Bushwalk Australia

I've been looking around at 4 season solo tents for a little while now.

The Wilderness Equipment Ace is a new one I've just discovered.



http://www.wildequipment.com.au/techshe ... WINTER.pdf

For starters it is heavy. Heavier than a nallo 2 and I don't think it has integral pitch, but on the other hand it has an unusual design and is made by an Aussie company. I think it might beat an Akto for interior space and it has an interesting snow and wind load feature.

It's due out in Spring. I'm keen to see how it goes when put to use.

ABCEIGHT

Not light is it ... I thought my microlite was heavy @1.7 kg.

Mark

Lets not that although WE is based in WA it is a subsiduary of S2S and therefore a massive company !!!

2.25kg packed. It doesn't really save a lot of weight over my WE Second Arrow at 2.6kg (nominally 2 person, 4 season with a well protected vestibule).
Not sure what they have in mind with this design.

Lordy thats one ugly tent!!

From the description I guess there is also a summer weight inner and "Ugly"?? form follows function and if it holds up to a Bogong blow it aint ugly

The pole structure looks to me a bit like an MSR Hubba except it has sort of a framed roof pole design rather than a cross pole. They both have hubs at each end and four foot poles.



The WE design certainly ticks the box for verticals walls and the actual width inside is quite good for a sole tent. The pole design leaves a flat roof section though. It looks like it would collect snow.

I guess the WE Dart has a similar roof design. Not sure how they go.

I guess the tough, 4 season, free standing solo tent market is fairly sparse for contenders. I'd compare this to the Hilleberg Soulo, which appears much better to my eyes. By having what looks to be fairly poor side on wind performance it is kinda getting towards the Hubba HP category in my eyes, but at the best part of a kilogram heavier and inner pitch first.

I'd agree, not a huge range of choices. I think a locally made (or at least designed) lightweight, all season solo tent would sell well. Something at least down around 1.3-5 kg, well made, priced a bit higher even. Unfortunately for WE, I doubt this will be it. The first thing needed in the marketing seems (obviously) some proof that any brace would hold that weight of snow...? while i like the innovation, i cant understand why not just copy a proven design? Add innovation to venting options to cover a broad range of uses, It's rare to see a manufacturer Ask what people want. Best of luck to WE anyhow, some of the other designs looked promising.

Personally I've always liked the WE Dart as a solo tent, freestanding, looks rock solid, I just with it was just a tad lighter

I love the look of the dart aswell, when i first saw WE i was like thankgod a australian brand that might actually give us legit specs and listen to what we want ! As for nuts's comment i completely agree theres nothing wrong with copying a proven design. My ideal tent would be a two person single skin with eVent fabric, built in vestibule and some sort of rugged floor (dyneema reenforced maybe?) im sick of the idea of footprints !

Matt
" My ideal tent would be a two person single skin with eVent fabric, built in vestibule and some sort of rugged floor"
Have a look at the Exped Polaris
Franco

Franco wrote:Matt
" My ideal tent would be a two person single skin with eVent fabric, built in vestibule and some sort of rugged floor"
Have a look at the Exped Polaris
Franco

Wow. That thing looks out of this world.

I wouldn't think it would be everyone's cup of tea but it sure looks snow proof. In fact it looks to be built like a fortress.

I would be very amused to see it pitched at my local campground although it did get down to -8 a few nights back

In the way of specs yes it somewhat matches my rapsheet however it is a fortress with too many guylines and snow orientated features ! However cheers for the suggestion !

The pole that crosses the side guylines is only meant to be used for snow loading (or maybe high winds) but it is an expedition/alpine type tent.
Basically you cannot have an ideal all weather/all locations tent.
It it works really well in cold conditions, it isn't going to be perfect in the middle of summer.

BTW, that new WE tent is heavier than the Akto but it also has a lot more headroom...
Franco

Franco wrote:BTW, that new WE tent is heavier than the Akto but it also has a lot more headroom...
Franco

I agree. It's interior design looks quite comfortable. You might even be able to sit upright in more than one spot.
On the other hand at that wieght there are a lot of tents which can do this for you. It is roomy as a one man tent, but heavier than many two man tents. In this sense I think it's more comparable to a Nalo 2.

Price?
Build quality?
Storm worthiness?

There are many questions not yet answered.

Has anyone seen one of these yet?

After looking at the post for the One Planet Goondie why would you get one of these? The OP tent beats it hands down as far as I can see.

The goondie does look pretty interesting. I decided to buy an Akto a couple of months back, pretty much because I already had a nallo and like hillebergs.
The reason I'm interested in the WE tent is because it is a new tent from an Aus company. Not because I want to buy one. It is suprisingly similar to the Goondie, and MSR in my opinion.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I much prefer the OP Goondie 2 crossover pole design to the MSR Hubba and WE Ace hub pole configuration. The think OP Goondie with 2 poles supporting the top/fly would have better snow loading esp compared to the MSR

I've used a BD firstlight for a while and can attest to the crosover pole shape. Freestanding, steep sides, very stable and simple. I'm suprised more tents aren't like this, although the BD tent is a completely different beast to the OP tent.

I think the WE shape is quite good though. As Franco said, it seems to have good headroom. This is because of steep sides, steeper even than the crossover design because of the end hubs. It allows a flattter room and more vertical end walls rather than a perfect curve. The hubs are placed higher then on an MSR.

Still don't know about snow loading though. Would like to see one in action.

I think the roof design looks much stronger than an MSR hubba. Strength I imagine would be similar to that of the OP Goodie. I wouldn't know which one performs better from the pictures

I purchased the WE Dart UL sometime late 2011. Since then, I've taken it on several trips, one being the South Coast and another being Frenchmans Cap. It was used on both trips fairly heavily (I spent one night in Vera Hut on the return leg).

It is described as a 1.5 man tent. The reason I bought it in particular is so I can store all my gear in it - bag, jacket and other wet gear in the outer vestibule and the rest inside. I spend some time traveling around foreign cities and I needed a place to keep my gear safe-ish when inhabiting a random park or popular campsite. Also, I am a bit pedantic when it comes to leaving gear outside when I'm on a tramp. In most wet situations I wring a tarp up which allows me to do all my cooking and faffing about with gear without things getting absolutely soaked. I'm about 184 cm and I have a minor problem sitting upright, although without a camping map I can sit without my head touching the roof. Nevertheless, I'm mostly lying down or crouched over the Trangia which fits nicely in the outer vestibule when the weather comes in hard. Should a situation where two people need to inhabit the Dart, top-and-tail would be comfortable enough for a night or two.

The outer canopy has proved to be excellent with heavy rains and beads quite nicely. A month more or so of rain will tell the true ability of the waterproofing, I imagine. The seams seem well made. I have noticed the fly zip gets caught on the storm flap if care is not taken, which proves to be a problem in instances when the fly must be closed quickly. The tent props up with no signs of "corrugation" i.e the outer canopy feels springy and taught.
The inner canopy is almost fully mesh and coupled with the two ventilation panels allows for good airflow (something I have really appreciated, being a hot sleeper). The fly may be pitched individually, which I have not tried but seems to be an appropriate solution when the weather is good and minor sheltering is required.

The poles which are in a cross-over formation set-up very quickly and require one person and about two minutes. There is a third, smaller pole that attaches perpendicular over the two which allows the tent to be completely free standing. Handy when pitching on sand or over pebbled areas. Guy ropes are solidly attached to outer canopy and are not necessary unless in exposed areas with high wind.

At about 2kg, it's a tad heavy, but I consider the benefits as being worth an extra few hundred grams. I noticed Passion 8 (here in Hobart) had them quite cheap on sale a month or two ago - rivaling most internet prices at about $300-$400.

I hope this has been of some use to those who are interested, and those who plan to buy. Please sing out if you have any particular questions or reviews of your own, as I realize this is not a fully-comprehensive review and is tailored to my particular use of the tent.

http://www.wildequipment.com.au/tent_de ... ode=WEDART

thanks kozevian.

still havn't heard anything about the WE Ace. Maybe this winter someone will try one out....

Hi There!
I know this is a one person tent thread - but I have just ordered the WE Dart 2 Winter...really wanted the One Planet Gondie 2 30D, but this seems a good alternative..and seems to suit the cold sleeper...
http://www.wildequipment.com.au/tent_de ... WEDART2ULW

thanks for the info on the solo Dart...
Take it easy
Lisa

There is one observation that may help (now or in the future). WE have made some excellent winter tents... but these and the Dart have flat roofs, I don't believe ive ever seen a photo or one in person with a snow load up there???

Woops... I already did make that observation earlier... o'well... guess its a considered purchase then