| Product: |
Tents in General |
| Date: |
10/08/01 (1319 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: good design, good quality materials, lifetime guarantee
Disadvantages: quite pricey
Terra Nova is a manufacturer of high quality mountaineering tents. They were originally called winter gear and then wild country. To avoid confusion Wild Country still exist and still make tents, but they sold off their tent business to Terra Nova about 7 years ago and then recently started making their own tents again.
I own two tents and one bivvy bag made by Terra Nova or their predecessors.
The bivvy bag is approx 15 years old, winter gear goretex zip bag
I have a trisar (small two man backpacking tent) approx 8 years old and a Quasar (big brother to the trisar, 2 man base camp tent) 2 years old.
I give all three pieces of equipment serious abuse, exposing them to rain, UV light (aka sunshine), snow and wind. I use at least one of them every weekend.
GENERAL COMMENTS:
Terra Nova tents tend to be pricey. I however believe that the quality of materials and the lifetime guarantee justify this.
The poles of any geodesic or dome tent are the weakest and most easily broken part. The poles of a cheap tent are made from fibre glass whereas Terra Nova poles are made from aircraft quality Easton aluminium. I have as yet not suffered a brokien pole on either of my tents.
The material is one of several different types of ripstop nylon. The material "weathers" well although I have noticed some fading on the trisar. One of the guy wire attachment points recently broke on the Trisar probably due to the fabric being weak due to old age. I sent it to terra nova who fixed it for free!
The general design of the tents is superb. They tolerate strong wind, heavy rain and snow well. The poles are flexible so they bend in the wind but both my tents feel stable. The design of both tents has harly changed in the last 12 years. Although they added an extra (optional) pole to the trisar a couple of years ago.
Both tents are easy to erect in less than 5 minutes. They are assemble
d inner first then outer. If its windy and raining this can sometimes be a problem as the outer must be laid over the inner to protect it from getting wet during erection.
TRISAR
Cost: £300
Weight:2.2kg
Pros:
Excellent wee backpacking tent. Lightweight. Good if you're on your own.
Cons:
There is only a porch/entrance at one end so for two people it can be awkward climbing over a pile of gear to get out for that pee in the night.
Storage of gear is a problem as space is limited. I get round this by putting rucsacs etc in a large plastic bag and leaving it outside the tent.
Would be very cosy for two large people.
QUASAR
Cost: £350 - £400
Pros: Excellent and popular 'base camp' tent.
Has been around for 12 years so tried and tested.
Will last a long time if taken care of.
There is a large porch at both ends so plently of room for gear etc
Very spacious for two people.
Cons
I can't think of any except its a bit heavy to carry as a backpacking tent.
I would recommend a Terra Nova tent to anyone who enjoys hassle free camping and is looking to invest in a tent that will stand the elements, and last a long time.
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