Has any one used one yet? are they worth shelling out �130 for?

yes

yes

Yes. Yes.

Do remember, however, they are event tents and are not designed for keeping the midges out in the Highlands of Scotland - the groundsheet is not sealed with mesh to the outer all the way around the tent.

At 700g each a team could take two and they'd still be carrying less than normal single man tent, say Terra Nova Solar or equivalent.

Obviously they are event tents, but it would be interesting to hear how they perform in worse than the mild weather we had at the Polaris.

Roger (Polaris main man) and I shared one to see how it faired with two. It is ideal for what it is designed for and I am getting one. In my oppinion, for what it is worth, I would be happy to carry it in the rucksack whenever I am up in the hills - be that on foot or bike as it doubles as a survival bag and weighs next to nothing. I like the way it folds up flat to. But if you want to go on a camping holiday with the kids you may need two !!!

Has anyone used one in poor weather yet? i.e. wind and rain

Comprehensive answer - NO

Where do you buy a polaris tent from?

ER TRY POLARIS 01246240218

I've used one in bad weather. They bend in the wind and don't break. You will get wetter as the fabric (with condensation) is continually pressed against your sleeping bag, but who cares - it's all over in 8 hours. The fabric is waterproof enough. They're great little tents. Fit for purpose 9/10. Fit for life 1/10, but you shouldn't be spending only �130 or so on a tent for life, more like �350. Take care of the poles though. They will snap if you're rough when you squeeze them into rucksacks.

The Autumn event was the first time that I had used the tent in anger. The good points are:
Lightweight
Waterproof
Generous width

and the bad:
Rampant condensation.
Poles are awkward to carry and pretty brittle.
Vent holes let the midges in.
Tent sags in the middle allowing condensation to contact the sleeping bag.

I suggest that an additional pole across the middle of the tent would be a significant improvement giving much more interior volume and avoiding the soggy sleeping bag scenario.

Putting an inflated inner tube at the base of the tent held the fabric aloft and reduced condensation problems. This was aided by putting the bottom of the sleeping bag in my rucsack liner.

I understand that Polaris want the handle of 'the lightest tent' but a little extra weight would allow significant additional comfort.

Roger - we talked about Paclite and other new breathable fabrics? Would they have an application here?

For anyone half serious about Polaris or KIMM / LAMM events it's a better bet for Christmas than designer pants.

I was talking to a mate of mine who designs and builds kit for a living {2 recent Womens Polar expeditions].
He made the point that you just can't get an ultra light tent without losing the inner, and if you do you get condensation.
So you have to make a choice.

We are constantly developing the tent design - in fact the new prototype was in the valley with you. The problem with all the breathable fabrics when used in this application is they are designed to deal with perspiration and not the massive amounts of vapour that are excreted with your breath.

That said we are trying some new fabrics developed by a Japanese company but the issue with them will be weight.

The carbon poles are brittle and it is important not to store them packed up, again this is part of the price or compromise for a pole that weights in at 18 gms. In use (supporting the tent) they are fine and upto now we have not heard of any breakages in while in use. If anyone has suffered a broken pole please call the office and we will send you a new one. We also now have available Aluminium sectional poles to replace the carbon - these are �14.99 again call 01246 240 218 if you want one.


2 skins are ultimately the answer to condensation but on our calculations it is hard to get the weight down to less than 1.4 Kg (we are also working on this)

Ultimately as Jerry suggested there is bound to be some compromise - The ELT is designed specifically as and Event or emergency shelter, and at 700 gms it is ideally suited to this.

Good points well made...
I still urge you to look at the issue of the mid-tent sag, condensation only becomes a big problem if your sleeping bag is in contact with the tent wall/roof. A second hooped carbon pole would be a big improvement for little additional weight or manufacturing complexity.
These are great little tents for weekend events and I am sure there is a decent market for them amongst runners as weight is even more critical to them.
Roger, get a few in action at the KIMM, find someone who is doing the Elite (for instance Morgan Donnelly / Steve Birkenshaw and Dave Sleath / Martin Sleath)

I've used the tent in two sets of very different conditions now. In the Spring event, I was simply cold, as the wind was blowing through all the vents, and particularly the big gap at the front. Hence there was no condensation problem (though I believe there still was for those with 2 in a tent). In the autumn event just gone there was no wind blowing, so it was warm inside, but there was a massive amount of condensation. I imagine it must have been even worse with 2 people.

My suggestion after the spring event was to extend the groundsheet right to the front with some more velcro, so you had the option of sealing it up better if the wind's blowing (printed in CompassSport magazine - I believe the only printed review of an ELT). I did my own mod this time, and sealed up all the vents with tape beforehand, but for obvious reasons, this tape was all removed later. I also tend to agree with the idea of an extra pole, as it is extremely difficult to prevent sag in the middle, though my sleeping bag touching the tent wasn't a big issue due to a water resistant outer on the bag. These will both add a little extra weight, but probably worth it (I guess if you have an extra pole sleeve, you could then use just one pole in the front sleeve without compromising the stability so much, and still keep the weight down).

I'm doing KIMM (only A class though), and would be quite happy to test out any new prototype you might have! It will be my first experience of 2 people in one of these tents, assuming we don't go for a slightly heavier, but more spacious Sup-Air (we've slept 3 in one of those!).

3 in a Sup-Air? Did any of you get any sleep, more compact than sardines surely.

Sup'air has it for now

Twice the volume for 125g extra. Thats two packets of dried soup........

Does that mean the if i use a Sup'air that i dont need to carry emergency rations...though Im not sure how well the thing heats them up...any ideas on how much petrol to pour on before lighting up

As I spent Saturday night in a Polaris tent (in case anybody looks at this in the distant future, we had the worst storms for a couple of years), I can fairly claim to have tested it in bad weather!

The verdict - it did the job, and we got a good night's sleep, but it was hardly the most luxurious thing ever. The fabric touching your sleeping bag is an issue, and you definitely need a water resistant outer on a down bag. Even so, the bottom of my bag was pretty saturated, and I was glad of the placcy bags on my feet. Direction of pitch is crucial - you want to point the front of the tent into the wind, in which case the fabric is actually lifted away from you. Unfortunately the onset of the rain and was accompanied by a 180 degree shift in the wind, which resulted in the fabric pressing onto our bags. Also, the wind was strong enough to actually collapse the pole on top of us. I pushed it back a few times, before eventually going back to sleep. The pole does obviously self recover, as in the morning when the wind had died a bit, the tent was back in it's proper shape.

In these sorts of conditions, our next door neighbours in a Sup-Air were definitely more comfortable. I suggest you look strongly at the idea of having an extra pole sleeve on the tent (or even some internal velcro - may be a self modification), where it's possible to put an extra pole to help the shape of the tent in bad weather.

Hey, having done some Beta testing for you, can I send mine back for a repair to the grounsheet, an extra bit of groungsheet at the front for solo use, and a few bits of velcro for an extra internal pole?

I also spent Saturday night in one of these tents (KIMM short score) and had resonable nights sleep, as with Chris we also had the fabric touching the down bags and hence resorted to dragging out the foil blankets to stop them getting drenched. In the servere gales the roof kept touching me face which is a little worrying.

At the camp site I spyed two other polaris tents one was underwater by the morning (with the vents this would mean a guarenteed drenching) and the other had snapped poles.

I'm not sure I would do an event this late in the year or as far North using the tent again it was definately at its limits.

The design does need tweaking and anyone buying one should definately take advantage of the extra guy loops on the hoop and take 2 extra pegs.

No worries
James

Prefer the design of the supair

john h

I use a Sup'air and carry a small bit of sponge
cloth with me when I use it. When I wake in
the night I run the cloth round the inside of the
tent (which you can do becasue there is plenty
room all round even with 2 in the tent) to soak
up any condensation then wring it out outside.
If you do this 2 or 3 times in the night the tent
stays pretty dry inside. Haven't used the
Polaris tent but would be put off by the low roof
at the foot end - especially as I'm 6'2" with size
11 feet.

At the last Polaris I piled loads of bracken
(Gary T's tip) under the tent which definitely
helped to keep it warmer and dryer.

However if every one ripped up the bracken
instead of carrying a mat, it wouldn't be very
eco friendly.

john h

It was dead

john
ripping up the bracken would be very eco friendly as it is a purge on the landscape and becoming a pest, it is encroaching upon the scub land and moor land and most National parks are trying to stop it spreading.
From memory this growth of braken is something to do with the fact that we no longer graze cattle on the hill or cut it for bedding.Cutting it doesn't get rid of it and neither does spraying, NYMNP have been experimenting with flailing to prevent the spread.

Hi Graham, live and learn as they say. Since it
is eco friendly, could you inform us if the
overnight has bracken. We could then do our
bit, leave our mats behind and remove the
aformentioned blot on the landscape.

I'd prefer bacon to be supplied at the overnight
not eggs as you asked jon b. I carry porridge
for breakfast and rely on smelling other
competitors bacon sandwiches cooking to get
me motivated for day 2.

trust saudi is comfortable, the golf going well?

john h

I've heard quite a few mixed reviews on the polaris tent, and condensation does seem to be the main problem. I shelled out a bit more for a Terra Nova Jupiter (�185) which weighs just over 800g. Its a bivvy tent with easton tubes and a couple of guide lines to tension things up a bit. The fabric is incredible quality, goretex lined, fully taped, totally waterproof, breathable etc. I've spent lots of nights out in it, including some very heavy weather. Amazingly, there has been no moisture build up inside, apart from an extremely light layer of barely damp just above your head (from your breath I assume). No damp sleeping bag etc etc. Not quite sure how they've done done it, but the boys at Terra Nova have certainly done a top job. Can't say enough good things about it.... you can see where your extra cash goes, and well worthwhile too. Blimey, I'll be getting a headhunted by the TN sales team soon!!!

Roger/Graham,

What is the latest version of the ELT like? I've seen a few different colors and shapes at the last couple of events, but wondered what the 'new' spec' is (weight, materials used, number of poles etc)?

Cheers, Ian

I believe in travelling light and will be taking a 3 x 2 meter caravan awaning, steel frame and heavy duty groundsheet. A snip at only 30 kg.
Can't wait for tomorrow!