RustyHazen
Lil-Rokslider
I just received my new Kuiu Ultra Star 1P tent the other day. I am a total gram counting nut, but I haven't bought a new tent in 7 years. I currently have a sub-15 pound base weight for early season elk bivy hunts, so there's not a lot of potential for me to cut weight. I run the original version of the Tarptent Moment. With a few modifications, it's under 30 oz. The reasons I've never replaced it are the roominess and simplicity. I know I could go lighter with cuben, but the ease of setup with my Moment, combined with the cost of cuben, it just never happened. When it's pitch black on the mountain, and you just want to eat and hit the sack, it's hard to beat one pole and two stakes. I can easily set up my tent in under one minute, no exaggeration. Also, the Moment is widest and tallest right in the middle, right where you need it, sleeping and sitting.
I decided to try the Ultra Star, because, even having to use a separate pole (no trekking poles for me), I figured I could get it down to 18 oz. total. Shaving 11-12 oz off of my shelter is huge for me, dropping my base weight to 14 even. I wasn't sure about the design, as it's identical ( I mean IDENTICAL) to the Big Sky Wisp, and the reviews weren't great on it. I worried about condensation and space. The square footage is listed at 19.7 sq. ft., over 1.5 more than my Moment, but footprint area isn't everything. I would love to see more companies use total tent volume, in cubic feet, than square feet. This figure tends to speak more to total livable space than floor area alone, does.
So, I get the tent. I'm so stoked! First things first, as with all new gear, onto the scale! What the.....? The tent is constantly marketed "weighing in at a mere 18.9 oz." Not even close. If you look at the spec sheet on the website hard enough, you will find "total packed weight." Let's just say it's not 18.9 oz. My tent, all told, goes 24.4 oz.! My first problem with this is obvious. My market something at a dishonest weight. This is not a free-standing tent. It is useless without the stakes. Useless!
On the live feed promotional video, Edward Zmnginsky from Toledo, Ohio asks "Do the weights include the stakes?" To which Blaise from Kuiu replies "Yes." This is a false statement. Even the tent body alone doesn't weigh 18.9 oz. Why would I want to know the weight of a part of a piece of gear not including other parts that it REQUIRES to function? At the end of the day, a company with the word "ultralight" in it's name is selling gear that is 29% over the "marketed" weight to people who will obviously weigh their gear.
Next comes the design. Simply put, I was in no way able to lie in the tent, let alone sit up, without full contact with the low angled back wall of the tent. The pole obviously forms the peak of the tent, the high point. This is also the division between the living space and the vestibule. So, if you picture the profile of the tent from the front as a triangle, draw a vertical line from the peak to the floor. You are to the right of the line, you're only living in half the triangle. The wall comes up at a very low angle. I placed my Neo-Air mattress and a Marmot Helium 15 degree ( a medium-loft bag) in the tent, centered in the floor. The entire length of the bag was touching the back wall. Without me in it. When you lie down, the wall is a couple inches from your face. Every movement causes contact with the wall, and sitting up freely is out of the question. In a tent that will have a lot of potential for condensation (as admitted by Kuiu), this will make for a really wet trip.
Furthermore, ten stakes seems like a lot for a one man tent. If you hunt where it is very rocky, or has hard ground, this could make for a difficult and long set-up.
I will say, the vestibule is large, but I would rather have more living space. So, the tent is going back. I really enjoy Kuiu's clothing, but this tent was a big miss for me. Looks like I'll be enjoying my Moment for another year. Thanks for your time.
I decided to try the Ultra Star, because, even having to use a separate pole (no trekking poles for me), I figured I could get it down to 18 oz. total. Shaving 11-12 oz off of my shelter is huge for me, dropping my base weight to 14 even. I wasn't sure about the design, as it's identical ( I mean IDENTICAL) to the Big Sky Wisp, and the reviews weren't great on it. I worried about condensation and space. The square footage is listed at 19.7 sq. ft., over 1.5 more than my Moment, but footprint area isn't everything. I would love to see more companies use total tent volume, in cubic feet, than square feet. This figure tends to speak more to total livable space than floor area alone, does.
So, I get the tent. I'm so stoked! First things first, as with all new gear, onto the scale! What the.....? The tent is constantly marketed "weighing in at a mere 18.9 oz." Not even close. If you look at the spec sheet on the website hard enough, you will find "total packed weight." Let's just say it's not 18.9 oz. My tent, all told, goes 24.4 oz.! My first problem with this is obvious. My market something at a dishonest weight. This is not a free-standing tent. It is useless without the stakes. Useless!
On the live feed promotional video, Edward Zmnginsky from Toledo, Ohio asks "Do the weights include the stakes?" To which Blaise from Kuiu replies "Yes." This is a false statement. Even the tent body alone doesn't weigh 18.9 oz. Why would I want to know the weight of a part of a piece of gear not including other parts that it REQUIRES to function? At the end of the day, a company with the word "ultralight" in it's name is selling gear that is 29% over the "marketed" weight to people who will obviously weigh their gear.
Next comes the design. Simply put, I was in no way able to lie in the tent, let alone sit up, without full contact with the low angled back wall of the tent. The pole obviously forms the peak of the tent, the high point. This is also the division between the living space and the vestibule. So, if you picture the profile of the tent from the front as a triangle, draw a vertical line from the peak to the floor. You are to the right of the line, you're only living in half the triangle. The wall comes up at a very low angle. I placed my Neo-Air mattress and a Marmot Helium 15 degree ( a medium-loft bag) in the tent, centered in the floor. The entire length of the bag was touching the back wall. Without me in it. When you lie down, the wall is a couple inches from your face. Every movement causes contact with the wall, and sitting up freely is out of the question. In a tent that will have a lot of potential for condensation (as admitted by Kuiu), this will make for a really wet trip.
Furthermore, ten stakes seems like a lot for a one man tent. If you hunt where it is very rocky, or has hard ground, this could make for a difficult and long set-up.
I will say, the vestibule is large, but I would rather have more living space. So, the tent is going back. I really enjoy Kuiu's clothing, but this tent was a big miss for me. Looks like I'll be enjoying my Moment for another year. Thanks for your time.
