hamster wrote:PhilD28 wrote:Early Wild Country tents from the 80's such as the OP's Quasar were top of the range tents (the more recent Terra Nova range are similar although in my opinion not as good). It was later that they downgraded the spec of Wild Country to be a cheaper version of Terra Nova. But early WC tents were definitely superb quality much better than their recent offerings, I have two from the 80's that are still going strong and show no signs of failing despite many many multi month trips.
Agreed that modern TN have gone towards light weight compared to OLD Wild Country. I repalced my 1980s Voyager but avoided the Superlight Voyager as it just seemed too flimsy. Its replacement had served well for the past five years.
Though the Superlite flys are quite a bit lighter, because they use silicone elastomer coats both sides they probably have a considerably better tear strength than the current TN "normal" flys, and almost certainly better than the original WinterGear/Wild Country ones (which aside from getting rather old, would probably be PU both sides). Without taped seams that's another way they won't have been weakened. So don't just think it's about the weight of the fabric.
On to the groundsheets, however, and I'm with you there. That's a rather different job where abrasion resistance will probably be more to the fore (plus thinner groundsheets are more prone to condensation) and it's harder to go "superlite" there without it coming back to bite you to some degree. Having said that, you can always supplement it with a footprint or similar underneath.
You also have things on the Superlites like the gauge of zips used where it's arguably (depending on your personal placement of compromise lines) the case that they're too light for their long-term good. Part of my Hilleberg fanboy-ism is that my psychological preferences for where to put the compromises appear to be about the same as Bo Hilleberg's.
Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
