Macrolight

[norts]

Just finished reading the blurb on the Macrolight. Not happy Jan(Blacksheep).
Why a swift pitch, as soon as I read that I thought you a competing against so many American designs. The beauty of the Microlight is that it is Multipitch.
I wont consider a tent unless I can put up the fly first.
Not trying to be negative as I have been eagerly awaiting this tent, but not so eager to look at it now.
Blacksheep what is its weight? In the specs it says 2kg, in the blurb it says 1.6(1.4 in use).
Roger

[Maelgwn]

Just finished reading the blurb on the Macrolight. Not happy Jan(Blacksheep).
Why a swift pitch, as soon as I read that I thought you a competing against so many American designs. The beauty of the Microlight is that it is Multipitch.
I wont consider a tent unless I can put up the fly first.
Not trying to be negative as I have been eagerly awaiting this tent, but not so eager to look at it now.
Blacksheep what is its weight? In the specs it says 2kg, in the blurb it says 1.6(1.4 in use).
Roger

Totally agree with you Norts. They have made it free standing, which is simplified by the swift pitch but I agree a multipitch is more versatile and useable. The inner door looks kinda funky too, though it is hard to tell form the small pictures.

The correct weight i think is 2.2/2.0 kg. The 1.6(1.4) on the website is an error and I emailed Blacksheep about it last night and he said he would get it fixed. I also like the link to the sizing chart for clothing and packs on the tents pages!

There website claims to have 8 'fantastic tents' but only actually has four.

[Mulga]

Yeh I'm dissapointed too, my initial impressions are "I cant belive they discontinued the Celeste for that".

[sthughes]

Just finished reading the blurb on the Macrolight. Not happy Jan(Blacksheep).
Why a swift pitch, as soon as I read that I thought you a competing against so many American designs. The beauty of the Microlight is that it is Multipitch.
I wont consider a tent unless I can put up the fly first.
Not trying to be negative as I have been eagerly awaiting this tent, but not so eager to look at it now.
Blacksheep what is its weight? In the specs it says 2kg, in the blurb it says 1.6(1.4 in use).
Roger

Yeah couldn't agree more.

I also like the link to the sizing chart for clothing and packs on the tents pages!

Lol - I've always loved that.

Given it is so hard to get stuff from a Macpac shop (i.e. 7 hour round trip to Hobart for me) I wish they could get their website in order. A few more pics would be handy also.

(Actually I could fly to the Melbourne shop quicker hmm )

P.S. Who named the Wanaka? I thought it was called the Wanker at first glance

[photohiker]

P.S. Who named the Wanaka? I thought it was called the Wanker at first glance

haha. It's a NZ place name in the South Island, north of Queenstown Map.. There's a large lake 'Lake Wanaka' nearby. I'd guess it's a Maori name. The town was renamed Wanaka from it's original name of 'Pembroke' in 1940. It's a nice spot.

[jose]

Why a swift pitch, as soon as I read that I thought you a competing against so many American designs. The beauty of the Microlight is that it is Multipitch. I wont consider a tent unless I can put up the fly first

Roger, after checking out Swift Pitch on Macpac website: http://www.macpac.co.nz/product-support/tents

Swift-Pitch™ tents are fast and easy to pitch The fly can be attached after the inner is pitched, enabling you to choose whether to use the fly on warm evenings.
For greater speed and protection the fly can be attached to the inner and the tent pitched all as one.

It seems to me that the Macrolite can be pitched the same as the Microlight - fly and inner all as one. Is there something that I have misunderstood here?

[norts]

I was talking about putting the fly up first and taking it down last, very handy to be able to do this if it is raining very heavily. You can keep the rest of the tent and your gear dry while packing then you only have the fly and pole to pack up in the rain.

Roger

[jose]

Thanks for that explanation Roger. I understand why you're disappointed.
I've only ever unhitched the inner of my microlight once but the next night I found it such a fiddle to re-attach the inner in the fading light that I've never bothered again. I just pack the whole as usual and at next camp, if it is still raining, I give the inner a quick wipe with my cotton towelling before putting my dry stuff in (microfibre cloths seem useless for drying). But for those of you who find it efficient to separate the tent, you certainly have less weight by carrying a dry inner and maybe more comfort the following night.

I wonder how many walkers do separate their tent inner and fly. Have they done it countless times or, like me, just once or twice.

[sthughes]

Yeah I always separate them. I would consider keeping them together in dry conditions, but otherwise I don't like the idea. (Having said that I'm not sure a microlight fly will ever stays dry overnight with all the condensation. )
I find a Chux works well for drying stuff.

[Son of a Beach]

My tents are capable of separating inner for a fly only, inner only or integral pitch. But I've never set up the fly first, then attached the inner, and I've never dismantled the inner first and then packed up the fly. Even interrible rain. If the inner gets a bit wet, it's not that big a deal to me. After 12 days straight of rain, our sleeping bags finally started to feel a bit damp from soaking up the miniscule amount of water that was inside the tent. No big deal.

The weight is a bit of an issue, but not too bad. However, I can certainly understand other people wanting to do it this way for the weight, or the dryness. It's just not worth the hassle for me.

I have on rare occasions set up the tent withou the fly on hot nights when certain it won't rain.

The tent and inner are always packed together for me.

[norts]

I always pack my 1st arrow seperately but mainly pack my microlight as one, Having said that I have had to only pack up the microlight once in torrential rain( microlight) and I seperated it, made packing up a whole lot drier. I agree it is not a major problem but It is a feature of the microlight I know that is there if I need it.
I suppose I am a bit of a woose, if its raining that heavy, I try and stay in my tent.

Roger

[crockle]

Nah - I'd be with you on that norts : - I do the inner, then outer thing if it's raining heavily. I reckon it helps psychologically - to get absolutely everything packed first, but for this little bit of nylon shell and the poles that hold it up.. - THEN out into the weather.

Still looking for "the perfect tent" though...
In a spasm of madness, I bought TWO the other day - they're already heading for eBay..

[corvus]

Have on many occasions set up the Snow Cave fly then inner under an vice a versa Multi/Integral pitch is the way to go,my Microlite has had minimal use owing to tent share and love of Mountain Huts however on multi day walks I would definitely utilize the multi pitch system a la Snow Cave so lack of this is a retrograde step in my opinion.
corvus

[Mulga]

I went onto Macpac yesterday to have a look at a Macrolite. They still don't have them in stock.

However I did do the Wickim St strip and have a look at a few other tents all seemed very well made:

- WE Dart 2, Very roomy excellent Qld tent due to ventilation but a tad heavy, packs surprisingly small,
- Mont Moondance 2, Very roomy and well thought out but bugger all vestibule and well ventilated wit about 30 or 40cm of material up the walls of the inner before becoming mesh (would help stop sand/dust/snow blowing in compared to WE Dart 2, MSR Hubba Hubba etc),
- Exped Vela 1, heap of vestibule but a bit claustrophobic, nice concept,
- Macpac Microlite, too small for me but tiny packed size, at 187cm i could just fit in but with a sleeping bag on it just wouldn't work for me,
- Macpac Minaret, nice roomy tent, good weight to size ratio, multi-pitch is great, the green color fly gives a green glow inside the tent. I liked it so much I bought one.

BTW any one noticed how dust sticks and seems to be attracted to SilNylon, compared to polyester fly materials. Static electricity or Silicon attracting/holding the dust?

Regards

Dan

[sthughes]

BTW any one noticed how dust sticks and seems to be attracted to SilNylon, compared to polyester fly materials. Static electricity or Silicon attracting/holding the dust?

Yep - especially where you seam seal it.

[Franco]

"BTW any one noticed how dust sticks and seems to be attracted to SilNylon, compared to polyester fly materials. Static electricity or Silicon attracting/holding the dust"

Yes true. The TN Photon has provably the best version if attracting sand is your goal..
However there are some advantages to silnylon and that is why more manufacturers are using it.
It is very easy to wipe (not so much the PU coated type, as in the underside of the ones that are taped ).
When wet a good shake will get rid of most of the water , silnylon does not "wet out" .
And of course it is very strong for the weight.
Franco
BTW, with tents it's silicone not silicon.
When we get solar panels light and thin enough as well as playable enough to make tent panels with, then silicon will play a part.

[sthughes]

BTW, with tents it's silicone not silicon.
When we get solar panels light and thin enough as well as playable enough to make tent panels with, then silicon will play a part.

BTW it's Pliable not playable,
When they build a guitar or piano into the solar panal it will be playable.
(Just jesting Franco )

[Nuts]

Perhaps he meant that it was easy to play with? When I seam sealed some teepe's we tried, I spread baby powder over the seams. It appeared to make them tack-off better and they weren't so sticky??

Blacksheep may have jumped the gun a bit but i'd give him a break. Many other companies have as many dramas, they are just better at hiding it behind excuses when they are based overseas and dont bother to contribute...

[Franco]

sthughes
Inevitably when corrects someone else he makes some mistakes himself.
On another forum someone had a go at me for my use of English (something that he does regularly to others too) so I took the opportunity to cut and paste several of his sentences from the same thread that had grammatical mistakes as well as a very tortuous version of the language to explain very simple concepts. . His retort was to point out that I misspelled his moniker ( I spelled The Old Fhart as the Old Phart), so it never ends.
I commonly write ply when I mean play and the other way around. Just one of my many sort of dyslexic bits. But there is more...
The reason I made that comment is that silicon/silicone is one of the most misused term on backpacking forums, but I am certainly not in the position to criticise someone else's use of the Queen's English...
Franco

[Peaksnik]

Hey Mulga,

I went onto Macpac yesterday to have a look at a Macrolite. They still don't have them in stock.

However I did do the Wickim St strip and have a look at a few other tents all seemed very well made:

I did the same. I was looking for a solo tent but thought that the Macrolight might be okay or if not then the microlight - drawn in by the 30% discount. I came to the same conclusion - not long enough. While Wickham St has all the outdoor shops, the crazy thing is that I ended up spending many more dollars on an online purchase of the Hilleberg Soulo. I hope that it's going to be money well spent.

Cheers

[Singe]

BTW, with tents it's silicone not silicon.
When we get solar panels light and thin enough as well as playable enough to make tent panels with, then silicon will play a part.

BTW it's Pliable not playable,
When they build a guitar or piano into the solar panal it will be playable.
(Just jesting Franco )

BTW it's panel not panal,
When they design a solar-powered guitar with built-in nappy for incontinent Spaniards, it will be panal

[sthughes]

Lol

[blacksheep]

well one can't please all the people all the time...
I am very satisfied with the macrolight- a great little (but kinda big) tent. It has hit the ground running-won a lot of early fans. Sorry for the delay in Aus- it got held up in clearing, so won't be hitting the AU stores now till late this week.
the tent can be put up and pulled down as one (inner and fly together) but not a multi pitch design. the tension on the poles (to achieve the stability of a multiple pole cross over) is not ideal for multipitch designs ( and retaining the weight the market was after). we still have the minaret for those who find multi-pitch a must have..
cheers
Cam

[corvus]

Cam, time will tell if your decision to abandon multi-pitch for the Macrolight was a wise commercial decision (especially with your design expertise) as this forum has a relatively large membership of real users of Tents (many of us Macpac owners) who will now look elsewhere for our replacements as a result of this .
Like many the "old macpac " set up take down and stay dry was what we paid our money for and now that this is lost why would we bother with a lesser performing product .
In case you may consider me as an occasional user my Tents over the past 25 plus years have been ,K -Mart style A frame still own really good but heavy,Carribee Caddis now sold,Eureka Moomshadow now sold,Fairydown Snow Cave "brilliant" tent still own but heavy, Macpac Stellar UV 40 nice but heavy still own, and not Snow tested, Macpac Microlite UV 30 light weight strong easy to erect very saggy inner and subject to heavy condensation , claustrophobic therefore looking for a real 4 season replacement light weight shelter .
corvus

[norts]

I agree Corvus, The Microlight as still the best 4 season 1 man tent I have seen.
I am always on the look out for one that does it better, less condensation.
I was hoping the Macro was going to be it.

Roger

[Nuts]

I dont really get the overwhelming need to separate the inner? If a tent has a decent vesibule, is waterproof and has the ability for good control of condensation, wouldn't most people never (or very rarely) separate the two and almoast always just put them up together (in between showers, in a hurry if needed)?

[corvus]

I dont really get the overwhelming need to separate the inner? If a tent has a decent vesibule, is waterproof and has the ability for good control of condensation, wouldn't most people never (or very rarely) separate the two and almoast always just put them up together (in between showers, in a hurry if needed)?

What about taking them down in very wet weather or vice versa ??
corvus

[jose]

I'm with you Nuts. The Macrolight looks like it overcomes the saggy inner problem that the Microlight has so there is more room for similar weight. I like that the fly and inner can still be put up and pulled down as one because it is so quick. Many people - me included - never want to fiddle with separating the two, no matter what the weather. It would be my choice of tent now if if I could trade in my Microlight.

[Nuts]

What about taking them down in the *&^%$#@! or vice versa ??
corvus

Yer, I know the various reasons people like to separate the two, just that i rarely have. Mostly just quick about it, fold the tent into its floor and roll. This of course wont work to well in bad weather if you want the tent packed in the bottom of your pack but then thats probably not the best place for it (considering it is likely to be first out last in). With the nallo the option is there but almost never used (except sometimes to divide the weight between 2).

Looking at the macrolight, it really is a different tent class to the minaret isnt it... It is the same shape as a eureka hobbit i once had. Easy pitch, nice tent but that roof design just held too much snow....?

[mpe]

It's a bit hard to tell based on one photo (hello macpac website!), but I don't see how you're supposed to get into the Macrolight when the rain is coming down hard without getting your bed wet - the door looks to open over the floor.

I was kind of looking forward to seeing this tent, but I don't really see where its niche is. At 2KG the Hilleberg Nallo 2 has a non-bed-wetting door design, and I think more internal volume, and it's a Hilleberg And then there's lighter tents like the Big Agnes Copper Spur, which has more vestibule space and a more protected door, or the not so light but much cheaper REI Quarter Dome.

It does look like it might be good in the wind?