Re: Mountain Equipment Dragonfly - longish
- From: Peewiglet <pw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 07 Aug 2005 22:37:43 +0100
On Sun, 7 Aug 2005 22:36:17 +0100, "Paul" <pmlosse@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>Having just returned from a 2 week jaunt on the HRP in the Pyrenees, here
>are my thoughts on my new 2 person Mountain Equipment Dragonfly tent which I
>hope will be useful:
Thanks for posting - I'm v. interested to read it.
>
>Pros: Seems very well made; easy to erect (when dry - see cons), simply
>slide 3 poles into the sleeves, tension and peg; seems very stable, although
>we had good weather so this wasn't really tested; free standing - great to
>be able to put a tent up and then move it to an optimum location; roomy for
>the weight (but see below, this is relative) - comfortable for 2;
>condensation control - very little condensation made its way to the inner.
>
>Cons: The weight! This tent is variously advertised as weighing 1.95kg and
>2.1kg. Field and trek advertise it at 1.95kg. It was 2.2kg on my scales at
>home.
Mine is 2.1kg on the digital scales at home (without the repair kit).
>This may not seem heavy for a 2 person tent, however it feels much
>heavier than my other tent, the Jetpacker plus, side by side. I could really
>feel the difference when walking; It leaked! - 2 of the seams towards the
>rear let water in during light rain. OK, I should have sealed the seams but
>was advised by the Field and Trek bod that this was unnecessary;
What a pain :-( Mine hasn't leaked at all, and I've had it out in
quite a lot of rain, without sealing the seams. I'd be thinking of
sending it back, if it was mine. I don't expect to have to seal the
seams on a £280 tent myself: it sounds faulty to me.
> the porch
>is too small for 2 - OK in good conditions but really hardly bigger than the
>Jetpacker.
I'm not surprised to read that: I thought it would be small for two.
the XT would be fine (but heavier, as you point out).
>2 rucksacs fill it completely. I could have gone for the XT with
>a bigger porch but with a significant weight penalty; Very fiddly to
>erect/strike when the inner needs to be separated from the outer - we needed
>to do this nearly every morning as the outer was soaking with condensation.
>(not a criticism of the tent, any tent would have suffered in the still,
>cold, high pressure conditions we were in). This meant that, in order to
>prevent the inner from soaking, it is necessary to undo the 20 inner/outer
>attachment points. It then becomes a real PIA when pitching next day. I hate
>to think what it would be like in poor weather.
That's interesting. I try to deal with that problem in a different
way, and it's worked well for me. I carry one of the small camping
towels specifically for wiping down the tent in the morning before
packing, and wiping down the inner in the evening before getting in. I
find that once I've wiped out the inner in the evening any residual
dampness evapourates very quickly indeed. I wouldn't dream of
separating the inner from the outer.
>
>To conclude, I'm not sure I made the right choice of replacement for the
>Jetpacker. Perhaps I would have appreciated it more in poor weather. I might
>need to look at the Spacepacker MK1- lighter and larger porches, why didn't
>I listed to Peter Clinch? Incidentally, does anyone know if the SpacePacker
>mk1 (not the plus) is large enough to accommodate 2?
I'm sorry it didn't suit you better. I'd still be thinking about
sending it back, with the leaking seams.
Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk
.
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