Climber September/October 2017

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gear review The material used is nylon Watershed (HH 3000mm) for the fly and nylon Watershed (HH 5000mm) for the groundsheet. The poles are quality DAC poles and the tent pegs are worth mentioning. These are small titanium ones weighing in at miserly 1g each – someone said they were: “Akin to oversized toothpicks.” They held okay in firm ground but not so well in soft ground, it was felt worth carrying some V pegs for the main pegging points for this situation. Terra Nova are unable to factory tape the seams due to the super light material but they are sewn in a way that minimises water penetration. You’ll need to apply seam sealer yourself if you want but it would be nice if seam sealer was supplied with the tent. The tent is inner pitch first and was simple to erect, one of the quickest on test, and it came with instructions too. The pole bag had an integral pocket for the pegs, a nice touch and again cuts weight and there’s a repair tube in case of a broken pole. The inner tent door is made entirely of mesh and there’s mesh at the foot end to allow ventilation to cut condensation. On this note it was well-controlled with none visible during testing in part due to the front and rear fly hoods that allow through ventilation. Terra Nova Solar Photon 2 Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 A compromise of such a low weight is space and headroom. It’s a tight fit for two but if you keep your gear in the porch it just about works. You also need to check the width of your sleeping mats as there is not much room at the narrower foot end and mats may overlap unless you have tapered ones. Headspace is manageable unless you are tall. The porch was a good size and could fit a pack or two. To save more weight you can use just the outer tent and Terra Nova’s Fastpack groundsheet. One tester found the sides of the tent flapped in the wind and felt that a couple of extra pegging points towards the back of the tent would stop this. There was no damp coming through the groundsheet even though it’s a light material, but if you can afford the extra weight use a footprint. On the whole it was very stable due to its design and inspired confidence for such a light tent. In summary, there are compromises and it isn’t cheap but it is incredibly well-made. Easily the lightest on test and ideal for those wanting a fast and light approach but need reliable protection from the elements and are willing to trade interior space for weight. Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 Weight: 1.65kg RRP £325 The Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 is a lightweight two person, three-season tunnel style tent which offers excellent levels of stability and weather protection, combined with a spacious living area. The Xenon utilises two alloy Gothic Arch poles to create the tunnel shape and give an amazing amount of space within the tent considering the weight. To create more stability Vango have incorporated TBS Pro, an internal guying system using a lightweight Dyneema cord that works beautifully, holding the tent firm in bad weather. The flysheet fabric is a 15D siliconised/PU coated nylon (HH 3000mm), the bathtub groundsheet is a durable 70D nylon fabric (waterproof to HH 6000mm) and the inner is 15D breathable nylon. All flysheet and groundsheet seams are factory taped to make a weather tight product. The guylines and pegging points are made from super strong Dyneema. The easiest to pitch of all the tents in this review, it can be pitched in one, with flysheet and inner pitching together making it a doddle. The inner and outer can be separated if you wish, ideal for when you are trying it out back at home. To combat condensation and add ventilation the Xenon 2 also features a large vent over the door allowing plenty of airflow, with the added advantage of preventing the rain falling into the inner when the door is open. The vent is needed given that the flysheet reaches all the way to the ground to keep out wind and rain. Finally, a part mesh inner door allows ventilation whilst keeping midges out. The tunnel style gives plenty of headroom in the inner tent area and there are a number of storage pockets including in the roof space for odds ’n’ ends. The porch offers good space easily taking a couple of packs if you need to put them there. If you do need a bigger porch there’s the Xenon 2 UL 2+, essentially the same tent but adds an elongated porch and around 400g extra weight. The tent was used in some foul weather and was found to be very robust, keeping out heavy rain and remaining stable in strong winds. It all just worked without any problems and gave a sense of security when cocooned inside. The large vent allowed some airflow and kept condensation down to a minimum in humid weather. Using a heavier weight groundsheet meant no problems with damp and was fine without a footprint. The tent has a pretty small pack size especially given how big it is and the tent bag has an oversized opening for easy packing and compression straps to reduce pack size. Very reliable, easy to pitch and take down, offering superb space to weight ratio and at a good price. This tent is equally at home in the mountains and as a base camp down in the valley. Recommended, especially if you value more space and want an all-round tent. n www.climber.co.uk Sep–Oct 2017 77
news update from the British Mountaineering Council New BMC T-shirts The new organic BMC Climb t-shirt Climb walls, rock, hills, ice or mountains? You’ll love our new t-shirt. Fresh from the printer, we’ve got yet another excellent design from the extremely talented Liam Dangerfield on our high-quality 100% organic t-shirts. Whether you’re a walker, climber, or mountaineer, and whether you’re interested in protecting and fixing footpaths, defending access to crags, or promoting conservation, show your support with this awesome design. Whatever your bag, unite under one common banner and help us continue our great work to protect the interests of our members. The Lake District t-shirt: a Wainwright tribute Alfred Wainwright was famously a man of few words. But it’s probably reasonable to assume the 214 words we’ve artfully arranged on this new T-shirt were among his favourites. We wanted to produce a T-shirt with an original design based around the Lake District that would appeal to hill walkers, climbers and casual fans alike. After much racking of brains we came up with the idea of ‘mapping’ the region using the names of its signature landmarks – the lakes and mountains. In a homage to the famous guidebook author, we’ve taken the names of all 214 hills considered the core Wainwright mountains, plus 11 of the biggest lakes, and arranged them to produce an eye-catching, intricate word map of the Lake District. All our t-shirts are just £15 for BMC members or £20 for non-members. Find them all online: www.bmcshop.co.uk BMC organisational review update The independent organisational review of the BMC is well underway and a team has been selected for the process, with Ray Wigglesworth QC as chair. The review group will sit for a four to six month period, after which there will be widespread consultation amongst the BMC membership in the run up to the April 2018 AGM. Ray Wigglesworth, chair of the BMC Organisational Review Group, says: “It’s incredibly important that BMC members take part in the process. We will gather opinions via the membership questionnaire, the focus groups, feedback on our monthly reports, through the Area Meetings in September, November, and February, and ultimately the AGM.” Find the latest newsletter at: www.thebmc.co.uk/review-newsletter Read our interview with Ray: www.thebmc.co.uk/ray-interview 78 Sep–Oct 2017 www.climber.co.uk
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EDITOR’S THOUGHTS A UK First Whil
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contents News 6: News UK’s first
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headlines McClure climbs UK’s fir
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WIN 1 of 3 Sea to Summit InSULATEd
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DESTINATION Dinas Mot Welsh trad ni
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Climber September/October 2017

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