Seek Outside Silex

[Ratbeetle]

This shelter checks all the boxes for me. Just ordered one with a stove jack.

 

[RockChucker30]

Question for either Nathan or Kevin, how does the Eolus compare to the Silex in regards to storm protection in heavy winds? Also, do you feel that both can be pitched to allow adequate ventilation, during heavy condensation conditions, without a peak vent?

First - Eolus vestibules / doors can't be pitched tight to ground, but the Eolus footprint is big enough that no blowing rain is going to get into the shelter, so I'd say it's really a wash. Silex pitches tighter, but Eolus has bigger footprint so both do well in blowing rain.

Condensation - I'll go more in depth here because we've gotten several questions on it.

For a few months I've been doing experiments with waterproofing / seam sealing / leaks / condensation. Goals are to see if we can make minor changes in construction or materials to make tents easier to seam seal / waterproof, and eliminate potential leak points. Second goal is to give better guidance and instruction on managing condensation and probably refresh our blog post on the same subject.

So that's the background for this....I had an Eolus and a Silex (and other shelters) pitched side by side during a four day rain. It alternated from drizzle to soaking rain to hammering downpour for four days, with extremely high humidity, and temps in the 80's during the day and high 60's to low 70's at night, with almost no wind. All tents were pitched after the ground was already wet.

This may not be a "worst-case" scenario for condensation, but it's really bad.

Lets talk real quick about what problems condensation give you.
1. Wet inner tent fabric brushing against a sleeping bag, or your face. Mostly annoying but tolerable.
2. Soaked interior due to condensation, this is heavy enough that a really hard rain will cause enough percussion in the tight fabric to "ping" the condensation off, causing misting inside. This is really annoying and what we want to prevent.

So, after the test I found out some things. The most condensation the Eolus built up was one morning when dew had formed under the canopy (super high humidity), and that was only a light film, not even enough to wet a sleeping bag.

The Silex I had pitched with 130 cm Zpoles did almost as well. It had a slightly thicker film, but still totally manageable. I had another tent pitched tight to the ground that was completely soaked from condensation at the same time these were doing well.

So, Eolus is the best tent I've seen in condensation (including other makes...it does as well as a hammock tarp IME), Silex does really well pitched with 130's and I think will come close to tying Eolus if pitched with 140's.

That's why they don't have peak vents- they handled condensation really well without them.

 

[parshal]

That's pretty close to real world testing without you sleeping in them at night!

 

[RockChucker30]

In fairness that has been done too, my experiments are more tent vs tent, materials and pitch in the same conditions.

For instance, how much less does a Cimarron that is pitched up with lineloc extension kit condensate vs a Cimarron pitched tight to ground? Answer? A lot less.


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[parshal]

I use line-locs on my Redcliff and 16-man. Zero condensation.

 

[Tim in Wa.]

I have to say those line locks on the stakes are very effective for easily pitching high and getting good ventilation

 

[veganhunter]

In fairness that has been done too, my experiments are more tent vs tent, materials and pitch in the same conditions.

Do you have any thoughts on condensation between the silnylon and DCF? I’ve heard anecdotes that DCF is less prone to condensation because it doesn’t absorb water like silnylon but interested in your thoughts.

 

[RockChucker30]

To be honest it's a bit early to say. This is one of the questions I'm looking at. I *suspect* that a smoother coating at the microscopic level will collect less condensation than a coating with more tooth due to less surface area.


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[kad11]

Will this comfortably sleep one guy at 6'4" without head or foot being super close to the fabric?

How does ease of pitching compare with a square base mid (which I'd consider really easy)?

Thanks!

 

[RockChucker30]

It'll sleep a 7 footer on the diagonal with plenty of head and foot room.

Pitch is similar and very easy.


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[mrgreen]

This looks great, I would like to see pics with a stove in one.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Looks great and I really love the simplicity of the zipperless door system.

Would either the Silex or Eolus be notably better configured to pitch a tarp vestibule with it?

My buddy and I normally sleep in separate bivies/nests with a tarp backup plan for rain, which is fine in most CA seasons, but going to Wyoming this year so looking at options when backpacking and getting caught in some weather. If too much, would go back to a base camp.

The Silex looks sweet for my solo trips, but how realistic will it be for a 6' and 5'10" to sleep for short term, with possibly a tarp vestibule for gear?

 

[Kevin_t]

Looks great and I really love the simplicity of the zipperless door system.

Would either the Silex or Eolus be notably better configured to pitch a tarp vestibule with it?

My buddy and I normally sleep in separate bivies/nests with a tarp backup plan for rain, which is fine in most CA seasons, but going to Wyoming this year so looking at options when backpacking and getting caught in some weather. If too much, would go back to a base camp.

The Silex looks sweet for my solo trips, but how realistic will it be for a 6' and 5'10" to sleep for short term, with possibly a tarp vestibule for gear?

It’s realistically comfortable for a single person up to about 7 ft length .

The eolus is probably the better for tarpons and two bivies . It can pitch up 6ft tall with longer cordage if desired


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[clbrown23]

The Silex has peaked my interest, but I have a couple questions:

How much weight does a stove jack add?
Have you measured any wind speeds you have had it in?
Does it pitch taught enough to mitigate the walls deflecting in much during winds? -this is a pet peeve of mine when the walls take up living space from deflecting in during wind storms
Is the peak 50" tall when pitched with a trekking pole at 120cm and walls flush to ground?

Thanks

 

[MuleDeerMike]

So if I ordered this today then odds are that it won't be here by August 28th?

 

[Kevin_t]

So if I ordered this today then odds are that it won't be here by August 28th?

It should be fine in nylon


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[Kevin_t]

The Silex has peaked my interest, but I have a couple questions:

How much weight does a stove jack add?
Have you measured any wind speeds you have had it in?
Does it pitch taught enough to mitigate the walls deflecting in much during winds? -this is a pet peeve of mine when the walls take up living space from deflecting in during wind storms
Is the peak 50" tall when pitched with a trekking pole at 120cm and walls flush to ground?

Thanks

I’ve measured winds to 40 and it was good .

It pitches taught

At 120 cm , it will be at ground level and that is a low as it can go. Most photos are showing a 130 cm pole


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[RockChucker30]

Does it pitch taught enough to mitigate the walls deflecting in much during winds? -this is a pet peeve of mine when the walls take up living space from deflecting in during wind storms

If you're solo on the diagonal you probably won't notice any wall deflection because you're a good distance away from any wall, and you've got a pole on either side of you. The sloping head and foot seam won't deflect much, and it's 10.5 feet or so anyway on that diagonal.

If you did get some deflection I bet it would be in the flat panels on the doors, but that's a long way from your living area. This orientation is one of the reasons the geometry works so well.

Stove jacks add 2-3 oz on average, that's across all the tents.

Edit to add that on the Silex if I were expecting high wind I'd probably upgrade the four primary stakes to something sturdy, like our twisted aluminum, or one of the MSR 9" stakes. Total I think it's going to wind up with 8 stake loops and four guyout points, so if you use all of them you'll ride out a hurricane, but if it's pegged with the minimum 4 stakes....well I'd want them sturdy.

 

[clbrown23]

Thanks, that was very helpful and greatly appreciated!

 

[slick]

Gotta say the zipper-less door is freakin genius. This is a great shelter at a great price for the weight and size. I definitely see one in my future.