Hacker News Reader

Comment by tucosan | Hacker News Reader

Now you need to tell us which tent you own.

I've been sleeping in Hilleberg tents for probably close to a year of my life. They are very robust at a great (though not ultra-light) weight. I own a Jannu and a Keron 3 GT.

Hilleberg tents do seem nice in terms of the fabrics they use and the design. However, as the long-haul cyclist community has found, the zippers give out appallingly early for such an expensive, artisanal product. (By the end of the Carretera Austral there seemed to be more Hilleberg owners with broken zippers than with working zippers.)

I owned a Hilleberg Nallo GT-class tent that did seem like the five-star hotel of tents, but when the zipper gave out after less than five months of use, I decided in future to simply go with an MSR Hubba-class tent that doesn’t feel much of a step down in comfort, and is less than half the price, so I can replace it if need be and still have spent less than I would for one Hilleberg.

The zipper is a great invention, but it has yet to be perfected.

I wonder how much of the zipper failures are due to lack of maintenance. I use a tooth brush to clean them after each long trip and lubricate them with a little silicone grease. I bought my Jannu in 2007 and haven't had a problem with any of its zippers, ever. I've only had my Keron for 5 years so I can't attest to its longevity yet :)

I think very few people know to lubricate their zippers, however. Honestly, it's something I've never heard of.

I never knew about it, then I read the maintenance section of the owners manual of those tents ....

In my entire life, I’ve never heard of the need to clean and lubricate a zipper. Heck, I’ve got decade old jeans with a zipper than can be washed in harsh detergent, survive an accidental off in a bike, and still open and close.

If your zipper needs maintenance every time you use it, you need a different zipper.

It’s common around water sports. For instance, sea kayaking.

Or bagpipes. Many pipers these days use a synthetic bag with a zipper, those need maintenance often. Much easier than the maintenance hide bags need though!

I do this after the tent has been out in the desert dust for a few weeks. Debris will accumulate in the zipper and will increase friction and grind down the plastic (tent zippers aren't made out of metal like you jeans zippers, for weight reasons).

Spending a few hours after a long trip to care for my gear is a great way to ensure it won't fail on the next trip. Especially with tent zippers, you don't want a failure in a storm as that could be unpleasant or even life threatening.

Instructions how to do this are in the owners manual in the maintenance section (although they recommend not using any grease, which I ignored).

HUUUUGE fan of Hilleberg. I have a Nammatj I've had for nearly 8 years and it's going strong. And I've taken it to the Andes, the Himalaya, and even deserts.

Seems like everyone assumed I was talking about very fancy expensive, niche tents in my comment. I mean most decent tents today are amazing compared to most products I interact with and light years away from where tents were 30 years ago (when I was a young cub/boy scout).

I personally have used a BA UL2 which I loved although it was a bit too flimsy for my taste. Later I got the REI Half Dome SL 2+. "Ideal" is very personal with tents because you are always making tradeoffs but for me, my REI tent is perfect. Not so expensive that I worry too much about it, not too flimsy, decently light, very nice usability, backed by great warranty.

Yes, please! Also curious about preferences for other related equipment - backpacks etc.

It really depends on your requirements. Mostly don't get a bigger/heavier one than you (actually) need and get one that feels comfortable/fits you. I have an Osprey Atmos if I need more space and I have an older and smaller Gregory something if I'm looking to do short lightweight summer backpacks and maybe use the same thing for dayhikes.

There is no best car, hence there is no best backpack.

As a rule of thumb: It is easy to buy a backpack that is too big. It is nearly impossible to buy one that is too small. The experience of a traveler is in an anti-proportional relationship with the size of his or her backpack.

This being said, the best back pack I ever had was from Burton. I and I am still heart-broken that it got stolen. It is not produced anymore.

Out of curiosity, do you mean too big as in capacity, or too big as in fit? I'm very tall and I've struggled with packs that don't rest properly on my hips, but I don't know if this was inexperience, or if there's some secret hack to adjust them.

Too big in capacity. My favorite backpack hat around 24l. I guess I could travel with this pack for 10 years. This gives you an Idea. (no tent of cause)

There was a EU based, tiny equipment manufacturer that actually produced backpacks for very tall people. I had some contacts in travel related business that could have brought it back on track. I asked if the owner is willing to let me buy into the business (I was interested in other niche products in his business) but he preferred to close it down.

Hej... no offense taken but generalizations don’t help. My 95L Dana designs terraplane LTW has been to the patagonia Icefield with enough food and climbing gear to make it above 35 kg. In that case you want a big, supportive backpack.

Some of the most loved small manufacturers for UL backpacking gear to look into: Mountain Laurel Designs, Gossamer Gear, Tarptent, Western Mountaineering, Enlightened Equipment, ULA, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, ZPacks, McHale Packs (all custom). There are a lot more that I missed, but that should set you in the right direction.

Here are some of the most essential items for my setup (tested for ~2000 miles in various conditions, like the PCT/AT):

- HMG Windrider 3400 backpack (“just works” better than any other UL pack I have used)

- ZPacks 20F sleeping bag (hoodless is great!)

- Patagonia Houdini wind jacket (extremely versatile layer)

- Patagonia sun hoody (essential for skin protection, in my opinion)

- Uniqlo Heattech extra warm leggings (the greatest clothing item of all time) + Uniqlo down hoody jacket

- Fleece pullover hoody (almost any will do—comfort/extra warm item).

- Thermarest Neoair

- Gossamer Gear 1/8” EVA foam sleeping pad for protecting the Neoair and a zillion other uses (e.g. yoga/picnic/door mat, makeshift rain skirt)

- Tyvek groundsheet (cheap, indestructible, waterproof, becomes buttery soft over time)

- Carbon fiber trekking poles (the ones from Costco are cheap/good)

- AquaMira water treatment drops (the Sawyer squeeze filters deliver fresh filtered water, but they break/leak constantly)

- 2x 1L Smartwater bottles + a 2L Platypus bag

- MLD Patrol tarp with an inner tent or bivy (like this: http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=522791). That’s about 16.0 oz (incl. good stakes) for a versatile and storm-worthy(ish) double wall setup.

A friend gifted me his Uniqlo down jacket (I guess he bought the wrong size and they're cheap enough he didn't bother to return it). It was wonderful and I swore that I'd replace it with a proper down jacket as soon as it wore out. It never freakin wore out. I wore that jacket on all my trips for years and it stood up to everything just fine.

Also, my Patagonia sun hoodie is my favorite clothing item I own. I wore it for a week in the Mojave earlier this spring. I was cool and comfortable the entire week and didn't even get a tan on my arms, let alone a burn.

Seconded. I'm working up to a 50 mile trip and I'd love some recommendations.

I'm guessing it's a Zpacks Duplex, it's basically the favorite tent of any through-hiker for the last couple years: https://zpacks.com/products/duplex-tent They are very well designed and built--100% DCF so they're strong and light, yet great resistance to weather. Unlike most other UL shelters it makes almost no sacrifices and has all the niceties of heavier shelters, like a full floor and interior mesh, big vestibules, etc. And it packs up into an impossibly small size and weight in your pack.

> Weight 19.0 oz / 539 g

Wow!!

DCF fabric, it's a real game-changer for shelters. It isn't cheap unfortunately and you do have to treat it with some care.

Love my duplex. Hiking the AT now, it is indeed hiker standard. The gossamer gear One also gets rave reviews.

I love my Duplex as well, and that was also my guess. I would note that the biggest downside (other than cost) is that the Duplex is not a free-standing tent (although they do offer a couple of free-standing versions which are significantly heavier). It will sometimes require patience and creativity to set up the tent in areas that are very short on usable ground space (like dense forests or steep terrain) or hostile to tent stakes (like rocks). It's also not the easiest tent to setup extremely quickly, like during a rain or hail shower in the Sierras (but I've encountered that and managed well enough).

It's definitely harder to setup with 8 stakes, and you must carry poles, or borrow a friend's poles, but it's incredible how much lighter it is over almost any other option.

That’s unreal. Wow. I may need to figure out how to convince my wife this is reasonable and necessary.

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL is great, I've had one for 5 years and love it.

Not OP, but I have an MSR Hubba Hubba NX that is pretty amazing. I've had several backpacking tents over the years and its my favourite.

Seconding this one. Great lightweight tent without major compromises, but still at a reasonable price and mainstream availability (unlike most of the ultralight tents made of exotic materials)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com