Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
Has anyone used any of the Sil Hexpeak range of shelters such as this one http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/shelters-1/WF130.html
I am looking for a lightweight shelter with good interior space. This one was interesting as it is a large two and a bit person shelter that can be fitted with a solo inner tent for solo use.
I am looking for a lightweight shelter with good interior space. This one was interesting as it is a large two and a bit person shelter that can be fitted with a solo inner tent for solo use.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
I haven't seen that tent, but I did have a Golite Hex which is a similar design. I didn't get on with it, although on paper it has a lot of space I found much of it unusable. I wouldn't dismiss it, I've meet people happy with this sort of tent, but I would strongly suggest you get to try one before buying.
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
We have one of those tents which we use for backpacking. Very spacious and well made with a porch large enough for cooking in bad weather. You would need the pole as an extra, we use trekking poles when walking.
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
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Not really practical for me. Google Norway shows only three links (sites in Norway and in Norwegian) and ironically two are in Swedish and one in Flemish... If anyone is near Gol with ther Sil Hexpeak feel free to drop by and give us a demonstration. We still have some Christmas cake that is maturing nicely.
Although, given that there is a thick layer of sheet ice covering our garden under a thin layer of snow it would probably be quite difficult to get pegs into the ground...
PH wrote:I would strongly suggest you get to try one before buying.
Not really practical for me. Google Norway shows only three links (sites in Norway and in Norwegian) and ironically two are in Swedish and one in Flemish... If anyone is near Gol with ther Sil Hexpeak feel free to drop by and give us a demonstration. We still have some Christmas cake that is maturing nicely.
Although, given that there is a thick layer of sheet ice covering our garden under a thin layer of snow it would probably be quite difficult to get pegs into the ground...
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
I have a Golite Shangri-la, the hex they base this one on (I think) and have used two different inners with it, both covering half the floor, one a mesh one and the other all-fabric. I wanted to get the bike inside the fly sheet, and you can with this design, the triangle shape having lots of low-to-the-ground bike-storing space. If storing things were not such a useful feature for you, a steep walled, flattish ceiling MSR Hubba Hubba or similar might be a better design, as it is probably easier to put up correctly every time, and would be warmer in cold situations.
NIce in the rain in the morning though, to pack up the tent inner and all the panniers and just bring down the fly as the last thing before you set off, bike still dry. I spent a month in my hex and it's a particularly good tent for that, I think, warmer climes, longer times. You get good at putting it up. There's a nice simplicity to it really.
Previous posters are right that the floorspace can overstate the spaciousness, as the walls are coming in quite steeply, though if you set the thing up well, avoiding drooping, it's a big interior, for sure. You can kneel or crouch in it without touching the roof, in the middle square metre or two, which is undoubtedly a luxury, given the low(ish) weight. Quite a good tent for getting dressed in.
You can set the tent up at different heights - the bigger the gap at the bottom, the bigger the space inside. It's not a warm tent, the way I was setting it up, with all that airspace and airiness. I would not use this one for Norway outside of summer, but then maybe I've always been setting it up high rather than low to the ground - the design was used in winter Scottish snow by a blogger, I recall, so it must be warm enough if used in the right way, I suppose.
One obvious point - as a two-person shelter, the central pole may get in the middle of things.
For what it's worth, it's a great looking tent, looks good in photos. I regretted being unable to attach a Scott and Amundsen-style flag to the top though. Maybe for the best!
NIce in the rain in the morning though, to pack up the tent inner and all the panniers and just bring down the fly as the last thing before you set off, bike still dry. I spent a month in my hex and it's a particularly good tent for that, I think, warmer climes, longer times. You get good at putting it up. There's a nice simplicity to it really.
Previous posters are right that the floorspace can overstate the spaciousness, as the walls are coming in quite steeply, though if you set the thing up well, avoiding drooping, it's a big interior, for sure. You can kneel or crouch in it without touching the roof, in the middle square metre or two, which is undoubtedly a luxury, given the low(ish) weight. Quite a good tent for getting dressed in.
You can set the tent up at different heights - the bigger the gap at the bottom, the bigger the space inside. It's not a warm tent, the way I was setting it up, with all that airspace and airiness. I would not use this one for Norway outside of summer, but then maybe I've always been setting it up high rather than low to the ground - the design was used in winter Scottish snow by a blogger, I recall, so it must be warm enough if used in the right way, I suppose.
One obvious point - as a two-person shelter, the central pole may get in the middle of things.
For what it's worth, it's a great looking tent, looks good in photos. I regretted being unable to attach a Scott and Amundsen-style flag to the top though. Maybe for the best!
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
buryman wrote:We have one of those tents which we use for backpacking. Very spacious and well made with a porch large enough for cooking in bad weather.
Can you pitch the outer tent first, use it as a large shelter and then hang in the inner tent later as with the F4?
Would the porch be large enough for four rear and four front panniers?
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
The fly can be pitched on its own but to later add the inner would effectively mean a repitch. So much luggage in the porch might be pushing it but the tent is very spacious so if the luggage is wet you may need to put the contents inside and stow the bags in the porch.
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
buryman wrote:The fly can be pitched on its own but to later add the inner would effectively mean a repitch.
I was looking at the pictures on the Backpackinglight website and thought that might be the case so thanks for confirming that. I found a German video on YouTube that suggested you could use a two pole pitch which avoids the problem of a pole in the middle of the inner tent. Presumably this would also make it possible to just hang the inner tent in afterwards as there is no central pole that needs to go through the inner tent. There were no details in the video as to how you do this so I will check with Backpackinglight to see if they have used a two pole pitch.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
I cannot think how you could do away with a central pole by using two external ones. We often use a second trekking pole to hold the door open to give more sheltered cooking if it is windy.
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
buryman wrote:I cannot think how you could do away with a central pole by using two external ones. We often use a second trekking pole to hold the door open to give more sheltered cooking if it is windy.
I didn't get the impression that the two poles would be on the outside. I assumed it would make an A frame on the inside with the two poles tied at the top and fixed at ground level with webbing or pegs in the ground.
Edit: I have had a reply from Backpackinglight and no it is not possible to pitch outer tent first with the F6 with the double nest. Nor is it possible to use it with two poles to pitch the flysheet according to them. As outer pitch first is important I will have to give the F6 a miss.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
I've got the Hexpeak V4 and it suits me. It's definitely an outer pitch first - not very intuitive to get the best results; there is a German video available on YouTube that shows how to pitch it togive good clearance between the inner and outer. It's very spacious with excellent headroom.
So, in reply to your question a V6 woule be an outer first pith if used with the V4 inner; otherwise with the V6 an inner first.
Hope that helps!
So, in reply to your question a V6 woule be an outer first pith if used with the V4 inner; otherwise with the V6 an inner first.
Hope that helps!
Re: Sil Hexpeak shelters/tents
JBB wrote:So, in reply to your question a V6 woule be an outer first pith if used with the V4 inner; otherwise with the V6 an inner first.
Hope that helps!
Hmmm. Thinking about it again, would this work with an F6 with a double nest?
Put the pole together and place the inner tent at the top of the pole with the pole through the tub and the inner tent located correctly at the top of the pole. Pop a stuff sack with a drawstring over the inner tent and tighten the drawstring so that the inner tent is bundled up at the top of the pole. Then pitch the flysheet first without removing the stuff sack. So now the outer is up and the inner can be dropped down and pegged into place when it is needed.
When taking down the tent, first remove the pegs from the inner tent and stuff it back into the stuff sack. Take down the flysheet and put it away, then fold up the pole without removing the inner tent and stuff sack from the top of the pole.
The nest can then be put up easily during the day should you need it. For example, a mosquito or cleg-ridden lunch break or if you need a little shade during the day.
So long and thanks for all the fish...