Half Dome 4 Tent

[junglejim]

The fact that it is water is why I pitched the tent. Now it doesn't look like we'll get any snow at all.

You mean the forecast could be wrong???? I thought that only happened here in the Lake States.
We were supposed to get 2 feet today, then 1 foot, then 6", then 1", and so far not a flake has fallen.
It's been that way all winter. We have about 25% of a normal snow accumulation this year.
I guess we're in the midwest drought.

I'm anxious to hear about your tent test - well at least the wind part anyway. Your ground must not be forzen there. There is now way you could stake down a tent here. Frost is several feet deep and going down.

 

[EX Winger]

I know you are busy with work this morning, but did the wind and snow come and did the tent stay in the yard? awaiting your report!

eldon

 

[Phil Tarman]

It's a 10 days later. The tent has stayed there through some strong winds and we finally got some snow last night. 5-6" I'd guess. The wind still hasn't picked up as much as was predicted, but the tent's still there. I had gone out and attached guy lines to the fly yesterday before the weather turned to crap.

I think it'll work.



Note the nice dry vestibule area in the 3rd picture and the nice dry inside of the tent in the last one.

 

[Rob]

did you sleep in it?

 

[Phil Tarman]

Ahhh.... no. This is a 3-season tent, not a 4-season or mountaineering tent. It was 8F when I woke up this morning and I only have a +40 Big Agnes Buffalo Park sleeping bag. I have slept in the bag inside in a silk mummy cocoon down to around 25F and been reasonably comfortable, but I won't deliberately camp out in the snow when I've got a warm bed 30 feet away.

The thing that most impressed me this morning was that the vestibule areas were completely, 100% dry. If I store stuff outside the tent, it makes me believe it will stay dry too.

 

[RedLdr1]

The thing that most impressed me this morning was that the vestibule areas were completely, 100% dry. If I store stuff outside the tent, it makes me believe it will stay dry too.

Let us know how that goes when the snow melts....

 

[Phil Tarman]

Given that my yard is flat and grassy and that we haven't had but about an inch of moisture since September, I'm guessing that the vestibule will stay very dry and I'll have a tent-shaped area of dry grass. I'll let you know.

 

[artemedes]

Thanks for posting the photos. Good to see the REI half domes can take a few inches of snow.

That storm dumped 8" here in eastern KS. The wind was pretty strong and we have 3' drifts. I had to go to work this morning and they let us go at 9:30am. They never shut down for weather and I was trying to figure out what was so bad. They just wanted to get people home before the worst of the snow came down. My subaru did great all the way home, but the wind had put a big drift in my driveway that was too big to drive over so I had to shovel about 5' of my driveway by my garage door to get the car back in the garage.

I have been thinking of getting a more economical car lately, but days like today remind me of why the AWD is practically invaluable. If i get a more economical car I think I will have to just get a non-turbo subaru . I lost count of the cars that were stuck and even had to drive through some unplowed areas without issue. Just the damn drifts causing problems.

Sorry to get off track. Your thread makes me wish I had bought the 4+, but I will stick with my 2+ for now.

 

[Phil Tarman]

You're young and flexible...you'll be fine in the 2+.

We never did get the wind they were predicting here. I think 70 miles south along I-70 it blew a lot harder.

 

[RedNigel]

My halfdome4, footprint and chair should arrive any day. My sleeping bag, pad and pillow are here. I just need to make some decisions on luggage. Pretty much locked into a HelenTwowheels rolltop dry bag. Gonna get the biggest one. Even tho its sort of a compression bag, I think I will still want a compression sack just for the B/A sleeping bag
I dont plan on cooking on the road, but I am still thinking about getting some minimalist cooking gear and either an Esbit pocket stove or MSR pocket rocket just in case I want to have some hot chocolate or something
Twisted Throttle up and back risers en route as well, MCL risers not quite doing the trick for me

 

[charlie b]

Given that my yard is flat and grassy and that we haven't had but about an inch of moisture since September, I'm guessing that the vestibule will stay very dry and I'll have a tent-shaped area of dry grass. I'll let you know.

Despite being very careful about picking tent sites I always manage to have a small creek run through the tent during a heavy rain What I leave out in the vestibule area is stuff that can get wet or is in a waterproof bag.

 

[RedNigel]

Phil, we shouldnt have to leave anything out in the vetibules with all the room there is inside

 

[Phil Tarman]

What I leave out in the vestibule area is stuff that can get wet or is in a waterproof bag.

Charlie, I agree with that -- anything that needs to stay dry will be in the tent.

Clay, I don't think we will need to leave anything outside, but I can imagine things we might want to leave out.

 

[EX Winger]

Oh heck Rick, Just don't lose your credit card and you can call a taximayb e in form of a snow mobile, or
FWD!

Eldon

 

[EX Winger]

Those pictures remind me of going to bed at Elk camp several years ago packed in 7 miles from the trail headwoke up in morning and had 36 plus inches on the ground, tent etc, plus a lot of driftin. cranked up the wether radio and found out ther was a lot more snow coming ovr the nezt week. We broke camp and headed out to trail head, most of the way the mules were draging thiere bellies in the snow! al very long and misserable day to trail head, then chain up the four wheel drives and drag chains on the trailers and another 4 hours to get out to maintained roads. That was teh last hunt I wnet on with animals in mid November for second season.

It's a 10 days later. The tent has stayed there through some strong winds and we finally got some snow last night. 5-6" I'd guess. The wind still hasn't picked up as much as was predicted, but the tent's still there. I had gone out and attached guy lines to the fly yesterday before the weather turned to crap.

I think it'll work.



Note the nice dry vestibule area in the 3rd picture and the nice dry inside of the tent in the last one.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Clay, our Half Dome 4s are no longer on the REI site. There's a new one that doesn't have any reviews. The only thing I see different are the colors and that they specify four vents in the fly. Mine only has two.

BTW, I bought some of the Mountain Hardware stakes (6 of them for the corners of the tent and the fly. I got four of REI's steel stakes (need to get two more for the bottom center of the fly on the non-entry sides). I'm tired of bending the stock stakes. I also got a gear loft that I think will be useful.

And that's all I'm going to get. At least for a week or two.

 

[RedNigel]

I knew about the new tent. Last week I went to the store to get one and when I went to pay, they wanted 289 for it. When I complained they told me it was the new tent, which is only slightly different. I went home and ordered the $200 tent...I'm thinking I pulled the trigger just in time. I went ahead and bought some of their good stakes from the get go.
If I couldnt have gotten that tent, I would have bought something far inferior. It pained me to pay the $200 as it was

 

[Phil Tarman]

Did they tell you what "improvements" the new tent had? There may be some, but the four vents as compared to our two and the different color choices were all I could notice in the pics and the specs.

 

[RedNigel]

that sounds about right. I was kind of angry at the time so all i really heard was new colors