want to use it in anything other than light rain and winds...

[bushwalker zane]

It's single skin with a built in vestibule. So the "inner" wall so to speak is just a divide in the the tent. When I had a look see at one I put my finger under the floor and pushed, you could see the material stretch but it looked and felt like it would pop if I pushed too hard.

Personally, I think the whole ultra-light weight thing is getting a bit out of hand, I think you shouldn't exchange too much weight for comfort and safety. I know STS makes good gear, I use a fair bit of their stuff, but I am not sold on this little thing.

[wayno]

ultralite tramping is a whole subculture that keeps part of the outdoors industry making money.
you could argue similar about big wall free rock climbing and mountaineering, they are dangerous sports that people are regularly killed and maimed in.
doesnt stop companies from providing and promoting the gear for them to go off and take the risks with...
most ultralighters end up less comfortable than your average bush walkers when the weather goes bad, yes there are some fatalities due to lack of gear, but there are more dangerous sports out there.

[bushwalker zane]

I'm not saying I don't like ultralight gear and the idea of not having to carry much weight, I just think sometimes the quality and longevity of said gear may be compromised in this constant race to shave the grams. I know, I know.. It is all put up to rigorous testing and what not, but that is still how I feel.

Each to their own I guess.

[Jeff78]

Hi there ovlman,
i set this tent up on Saturday morning, it was forecasted to rain over the weekend.
well, as for the performance of tent fabric, pertex endurance, after about 8hours of constant raining, not heavy rain, just drizzling, i noticed the forming of wet patches on the roof of the tent. the walls are performing well and are still `beading` off rain as droplets. upon further investigation on the inner roof fabric, these patches are very slightly wet when touched with my fingers. its so slightly that i have to re-examine for a few more times to confirm. was still raining, not heavy drops, just drizzles. left the tent overnight for further abuse and i thought its pointless to test condensation as its already slightly wet inside, roof only, walls and floor are bone dry.
the next morning, still windy with occasional rain, i reinspected the inner roof. it seemed that the degree of wet patches is similar to yesterday's. i suspect that due to pitched angle of the tent roof, it allowed tiny droplets to be retained, which formed into patches overtime. the roof is still wet when touched, but no way is it going to leak in droplets. anyway, i have decided to bring a small quickdry towel to wipe down this tent when required. tent is completely windproof and i will highly recommend the tyvek groundsheet. setup is simple n straight forward. i suggest one to read about pertex endurance fabric to understand its behaviour if interested. neoair standard size will not fit this tent as it tapers too soon forming a narrow but sufficient leg space. will continue next time.
Jeff78
Nothofagus cunninghamii


Posts: 6
Joined: Fri 29 Jun, 2012 4:38 pm

[ninjapuppet]

neoair standard size will not fit this tent as it tapers too soon
Jeff78

Hmmmmmmm.....

[Jeff78]

neoair standard size will not fit this tent as it tapers too soon
Jeff78

Hmmmmmmm.....

well...i still managed to squeeze my neoair inside and sleep on it. but the lowerleft corner of neo will be pushing against the tent fabric by about 3inches. view from outside makes my tent looks like it having its morning e..ection.

[wayno]

hydrostatic head of pertex endurance is 1000mm......

[superbus]

We took a 'duo' version along the South Coast Track a couple of months ago. We took the whole family with a ton of food, so my 1990's Olympus started to look heavy. 3 in the Nallo and two in the duo. Tiny thing, see-through floor (got the groundsheet to go with it), four pegs. If pitched taughtly it sat very nicely, survived strong wind gusts (amongst the trees) and kept the rain off. After two days of being zipped up in heavy rain there was a fair bit of condensation inside, all dried out when the weather cleared. Just enough room for 1 man-sized neo and 1 small-boy-sized thermarest. Two full length mats would overlap at the bottom end. Little vestibules were big enough for boots etc. only.
I wouldn't take it too far off track, or above the snow-line (expect if adventure racing or something) but I was very happy with it with that sort of trip.

[John Sheridan]

Does that 625 g include,tent stakes,cordage,bug protection and ground sheet, if so 625g is light

Cheers.

[Dale]

ultralite tramping is a whole subculture that keeps part of the outdoors industry making money. most ultralighters end up less comfortable than your average bush walkers when the weather goes bad, yes there are some fatalities due to lack of gear, but there are more dangerous sports out there.

I couldn't agree more Wayno. It was only just the other week I hiked with a dubious group and took only 2L of wine for an overnighter. It wasn't nearly enough to drown out the inane campfire talk and enable a good's night rest. Not only that, but the ultralight container dripped and I lost precious drops from my meagre supply. I have learnt my lesson and will make sure I have a minimum of 4L in sturdy containers next time. It was a close call.

[Jeff78]

Does that 625 g include,tent stakes,cordage,bug protection and ground sheet, if so 625g is light

Cheers.

shelter 445g
poles 113g replaceble by walking sticks
pegs 67g

[tasadam]

As posts appear in the order (date) they are typed and not in the order that they are approved on this forum (for new members), I am writing to advise of this post that slotted in a few posts ago.

[John Sheridan]

Add the cordage and the ground sheet and it's 900 grams ????

Cheers.

[wayno]

hmm that extra weight could bite into weight allowance for wine.... can;t have that

[Miyata610]

Add the cordage and the ground sheet and it's 900 grams ????

Cheers.

Cordage? The stated weight includes the guys. The optional groundsheet adds 94g, it has a floor and is "bug proof" without it.

If you are the type that uses trekking poles the entire weight including "cordage" and groundsheet is only 606g. That's for a tent that's bug proof, includes pegs and guys and an extra groundsheet in addition to the built in floor.

I like the idea, but I'd go the extra 229g and get the two man, and use it as a single. Then I can keep ALL my gear inside and the vestibule is only for cooking.