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[pct-l] Re: pct-l-digest V1 #366

At 12:00 AM 1/23/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 08:08:00 -0500
>From: Ken Marlow <kmarlow@ngs.org>
>Subject: [pct-l] more tent opinions
>
>Has anyone had any experience with any of the Kelty tents? My wife and I are 
>looking to replace our TNF Westwind with another two person tent at, or less 
>than the same weight. The Kelty Windfoil Ultralight looks like a roomy 
>lightweight option. How do their quality compare to TNF or Mountain 
>Hardwear? The prices are dramatically less.
>   For a more general question, I've always used tents that the doors and 
>windows could be zipped-up completely with solid fabric panels. Had any 
>thru-hikers felt their 3-season tents were too drafty at times? Or does a 
>low-cut rainfly tend to eliminate this problem? 
>
>- -Ken Marlow
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http://www.hack.net/lists *

Ken --

I used a Kelty Windfoil Ultralight on my AT thru-hike in '96 (actually, i
mailed it home at Harper's Ferry).  It was okay.  I have an older model that
has very little mesh in the canopy (two 8" strips: one vertically in the
head and one horizontally in the foot).  The ventilation is very poor, and
when the fly gets at all wet, it sags against these small vents and seals
the tent completely!  I have found that no matter how carefully I pitch it
and guy it out, the tent sags badly when wet.

I have seen newer models that have a strip of mesh running horizontally down
the sides.  This looks like a much better design.

Basically, I think there are much better designs out there.  I work at an
outdoor shop, and I have worked with several models of two-hoop,
non-freestanding "tunnel" tents that you might want to look at closely:
Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight (smallish, but great) or the Clip 3 (bigger,
like the Kelty, but still very light), the North Face Lightspeed and
Lightspeed Long, and the Mountain Hardwear Lazer (heavy, but nice).  The
Kelty is cheap, but so are the SD tents.

Hope this helps!

John

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