During a recent snow trip, while I cowered in a hut that the wind was trying to obliterate, I was so grateful that I didn't have to rely on the tent that I had brought with me. It is a good tent, marginally 4-season, with all the features listed below except for one. Guess which one it lacked?
Integral pitch. i.e. outer and inner go up at the same time and very quickly
Dual wall because although single walls can be made lighter and smaller, condensation is too much of an issue
Freestanding pitch
Geodesic or semi geod so it doesn't flap about too much in the wind. (Tunnels can be strong but very noisy)
Sheds snow well
Less than 3kg (I'd like lighter but I know that too light would fail the wind test.)
Big enough for 2 people comfortably
2 doors with reasonable vestibule sizes
Good bathtub floor with at least 5000 mm head but preferably more
Fly with at least 2000 mm head (I'd like more, naturally)
Capable of standing up to 50 km/h winds (more is better, but comes at the cost of weight and, well, cost)
If you guessed that my current tent failed the point about the 50 km/h winds, you win a prize! (A slightly used tent)
So now I need to go look at alternatives.
The Mont Krypton
This looks like a nice replacement tent. Krypton Tent Lemongrass - Mont Adventure Equipment (I bought one eventually and tested it in Autumn in the Jagungal Wilderness. Wasn't blowy or snowy so I can't say yet if it's good. Bring on winter!)
Integral pitch, though a bit fiddly because of the hubbed central pole
Freestanding, though vestibule side panels rely on pegs
25,000 mm rated floor is much more than usual
4 season, with an emphasis on wind resilience. Yet to be tested.
Good head room
Taped seams (not that I like taped seams as the tapes tend to fail first)
Ventilation options (but see below about melting frost)
Initially, from the images on Mont's website, it looks like the doors open the wrong way. Not sure I want that much ventilation!!! Maybe the other side panel can be opened instead of the one shown folded away? I contacted Mont and they assured me that yes, the door can be opened so that the opening faces away from the wind.
Fly is 30D. Ripstop Nylon with 2000 mm rated PU. Net-wisdom says 2000mm is adequate.
Not cheap! AUD $1,200 -ish
The flaps that cover the zips face the wrong way, into the driving rain! (Who designs these things!) Plus it requires care to avoid jamming flaps in the zips. (Why not just use waterproof zips? Cost, stiffness?)
The inner clips to the outer in a strange way near the door, pulling the outer in oddly at that point. Maybe better for wind? It can be modified by using cord rather than the clips when wind isn't an issue and this makes the vestibule a bit larger too.
When I used in in Autumn the outer frosted up a LOT on the inside due to condensation and when it melted in the morning I got quite wet from the water dripping onto me thru an overhead vent. Note to self: Keep that vent shut in icy conditions.
The Mont Moondance 2 FN
The FN stands for Full Nylon (inner) and is important as it changes the otherwise 3-season tent to 4-season, presumably because the inner mesh has been beefed up to make it warmer. See MONT - Moondance 2FN - lightweight 4 season tent – Mountain Equipment
The Moondance looks pretty good at about 2kg and with an exceptional 25,000 mm rating on the floor. (Interesting that at least one vendor's websites claim only 10,000 mm for the floor) There is a youtube wind-tunnel test up to 56 kmph for the Moondance at Mont Moondance 2 Tent at the DAC WindLab wind tunnel - YouTube
It survived but really only just. If the windward peg had come out the poles would have been insufficient to stop it from collapsing. I hope that performance is even better in the Krypton.
However, the Moondance isn't integral pitch, which is one of my requirements.
Mont Epoch
Looks great, but is pretty heavy. Epoch Tent Gold Fusion/Charcoal - Mont Adventure Equipment
Hilleberg
Hilleberg Namatj 2 meets all the criteria except that a windy winter's night spent at Rawson's Pass under Mount Kosciuszko convinced me that whilst strong enough, tunnel tents can be very flappy and noisy in wind. The black-label versions are the sturdier (and heavier) designs and look pretty bombproof. The red-labels might be adequate... See Hilleberg 2 person tents
Tarra looks great but so heavy at 4kg...
Staika looks good too, but also a bit heavy
The Jannu red-label does almost meet the 3kg weight
The Allak 2 red-label design does almost meet the 3kg weight requirement
Nallo 2 and 2 GT get the nod for weight but again are tunnels. Red-label.
I wonder if tunnel tents could do with an extra guy-out on the sides to reduce flapping? Or maybe it would compromise strength? Perhaps some bungi cord (elastic) to absorb the flapping rather than make the tent rigid and risk ripping.
Points in favor of the Hille tents are that they don't rely on tape sealing which in my experience is inferior and fails soonest with age, but the seams are sealed using silicone. Their fabrics are very sturdy and they claim waterproof head for their black-label tents in particular at more than industry standard. (5,500 mm for 40 Denier fly, bathtub floor is rated at 20,000 and is 100 Denier)
10mm DAC poles
Points against are that the Namatj 2 is sold out and on back order and may have a long waiting list. They are also expensive at AUD $1200-ish
Only has one door.
Isn't free-standing.
There are examples on youtube of some of the Hille tents being wind-tested. E.g. Handling your Hilleberg tent in strong winds - YouTube
Terra Nova
Terra Nova have some interesting tents too. Prices look pretty expensive. Around AUD $1200 for the Southern Cross (sourced from Terra Nova in UK) but interestingly listed at AUD $900 from backpackinglite