Macpac Olympus

[Dave051w]

The Macpac Olympus is still a possibility as a new tent choice but I've noticed the current model is different from my very early model. Seems the inner tent is off-set so there is one large vestibule and the other is an entry only instead of two equal sized vestibules - does anyone have any experience and/or comments on the newer model.

Thx, Dave

[CharlesA]

Dave,
I have a new Olympus, and as you say the inner is off-set.
You can get in at either end, but the smaller vestibule is quite small.
The larger vestibule would be big enough to hold 2 packs
The inner is spacious for a 2 person tent.

I've only spent one night out in it, which was dry and still. Can't comment on it's performance under more trying circumstances.
It looks well made and the attention to detail is good.

I haven't used an older version so I can't compare the two.

Looking forward to getting out again this weekend...

Regards,
CharlesA.

[Dave051w]

Thanks Charles, Easter sale price was too tempting so I'm now looking forward to using mine

[tasadam]

I had a night in a Macpac Olympus last week.
My thoughts...
Rear vestibule is not a vestibule, it is only an entrance.
The sidseways opening doors take a bit of getting used to.
The front (and only) vestibule is of good size, though overall the entrance is smaller than what I am used to.
There are large pockets along both sides of the inner tent. Impressive storage. I like the hooks on the inside as well.
There are heaps of rope anchors - guys. If there is a strong wind, this is the tent!
The guy line tensioning cords can absorb water, something less absorbent would be a good idea. And the plastic tensioning clips, while simple in design and much the same as those aluminium ones from when I was a kid (flat piece of metal with 3 holes), were a little less easy to use as the ones I am used to. Have to hold them at the right angle to get it to move easily to where you want it.
Not mentioning the weight, it's in the specs.
Good light inside the tent.
A fair bit of condensation if you don't open it up to breathe well enough whilst it's cold and still. That's no different on any tent.
Overall, very solid, well made, and any of the quirks I mention are not really negatives as such, as differences to what I'm used to.
Would I buy one?
If I was going somewhere that justified a really bomb proof tent and I didn't trust my Hilleberg for the expected conditions, and I was prepared to carry the extra weight, Yes.
If I was looking at a pretty extreme snow camping event, certainly. The 3 pole design and other features designed to assist in the snow would be useful... Extra flaps around the bottom, and all those anchor points!!

[Binder]

G'day all

Bought a new Olympus last year and have tried it out in the Anne circuit and Rhona. I took into account the bit of extra weight, the one vestibule now instead of two etc, but decided as I work in the South West I wanted the bombproof reputation more than anything, and at 6 foot six its one of the few that I can fit in, and sit up in !

My first two nights in the tent proved it's worth on the Anne circuit. Winds (according to the met bureau guys a couple of days later) were peaking over 100k an hour on both nights, with a bit of rain thrown in. A couple of work collegues that were also camped up there lost their tent, and the 'bivvy hut' that was flown up there was also rocking in the wind. I had all of the storm guys out and was waiting for the big rip, but all held up ok.

I heard that another Olympus self destructed itself up there on the same night. Apparently one of the poles may not have been fully inserted into the heavy duty pocket at the end of the pole sleeve properly. When the wind picked up the end of the pole was forced through the light weight fly material, and once the tension was of, kept stabbing through the rest of the tent until its eventual demise...

Condensation can be a bit of an issue if the ventilation isnt set up right as with any tent, but apart from that no problems.

Only thing that has happened to it, was some beautifully formed claw marks through the fly when a Brushtail leapt onto the tent from a nearby tree at Lake Rhona. gotta love wildlife

Stay safe

[rucksack]

I am in agreement. The Macpac Olympus is a damn good tent and an excellent winter tent. I have owned three of them going back to 1984 and am currently using one of the last NZ-made versions. The Olympus 3-pole tunnel design responds well to bad weather and, like others, I have had the pleasure of the Shelf Camp 'experience'. One night, I was camped there with two other tents, but in the morning (after gale force winds all night long), my Olympus was the only tent still standing; the other two were completely shredded, (and I had the more exposed site of the three). I prefer the older two door model of the Olympus, but that is a personal preference and, in any case, it is no longer available. The Olympus started out with a single door back in the early 1980s, but by 1990 has swapped over to double doors. I have a Nallo 2, as well, these days, and although it has stood up to very strong winds, (the winds on the Wilmot Range last January were particular robust), it leaks and has done so from the outset. (The back end of the Nallo 2 is not the most elegant of solutions, but that is an aesthetic observation more than anything else.) The Olympus is not the most svelte of my tents when it comes to weight, but in the middle of winter with heavy snow falling and strong winds about, I would opt for the Olympus any day. I have never ever felt that it would let me down. It has plenty of room to sit up and read when tent bound and good pockets along both sides of the inner, to keep the tent from looking like a jumble sale. Five stars from me.

rucksack

[Blister]

I have had mine for 5-6 years and agree with everyone else, whilst a little heavier than i would have liked at 3.2kg it is an awesome tent. Whilst im only 5' 11" it has excellent room to sit up in. On sealing the seams i think i bought an extra tube of seam seal and used a little more than recommended, never had any leaks. The only thing you have to worry about on a windy night with the Olympus is if you've packed your ear plugs

[tasadam]

It should be said that rucksack's experience with a leaky Nallo2 is an exception, rather than a norm.
Been meaning to ask how you got on with Hilleberg there, but this topic is not the place.

[rucksack]

tasadam .. I will PM you about that.

rucksack

[Moondog55]

Why did MacPac change the design of the tent in the first place?/ if I was going to buy a new winter tent ( assuming I destroy the Plateau ) then I really NEED two doors.

When it comes down to long term strength in wild weather then I believe you do need to trade that extra mass in exchange for the added security, if it means I don't wake in the middle of the night with a broken tent I'm willing if not happy to carry an extra kilo.

[ULWalkingPhil]

When it comes down to long term strength in wild weather then I believe you do need to trade that extra mass in exchange for the added security, if it means I don't wake in the middle of the night with a broken tent I'm willing if not happy to carry an extra kilo.

That's the reason why I chosen a Hilleberg NAMMATJ 2 GT at apx 3.4kg, I don't mind carrying the extra kilo in weight for such a shelter. I once was caught in a storm and experienced a tent ripping and collapsing around me on a 3 night camping trip to Fraser Island on the first night. I don't intend to go through a night like that again. Even though that was about 15 years ago, it's still clear on my mind.

[rucksack]

Perhaps Campbell might want to respond to that question. I suspect that when Macpac went from one door to two doors back 20 or so years ago, they was responding to feedback from users. As I said in my earlier post, two doors are more useful to my way of thinking. More flexible too. I look at the new design and wonder why they changed it back to effectively one door - and certainly one vestibule. In wet weather, being able to toss the packs in one end and then climb in and out unencumbered through the other end, seems an eminently sensible and practical 'arrangement'. It means that there is safe room for vestibule cooking too. I am sure that Macpac will have a view on their current Olympus design. Campbell?

rucksack

[Dave051w]

Haven't set mine up yet but my understanding is that it does have dual access but only one vestibule.

From Macpac

Dual entry gives front and rear accessibility options

[tasadam]

Haven't set mine up yet but my understanding is that it does have dual access but only one vestibule.

From Macpac

Dual entry gives front and rear accessibility options

Your understanding is correct. As I said above, rear vestibule is not a vestibule, it's only an entrance.

In wet weather, being able to toss the packs in one end and then climb in and out unencumbered through the other end, seems an eminently sensible and practical 'arrangement'. It means that there is safe room for vestibule cooking too.

Precisely why I would ever consider a two door tent. Without two vestibules, I cannot see the point. Apart from, perhaps, the benefit of extra ventilation due to the larger opening at the other end.

Corvus I need to do a thorough photo shoot of your Snowcave (the BEST two door tent in existence apart from the weight).
The Katium from Hilleberg is tempting but for that HUGE length. The snowcave got it right because the rear vestibule wasn't any bigger than enough roon to stuff one wet pack on top of the other and throw the wet weather gear on top of that.
I suspect the Olympus does not have a rear vestibule because it allows for greater room inside the tent. Works well, but with the ease that the inner can be detached from the outer (as with the Hilleberg) to temporarily make a larger front vestibule for cooking etc, maybe the room for a rear vestibule can be gained with the sacrifice of a small amount of the front vestibule, and a small amount of the inner space. It was more than long enough inside. But I realise it needs to cater to tall people too. So what's the balance?
I know that the overall length of my Nallo2 is about the same as the Snowcave, and while I lose 2 vestibues, I gain more vestibule space - the one vestibule on the Nallo2 is greater in area than the two vestibules combined on the Snowcave.

How about two Olympus tents.
Both with two doors, but one has a large front vestibule and no rear vestibule, and the other has a medium front vestibule, a small rear vestibule (for pack storage), and a balanced internal space.
As I said, without a rear vestibule I cannot see the point in a rear door. It's only a two person tent...

[Moondog55]

Although made in China now would any-one consider the "Caddis" as a worthwhile tent??
it still has 3 poles 2 doors with 2 vestibules and I remember the originals as being the "Bees Knees" for our conditions on the Victorian High-plains in winter

[Son of a Beach]

I love my ~8 year old Macpac Olympus with two full sized vestibules. I'm not in the market for a new two man tent, as mine is still in as-new condition, but out of curiosity, one thing I would like somebody to clarify for me with the new model of the Olympus is...

With only one vestibule, is it even larger than the vestibules on the older two-rectangular-vestibules model, or is the inner tent larger, or is the fly shorter?

(I think there were at least two older variations as well. I remember doing the Western Arthers in a friend's Olympus that had two half-sized diagonal vestibules, and my Dad has an even older one that has only one vestibule, and only one entrance. But I'm just comparing to the more recently superseded model which had two large rectangular vestibules.)

[Dave051w]

It is one large vestibule 1.1m x 1.3m, looks good. I think the rear door could be handy as long as the weather was good.

[Son of a Beach]

It is one large vestibule 1.1m x 1.3m, looks good. I think the rear door could be handy as long as the weather was good.

I've no idea what the size of the older vestibules in mine are - ie, if they're larger or smaller than that.

[rucksack]

The original Olympus had a single vestibule about the size of the current design. The combined vestibule area of the double door / double vestibule versions would be larger, I think. In the original one door / one vestibule model, the inner ran right down to one end of the fly, (much like the Hilleberg Nallo 2). When Macpac changed the design to two doors and two vestibules, the inner shrank in length, but with vertical doors at either end (with dual, full-size mesh and solid fabric doors), it actually had more useable room. The outer fly did not change in shape or size between the two versions (other than the adding of a second door, of course). Macpac was always fiddling with the vents in the outer, but the fly itself remained largely unchanged, and symmetrical. I don’t have a new two door / one vestibule version, (so someone can correct me if I am wrong), but my recollection is that the current model is no longer symmetrical in the sense that the ‘back end’, the one with the smaller access, is smaller than the end with the door and vestibule. That is, looking at the tent side on, it is no longer symmetrical.

rucksack

[ninjapuppet]

Just a tip for anyone heading over to NZ,

The macpac Olympus is selling for $600NZ over there, which works out to be a tad over $450 Australian bucks
second hand prices here often reach $450!

After My Hilleberg died, I nearly picked one up myself had I not been over the 23kg limit with Emirates airlines....

oh well, theres always next time.