Terra Nova Laserlite

tendays says : very light weight (competition version). OK in strong winds and rain. very easy to pitch. loads of space for one. just about OK for 2. flimsy zips. don\'t peg out with too much tension cos the outer zip will split open. toy pegs - i replaced with titanium skewers for a tiny weight penalty. don\'t know why these were not included as standard since they are cheaper than the composite ones. overall the weight savings are great but I think it needs better pegs and stronger zips.

Fraggle says : Review of the 2006 Laserlite Competition. First off, I\'d like to address the most commonly raised concerns with this tent i.e. the supplied pegs. Loads of people grumble about these and I\'d agree they are useless in all but the most perfect putting-green ground conditions. But, given ideal ground they do do a very good job. In choosing a featherlight tent you are giving the tent makers license to make these design compromises in favour of weight versus size/durability/versatility and a whole host of other factors. In short, you would not expect an expedition tent like the Quasar to weigh less than a kg, hence, you cannot expect a tent weighing as little as this to do everything you\'d expect of a larger, heavier tent. This tale of compromise is certainly the story with the Laserlite Comp. and can be seen in everything from the tent pegs already discussed to the paper thin groundsheet and the toy-size zips. What remains impressive about the Lazerlite Comp. is the elegant simplicity of the design making for an easy simultaneous pitch and maximising the usable space, the weatherproof qualities of the silicon flysheet and above all the unbelievably light weight of it all. That being said, some pro\'s to consider are: Ease of pitching with fly and inner pitching simultaneously and the whole relying on just one peg at each end for its structure. Naturally this means that the tent\'s pegging and guying are central to it\'s performance in strong winds but given good pegging (an ice axe at each end) I can vouch for this tents performance in strong winds. It should be noted that even in the lightest zephyr the flysheet rustles and in windy conditions flaps about considerably but, as long as you\'re tired enough this shouldn\'t affect your sleep. It also performs well in the wet and I\'ve never had any problems with water seepage. The gap between the inner and fly is sufficient that the two do not transfer water through contact even if you happen to sleep against the side of the inner. Whilst on the topic of water I have not had any trouble with condensation either. The tent is amply ventilated and the large inner space ensure that condensation is not a problem. The inner space is definitely one of the pluses with the Comp. There is (just) enough room to sit up in the middle and you can cook in the lee of the porch with the door open should the weather dictate. The porch is also roomy enough to store a large rucksack, boots, stove etc. So onto the downside and some cons to consider: As I\'ve already said the design of this tent privileges considerations of weight at the compromise of other factors. The most notable of these is durability. The pegs already discussed you might as well just splinter straight out of the bag and replace them with proper pegs to save you the trouble of scrounging for suitable sticks/rocks/icicles when they fail in the field. The groundsheet is scarily thin and I check each site carefully for sharp rocks thorns etc. before pitching. Similarly the flysheet would probably not fare too well if left up in strong winds and UV for any length of time. As with all tents the flysheet stretches some when wet and this combined with it\'s thinness and the tents reliance on guying for it\'s structure mean that if you pitch in the dry and it subsequently rains you may need to re-tension the guy lines (in the rain in the middle of the night?!) That being said all the materials are still in good condition after 2 years use and the slack in the wet fly is never such that you couldn\'t just put up with a flappy tent till the morning. One thing that has not lasted so well is the zip on the inner of the tent. In the last 6 months this has begun to wear and now \'splits\' if not carefully nursed along the track. This is partly due to the curved route it follows, partly due to the strain it takes in supporting the inner but mainly due to the fact that it is too small to do the job properly. All things considered an excellent tent; spacious, strong, weatherproof, easy to pitch and above all light but do expect some compromises to have been made in order to shave off those grams.

monkey says : The tent pegs may as well be thrown out before they fail when you dont want them to so just get better pegs and it is a cracking tent. t does flap a lot in wind though. Sack the person who agreed to pass the tent pegs they really are super rubbish carbon and plastic glued together

Fromthemanufacturer says : I\'m sorry Bondjamesbond has had issues with his tent. The tent he used was received by our customer services and assessed for warrnaty repairs. The tent had holes in the flysheet, and very dirty zips. Dirt in the zips was the cause of the problems this customer was having. We offered to clean the zips, and to tidy up the frayin pole sleeves.

Bondjamesbond says : their customer service is worse than their tents, and here is a cut and paste from my complaints doc about my laser large 2 1. During the trip the tent has been used on 30 occasions. Over a 2 month period 10 times in Chile, then following storage for 4 months, 20 times down the coast of California over a further 2 month period. 2. It is evident by the condition of the tent that we have endeavoured to look after it during this time (i.e. groundsheet still good etc.). 3. We did however unfortunately put some very small punctures in the outer tent when we once left the sharp tent pegs in the tent bag when carried on the back of our bikes. 4. However, after 20 or so uses the zip to the inner tent became problematic, and soon was unable to close the interior door at all. I did try and pinch the zipper with pliers but this had very little effect, and we had to resort to using 15 bulldog clips to close the inner door towards the end of our trip. 5. Soon after the inner door totally failed, one of the outer zips also failed on the outer door. 6. So after a relatively small number of uses our ?270 tent is useless. 7. Its also worth noting that one or two of the entry points for the tent poles are looking a little frayed and I suspect will also start failing in the near future. 8. In addition, the large panels between the poles invariably sag in the slightest moisture making the tent not very water-proof, an issue we also suffered from on our trip.

nowt says : Used this at the top of Whernside during a strong gale. Held up well (despite the ridiculously small pegs), flapped around a fair bit but that was more down to my poorly chosen pitch in the dark. I’m 6’2” so it can be a bit of a squeeze with two, though after a hard days walk I just needed enough space to put on a brew and fall asleep, the porch is plenty big for a couple of sacks. Cant speak to endurance as I haven’t used it in bad weather that much. Cons: Not a tent you would want to get benighted in.

penguin says : Large enogh to just sit upright in, easy to pitch as one (inner and fly) and super compact and light with enough space for your gear and cooking in vestible a very good tent.