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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Big Sky International Revolution 2P > Test Report by David Bradish
BIG SKY INTERNATIONAL REVOLUTION 2P TENT
INITIAL REPORT - September 27, 2009
TESTER INFORMATION
I started hiking in my teens in Arizona and New Mexico, primarily focusing on winter hiking. Since 1991 I have hiked a lot with my brother-in-law Ray, mostly in California's Sierra Nevada range and the southern mountains. In winter I bring as much gear as necessary to be safe and comfortable. For 3-season hiking I try to follow the principles of ultra light. PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: Big Sky International (BSI) The Big Sky shelters have many configurations and material options available to the consumer. Their choices really did let me have a chance to go wild creating a unique package that would suit my needs or fancy. But I chose to stick with the "base" package offered by Bob Molen, the owner of Big Sky. The weights listed are for this collection of parts that made up the "base" package. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The Big Sky Revolution is a two-person tent that the company says is "Perfect for the lightweight backpacker that wants a very comfortable and roomy shelter without the weight". I try to go as light weight as I can but since I hike a lot in the spring and fall I often take a tent that can handle the snow that I see a lot of during these seasons. And as I am in the mountains most of the time I need one that can handle high winds and sudden storms in any season. When I saw the Revolution I had to look again to see if it was not a 4-season tent because it looks like many of my winter tents. Luckily I was chosen to test it to see if what I saw proves to be true. The Revolution shown in the picture from BSI is a double wall tent comprised of a no-see-um mesh inner tent body and an outer fly and floor made of what Big Sky calls its new SuprSil fabric: high strength nylon fabric with silicone coating. Here is what Big Sky says about this fabric. "SuprSil shell/fly fabric: Compared with generic silnylon fabric, Big Sky's new SuprSil shell/fly fabric will be about the same weight but is 2x more waterproof and has a 50% stronger tear strength. SuprSil floor/tub fabric: Compared with generic silnylon fabric, Big Sky's new SuprSil floor/tub fabric will be about the same weight but is 3x more waterproof and has more than 50% stronger tear strength." As the one-person tent I usually take is made of generic silnylon I will be interested in seeing how this new fabric works out. One thing I can say about the SuprSil, it is the slipperiest fabric I have ever seen. When I sat it on a desk in our office after unpacking it, it suddenly started sliding by itself. It slid off the desk onto and off a chair and onto the floor. It was like watching quicksilver. It came with eight stakes that are made of slightly curved aluminum that has a bent end. Four are 6"/15 cm long and four are tiny at only 4"/10 cm in length. The long ones weigh 0.4 oz/11.3 g each and the little ones weigh 0.2 oz/5.7 g. BSI calls the tiny ones pegs instead of stakes. I will be interested to see how these work in a few days in the northern Sierra Nevadas. A first for me is the way that the Revolution has the inner tent hanging from the outer shell. It sets up very fast as all I have to do is lay the whole works flat. Then I assemble the aluminum poles and place them in the corners in a crossing pattern with the bent sections to the wide end of the tent. The instructions sure could have said this by the way. The instructions are pretty limited and take a lot for granted. No mention is made of the red pole ends but I figured out that they go where a red strap is hiding UNDER the fly. Next I clip the body to the poles. A short third pole goes over the top to provide support for the porch. Now just place as many stakes as I think it needs and it is ready to use. The neat thing about this is that the inside of the tent will stay dry when I have to set it up in the rain. There is a good sized door on each side of the tent. The doors are made with the bottom wider than the top to give more room for swinging my legs out. I suppose this makes sense. There is a lot of room inside, just about the most I have ever seen in a two person tent that I have owned. The only one that has more room is a 4-season tent that weighs almost twice as much. Inside the tent are two good sized storage pockets and two larger mesh pockets that BSI calls clothes hampers. Another thing that has a lot of room are the two huge vestibules. These too are so much bigger than what I am used to I don't know what I will do with all the space. The vestibules are set up by pulling them away from the door and holding them with a single stake each. Above each vestibule opening is a vent that can be adjusted from the inside of the tent. The Porch referred to in the name of the Revolution are overhangs over each to door to prevent water from dripping inside when doors are open during rainy weather. Speaking of rain BSI says that all necessary seams are sealed so I am going to take them at their word and see if I get any leaks. This picture from BSI shows the doors open and the porch.
The Revolution comes with a stuff sack that has three compression straps on it. I weigh it at 1.6 oz/45 g. Big Sky says the tent should be rolled and slid into the sack not stuffed. I guess that makes sense because of the attached inside tent but it is hard to roll up because the tent is so slippery. A foot print was available as an out of pocket option but I am cheap and did not get it. Now I am worrying a little bit about the floor as it feels so thin. Maybe I will take Big Sky on their word of it being 50% stronger, or maybe I will get a piece of Tyvec to put under it. FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS
I used the Revolution two nights on a 33 mi/53 km backpacking trip in northern California. The temperatures were from 29 F/-2 C to 52 F/11 C. The elevations went from 7000'/2100 m to 10,600'/3200 m. We had a little rain and snow on one night. PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD
While setting the tent up to describe it for the Initial Report let me see how roomy this tent is, it was not until I slept in it that I saw just how much space there really is in the Revolution. It is a palace. I have never had so much room in a two man tent. I really like the porch. Having the extra room and protection makes it worth the extra weight in my opinion. The material of the floor is very slippery. One of the nights I was forced to set it up on an uneven spot. I slipped against the wall the entire night. One thing that I do not like is how hard it is to pack up in the morning. Big Sky recommends folding and rolling it up instead of stuffing it like I do to all my other tents. That makes sense as it will keep the inner from being torn off its attachment points. But the Revolution holds dirt more than any tent I have used. It is a dirt magnet. And most of that dirt gets transferred to me as I roll it. Plus it is so slippery that I can never get it back into the stuff sack without having half of the tent slide off the roll. The morning after I took the picture below I even had my brother-in-law help me slide the stuff sack over it and it still unraveled at the end. LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS
I used the Revolution for three days in San Diego County on parts of the Pacific Crest Trail. The low temperature was 37 F/3 C and it rained on two of the days. This picture is at Lake Morena County Park before the storm moved in. PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD
I ended up carrying the Revolution more than I used it over the past two months. The weather has been the worst I have can remember since I moved to California in 1982. It seems every time I have gone backpacking this winter and spring it has rained or snowed. On our trip to the Mojave Desert near Rosamond California the mud was so deep that we changed the trip and got a hotel for the night rather than try to pitch the tents in the flooded muddy mess. Read more reviews of Big Sky International gear Read more gear reviews by David Bradish Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Big Sky International Revolution 2P > Test Report by David Bradish |