By Michael Wheiler

January 9, 2007

Personal Data:

    Michael Wheiler
    Idaho Falls, Idaho
    Male
    Age:  50 years old

Company:

 

    Hilleberg

    www.hilleberg.com

 

Product:

 

    Rajd:  A Superlight Single Wall Shelter: "More than a tarp yet not quite a true tent."

    Color:  Green

    Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price For The Rajd:  $285.00 US
    Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price For The Rajd Footprint:  $32.00 US
    Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price For The Rajd Poles:  $35.00 US

 

Manufacturer Design And Specifications:

Design	A-frame style with two access doors and sewn in floor with no seams; no-see-um mesh in top one-third of each door for ventilation; bisected eaves designed to extend out from the ridge line to cover the mesh can be rolled up to assist with ventilation.   2mm guy lines are made of red and white interwoven Spectra cord and polyester.
Poles	Optional poles weigh 9.6 oz/272 g per pair; 45.3 in/115 cm in length; hiking poles, sticks and guy lines can be used to pitch Rajd.
Pegs	10 square pegs made of hardened aluminum; 6.3 in/16 cm in length; 0.32 oz/9g each with integrated string loop designed to facilitate easy removal of peg from ground.
Material	Kerlon 1200; "six times stronger than competing" materials.
Weight	2 lb 2 oz/950 g
Dimensions	100 in/255 cm in length; 47 in/120 cm wide; 45 in/115 cm in height at peak.

For more general information about the manufacturer specifications and my initial impressions of the Rajd, please read my Initial and Field Reports.  The remainder of this report will be dedicated to reporting on the past six-months of field experience with the Rajd.

Locations and Field Conditions:

In addition to the three nights I spent in the Rajd during Field Testing, I used it four more times.  On November 24, 2006, I used the Rajd one night at Bear Gulch (elevation 5,662 ft/1,700 m).  I again used hiking sticks to pitch the Rajd.  The temperature when I went to bed was 37° F (3° C).  There was little to no wind.  Humidity was low.  The night was uneventful.  In the morning, there was significant condensation build-up inside the Rajd, especially on the wall over my face and the walls of the Rajd were sagging.  As usual, it was difficult to get out of the Rajd without getting wet.  Once outside, I was able to quickly increase the tension on the lower guy-lines to tighten the sagging walls.  I let the Rajd stand while I prepared breakfast and did some hiking, when I returned about three hours later it was dry.  There was a slight breeze to help with drying and I left the doors wide open on both sides.

I spent the weekend of December 2, 2006 at Black's Canyon (elevation 5,437 ft/1,657 m) testing the Rajd.  It had recently snowed and the temperatures dipped to 21° F (-6° C) according to my Brunton Sherpa.  Again, there was little to no wind to assist with ventilation.  I pitched the Rajd, for the first time, using a guy-line between two trees.  See photograph at the top of the report.  I tied the guy-line to one tree and then ran the line through the loop on the ridge of the Rajd above the vent on one side.  I then tied a slip knot over that loop and then strung the line  through the loop on the opposite side--securing it also with a slip knot.  I then tied the guy-line to another tree.  I also tied out the guy-lines attached to the eaves over the vents in the doors.  See photograph below.  The ground was frozen solid and while trying to pitch the Rajd, I bent one of the stakes furnished by Hilleberg.  I had some large spike type stakes and used those to pitch the Rajd.  I was able to pound those into the frozen ground.  The following morning, I discovered heavy frost build up on the inside and outside of the Rajd.  The walls were sagging badly.  As I moved around inside the Rajd, if I brushed against the sagging walls, it felt as if it were snowing!  I let the Rajd stand while I fixed breakfast and did some hiking but it was too cold for it to dry out.  I packed it up wet and then hung it up in the storage room in my home for a few days while it dried.



On December 23, 2006, I spent one night in the Rajd at Twin Bridges (elevation 4,820 ft/1,469 m).  I again pitched the Rajd using a guy-line between two trees.  Even though it was dark and cold, I had the Rajd up in only a matter of minutes.  The following morning, the temperature was 17° F (-8° C).  When I pitched the Rajd at approximately 10:00 p.m. using my headlamp, there was a slight breeze from the south.  I pitched the Rajd to take advantage of the wind and opened the eaves completely on the south facing side of the Rajd.  However, as had been my experience in the past, during the night the breeze quit except for an occasional gust.  In the morning, the inside of the Rajd (especially the area over my face) was covered with heavy frost.  The outside of the tent also was covered with heavy frost.  See photographs below.  Again the walls of the shelter were sagging to the point that it was nearly touching my face.  You can see where my breath was contacting the wall of the shelter.  You can also see the reflective tape at the point where the eaves zip together.  I also had difficulty keeping the unzipped eaves rolled up and attached to the shelter with the elastic loop.  See photograph below.  Wind gusts caused one side of the eave to unroll and hang down in front of the vent.




On January 5, 2007, I spent one night in the Rajd near Meridian, Idaho (elevation 2,601 ft/793 m).  I pitched the Rajd in the dark using my headlamp and had the Rajd set-up in less than three minutes.  I used the optional poles to pitch the tent on this occasion.  The temperature when I crawled into my sleeping bag at 11:00 p.m was 29° F (-2° C) and when I awoke the temperature was 23° F (-5° C).  Humidity was around 73%.  The weather forecast was for snow and wind.  There was a strong wind from the south when I pitched the Rajd and I faced the mesh vent on one side directly into the wind.  This time the wind continued strong throughout the night.  The wind caused the walls of the Rajd to constantly rise and fall to the point that the wall above my face actually made contact with my sleeping bag/face multiple times during the night.  However, due to the constant airflow through the shelter, there was no condensation build up on the inside of the Rajd.  It started to snow lightly in the morning but the pitch of the walls on the Rajd caused the snow that did fall to slide down and accumulate on the lower portion of the shelter.  See photograph below.


Overall Impressions (Likes and Dislikes):

The quality of the Rajd's construction is exactly what I have come to expect from Hilleberg.  The company has made another quality product with this shelter.  I experienced no problems with any of the materials used in the Rajd.  The Rajd is extremely light-weight and compact yet provides fully enclosed protection from critters.  It is easy to pack and carry.  Set-up and take-down in the field is relatively quick and easy.  The design of the Rajd also provides versatility in the method used to pitch the shelter (optional poles, hiking sticks, branches, and guy-lines).  This gives the user a number of set-up options depending upon the field conditions.  The Rajd has ample room for two medium sized users to stretch out and has enough height in the center for a user to sit up. 

To date, the major problem I have experienced with the Rajd is condensation build-up but in all fairness, Hilleberg warns that the Rajd, like many other single wall shelters, is subject to condensation and is not a foul weather shelter.  As should be expected with all "A" Frame style shelters, the shelter material is fairly close to the face and the feet while the user is laying on the floor.  This poses a problem when the Rajd becomes wet or weighed down with snow/frost.  The area required for set-up is larger than one might expect due to the use of guy lines on all four sides.  The rolled-up eaves unroll with gusty winds and then partially block the vent.
Suggested Improvements:

1.   Some sort of stake or stay that could be used to stabilize and/or lift the ends of the shelter away from the user's feet and face.  During my last use of the Rajd, I toyed with the idea of placing a forked stick under the guy lines at each end of the shelter where they come together to form the center of the "W".  My thought was to try and lift the end of the shelter at that location to provide my feet and face with a little more room if  (and when) the walls sagged during the night.  Unfortunately, I could not find any forked sticks in the dark.

2.   Some additional mesh may be helpful in reducing the condensation build-up.  However, my use of the Rajd was limited to colder weather which makes any shelter more susceptible to condensation--especially a single wall shelter.  I would really like to see how the Rajd performs in the drier, warmer conditions of summer before making any strong recommendations with regard to increasing the ventilation.

3.   Consider relocating the fastener or adding a fastener for the eaves to make it more secure when rolled up.

Additional Personal Biographical Information:

I have had more than 39 years of outdoor experience.  I've been car camping/hiking/backpacking since my early teens; mostly weekend trips but some week long trips.  I try to take trips of 3 to 5 days in length at least once a year along with multiple weekend jaunts during the year.  I like to camp/hike/backpack regardless of the weather.

 

Geographic Information: 

 

Most of my camping occurs in the southeastern Idaho area but spills over into central Idaho, western Wyoming (Grand Teton National Park) and western Montana.  The elevations of the areas I frequent generally range from 5,500 feet (2 km) to 8,500 feet (3 km) above sea level.  However, during the summer of 2005 I was able to climb Mt. Borah in the Lost River Range (12,662 ft/3,859 m) and Diamond Peak in the Lemhi Range (12,197 ft/3,718 m).  I recently climbed Mt. Leatherman (12,228 ft/3,727 m).  Idaho has nine peaks with elevations above 12,000' (3,658 m).  Mt. Borah is the tallest; Leatherman is number two and Diamond is number four. The weather in southeastern Idaho is fairly typical of a high desert plain.  Winters are usually cold and snow depths vary but are generally over 10-12 feet (3-4 m) in most of the areas where we camp and snowshoe.  Springs can be moderately wet and cold.  Summers are typically dry and warm (80 to the upper 90 degrees Fahrenheit (27-32 Celsius) though this year we have seen temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) (38 Celsius) with occasional thunderstorms.  Fall weather is actually the best--crisp mornings, warm afternoons and cool evenings with little moisture.  In the winter, although we can expect colder temperatures, we generally try not to camp in anything colder than -10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 Celsius).

 

My thanks to Hilleberg and BGT for the opportunity to test the Rajd.

 

Mike Wheiler