Climber September/October 2017

gear review
Tents
With tents there’s always going to be a compromise
regards weight against durability and
longevity. The lighter the fabric, the more prone
it is to UV (sun) damage and the less longevity
you will get from it compared to heavier fabric,
so bear this in mind when going ultra-light. That
said, modern fabrics have remarkable strength to
weight ratio. Indeed when you look at some of
the ultra-light tents you’d think that merely
blowing on it would cause a tear let alone stand
up to strong winds, but they do.
The light weight of the fabrics often means
that the Hydrostatic Head (HH) figures – a way of
measuring how waterproof a fabric is, higher is
better – are lower compared to beefier fabrics. It’s
not a problem though as the tents are waterproof
and will stand up to inclement weather, but it
does mean more care is required, especially with
the groundsheet. We feel that unless you really
need to keep the weight to a minimum then a
tent footprint is well worth using.
With any tent in this review we would
recommend first pitching it at home before
heading out – some are trickier to pitch than
others. We tested tents for two people given that
it’s you and a climbing partner, so don’t forget
those ear plugs.
Brand/Model
Price (RRP)
Packed
weight
(grams)
Inner tent dimensions
(length x width/
narrowest x height)
Alpkit Ordos 2 £225 1,300 208 x 136/105 x 102cm
MSR Freelite 2 £390 1,400 213 x 127 x 91cm
Terra Nova Solar Photon 2 £480 849 225 x 130/84 x 100cm
Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 £325 1650 210 x 130 x 100cm
Ferrino Atrax 2 £340 1900 210 x 130 x 100cm
Alpkit Ordos 2 Weight: 1.3kg RRP £225
A very lightweight and well-priced three season
tent for two people, the Ordos 2 is well-made
considering the cost. The fabric on the fly is 15D
nylon ripstop (HH 3000mm), the inner uses a
combination of mesh and 15D nylon panels, the
groundsheet is a 20D nylon (HH 3000mm) and all
the seams are fully taped. The tent is freestanding
and is inner pitch first but you can also pitch
the outer on its own to go lighter, shaving 426g
off the weight.
The three DAC poles come in one joined-up
section (hub design) and colour-coded webbing
on the flysheet and inner helped with pitching.
Whilst tent pitching was fairly straightforward
(our sample didn’t have instructions) the tent
sometimes got out of shape, causing the main
‘ridge’ pole to curve in an S-shape. When this
happened it took some tweaking of the tension
on pegging points and guylines to get it right.
Also make sure that the Velcro tabs on the inside
of the flysheet are tightly wound around the
poles, otherwise everything moves around.
Something that did cause concern was the pole
that went across the back of the tent – it was a bit
long and just overshot the reinforcement points
that protect the fly.
The flysheet goes all the way to the ground to
keep out rain and this can lead to condensation
on the inside. Alpkit solve this with a vent at the
tent front that can be fastened open to allow
airflow. Condensation was held at bay though
small amounts of moisture did form on the fly.
The bathtub style groundsheet was thin and in
wet conditions did get a bit damp so we’d
recommend using a footprint. The tent stood up
well to the rain and wind though so no complaints
there. Materials wise, as you’d expect in a
Alpkit Ordos 2
lightweight tent, you have to take care, and in
particular, the mesh on the inner was easy to
tear, the inner door is entirely mesh with some in
the roof too and at the foot end. We would like to
see a stronger mesh.
In terms of fit it was fine for two people,
feeling spacious enough with two mats fitting
side by side but the porch was small and couldn’t
accommodate two sacks, one had to go in the
tent thus losing some space. Inside there two
mesh storage pockets and tabs sewn into the
roof to hang things from. The stuff sack it came
with was a tight fit fully loaded but it made for a
very small pack size.
In summary, a lightweight, small pack size and
incredibly low priced tent – worth a look if on a
budget. However, with some tweaks, it could be
that much better.
Ferrino Atrax 2 Weight: 1.9kg RRP £340
A well-known brand in Europe, the innovative
Italian company of Ferrino have been producing
tents since 1890 so they know something about
making them, and the Atrax 2 is testament to this
experience.
This two person tent is inner pitch first and
comes with two entrances, one on either side,
and the benefits this adds. The fly is made from
20D nylon ripstop silicone-coating (HH 3000mm),
the inner tent is out of the same material and
mixed with netting, the bathtub groundsheet is a
heftier 40D nylon ripstop floor (HH 3000 mm) and
all the seams are factory taped. The quality DAC
poles are all linked together into one unit with
the now standard shock cord plus radial points,
and along with the long central pole with a
forked end there’s a central cross pole to
maximise headroom. Pitching is simple and very
quick, again one of the quickest on test, and it
comes with instructions and a great repair kit.
The tent packed to a conveniently small size
too so no quibbles there.
Due to the cross pole design the inner and
headroom is pretty roomy. Again similar to the
MSR tent (see review below) the inner is
predominantly mesh and Ferrino have built the
nylon panels up the sides to around one third
height to give protection from breezes when
sleeping. For odds ’n’ ends there’s a large
storage pocket at one end. There’s also a
diamond-shaped nylon panel in the roof to
catch any condensation trips. In an effort to
combat condensation they’ve included two
vents (their Air Aeration system) on the fly
close to the entrances and this works very
well to control any build up of moisture. 6
www.climber.co.uk Sep–Oct 2017 75