Sweep wrote:Came as news to me that airbeam tech had come to bike/back packing tents, but just received a promo for this.
https://www.tauntonleisure.com//camping ... cd11df99f1
Packs down to 1.5 litres it says.
I can drink more than that in no time.
Pumps up with a schrader bike pump.
Views?
As always with tents, look at the whole package and see if it fits what you want rather than get too carried away with how particular bits have been done. The headline numbers are good, but for me the porch is far too small and I like chunkier groundsheets. For the camping I do I'd sooner carry more weight in return for space.
But that doesn't invalidate the idea of a lightweight airbeam tent, just this particular implementation isn't for me.
Worried about punctures? Not more than about broken poles, and I imagine it's a small minority carry repair sleeves or spare sections for poles: we're used to them working so we've stopped worrying, doesn't mean poles never break though. Airbeam in the family market is well established technology and the beam shouldn't be in the firing line of things that cause punctures (but pack the pegs separately, I'd guess!)
As with most v1.0 innovations, I'd be inclined to let bleeding-edge early adopters iron out the bugs in the first year or two before spending lots of money (that goes for the overall package, not just the airbeam, as they're cutting lots of corners to emphasise light weight).
Pete.