WE Second Arrow

[Sparky]

I'm looking to buy a tent suitable for the worst of Tassie's weather, I am considering the Second arrow and would like any feedback that anyone has on these. Thanks.

[Ciaran]

Hi Sparky

got to give this tent a bit of a run on Mt. Anne last week in march, not too bad. Did'nt get to see it perform in any adverse conditions so there's not a lot to say in that area.

The tent is simple to put up, minimum three pegs ( not free standing). Found the guy ropes that attach the vestible to the inner tent a little cumbersome as they become a bit of a tripping hazard getting in and out of the tent. At first I found that they would keep the floor tub very low at the entrance but the more I put it up it paid to stretch out the tent as tight as possible and that seemed to do the trick.

Head room ; I am only 160cm tall ( 5ft 4ish) and struggle to sit in it without touching the top of the tent which annoyed me.

Tent length; not a lot of room here niether if you are on the tallish side I just fit at my size.

Ventilation; this was good with each end open just slightly found no condensation at all.

waterproofness; No problems here, tent performed well and with the siliconized fly it was a breeze when packing up, just a few hard taps on the fly dispersed a good 90% of the water therefore saving on packed weight.

Packed size and weight; here I found it to be a few grams more than manufacturer's spec's. I weighed it in at 2.6kg on my scales (2.4kg I think for manufacture's spec's). Packed size was not too bad definitely smaller than all my other two man tents (Adventure Designs Diamondback, and Quest Alpine Dome). But you are governed by the length of the poles when broken down. Only thing i did'nt like was the pussy bag they put it in.

Tent poles; good strength in the poles as my 4yr old neice did give these the stress test, I saw them bend in ways I did'nt think they would bend and recover well. I liked the locking supports on the tent for the poles when erecting they were good.

Overall, 8 out of 10, good if you are on the small size but I personally would not recommend it for the taller people and sleeping two would be very cosy , so choose your partner wisely. Hope this helps.

P.s. I did get your PM but my computer shat itself; sorry for that.

[johnw]

I also own this tent and pretty much agree with Ciaran.

Here are some comments that I posted in another topic:
http://www.bushwalkaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1897&hilit=+second+arrow#p15840

We used the Second Arrow on the trip below all except one night. We had some reasonably serious weather at times and I was happy with the tent's performance:
http://www.bushwalkaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1594&hilit=+second+arrow#p13249

P.S. Do a search on Second Arrow on the forums and you will find further comments.

[ivantheterrible]

i have to agree with the comments above.
good tent but i cannot sit up in it which gets annoying.
stands up well to serious weather
slightly heavier than i would have liked
a bit small for a 2 man, and too big and heavy for a 1 man
just a little bit too short for a 6'1" person....the end of you sleeping bag is going to get damp if you stretch out
it seems to be a compromise between a number of competing factors....size, weight, height, 4 season rating, number of people

all up a fairly good 1.5 person tent. when i can afford it, i'll get myself another tent, single person, 3 season rated to fit the hole below this one, and after that a good 3 season, 3 person tent to fit the space above it

[Speculator]

I've got one and I have to agree with most of the comments posted above. I haven't put mine to the test in any really foul weather yet though, so I'm not sure how it'll hold up. It does certainly seem like it'd handle a lot of wind and rain. The only thing I wonder about is whether the shape is going to be a little prone to snow gathering on top. Maybe someone else can comment on this?

L8r.

[Sparky]

Thanks Guys, appreciate the time taken to give the detailed advice.