Not the tent itself of course, but the online order for what seemed to be the only Lightwave T0 Ultra solo tunnel tent actually available in Britain, despite appearing on several retailer websites. The accounting system of the shop showed one in stock and I duly ordered it, but there was something wrong: diligent searching by the staff but no tent in the shop. If you see a T0 Ultra advertised on a shop website, don’t believe it!.
So that’s that: back to the drawing board and start over with the evaluations and reports. The solid stability of the Voyager Superlight is really appealing for 3-season use but it’s obviously excess weight for one person. So the first job is to find and study all the comments I turned up on the single-hoop tents - the Akto and Lasercomp.
10 Comments
sods law
it always seems to be early aug the supplies from outside th uk suddenly dry up, or all gravitate towards one chain/shop. I guess most shops don’t expect to selel much from now on, although this is just he time most of us regular campmers are thinking of a replacement
Yes indeed, and Lightwave have had terrible problems with their suppliers as well. Apparently Field & Trek bought up a load of the Lightwaves but they don’t have the Ultra.
Did you get either of the 2 emails I sent in the last few days?. Briefly, I got a ‘Message delayed’ email from the Yahoo mail server 4 days after sending the first one, so I sent another via the Personal Email facility on OM yesterday.
geoff got the first e-mail, and replied.
As for the second - no show I’m afraid
I’m currently using a Mountain Safety Research Zoid 1. Its ultralightweight and packs nice and small. The main bonus is its versatility. It can be used as a full one man tent including footprint, inner and outer, or any combination, depending on requirements. For example, the outer can be used as a type of tarp. See below for details.
http://www.westerlypeaks.com/acatalog/Zoid_1.html
I’ll be doing a full review on walk blighty in the very near future.
Lightwave give painful details of the reasons behind the cancellation of Ultra production until 2008 here:
http://www.lightwave.uk.com/fabric_supply.php
Just thought I’d mention I went through exactly the same solo tent researching internet spree and ended up with the T0 as being my choice. Spookily I then also ordered if from upnunder only to be kept hanging on for two weeks and then being told it was not available.
After contacting Lightwave they told me they were in stock in Tisos and, two days after ordering, the tent appeared on my doorstep.
Have only had the chance to try it out last weekend but it held up admirably on a wild camp on the North Downs way so pretty happy with my choice so far.
Pete,
Now that’s interesting. I just checked the UpAndUnder website and sure enough the T0 Ultra is still listed, long after our failed attempts to obtain it. Definitely out of order there, they should remove it from the site.
I’m sure its performance and quality are fine. I’m keeping my modified Akto for forecasts of very windy weather and using a LaserComp for most trips.
So how about a review Petegraaf? Or will I find it on another page? I guess I am at the same point one year later. My decision at present seems to be between the Atko and the T0 trek.
My concerns about the T0 relate to pitching in inclement weather (inner first I think?) and the effect of side-on wind. I’d love to see more comments. Everyone seems to love the Atko although it looks more like a bivi.
Paul, apologies I never saw your comment so never replied. Just on the off chance that you are still deciding which tent to go for one year on here are my thoughts.
I went for the T0 Trek (didn’t think the Ultra version was a good trade off for weight vs increased fragility) and overall am very pleased indeed. I’ve taken it out quite a few times now wild camping (the green fabric blends in well) on the North Downs, Brecons, Snowdonia and the Lake District and it has performed admirably each time. If you pitch sideways onto the wind the sides can bend in a little or flap but stability still remains excellent even though I’ve occasionnally pitched on summits to test it out. Additionally I’ve not had any condensation problems.
The first time I used the tent it rained steadily overnight and I struggled to get the flysheet properly tensioned and parts touched the inner, I think this was mainly due to my inexperince pitching it however there were still no problems with water getting in. Now I peg it out from the back of the tent first and I find it much easier to get proper tension and have had no similar problems despite various downpours and snowfall.
It is comfortably sized for me (I’m 6ft) but wouldn’t want to share with anyone except my girlfriend and the porch is big enough to cook in. In terms of lightness and pack size it is fantastic (but then my last tent was a super quasar which perhaps improved my back muscles lugging it around
All in all I would recommend it as has not let me down and is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the comment about the T0. It doesn’t seem a very popular tent unfortunately, probably if more people bought one there’d be more positive comments.
I ended up with a Terra Nova laser competition. Once I came across TN’s offer of 30% off “part-exchange deal” this decided me against the Atko.
I’ve been quite satisfied with the light weight (just about 1kg), the quick and easy pitch. For size it is quite snug - just enough room for a pack and food and cooking gear and boots in the porch and sleeping and spare clothes etc in the inner. I haven’t quite worked out the best ventilation as it can get quite wet with condensation inside.
After a short season with this I found I was often reluctant to zip-up and shut-out the outdoors so I’ve just got hold of a Trailstar tarp. This is relatively massive in size and weighs around 500gm. I just finished seam-sealing and making a silnylon ground sheet.