Great Walks reviews two contrasting lightweight hiking tents.
The North Face VE25
If anyone knows how to design a bombproof tent, it ought to be one of the biggest outdoor equipment manufacturers in the world, and TNF have done a pretty good job.
The VE25 uses eight DAC poles to build a very stable dome structure held down by a host of triple-rigged guy lines and cool matte black stakes (cool, yes, but easier to lose). The front porch, held out by a fifth pole, is reasonably sizeable with roll-up doors and a clear PU window, perfect for peering out in the hope it has stopped raining.
This wasn’t the quickest tent to erect, taking me 20 minutes (without using instructions), partially due to the remarkable proliferation of grommets – four at each corner (for double poling). Also comes with four snow ‘parachutes’ – triangular bags to fill with snow or rocks as extra anchor points.
The hexagonal shape is pleasantly roomy inside and fit two Exped MegaMats with room to spare. Pockets galore are within easy reach and the roof vents do their job. Each full nylon door is backed by a mesh panel for warm, west coast evenings when the sand flies are rampant.
Minor infractions include the snow skirts only being sewn in on the door panels, not the sides, and the flysheet attachment system, that of hooking multiple grommets under each pole, being probably the fiddliest design. On the first night of testing, the 40D nylon fly sagged after rain (a common characteristic of nylon tents), and come morning was touching the inner tent. However, I admit to not fully pegging out the guy lines, and it was fine thereafter.
$1,650, 4.68kg
thenorthface.com.au
Nemo Chogori 3P
Much as I like The North Face VE25, the Chogori adds more features and comes in a good deal lighter. Firstly, it is integral pitch, meaning fly and inner are erected together to keep the latter dry in the rain.
The Chogori (another name for K2) also achieves superior stability with the same number of (pre-bent) poles by having the side poles cross six inches above the ground. Carabiners keep the pole crossings secure, and colour-coded sleeves shaved a few minutes off setup time.
The snow skirt extends to every hem, and a night of heavy rain couldn’t penetrate the 30D sil-nylon canopy (which didn’t sag at all) despite it not being seam sealed, and thus not being prone to said tape peeling off a few years down the line. Apparently, it’s possible to link two Chogoris together to form a larger shelter but unfortunately, I only had one.
Inside, 4.1 m2 of floor space with a 117cm apex seems cavernous, and the ventilation more than adequate. The 70D bathtub floor has two seams whereas most only have one (and I’d be more comfortable with none!) and a 10cm lip along the door for keeping out snow and mud.
A light diffuser pocket on the ceiling turns your head torch into a lantern, and the eight pockets are stretch mesh for ease of use. My only quibbles were there not being enough pegs to cover all the guys, and I was baffled by the metal rings at the elasticised tie-out points, which slipped off the pegs far too easily.
$1,799.95, 3.9kg
nemoequipment.com
Review_Dan Slater