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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent > Test Report by Erin Marie Hedden

TERRA NOVA ZEPHYROS 2
TEST SERIES BY ERIN M. HEDDEN
LONG-TERM REPORT
October 30, 2012

CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE FIELD REPORT
CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE LONG-TERM REPORT

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Erin M. Hedden
EMAIL: tookieblueeyes@live.com
AGE: 34
LOCATION: Southeastern Colorado, USA
GENDER: F
HEIGHT: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
WEIGHT: 153 lb (69.40 kg)

Backpacking Background: I have been backpacking since 4 years of age, taking long trips into the mountains with my family. I hike various terrains from mountains and plateaus to grasslands and prairies. My excursions can be a day hike with a light-weight waist pack, a loop trail taking up to 5 days on which I keep my pack as light-weight as possible, or an in-and-out trip for a night or two where my pack can be heavy. Slow and steady is my pace and I use a tent or a hammock depending on weather and terrain.


INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

IMAGE 1


Manufacturer: Terra NovaIMAGE 2
Year of Manufacture: 2012
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/
MSRP: £150.00; 186 USD
Listed Weight: 3 lb 9oz (1.62 kg)
Measured Weight: 3 lb 8 oz (1.59 kg)
Other details:
Capacity: 2 Person
Single door
Single main pole
Pack size: 22 in x 5.5 in (57 cm x 14 cm)
Range: 3 season backpacking tent
Flysheet: Ripstop Pu Polyester 4,000 mm
Floor: Ripstop Pu Polyester 6,000 mm
Poles: 8.5 mm Superflex Alloy
Pegs: 10 x Aluminum V-Angle
Guylines: 4 x black reflective
2 year manufacturer warranty
Guaranteed Waterproof

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The Wild Country Terra Nova Zephyros 2 is a lightweight three season tent that is based on Terra Nova's Laser Competition series of tents. Terra Nova describes the Zephyros 2 as being "perfect for weight conscious backpackers and price conscious adventure racers".

The flysheet and inner tent floor are made of ripstop polyurethane-coated polyester and the inner tent body is a combination of nylon taffeta and mesh. Terra Nova uses a single 8.5 mm pole they refer to as Superflex as the main support. This single Superflex alloy pole is collapsible and is stored in its own sack. There are two end struts that will usually remain attached to the tent, even when it is packed away for storage.

The Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent comes with ten aluminum V pegs that are 6 in (15.2 cm) long. These pegs are stored in their own small sack along with a pole repair sleeve.

IMAGE 3


The Zephyros 2 can be set up as a whole, with the interior attached, or the interior can be removed and the flysheet can be set up on its own as a lightweight alternative.

The fly, the inner tent, pole and the pegs all fit into one 22 in x 5.5 in (57 cm x 14 cm) nylon stuff sack. Setup instructions are printed on a sheet which is sewn on to the inside the stuff sack itself.

The door to the interior of the Zephyros 2 tent is accessed from the side after unzipping the fly itself. Both the flysheet and the door have two zippers so that they can be opened and closed in any number of different ways. The flysheet can be left opened by using a hook and loop system. The hook is found on the bottom interior of the flysheet door flap and the loop is located on the top side of the interior portion of the tent.

IMAGE 4


Once inside of the tent there is plenty of head room and measures 90 in long x 38 in wide x 37 in high (230 cm x 97 cm x 95 cm) according to my measurements.

Inside there are 2 mesh vents at either end of the tent that are held closed with hook and loop. There is also a small pocket for stowing away and gear that may be needed for quick access during the night. The pocket measures 6 in x 9 in (15 cm x 22 cm) and holds the items I would use most while inside of the tent quite nicely.

IMAGE 5

TRYING IT OUT

Setting up the Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent took a total of 15 minutes and wasn't hard to figure out after unrolling the tent and laying it out. After setting it up I inspected the outside of the tent for any defects and found none. The interior was free of any defects as well.

There are 10 V pegs which are sufficient for staking down the tent if I use the same corner pegs for staking down both the interior and the flysheet corners together.

The guylines are a length that is adequate for me to stake out and they are also highly visible in the darkness so I will not be tripping over them at night.

Also, the V pegs are quite sharp and are hard to get a grip on when pulling them out of the ground. They also have edges that are quite sharp.

THINGS THAT I LIKE

I like the easy set up of the tent.
I like that it is lightweight.
I like the material that was used in the tents construction, both the interior and exterior of the Zephyros 2.
I like that the interior portion of the tent can be removed and the fly can be used all by itself.
I like that it does not take a lot of time to set up and it easy to figure out how to set up.
I like that it is easily taken down and stored away.
I like the ventilation system that is in place in the interior portion of the tent itself.

THINGS THAT I DISLIKE

At this point I only have one concern, and that is with the poles that are attached to the interior portion of the Terra Nova Zephyros 2, however, I will need more time and experience with the Zephyros 2 in order to definitively say that this will be something I like, or dislike.

Check back in 2 months to find out how things turn out with this tent.


FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

IMAGE 1The first time out with the Zephyros 2 started out with a night spent in the Ophir Creek area at 8,500 ft (2591 m) in elevation, an area comprised of aspen grove, stream-side willow and a mixed-conifer forest and ended with an elevation gain of 3,000 ft (914 m) and a night in high mountain forest just below St. Charles Peak in the Wet Mountains of Southern Colorado. The weather was consistent and fairly warm without any rain or wind, just a wispy summer breeze that came up and continued for the entire time spent above 9,700 ft (2957 m) of elevation. The first morning was cloudy and cool with a temperature of 62 F (17 C), but that soon changed and the day heated up rapidly enough. I found the second morning to be 61 F (16 C) and the third and final morning spent on the mountain to be 57 F (14 C). There were no significant weather events or dramatic temperature variations during this first trip out with the Zephyros 2 by Terra Nova.

Early on in July I spent 6 nights starting out at Bear Lake in the San Isabel National Forest in Southern Colorado at approximately 10,000 ft (3048 m) in elevation due to a late start to the day. The remaining 5 nights were spent at the top of the Trinchera Peak Trail at tree line where my base camp was set up adjacent to the very beginning of the Cucharas River, where the waters trickle out from between the rocks on the side of the peak itself. The weather at this location was also fairly consistent with daily temperatures never getting above 92 F (33 C) and never dropping below 87 F (31 C). Nightly temperatures never dipped any lower than 55 F (13 C).IMAGE 2 It clouded up on two separate occasions but nothing came of it except a few gusts of wind.

In late July I used the Zephyros 2 by Terra Nova on an outing in Comanche National Grasslands in Southeastern Colorado. I spent 3 nights hiking across the grasslands to watch the wildlife and explore my regional area. Each day was hot, temperatures soaring above 100 F (38 C), nightly temperatures were 71 F (22 C) the first night, 69 F (21 C) the second night and 71 F (22 C) again on the third and final night spent out on the prairies.

In early August I used the Zephyros 2 during a mock bug out that crossed 21 miles (34 km) of distance and took 2 nights and 3 days of hiking through the Arkansas River basin. Both nights were measured to be 78 F (26 C) and the second night found me camped on a sandy streach of land. The wind kicked up around 3:30 am and continued until 8:34 am so the tent was pelted by the sand and blowing debris.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

IMAGE 3The Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent was no problem to carry on my pack and was easy to set up and take down, even in the dark as was the case on one occasion on a mock bug out when I pushed myself to gain more hard miles and wound up having to set up camp in the dark. Everything went smoothly and even though I never experienced any rain during any of my trips out into the back country due to the drought the state suffered this year I did encounter a bit of high wind on two different occasions. The tent stood up to the high winds and did not come apart, however, when sand and debris was being blown at the tent some dust and sand particles did manage to find its way into the tent via the door, but not a lot. When it came time to clean the sand and dirt out of the tent it was easy to clean up and get rid of because of the way the door itself can be opened. Clean up was a breeze.

The only issue that I encountered that was a problem so far was that the stakes were sharp on bare hands and a glove was needed to reduce the chances of suffering a puncture wound or slice in the flesh of the palm and fingers of my hand. The other issue was that I managed to bend the head of two stakes over while setting up the tent on the dry, hard, soil of the sun baked Comanche National Grasslands. I had to use a hammer and a pair of pliers to fix the stakes but they did not fail and the head of the stake were able to be saved.IMAGE 4

SUMMARY

In summation I found that the Terra Nova tent was lightweight and easy to pack up and set up. I liked that clean up of the interior of the tent was easy and I did not have any problems with air flow or condensation collecting on the interior of the tent. I did not have an opportunity to see how well the tent did against water and rain because of the drought that is currently plaguing the United States but I hope to eventually get lucky and get it set up on a day this fall when the rain decides to fall because of my curiosity about the claim that the tent is water proof. The tent stakes were sharp and hard to get into the ground without cutting myself so I had to start using gloves to prevent injury and two of the stakes ended up bending over at the grooves in the head. These bends were easily remedied with a pair of pliers in the field so that they would work out until I could get home and work out the bend in them a little better with a hammer. The stakes still maintain their shape and function after the problem with them bending over was remedied and repaired and are still being used with the tent.

IMAGE 5



LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

In late summer I used the Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent during a pre-hunting season scout in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains in Huerfano County, Colorado for a two night stay at an elevation of 7,500 ft (2,286 m) while the weather was clear and sunny during the day and clear and star lit during the night. For this trip I did not get any temperature readings as I had left some gear back at the car by accident.

As summer faded into fall I took the Zephyros 2 tent for a three night stay in the Arkansas River basin in Southeastern Colorado and each night was clear and the stars could be seen. During the first night the temperature registered to be 53 F (12 C), the second night the thermometer dipped down to 44 F (7 C) and during the third night the temperature dropped to 46 F (8 C). Each morning I woke up to find a heavy coat of dew covering the exterior portion of the tent but did not have a problem with the dew forming on the interior compartment.

In October I took the Zephyros 2 back down the Arkansas River basin for another two nights on a hunting and backpacking trip, again in Southeastern Colorado but in a different location further up river and during these two nights temperatures got cold enough that the dew became ice crystals and I did wake up to find ice crystals had formed on the interior of the tent and I got a good face full of it as it fell when I was trying to get out of my sleeping bag. On the first night the temperature came down to 34 F (1 C), and on the second night it got down to 31 F (-1 C).IMAGE 1

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

I had no problems with condensation forming on the interior portion of the tent itself until October when I found that ice crystals from dew and condensation, probably from my breath, had formed on the ceiling of the tent and fallen down into my face as I moved around trying to get out of my sleeping bag. On the last occasion when I used the tent the screen material on the door became separated from the door itself leaving me two feet of open space that I had to patch up with duct tape on the fly. The overall set up and take down of the tent was easy and took little time. The cleaning of the tent and removal of dirt, leaves, sand, grass and other debris from the interior of the tent was a breeze due to the fact that the door actually opens up all the way around and this was a wonderful luxury for me.

SUMMARY

In summary there are many great things about the Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent that I like, such as the easy clean up, the easy set up and take down, its weight and the fact that the interior sleeping compartment can be removed to reduce the weight of the tent even further while using the exterior fly on its own, but there are also a few things about it that I did not like about this tent. One of the things that I think could be better was the hook and loop system used to pin back and open up the exterior door flap. It is a loose fit and because of that the door is hard to keep open and secure when there is a breeze blowing or when you are getting in and out of the tent during the night. I was a little disappointed with the way the screen became separated from the door on the interior sleeping compartments door to the Zephyros 2 and I thought that perhaps a way to hang a lantern or light from the center of the interior sleeping compartment could have been included in the design of the tent. Other than that I had no real issues with this tent and enjoyed my time testing it.IMAGE 2

I would like to thank Backpackgeartest.org and Terra Nova for allowing me to test the Zephyros 2 tent. This concludes my test report for the Terra Nova Zephyros 2 tent by Wild Country.

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1. Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

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