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Big Agnes Parkview Tent Field Report
Tester: Dylan Anderson
Age: 24
Gender:
Male
Height: 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
Email:
DJAProperties@hotmail.com
Locale: Phoenix, AZ U.S.A.
Date: May 20,
2005
Product
Information:
Manufacturer: Big Agnes, 2005
Web site:
http://www.bigagnes.com/
Seasons:
3
Capacity: 2 plus gear
MSRP: $249 tent, $40 footprint
Weights and
Measures:
Advertised Trail Weight: 5 lbs 8 oz (2.49 kg) -
no info what BA considers trail weight
Measured Trail
Weight: 5 lbs 15.1 oz (2.7 kg) - Body, Fly, Poles, 4 stakes and stuff
sacks for each
Fast Fly Advertised: 4 lbs 6 oz (1.98
Kg)
Fast Fly Measured: 4 lbs 6.3 oz (1.99 Kg) - Footprint,
Fly, Poles and 2 stakes (as I carry it)
Floor Area: 36.25
sq ft (3.37 sq m) - both advertised and measured to within 2%, see
below
Vestibule Area: 20 sq ft (1.86 sq m) - see
below
Floor Dimensions: 90 x 58 in (228.6 x 147.32 cm) - see
below
Inside Height: 48 in (121.92 cm) - see below
Field Information:
Up to this point, the
tent has traveled on 2 trips so far, as well as two experiments in and around my
house. At home, the first experiment was during a warm day (81° F or 27.2°
C), very dry weather, and was for the purposes of testing out the setup,
verifying measures, and getting a feel for how different guy methods and such
would ventilate the tent. Wind was heavy gusts, and the setup was in
direct sunlight on soft soil and grass, with a total time set up of about
3 hours as I took a nap inside during the middle of the day.
The first
actual trip the tent participated in was to a forested mountain region in
eastern central Arizona, to a mountain range known as the Sierra Anchas in the
last week of March. At this site the tent was set up in the dark, and
remained on site for two nights and three days. The weather ranged from
night time lows of 40° F (4.4° C) to 60° F (15.6° C), with constant light winds
and persistent light rain throughout most of the trip. Being that this
trip consisted of a base camp from which several long day hikes originated, the
tent had to serve as a night time shelter, a gear locker, a changing hut, as
well as an after dinner rec-center.
The second at home test was conducted
on a cooler day in the first week of April (unfortunately I do not have the
exact temperature, it was the high 70's F, or mid 20's C). This test was
conducted on the driveway concrete, no noticeable wind, and involved my testing
simulated heavy rain with a hose to settle curiosity as well as to clean the
tent from the previous trip.
The second trip was into the deserts just
outside of Phoenix, involving temperatures from a high of 88° F (31.1° C) to a
low of 70° F (21.1° C) no noticeable wind, no rain, in direct sunlight, and set
up on desert hardpacked dirt and bits of buried shale. This trip was a
backpack, and was a single night in duration.
Experiences, Answers, and New
Questions:
To dive into what I have found so far and inform
the reader who may not have read my initial report, it seems appropriate to
re-quote directly from the company brochure that came with the
tent:
"Parkview tents are lightweight, three-season backpacking tents, with
plenty of room for two people and gear. The pole design creates more
usable space so you don't need to sacrifice comfort to go lightweight. Two
opposing doors allow access from either side. The main vestibule door has
a dual entry design that provides easy access and plenty of space for gear,
while the second vestibule allows for extra storage and alternate
access."
Knowing the purpose that Big Agnes designed the tent for, mostly
a do-all light weight solution in a free standing package, for me it has met
that mission so far.
Beginning with the first test here at home a few
days after I received it, it did well in the direct sunlight. With a light
breeze and the vestibules open on both sides, it vented well, and did not get
any warmer than the surrounding air. It was large enough that by myself it
was cool, calm, and the perfect place for a mid afternoon nap. At that
time I found the measurements of the floor and vestibules to be slightly smaller
than the claimed dimensions by about 3%. However, it has become clear with
use that that might have been due to some new material stiffness that has since
worked out. At the time of that first test, I wrote in my initial report
that I was concerned about the poles being a problem. There are two hubs
and 5 straight spans of pole resulting in 7 total pieces with all pieces
connected by shock cords. This struck me as awkward to fold up and package
tightly. As I have become more familiar, I have found this awkwardness to
not get in my way, and in fact the one unit solution made setup the very next
time easier than it would have been with separate pieces.
As for the
second setup, it was forced to happen in the dark. Having had a delay with
another member of the group I was traveling with, we ended up having to set up
camp in a rather crowded forest on a moonless night in a light rain. The
Parkview was the first one up in a group that set up a total of 7 tents, and one
of my companions did in fact loose a pole, thereby suffering a lot of rain
inside his tent that evening till he could search for the missing black pole the
following morning. As for the rest of the trip, the close fly I showed
concern about before did not cause a problem with condensation, however it may
have been a small factor in the muggy feeling that occurred the first afternoon
when the sun shown though, despite the fact that it continued to rain preventing
us from putting the fly back. Of course mother nature had some
responsibility at the time too in that there was no wind at the time. It
must be noted that this muggy condition only lasted while in direct sunlight
during a rain storm, a condition I myself don't often come across. Once
the sun was hidden once more, and the breezes picked back up, the atmosphere
inside improved considerably.
As for the rest of the trip though, the
inside of the tent stayed perfectly dry. Despite the heavy saturation of
the ground below, no water made it in through the floor, and access to gear and
changing between hikes was perfectly acceptable, and made much easier by
the two entrances, thereby allowing me to always get in on the down wind side to
avoid any light wind blown rain. On this trip I had another friend inside
with me who measures 6 ft 1 in (185.4 cm) tall, and we both found the space
comfortable for sleep, very warm at night, and more than adequate for changing
(one at a time anyway). As for our gear, the two vestibules protected all
but our food with plenty of room to spare, and was very easy to access.
The only issues I came across on this trip were that one time a zipper snagged
on me, and that the doors seemed to like to fall outward into the mud if we were
not careful getting in and out. The zipper however might be attributed to
the fact that the fly stayed wet the entire trip, and therefore became somewhat
looser in its pitch as the fabric became more and more saturated and
stretched.
At home, the tent cleaned up very well, and because I was
interested in seeing if a harder rain would have made the previous trip much
less enjoyable, I began to simulate a very heavy downpour, in which the tent
performed exactly like it did in the previous light rain. By that I mean
while the fly would loosen a bit at the saturation point, necessitating a
re-tightening of the fly, the interior stayed very dry. Trying to find the
tent's failure point, I moved on to simulating heavy wind blown rain, and only
succeeded in getting the interior wet when I increased the pressure to
such a point that I have trouble imagining a natural equivalent occurring
anywhere outside a hurricane. The pressure and water flow at this point
was enough to deform the side wall of the tent, twisting a pole back and
allowing the fly to flap upward and water to blow underneath. Due to this
experience as well as the previous two with real rain and gusty winds, it is my
opinion that this tent will handle any rain or thunderstorm I have ever
encountered before without any problem at all.
Finally, out in the desert
I managed to explore the opposite situation to a storm. This trip was a
mild backpack of around 5 miles, and for that the tent carried well. Being
as light or lighter than most of its free standing competition, and giving the
body to a friend so that I might try carrying it in the fast and light
configuration was very nice indeed. As for a shelter, at night in the low
70's F (low 21's C), with the fly left off, it was almost the same as
having no tent at all in terms of comfortable breezes, without the annoying
bugs. During the day I left the fly on for shade, but with both vestibules
open. Ventilation was good in this configuration, getting only slightly
warmer inside without retaining sweat and turning into a sauna. Position
to the wind does make some difference to the ventilation when the fly is on, but
matters little when the fly is not needed for rain or shade and can be left
off.
Summary:
My opinions this far have changed a bit. Two
of my big concerns have been put to rest. The other issue with the
non-removable vestibule still seems to be valid. Particularly in the
desert, it seems like it would have been nice to remove the larger vestibule to
further increase the airflow during the day as well as to save a few ounces on
the hike. In the cold the tent stays much warmer than I would have thought
given all the mesh, and despite the close lay of the fly, condensation has not
been a problem, nor has ventilation. Overall size for its weight has been
very nice for myself and my slightly larger friends, and even in the rain we
managed to have three people sit up and play cards inside to pass the
time.
Unfortunately my river trip I had planned got canceled however, so
I don't have much of an idea yet just how packable it would be in a tight
situation, though it did fit easily into my backpack. Also, the trip into
the mountains did not get as cold as I originally believed it would. Based
on the temperatures I did encounter, I expect it to perform well and heat quite
nice with two people inside in all but the coldest weather (in the range
just below freezing), though only time will tell if I am right on that
account. Generally I am pleased, and have no big complaints that aren't
true of all tents. As it is, I would heavily consider buying this tent if
I were in the market, but I do look forward to another couple of answers in the
coming months.
What are these then one might ask? Well first, will
it fit easily on the next river trip? Yes it fit well in my backpack, but
my backpack is much more forgiving in that regard than my dry bags.
Second, how will it hold up over prolonged use? Simply because it has
shown no wear in the first two months, does not mean it will manage to remain
fault free forever. What about the fast and light option? On the
trips so far, I knew I would need the body to keep the bugs at bay, but this
summer at the beach, as well as a couple of other tests, what will it be
like? I know carrying it that way is very nice and light, but will it be
warm or cool enough without the body to help direct the air? Will it still
stay dry underneath without the body's bath tub floor? All these and more
I hope to answer in the next few months. Therefore, look for my long term
report in September, and until then, happy camping!
Tester's Background:
I started hiking at 5, and in 18 years I've
traveled everywhere. From Alaska's glaciers to Hawaii's Kalalau, Grand
Canyon lows to the heights of Colorado and Washington I've challenged
everything. My home, Phoenix's desert, is a perfect base from which to
rock climb, raft and kayak, ski, bike and sail. Every climate is within 8
hours drive. The ocean, mountains, canyons, forest or field, it's all
nearby. Either as a Scout troop leader, or on my travels, I'm backpacking
at least once a month, about 6 weeks a year. I'm the gear info guy for
those I know, as my collection is huge. I plan to increase my travels
further, and anticipate learning more doing as many reviews as I'm
allowed!
Read more reviews of Big Agnes gear
Read more gear reviews by Dylan Anderson
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