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arthast
2
Apr 10, 2019
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Dan, have you gotten ahold of one of the production models? Any thoughts on it compared to your previous prototypes?
Apr 10, 2019
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Apr 10, 2019
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arthastI haven't got another one in the last week after the main batch arrived. The latest one I've seen was one back in December. I think it was the first one off the production line, so it should be identical to what everyone is getting. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrRljrYlxbm/ If the production tents are identical to that, I think everyone is going to be quite pleased. The quality and design were true to what we approved. The only differences from previous ones I have seen were a few small improvements I asked for, and the color. In terms of improvements, I realized that the short seams near the corners of the protoypes could be eliminated by positioning the panels differently on the roll of material, so the production tents omit these seams which gives it a cleaner look. To see this, you can compare the drop photos (with seams near the corners) to the photo below (no seams): https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu5FaJVFHFe/ In terms of colors, the factory really went all out with dying the tent to the specified color. In addition to the dying fabric (obviously), they also dyed almost all of the little accents such as the cord, zipper pulls, shockcord, webbing etc. I would have been just as happy if these were left black - I could go either way - but it did show an attention to detail I appreciated. The color itself, it is a bit paler than I was expecting. I'm not sure if this is because color doesn't soak into poly as much as nylon, or if it's just because colors look a bit different when you're seeing an entire tent instead of a little swatch. In the future I might go with a bit darker green but do like the current color. The "desert sage" is unique yet not obnoxious. That first photo I linked to in this post is the more accurate representation of the actual color, because I brightened and enhanced that second photo a lot so the color got pretty changed.
(Edited)
Apr 10, 2019
Nepherim
39
Apr 13, 2019
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dandurstonJust got mine. Setting up for the first time took a while to get a taut ridge-line pitch, but managed in the end. The weight was about 1.5oz more than expected. Tent + stuff sack is 842g, so a little more than the 792g expected. Some fluctuation is expected, but any thoughts on the difference between pre-prod and prod?
Apr 13, 2019
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Apr 14, 2019
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NepherimRegarding pitching, the biggest thing that I'm noticing some folks aren't doing is tensioning the base of the tent when they stake out the rectangle. You can see in my video at 1:14 that I pull it tight when I put in that last stake (or alternatively you can tighten the adjusters once the stakes are in). If you stake out an accurate rectangle, and have some tension on that rectangle, then it should look good when the poles are inserted. Regarding weights, it seems like most of the tents are coming in at 815 - 835g. Yours is 842g with the stuff sack (13g) so likely 829g (29.25oz) for just the fly + inner. When I got the first production tent a few months ago it was noticeably heavier than the final prototype at 848g vs 792g. I asked the factory about it and they it was because of the silicone coating. Supposedly, the silicone coating is difficult to apply consistently so a fabric run starts with the sil coating a bit thicker (since a bit thick is better than too thin) and then once things are rolling smoothly they fine tune it a bit thinner. This first production tent used the first fabric from the roll, so they said it was heavier because of that and the bulk of the production run should be lighter. Indeed they appear to be at 815 - 835g typically, but still ~1oz heavier than the final prototype I used for the specs. So I think the answer is that yours is over spec because it has more silicone. That means it is slightly stronger and more waterproof fabric but also 4.6% heavier. Sorry about the surprise here.
Apr 14, 2019
Nepherim
39
Apr 15, 2019
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dandurstonAfter re-watching the video, I believe you're correct about not pulling the base of the rectangle taut enough. I'll give it another go tomorrow. Regarding the weight: that's very helpful information, thanks. I'm not too worried about the extra 1oz -- I just cut my tent weight by 1.5lbs. My back is happy.
Apr 15, 2019
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