Just a quick thought, you should probably extend the wood out past your windshield if you want to test more accurately. The wind is going to be concentrated and pushed up the windshield and make the air flowing over the top faster than the speed you are actually traveling. It's also going to cause more turbulence towards the back where the wind flows back down. That's likely why you saw most of your failures on the rear of the tents not the front. If you extend the wood over the windshield to block that you should get a much more accurate test.
This is a great point, also maybe have an anemometer to confirm the wind speed. Still a neat experiment and good data points for relative comparison between the tents.
I don't mind that much. Places like that are not uncommon in the real world, slopes where wind is concentrated. Sometimes you don't have much of a choice but to camp exactly in those shitty places where wind comes sideways and up the slopes. I had to crawl on all four at that most windy part, but my reinforced Hilleberg stood like a rock. :D
This is incredible. Thanks for working through the rain so we can learn more about these tents. Sleeping in a freezer, strapping tents to your 4Runner, can't wait to see what's next! Thanks for an educational and entertaining channel!🙂
The Naturehike Cloud Up 2 is a phenomenal tent. It’s light, easy to pitch and for one person hiking, it really has it all. The interior mostly solid wall has kept out the cold wind many a night here in Scotland. I often look to buy a more expensive tent but this has always been steadfast and in a bizarre car testing ride has performed not too bad.
I mean the Nature Hike is basically the Big Agnes Fly Creek and MSR Hubba series mixed together. So really congrats Big Agnes and MSR for creating a tried and true ultralight tent.
@@Charles-wz9sd absolutely. Zero recognition to Naturehike for designing a tent that combines best parts of those tent designs and for bringing the whole thing to 130 dollar price point without sacrificing quality or weight.
I have some real world experience re this. My tent and I made it through a storm front that read 122 kph at a nearby weather station. It felt every bit of that, and we were in an exposed position, with the wind side-on to the tent. The tent (Sierra Clip Flashlight 2, early 2000s model) performed admirably, not much water ingress though the rain was torrential. That tent is single vestibule at the end. There are 2 factors which helped 1) me holding the side of the tent to prevent collapse, and 2) me and my gear being in the tent, which keeps the floor still - I noticed in this video that the tent floors were flapping madly, which must contribute to fatigue and ultimately failure. All in all a fantastic video and very informative information and observations. Thanks!
The Clip Flashlight has a shape very similar to the reviewed NatureHike CloudUp 2 although a very different pole structure. I wonder if that shape is a factor. Hilleberg tunnel tents are supposed to be extremely wind worthy. SlingFin also sells tents which they claim have excellent wind worthiness especially if you add the internal guylines. It would be cool to see how these perform in a test like this.
I was caught in a 55mph squall with my big agnes copper spur HV UL2, all guy lines down and all velcro attached to poles. I was in a field, so no wind shelter. It was insane, pop ups went vertical, and came down in pretzels. No broken poles, no tears, and I used the tent 5 more times this summer. If I didn't have all lines down including the velcro straps from the fly to the poles... I'm pretty sure she would not have fared as well. I did use msr groundhogs for all of my stakes. Thank you so much for this, knowing the forces for the different stakes was pretty enlightening.
Excellent Video. I love how genuine Dan Durston is - he owned the issue. No excuses. I think that philosophy is why his products are so good. Disclosure - I own an Xmid, a Copper Spure and REI Quarter dome, paid for each on my own.
I think Dan wants all feedback and should welcome it as we the consumer will find the issues as we will use them in ways the "lab" didnt think of. And if you own the flaws and welcome it and do something about it then we will buy from you .
Very interesting test! I got hit by a storm with Beaufort 9-10 on a campground in Germany. We‘ve been the only people with a tent (a Hilleberg two person tent). Our tent survived without any problems, but next morning there were thick broken trees and destroyed caravantents. One thing that makes every tent much stronger, are the guylines! Make them tight and as long as you can. That’s important!
That's hilarious you rented an airport to test this. The way the MSR poles reacted is interesting. The NatureHike Cloud Up 2 is my go-to solid tent in iffy weather. When looking into it, It lasted in UK wild camp videos and in a typhoon in Japan lol. The design along with the side tie-outs makes it pretty solid.
This video gave me flashbacks to this summer when I set my Tiger wall UL up on top of a hill overlooking a fjord. Very instagram friendly pitch but I woke up in the middle of the night by the wind pushing the tent into my lap. Thankfully the midnight sun made finding a more sheltered spot easy.
Not surprised by this. I think most of the "semi freestanding" tents are not good in the wind. They basically all have a Y-shaped double Pole in the Front, and a single Ridgeline Pole at the backside and thats the weak spot. True Freestanding Tents like the Hubba, Cloud Up 2, Copper Spur have the Y-shaped Poles on both ends and should be stronger. So avoid Tents like the BA Tiger Wall, Nemo Hornet, MSR Freelite, Cloud Up 1 etc...
Admittedly I am a hammock guy and have been for the last ten years. After watching your episode on budget tents I bought a Nature Hike Cloud Up Two. This video has reaffirmed my belief that the Nature Hike ten was a good buy. BUT I am now fully committed and a subscriber to your channel…I really enjoyed the testing protocol here.
Sincerely appreciate your dedication and passion for finding out which backpacking products are worthwhile. You've saved us several times from making poor choices in purchasing certain products and instead we purchased things that are reliable, multi-use and lasting; which in turn make them the most cost-effective products per use when you do the math over the many years. Thank you.
This is why you are a top TH-camr. Informative, entertaining, and thought provoking. Tents are very personal to each trekker. Until one fails we think we have “the best” tent. I prefer a freestanding 1p tent; for me it’s a Marmot Tungsten UL 1P. In bad weather I always attach the Velcro attachments on the fly, 2 per pole and 1 on the very top, to the poles and add 3 guylines. 2 at my head end so I’m not freaking out that the poles are gonna break when they bend inward and one on the foot end depending on wind direction. In addition I stack rocks on my stakes. I do most of my hiking in the mountains out west and in the desert. To date I’ve not had a pole break or a tear to my fly. I’ve been in some pretty hellacious winds and rain and every time my tent holds up I say “it’s a great tent.” My buddy uses a Nemo 1p and the only problem he’s had is a pole bent due to user error. He didn’t use any guylines. These free standing tents, if guylined out properly and with use of the Velcro attachments, move with the wind but don’t break or tear. The other BIG advantage is the small footprint. I can setup in the smallest of areas and still get a taught pitch. Like I said, tent preference is very personal…
Amazing job, I really appreciate all the job of testing you´re doing.
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Fascinating! I wish you had tested a tunnel tent setup like, say, the Hilleberg Helags or Kaitum. I was "taught" that tunnel tents were what you went with when wind resistance was a key goal.
Well designed dome tents, like hillebergs, are even stronger than their tunnel tents. The problem with dome tents is setup in high winds. Tunnel tents can be erected by one person even in a storm.
@@putrid_swamp_juice Hilleberg says: Our dome and tunneltents are very similar when storm reaches the collapsing point. The dometents are more quiet and made for high snowloads. The Hilleberg dometents are designed for easy setup when high wind is there. The tunnels are faster to setup.
The stories they must tell about this guy around town haha. If you see me around town testing out my Nemo Dagger in this manner, mind your business. Thanks for the creative videos Steven
This was great! I appreciate your creative thought process to come up with kind of test, figure out the testing structure and "lab" and the positive attitude to follow through with it, in the RAIN : )
This is right in line with what I've experienced camping in the mojave. Out near ridge crest the winds can kick up to 60mph. There are very few tents that survive that and you can't sleep in any tent with 60mph winds unless you can get it out of the wind.
Really appreciate the truly insane amount of effort that went into this video. Also love Dan's comments - really didn't make any excuses whatsoever and was completely address the issue head on. These wind tests are really invaluable and well thought out - as a UK-based hiker / bikepacker and camper it's often quite frustrating when I see a lot of the ultralight recommendations coming from the US where the winds tend to not be anything like what they are here. Different tents for different conditions.
Can confirm the hubba hubba is a beast. My Triplex Zip has seen 40mph wind and stood up no problem. Anecdotally, I agree with zpacks customer support on that test. The Triplex is currently my go to. BA flycreek 2 is a beast in wind. If I know I am going out to a place with high winds, I'll bring my expedition tent ( MH trango3 or MH night view). I'll pick up an xmid 2 solid this winter and see how it fairs. Thanks for reviewing these!
Bro! This was AWESOME! hahaha You are the man for cooking up this test! Super glad the Hubba Hubba was a rockstar, just got a smoking deal on one! Keep up the great work!
Loved this "scientific approach". Very creative, and yet plausible. Well done! BTW - I own 2xDurston tents, both prior to 2023. I will check the stitching on those guy out points and see if there is anything my meager sewing skills can do to reinforce them.
Thank you for such an articulate, analytical, thoughtful , creative and through gear test. So refreshing over some of the other “gear reviews” on the internet.
Outstanding job. I’ve always been skeptical of the trekking pole tents and have stuck with the heavier free standing ones. My old Sierra Design tent was rated for 80 mph winds back in the mid 90’s when I bought it. I’m sure glad someone is really testing some of the gear out there. I also appreciate your inclusion of more budget friendly options.
One of the best videos you've done! Great video, keep them coming! With some more details taken care of, these kinds of tests should be made into a set of international standards, not just "wind tested at X km/h"
Great review! Thanks for doing such a thorough and scientific test. Maybe sucked for you, but I liked seeing this in the rain; real storm-like conditions!
I just spent over a week in Scotland, which had winds over 30 MPH and national records of rainfall. I had the Sea to Summit Alto TR2 with me ($600). It flattened like a pancake. Seriously, flat to the ground! It's one-pole system is simple enough to set up in fair weather, but it couldn't handle high winds. Like you mention in the video, the poles are all in tact though. It still works 100%. So the poles were flexible enough to survive the wind. I ended up having to buy a new tent at a local store to finish out my trip.
I gotta admit, that is the most inventive and realistic method I've ever seen for testing a tent. Absolutely brilliant. Okay and yeah this made me a lot more confident in my lightweight semi-freestanding Mountain Hardwear tent, which is super streamlined and has a front entry. I always thought of the front entry as just a negative, good to know there are some positives to that.
This was a blast to watch! I’d love to see another round of testing on other tents. Get a Nemo hornet, try a Hexamid, and a tarptent Li, try variations between 1p and 2p tents. Then a third round where you compare hammocks. 😂 And as a FeatherStone Backbone 2 owner, I’d love to see you give that one another shot, this time tying the included peak guylines. I think you’d be surprised at how much further you could push it. I’ve been impressed with my Featherstone in a few scary storms. I think it’s one of the best low-cost tents available, better made than the Lanshan, with well thought-out features inside.
Patagonia! Ok, so we kind of observed this experiment in Patagonia (O trek). At each campsite we saw a few Zpacks, MSRs, BigAgnes, Durstons and then the mountaineering tents. The conditions in Patagonia were bad. The winds are typically bad, but it was hailing and snowing all 7 days and just really bad winds. Our tents were the Zpacks and Durston, and we had similar issues where the cords snapped and the stitching just ripped. As for the hail, it ripped through, bht that happened to a few others. Our tents were good, but we wish we had brought our SlingFin! A lot of the other tents did have snapped poles, so I am glad we could just restake our tents and put the poles back up…but man we lost sleep putting the tent back up every few hours
I have the exact nature hike tent and I'm really happy with it. Nice Video and great idea strapping the tents on top of your car. Keep up the great content!
Loved the testing! Very informative and entertaining. I would have loved to see all guy lines staked out though, regardless of if they were shipped with one or not. Guy lines and stakes are not very expensive. Please do more of these! You’re the best. Haha
Once again you do an incredible job of improvising. I use an X-Mid 1P and it has stood up in 20-25 mph wind with no issue, multiple times so am comfortable with it's performance. I had an old dome tent with fiberglass poles(US Camper I believe 2.5 lbs.) that would lay down almost on me in very strong winds. Had to tie it to a REALLY big rock in order to put the poles in a few times. Ahhhh, those were exciting nights! Thanks for the working in the rain to do this, look forward to the next video.
Great, great video! There's a lot of insight here in the cost value ratio. True your end statement needs to be taken into account (more factors than wind) but wind and water are what we all worry about. Thanks great job...
Awesome test. I do want to point out that you had the Copper Spur facing backwards for the wind. The smaller foot end should always face into the wind, otherwise it would blow directly into both the vestibules and the vent, which is what happened here. I suspect having the vent at the back would allow the wind to exit there and keep the overall pressure on the tent lower.
In heavy wind it's additionally advisable to extend the lines facing the wind with trekking poles (tent to trekking pole horizontally, then the supplied extra line to the ground)
As an owner of a feather stone back bone 2 this definitely gives me confidence that if I ever find my tent strapped to the top of a car it's fairly safe 😅😂 Joking aside this is a fun video looking forward to more videos like this.
Great. I have an early Durston. My hubba hubba has collapsed under huge snow load and popped right back up when the load was relieved. It’s a great tent design.
This is a fantastic video. I can't remember the last time even a big name publication like Backpacker, Outside, or Outdoor Gearlab did such a test, and it really shows the type of tent one may pick when anticipating high winds. Camping above treeline, in notoriously windy places like Iceland, or even mountaineering. My only wish is that you had the time and budget to put more tents through such a rigorous test! Well done and kudos.
That happened to my Hubba Hubba NX Solo in Iceland, one side collapsed from 40-50MPH winds, popped it back up but it was slightly bent so the flysheet was always uneven when you pitched it and caused it to touch the inner and I was reading that area where it collapsed, is now likely a lot weaker. MSR did replace the pole sections for free though so issue resolved!
Not to poke holes in this but have all the tents been subjected to equal amounts of wear and tear up until this point? Curious how much of a factor that is, if some tents have been in more extreme conditions than others, might be the case they have been weakened more structurally thus more likely to fail if put up against their limits though you would hope a tent would maintain its durability if properly taken care of.
Love those videos, thank you for taking the time to make them! My question here, why did you choose to have the entrance facing the wind, and not the other way around? When putting the tent up I'm always making sure the entrance is not facing the wind.
Very interesting, and thanks for putting the effort and money into the tests! Bottom line with 3-season tents like those, I think, is always find a sheltered spot if the wind is forecast to pick up. Or is already blowing hard. Bomber 4 season expedition tents are made to handle the high winds because they have to be able to--base camp is usually one place, and one place only. But backpackers, on the other hand, can keep going, or go back, to find a sheltered spot. There's always some place that's a little more sheltered, even if it's a large boulder. I had my little Nemo Hornet 1P in gusts around 50mph, and a group of boulders saved the day (or night, in this case).
Camped this weekend in my Dustin X-mid Pro 2 and the wind came up overnight in the badlands to 90 km/hr from a direction we were not protected by river brush, totally exposed. There was a bit of flapping at the one end wall, but I was able to cinch the tent down a bit better and even the noise largely stopped. Inside the tent I honestly didn’t believe the wind was all that bad, but when I got out, it was hard to even stand up. I was very impressed with how well it was holding shape and how solid everything was. I have a Hilleberg Akto as well, and I don’t find it to be nearly as stable. Also a Big Agnes which is not designed for high wind, and I’ve definitely had problems with it in the Arctic. My MSR Fury is bomb proof. I’d trust that in anything.
Dude! over the top out of this world dedication to this vid. Blown away. (HA! unintended). I can see Bryce Newbold and all the talking heads we love shaking there heads as they look through the want adds to figure out whats next. I also am surprised and not sure what to take away from this. The worst night I had was wind at 12000' in a duplex. Thank God it wasn't rain. In my estimation the wind was at 237 mph...i saw a witch on a broom. Had I been able to peg the trekking poles properly I might have been fine. It got me thinking tarp ever since. I finally pulled the trigger this season. Seems to be the best guard against wind. Even at 11500' couldn't get a breeze enough to blow the mosquitos away...so no test. Wind sucks, hide your tents!
very impressive work! thank you so much! As a "good weather hiker" I think I would go for Durston X mid... But still can't wait to see you put other tents on your car!!
Wow, that was super interesting. Love the content you come up with. Just got to remember to pick my ZPacks duplex behind some shelter in extreme conditions :-)
Really would like to see you test out the Hilleberg 1 person Akto. It’s a super unique ultralight tent. It’s actually four seasons capable and weighs 2-3 pounds packed. Hilleberg has been going hardcore into lightweight tents lately. Yes they are more expensive but they are simply built with higher quality materials than Nemo and MSR and the like.
Very cool! Would have loved to see this with one of the tarptent tents as well (the scarp?) though I know you only want to throw so much money to the wind!
I do have the Naturehike Cloud Up 2 and a Lanshan 1 Pro. And my best pitch of the Lanshan doesn't come close to the stability of the Naturehike in weather, but the weight difference of the two is another story. Additionally I think single trekking pole tents, if pitched well, hold up better to wind then two pole tents. One big aspect not mentioned in the video is that if you have a free standing tent you can simple pick it up and orient it towards the wind to minimize the wind force but you'll have a hard time to repitch your trekking pole tent in a storm.
It's nice to see the Cloud up 2 get some cred. Lol. It is a great budget friendly free standing tent. I never saw anyone else sporting it on my PCT thru hike. And now I have used the modified upgraded lighter version the last couple years and works great.
I really would have liked to see you put a couple Hilleberg tents through these tests. They're _supposed_ to be exceptionally robust in high-wind conditions, but I'd really like to see some rigorous testing to verify it. As always, excellent work, thank you so much for all you do!
Yup, would be quite interesting. There are plenty of videos in TH-cam showing Hillebergs performing well in really rough conditions. They are quite popular in nordic skiing expedition scene.
Many/most hilleburg tents are specifically designed for alpine/expedition usage - these tents that were tested are not. It'd be like comparing apples to robots or something. Can confirm hilleburg is a phenomenal tent in the wind. My friend used one in Colorado and it was bulletproof. I'd like to get the Nallo GT 2 for my Mountain adventures
Wow amazing test. I also use to have one of the older Sierra Design tents in the 90s. Those tents were pretty tough but not as light as the tents of today. Keep up these reviews love em.👍
I laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants! 🤣 I know you prefer trekking pole tents but I'm sticking with our free standing tents for now! LOVE your 4Runner too! 😉
What an excellent video with some fascinating and useful results! Please keep it up with these innovative "controlled" testing conditions; the reproducibility here (even if it's not a "real-world" test) really brings a unique perspective and makes comparisons between gear much easier. Would love to see the same test run with even more kinds of tents, and I'm also looking forward to whatever other innovative tests you come up with. Really quite surprised how the lightweight trekking pole tents failed, it just goes to show that they're designed with really thin margins to keep the weight down as much as possible. That might be a worthwhile tradeoff depending on your priorities, but it's good to know there's actually a tradeoff being made there. If you're looking for inspiration, FortNine and Project Farm both sometimes do similar "low-budget" testing setups to compare various kinds of equipment with clever methodology (such as testing waterproof fabrics by wrapping them over a pipe and pressurizing water inside to see what they'll hold back).
*Tents Tested in this Video:*
Zpacks Duplex Zip: geni.us/Agxnca
Big Agnes Copper Spur: geni.us/RlLO
Featherstone Backbone 2: geni.us/KDJY
X-Mid Pro 2: geni.us/lchuziJ
MSR Hubba Hubba: geni.us/zhUAT
Naturehike Cloud Up 2: geni.us/xyggB8A
*Stakes I Tested:*
MSR Groundhog: geni.us/1xWEzH1
Easton Aluminum Nails: geni.us/du0Asv
Dac J Stake: geni.us/i70j5b
this video has such "mythbusters" energy and I LOVE IT. Please do more wacky things like this
I really, really appreciate you showing the metric values!
My pleasure!
Just a quick thought, you should probably extend the wood out past your windshield if you want to test more accurately. The wind is going to be concentrated and pushed up the windshield and make the air flowing over the top faster than the speed you are actually traveling. It's also going to cause more turbulence towards the back where the wind flows back down. That's likely why you saw most of your failures on the rear of the tents not the front. If you extend the wood over the windshield to block that you should get a much more accurate test.
This is a great point, also maybe have an anemometer to confirm the wind speed. Still a neat experiment and good data points for relative comparison between the tents.
its just a thin layer, the extension he got is probably good
I don't mind that much. Places like that are not uncommon in the real world, slopes where wind is concentrated. Sometimes you don't have much of a choice but to camp exactly in those shitty places where wind comes sideways and up the slopes. I had to crawl on all four at that most windy part, but my reinforced Hilleberg stood like a rock. :D
@@willek1335 the point is to get an accurate measure of the wind speed, without that you can't compare against other tents accurately. It's physics.
@@Orange_Tang well at least all the tents were tested in the same manner so they'll all have the same degree of error.
This is incredible. Thanks for working through the rain so we can learn more about these tents. Sleeping in a freezer, strapping tents to your 4Runner, can't wait to see what's next! Thanks for an educational and entertaining channel!🙂
I was going to comment the exact same!
Now I know what to bring camping on a moving car or in a hurricane and that god wind always hits you where your tent is most aerodynamic
Just when you thought youtube was getting boring...this comes along! What a great channel.
Thanks for working through the rain so tent companies can learn more about tents.
The Naturehike Cloud Up 2 is a phenomenal tent. It’s light, easy to pitch and for one person hiking, it really has it all. The interior mostly solid wall has kept out the cold wind many a night here in Scotland. I often look to buy a more expensive tent but this has always been steadfast and in a bizarre car testing ride has performed not too bad.
I mean the Nature Hike is basically the Big Agnes Fly Creek and MSR Hubba series mixed together. So really congrats Big Agnes and MSR for creating a tried and true ultralight tent.
@@Charles-wz9sd absolutely. Zero recognition to Naturehike for designing a tent that combines best parts of those tent designs and for bringing the whole thing to 130 dollar price point without sacrificing quality or weight.
I used my CloudUp2 in a typhoon in Japan, it's still absolutely fine. I didn't get much sleep though lol.
I have some real world experience re this. My tent and I made it through a storm front that read 122 kph at a nearby weather station. It felt every bit of that, and we were in an exposed position, with the wind side-on to the tent. The tent (Sierra Clip Flashlight 2, early 2000s model) performed admirably, not much water ingress though the rain was torrential. That tent is single vestibule at the end. There are 2 factors which helped 1) me holding the side of the tent to prevent collapse, and 2) me and my gear being in the tent, which keeps the floor still - I noticed in this video that the tent floors were flapping madly, which must contribute to fatigue and ultimately failure. All in all a fantastic video and very informative information and observations. Thanks!
The Clip Flashlight has a shape very similar to the reviewed NatureHike CloudUp 2 although a very different pole structure. I wonder if that shape is a factor. Hilleberg tunnel tents are supposed to be extremely wind worthy. SlingFin also sells tents which they claim have excellent wind worthiness especially if you add the internal guylines. It would be cool to see how these perform in a test like this.
I was caught in a 55mph squall with my big agnes copper spur HV UL2, all guy lines down and all velcro attached to poles. I was in a field, so no wind shelter. It was insane, pop ups went vertical, and came down in pretzels. No broken poles, no tears, and I used the tent 5 more times this summer. If I didn't have all lines down including the velcro straps from the fly to the poles... I'm pretty sure she would not have fared as well. I did use msr groundhogs for all of my stakes.
Thank you so much for this, knowing the forces for the different stakes was pretty enlightening.
Excellent Video. I love how genuine Dan Durston is - he owned the issue. No excuses. I think that philosophy is why his products are so good. Disclosure - I own an Xmid, a Copper Spure and REI Quarter dome, paid for each on my own.
Hey! I'm deciding between the Xmid 2 and a used Quarter Dome SL2. Which would you go for?
I think Dan wants all feedback and should welcome it as we the consumer will find the issues as we will use them in ways the "lab" didnt think of. And if you own the flaws and welcome it and do something about it then we will buy from you .
This is exactly the kind of content that makes you a reliable source and engenders trust and allows for gear objectivity. Bravo!
Very interesting test! I got hit by a storm with Beaufort 9-10 on a campground in Germany. We‘ve been the only people with a tent (a Hilleberg two person tent). Our tent survived without any problems, but next morning there were thick broken trees and destroyed caravantents. One thing that makes every tent much stronger, are the guylines! Make them tight and as long as you can. That’s important!
That's hilarious you rented an airport to test this. The way the MSR poles reacted is interesting. The NatureHike Cloud Up 2 is my go-to solid tent in iffy weather. When looking into it, It lasted in UK wild camp videos and in a typhoon in Japan lol. The design along with the side tie-outs makes it pretty solid.
This video gave me flashbacks to this summer when I set my Tiger wall UL up on top of a hill overlooking a fjord. Very instagram friendly pitch but I woke up in the middle of the night by the wind pushing the tent into my lap. Thankfully the midnight sun made finding a more sheltered spot easy.
Not surprised by this. I think most of the "semi freestanding" tents are not good in the wind. They basically all have a Y-shaped double Pole in the Front, and a single Ridgeline Pole at the backside and thats the weak spot. True Freestanding Tents like the Hubba, Cloud Up 2, Copper Spur have the Y-shaped Poles on both ends and should be stronger. So avoid Tents like the BA Tiger Wall, Nemo Hornet, MSR Freelite, Cloud Up 1 etc...
Would love to see more tent’s! Thats an really good idea 👍
(Maybe Tens like MRS Elexir, Hilleberg Allak, ect.)
We need a sequel featuring Hilleberg and Tarptent.
They give a pretty good clue on how they perform. th-cam.com/users/shortsNqT6j01w6UI?si=gdZSsngmn_1Elx1H
This is above and beyond when it comes to testing. What an original way of doing these reviews. Awesome
Admittedly I am a hammock guy and have been for the last ten years. After watching your episode on budget tents I bought a Nature Hike Cloud Up Two. This video has reaffirmed my belief that the Nature Hike ten was a good buy. BUT I am now fully committed and a subscriber to your channel…I really enjoyed the testing protocol here.
Now this is a great review. Wish more vloggers would put the time and effort into their testing. Superb.
Sincerely appreciate your dedication and passion for finding out which backpacking products are worthwhile. You've saved us several times from making poor choices in purchasing certain products and instead we purchased things that are reliable, multi-use and lasting; which in turn make them the most cost-effective products per use when you do the math over the many years.
Thank you.
This is why you are a top TH-camr. Informative, entertaining, and thought provoking. Tents are very personal to each trekker. Until one fails we think we have “the best” tent. I prefer a freestanding 1p tent; for me it’s a Marmot Tungsten UL 1P. In bad weather I always attach the Velcro attachments on the fly, 2 per pole and 1 on the very top, to the poles and add 3 guylines. 2 at my head end so I’m not freaking out that the poles are gonna break when they bend inward and one on the foot end depending on wind direction. In addition I stack rocks on my stakes. I do most of my hiking in the mountains out west and in the desert. To date I’ve not had a pole break or a tear to my fly. I’ve been in some pretty hellacious winds and rain and every time my tent holds up I say “it’s a great tent.” My buddy uses a Nemo 1p and the only problem he’s had is a pole bent due to user error. He didn’t use any guylines. These free standing tents, if guylined out properly and with use of the Velcro attachments, move with the wind but don’t break or tear. The other BIG advantage is the small footprint. I can setup in the smallest of areas and still get a taught pitch. Like I said, tent preference is very personal…
This video took a lot of time and thought. It's this kind of stuff that helps newbies avoid some costly pitfalls. Thanks so much!
I really appreciate the test and effort you've gone through. Thank you so much! Great video. 👍👍👌
Amazing job, I really appreciate all the job of testing you´re doing.
Fascinating! I wish you had tested a tunnel tent setup like, say, the Hilleberg Helags or Kaitum. I was "taught" that tunnel tents were what you went with when wind resistance was a key goal.
Well designed dome tents, like hillebergs, are even stronger than their tunnel tents. The problem with dome tents is setup in high winds. Tunnel tents can be erected by one person even in a storm.
@@putrid_swamp_juice Hilleberg says: Our dome and tunneltents are very similar when storm reaches the collapsing point. The dometents are more quiet and made for high snowloads. The Hilleberg dometents are designed for easy setup when high wind is there. The tunnels are faster to setup.
The stories they must tell about this guy around town haha. If you see me around town testing out my Nemo Dagger in this manner, mind your business. Thanks for the creative videos Steven
This was great! I appreciate your creative thought process to come up with kind of test, figure out the testing structure and "lab" and the positive attitude to follow through with it, in the RAIN : )
Awesome testing! I'd be curious to see more stake testing. I've heard longer basically beats any other factor (shape) but I'd love to see that tested!
This is right in line with what I've experienced camping in the mojave. Out near ridge crest the winds can kick up to 60mph. There are very few tents that survive that and you can't sleep in any tent with 60mph winds unless you can get it out of the wind.
Really appreciate the truly insane amount of effort that went into this video. Also love Dan's comments - really didn't make any excuses whatsoever and was completely address the issue head on. These wind tests are really invaluable and well thought out - as a UK-based hiker / bikepacker and camper it's often quite frustrating when I see a lot of the ultralight recommendations coming from the US where the winds tend to not be anything like what they are here. Different tents for different conditions.
Can confirm the hubba hubba is a beast. My Triplex Zip has seen 40mph wind and stood up no problem. Anecdotally, I agree with zpacks customer support on that test. The Triplex is currently my go to. BA flycreek 2 is a beast in wind.
If I know I am going out to a place with high winds, I'll bring my expedition tent ( MH trango3 or MH night view).
I'll pick up an xmid 2 solid this winter and see how it fairs. Thanks for reviewing these!
Love this format!! They're not really backpacking tents but I'd love to see this done with an Arctic Oven Tent!!
I love this type of testing content. What a unique way to test a bunch of tents!
Bro! This was AWESOME! hahaha You are the man for cooking up this test! Super glad the Hubba Hubba was a rockstar, just got a smoking deal on one! Keep up the great work!
Loved this "scientific approach". Very creative, and yet plausible. Well done! BTW - I own 2xDurston tents, both prior to 2023. I will check the stitching on those guy out points and see if there is anything my meager sewing skills can do to reinforce them.
You might check with Dan. I think this is only true of the pro tents.
The rain honestly made for a more accurate, honest test. It adds weight that could be the difference between passing or failing
Thank you for such an articulate, analytical, thoughtful , creative and through gear test. So refreshing over some of the other “gear reviews” on the internet.
Thank you for adding the metric units as well!
Outstanding job. I’ve always been skeptical of the trekking pole tents and have stuck with the heavier free standing ones. My old Sierra Design tent was rated for 80 mph winds back in the mid 90’s when I bought it.
I’m sure glad someone is really testing some of the gear out there. I also appreciate your inclusion of more budget friendly options.
I'd love to see someone do more of these tests, particularly geodesic and tunnel tents
Hi, Informative but not a reflective or perfect way of testing. Definitely FUN to watch. Brilliant Channel and thanks for sharing. 👌
Cloud up 2 is a beast of a budget tent.
One of the best videos you've done! Great video, keep them coming! With some more details taken care of, these kinds of tests should be made into a set of international standards, not just "wind tested at X km/h"
Great review! Thanks for doing such a thorough and scientific test. Maybe sucked for you, but I liked seeing this in the rain; real storm-like conditions!
That was neat, really interesting. Would like to see this being repeated with actual above tree line tents like fjällräven endurance and similar.
That’s a $1500 tent 😆
I just spent over a week in Scotland, which had winds over 30 MPH and national records of rainfall.
I had the Sea to Summit Alto TR2 with me ($600). It flattened like a pancake. Seriously, flat to the ground!
It's one-pole system is simple enough to set up in fair weather, but it couldn't handle high winds.
Like you mention in the video, the poles are all in tact though. It still works 100%. So the poles were flexible enough to survive the wind.
I ended up having to buy a new tent at a local store to finish out my trip.
I gotta admit, that is the most inventive and realistic method I've ever seen for testing a tent. Absolutely brilliant.
Okay and yeah this made me a lot more confident in my lightweight semi-freestanding Mountain Hardwear tent, which is super streamlined and has a front entry. I always thought of the front entry as just a negative, good to know there are some positives to that.
Wow! Went above and beyond for your viewers! Nature hike should purchase your video!
This was a blast to watch! I’d love to see another round of testing on other tents. Get a Nemo hornet, try a Hexamid, and a tarptent Li, try variations between 1p and 2p tents.
Then a third round where you compare hammocks. 😂
And as a FeatherStone Backbone 2 owner, I’d love to see you give that one another shot, this time tying the included peak guylines. I think you’d be surprised at how much further you could push it. I’ve been impressed with my Featherstone in a few scary storms. I think it’s one of the best low-cost tents available, better made than the Lanshan, with well thought-out features inside.
I agree, let's give the Backbone another chance ;)
A REAL test. Very good!
This is the type of videos I want to see. Thank you!
I probably won't buy any of them. But, I like these types of testing on tents in rain.
Patagonia! Ok, so we kind of observed this experiment in Patagonia (O trek). At each campsite we saw a few Zpacks, MSRs, BigAgnes, Durstons and then the mountaineering tents. The conditions in Patagonia were bad. The winds are typically bad, but it was hailing and snowing all 7 days and just really bad winds. Our tents were the Zpacks and Durston, and we had similar issues where the cords snapped and the stitching just ripped. As for the hail, it ripped through, bht that happened to a few others. Our tents were good, but we wish we had brought our SlingFin! A lot of the other tents did have snapped poles, so I am glad we could just restake our tents and put the poles back up…but man we lost sleep putting the tent back up every few hours
I have the exact nature hike tent and I'm really happy with it.
Nice Video and great idea strapping the tents on top of your car.
Keep up the great content!
Loved the testing! Very informative and entertaining. I would have loved to see all guy lines staked out though, regardless of if they were shipped with one or not. Guy lines and stakes are not very expensive.
Please do more of these! You’re the best. Haha
He’s like the myth buster of the camping world.
Once again you do an incredible job of improvising. I use an X-Mid 1P and it has stood up in 20-25 mph wind with no issue, multiple times so am comfortable with it's performance. I had an old dome tent with fiberglass poles(US Camper I believe 2.5 lbs.) that would lay down almost on me in very strong winds. Had to tie it to a REALLY big rock in order to put the poles in a few times. Ahhhh, those were exciting nights! Thanks for the working in the rain to do this, look forward to the next video.
That was cool! Boys playing with toys and producing good, real information. Thanks Steve!
Thanks!
Thank you. This one had some expense to it.
Great, great video! There's a lot of insight here in the cost value ratio. True your end statement needs to be taken into account (more factors than wind) but wind and water are what we all worry about. Thanks great job...
Getting into some project farm level product testing. I like it 😁
Awesome test. I do want to point out that you had the Copper Spur facing backwards for the wind. The smaller foot end should always face into the wind, otherwise it would blow directly into both the vestibules and the vent, which is what happened here. I suspect having the vent at the back would allow the wind to exit there and keep the overall pressure on the tent lower.
Its too bad the Copper spur only has guy lines on the head end and not the foot end
@@liamendresen Maybe on an older version? My Copper Spur has guylines on all 4 corners. I just spent the last two weeks using them.
@@just_kyles8090 ah I have the UL1, looks like it’s the only one with them at only the head end
In heavy wind it's additionally advisable to extend the lines facing the wind with trekking poles (tent to trekking pole horizontally, then the supplied extra line to the ground)
This was awesome! More please!
As an owner of a feather stone back bone 2 this definitely gives me confidence that if I ever find my tent strapped to the top of a car it's fairly safe 😅😂 Joking aside this is a fun video looking forward to more videos like this.
Great. I have an early Durston.
My hubba hubba has collapsed under huge snow load and popped right back up when the load was relieved. It’s a great tent design.
#1 gear channel on TH-cam rn easily 🙌 🙌
Awe sucks! But seriously thanks.
Thanks!
Thanks. There was some expense to this one. 😂
This is a fantastic video. I can't remember the last time even a big name publication like Backpacker, Outside, or Outdoor Gearlab did such a test, and it really shows the type of tent one may pick when anticipating high winds. Camping above treeline, in notoriously windy places like Iceland, or even mountaineering.
My only wish is that you had the time and budget to put more tents through such a rigorous test!
Well done and kudos.
That happened to my Hubba Hubba NX Solo in Iceland, one side collapsed from 40-50MPH winds, popped it back up but it was slightly bent so the flysheet was always uneven when you pitched it and caused it to touch the inner and I was reading that area where it collapsed, is now likely a lot weaker.
MSR did replace the pole sections for free though so issue resolved!
Not to poke holes in this but have all the tents been subjected to equal amounts of wear and tear up until this point? Curious how much of a factor that is, if some tents have been in more extreme conditions than others, might be the case they have been weakened more structurally thus more likely to fail if put up against their limits though you would hope a tent would maintain its durability if properly taken care of.
You took rooftop tents to a whole new level.
Yeah! solved the problem of needing to run into town for supplies. 🤣
Super interesting! I love that you tested these tents in this manner.
Nice, you should try the "Wechsel Pathfinder" 1 person tent that is built like a bunker...
This is fascinating! Thank you! I would love to see a similar test with different pitches of flat tarps 😆
Love those videos, thank you for taking the time to make them!
My question here, why did you choose to have the entrance facing the wind, and not the other way around?
When putting the tent up I'm always making sure the entrance is not facing the wind.
Very interesting, and thanks for putting the effort and money into the tests! Bottom line with 3-season tents like those, I think, is always find a sheltered spot if the wind is forecast to pick up. Or is already blowing hard. Bomber 4 season expedition tents are made to handle the high winds because they have to be able to--base camp is usually one place, and one place only. But backpackers, on the other hand, can keep going, or go back, to find a sheltered spot. There's always some place that's a little more sheltered, even if it's a large boulder. I had my little Nemo Hornet 1P in gusts around 50mph, and a group of boulders saved the day (or night, in this case).
Camped this weekend in my Dustin X-mid Pro 2 and the wind came up overnight in the badlands to 90 km/hr from a direction we were not protected by river brush, totally exposed. There was a bit of flapping at the one end wall, but I was able to cinch the tent down a bit better and even the noise largely stopped. Inside the tent I honestly didn’t believe the wind was all that bad, but when I got out, it was hard to even stand up. I was very impressed with how well it was holding shape and how solid everything was. I have a Hilleberg Akto as well, and I don’t find it to be nearly as stable. Also a Big Agnes which is not designed for high wind, and I’ve definitely had problems with it in the Arctic. My MSR Fury is bomb proof. I’d trust that in anything.
Dude! over the top out of this world dedication to this vid. Blown away. (HA! unintended). I can see Bryce Newbold and all the talking heads we love shaking there heads as they look through the want adds to figure out whats next.
I also am surprised and not sure what to take away from this. The worst night I had was wind at 12000' in a duplex. Thank God it wasn't rain. In my estimation the wind was at 237 mph...i saw a witch on a broom.
Had I been able to peg the trekking poles properly I might have been fine.
It got me thinking tarp ever since. I finally pulled the trigger this season. Seems to be the best guard against wind. Even at 11500' couldn't get a breeze enough to blow the mosquitos away...so no test. Wind sucks, hide your tents!
Great idea .... really interesting to see the strengths and weaknesses specific to wind speeds, thanks
Rain on your glasses is the worst part of wearing glasses! Thank you for enduring rain spotted glasses all day to give us decision making information.
very impressive work! thank you so much! As a "good weather hiker" I think I would go for Durston X mid... But still can't wait to see you put other tents on your car!!
Wow, that was super interesting. Love the content you come up with. Just got to remember to pick my ZPacks duplex behind some shelter in extreme conditions :-)
The eastons and their equivalents (Tube Steak) are my favorites. Very nice test setup.
GREAT TEST!!! Spreadsheet, please. Decades ago I remember watching Kelty or REI testing their tents the same way.
Really would like to see you test out the Hilleberg 1 person Akto. It’s a super unique ultralight tent. It’s actually four seasons capable and weighs 2-3 pounds packed.
Hilleberg has been going hardcore into lightweight tents lately. Yes they are more expensive but they are simply built with higher quality materials than Nemo and MSR and the like.
I just paused the video to say I am glad to see the NatureHike Cloud Up 2 in your test, it's the tent I use. Now going back in to see how it did.
I'm surprised and impressed where it placed.
Great way to quality check outdoor products in a controlled manner
Very cool! Would have loved to see this with one of the tarptent tents as well (the scarp?) though I know you only want to throw so much money to the wind!
Great idea and well executed. Enjoyed the test Steven.
I do have the Naturehike Cloud Up 2 and a Lanshan 1 Pro. And my best pitch of the Lanshan doesn't come close to the stability of the Naturehike in weather, but the weight difference of the two is another story. Additionally I think single trekking pole tents, if pitched well, hold up better to wind then two pole tents.
One big aspect not mentioned in the video is that if you have a free standing tent you can simple pick it up and orient it towards the wind to minimize the wind force but you'll have a hard time to repitch your trekking pole tent in a storm.
It's nice to see the Cloud up 2 get some cred. Lol. It is a great budget friendly free standing tent.
I never saw anyone else sporting it on my PCT thru hike. And now I have used the modified upgraded lighter version the last couple years and works great.
I still can’t believe you made Dan Becker lie down in those tents while you were testing them!
I really would have liked to see you put a couple Hilleberg tents through these tests. They're _supposed_ to be exceptionally robust in high-wind conditions, but I'd really like to see some rigorous testing to verify it. As always, excellent work, thank you so much for all you do!
Yup, would be quite interesting. There are plenty of videos in TH-cam showing Hillebergs performing well in really rough conditions. They are quite popular in nordic skiing expedition scene.
Many/most hilleburg tents are specifically designed for alpine/expedition usage - these tents that were tested are not. It'd be like comparing apples to robots or something. Can confirm hilleburg is a phenomenal tent in the wind. My friend used one in Colorado and it was bulletproof. I'd like to get the Nallo GT 2 for my Mountain adventures
The Nallo being a tunnel tent, should just collapse on your sleeping nose, but bounce back up when the winds subdues. @@letsclimb5828
Wow amazing test. I also use to have one of the older Sierra Design tents in the 90s. Those tents were pretty tough but not as light as the tents of today. Keep up these reviews love em.👍
I love this. It was even crazier than buying a fridge to sleep in. 😂
I would love couple more videos on naturehike tents! Greetings from Germany
This is the best tent test I’ve ever seen.
I laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants! 🤣 I know you prefer trekking pole tents but I'm sticking with our free standing tents for now! LOVE your 4Runner too! 😉
This is awesome- and no freezer overnight required
What an excellent video with some fascinating and useful results! Please keep it up with these innovative "controlled" testing conditions; the reproducibility here (even if it's not a "real-world" test) really brings a unique perspective and makes comparisons between gear much easier. Would love to see the same test run with even more kinds of tents, and I'm also looking forward to whatever other innovative tests you come up with. Really quite surprised how the lightweight trekking pole tents failed, it just goes to show that they're designed with really thin margins to keep the weight down as much as possible. That might be a worthwhile tradeoff depending on your priorities, but it's good to know there's actually a tradeoff being made there.
If you're looking for inspiration, FortNine and Project Farm both sometimes do similar "low-budget" testing setups to compare various kinds of equipment with clever methodology (such as testing waterproof fabrics by wrapping them over a pipe and pressurizing water inside to see what they'll hold back).
Wow amazing video! Super creative and must have been a ton of work! Thanks for sharing!
Epic, absolutely brilliant way of testing. I honestly expected the trekking pole tents to win by miles