Big Agnes Parkview Tent Initial Report

Manufacturer: Big Agnes, 2005
Web site: http://www.bigagnes.com/
MSRP: $249 tent, $40 footprint

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: March 12, 2005

Initial Impressions:

The tent arrived in a long, skinny, plain brown box via UPS ground making no mistake as to what it was.  Wasting little time, I tore into it as I have eagerly anticipated participating in my first test.  Inside the box I found all parts and materials very neatly packed, and in impeccable shape.  Setting the tent up for the first time that night in my living room, I found all seams to be very straight, all material folded and packed much more precise than I have been able to replicate, and everything easy to find.  The space inside felt more than sufficient for the two people it was designed for, with the large dual vestibules up to the task of holding even a large cache of gear.  The only flaw I was able to find was a very slight defect in the mesh where it looks like some heat caused a small portion to fuse.  I cannot see any way that this will ever effect the performance in any way.

As to the parts the tent came with, nothing seems to be left out.  In fact it may seem like a little excess.  Included in the box was the tent body and fly.  The materials of both feel slightly plastic like out of the box, but still strong and up to the task at hand.  There are also the poles, 13 (!) stakes in a little sil-nylon stake bag, a coupling tube for temporarily fixing a broken pole, and 7 guy out lines attached to the rain fly.  (13 stakes seem like a lot for a 3 season tent)

The poles are a very bright, shiny silver packed in a plastic bag inside a pole bag of what feels to be sil-nylon and it almost seems like a shame to use them knowing that time will scratch and dull such a bright finish.  The poles are made of something called Yunan Air Hercules Scandium, which as far as I understand it is a type of T-6 based aluminum alloy providing greater strength from a lighter, thinner tube.  This seems to be the case as the poles do feel very light (see below for all weights) and yet seem hard to bend.  Big Agnes calls the pole design Atlas Pole System, and apparently it was designed by Mountain Hardwear.  What this pole system means is that there are two A-frame shapes (One on each long side of the tent) and a short connecting pole across the top, everything being joined by a pair of three pointed hubs, one above each door.  The design seems like an elegant solution to keeping the number of poles at a minimum while still keeping the interior open and the setup strong enough to deal with all but the strongest of wind/snow loading.  Also the doors are free to take up the majority of the width and height on both sides, therefore making entry and exit very easy compared to other two man tents I have used.  The only issue I might have with it at this preliminary stage is that all the tent poles are attached to one another via shock cords running through the hubs.  This makes for essentially 5 short poles and two hubs having to be handled, folded and packed as one unit and so makes for a somewhat awkward package.  On the other side though, having one unit does eliminate the possibility of loosing a pole or hub, and only time will tell if I find this initial awkwardness to be because of design or unfamiliarity on my part.

As for the fly, it has one pole of it’s own to open up one of two fairly large vestibules.  Most of the 13 stakes would be used for the fly too as both vestibules require at least one stake to hold open.   I would say that each ground level fly pull out (one on each short side) should be staked too because the fly seems to lie rather close to the body without them, possibly limiting the ventilation, and aiding condensation.  Beyond that there are also 5 more guy outs attached on the upper portions of the fly, and each one has a Velcro attachment on the underside, so that the guy load is placed mostly on the poles rather than on the fly itself.  The smaller vestibule has a single zip straight down the middle much like many others on the market, and the larger vestibule has  a pair of double traveler zippers, each running along one side of the diagonals created by the triangular shape of the vestibule and allowing for entrance, as well as opening from the top for ventilation.  While this is very handy in that the vestibule can be opened in two different directions depending on weather and crowding in camp sites, I think Big Agnes missed one big opportunity for extra flexibility in that the zippers do not meet in the middle.  They are separated by a very small seam line.  Had they been continuous, then the vestibule could have been removed to save weight and increase ventilation when mild weather was expected, then replacing the vestibule when colder, more severe weather returns.

The final part included in the box, though an optional accessory rather than part of the tent is the foot print.  For those unfamiliar, a foot print is an additional piece shaped exactly like the tent floor, and normally made of the same material to protect the floor from rough ground.  In the past it has been my opinion that a foot print is unnecessary, if a floor is not durable enough, then the tent is not up to the challenge of my needs, and I am not going to carry an extra piece to make up for it.  In the case of this tent, I feel that the foot print is a must get item.  Not for the protection, I feel the tent’s floor is sufficient, but because of the flexibility it offers.  The tent is designed such that the fly and poles may be used with the foot print like a tarp shelter when one wishes to reduce the weight even further.  Already I can see applications in areas where bugs are not a problem, on trips where fast and light is a must, as well as things like community picnics and days at the beach where a small sun shade would be nice, but a full on enclosed tent with netting and zipper doors would be a nuisance.

Company Claims and Actual Weights:

So it is advertised as a joining of versatility, comfort and light weight.  To 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.

Size: 2 person

Floor Area: 36.25 sq ft (3.37 sq m)

Vestibule Area: 20 sq ft (1.86 sq m)

Floor Dimensions: 90 x 58 in (228.6 x 147.32 cm)

Inside Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)

Trail Weight: 5 lbs 8 oz (2.49 kg)

Price: $249 (US)

Footprint Weight: 12 oz (340.2 g)

Footprint Price: $40 (US)”

With all this lightweight talk then, it came as quite a surprise when I placed the tent on the post office scale and it said 7 lbs 2 oz (3.23 kg).  Oops, forgot to take the footprint out of the tent stuff sack.  The footprint’s claimed weight came in rather close at  a measured 12.1 oz (343 g).  But that still means that the packaged weight of the tent was 6 lbs 5.9 oz (2.89 kg), or almost a full pound off the claimed trail weight.  Therefore I weighed every part individually and found the following;

Tent Body                   2 lbs 1.3 oz (0.94 kg)

Fly                              2 lbs (0.9 kg)

Poles                           1 lb 9.6 oz (0.73 kg)

Stakes                          approx. 0.5 oz (14 g) each, or 7 oz (198.4 g) for all 13

Guy Lines                    1.4 oz (39.7 g) total with tensioners

Main Stuff Sack          1.5 oz (42.5 g)

Pole Stuff Sack            0.4 oz (11.3 g)

Stake Stuff Sack          0.3 oz (8.5 g)

Pole Repair Section     0.4 oz (11.3 g)

Now nowhere could I find Big Agnes’s definition of “trail weight”, so one may draw their own conclusions about what to include, but trying to get as close as possible to the advertised 5 lbs 8 oz (2.49 kg), one can only take the fly, body and poles, and at that, the one I was sent weighs out at 5 lbs 10.9 oz (2.58 kg).  I feel however that at least four stakes are necessary to keep the fly sufficiently off the body, and most people are going to use the stuff sacks to keep everything protected and organized, so that bumps the true operating weight to 5 lbs 15.1 oz (2.7 kg).  At that weight, this tent fits in right close with a lot of its competition (Sierra Designs Reverse Combi 5 lbs 14 oz (2.66 kg), Kelty Gunnison 2 5 lbs 11 oz (2.58 kg), The North Face Roadrunner 22 5 lbs 14 oz (2.66 kg), all advertised weights).  However, this is where the footprint option pays off.  When the tent body is not needed and can be left behind, the total weight of footprint, fly, poles and two stakes (the minimum needed to keep the vestibules open), the weight is only 4 lbs 6.3 oz (1.99 Kg).  With this set up, three people could fit in a pinch, and the weight is much more competitive with many smaller tents (MSR Hubba Hubba 4lbs 2oz (1.87 kg) advertised).

Reporting To Come:

For the field report, as well as the long term report, I hope to answer many questions, including how it will do in various storms, can it easily and quickly be set up in the dark, and in general, how is the tent to live with?  From my preliminary inspections, I do feel good that it will live up to the task reasonably well.  I did not even need the instructions to set it up, and everything felt strong and bred an intangible sense of confidence  However, there are one or two things I have noticed that might impede performance.  I have already mentioned the poles might continue to be awkward considering all are corded together as one unit.  Also I noted that the fly seems to lie rather close to the body in a couple areas, and I am concerned that this may impede ventilation, and possibly increase condensation.  This close lie might be a result of inexperienced use, only time will tell.  Also the mentioned design issue of not being able to remove the vestibule might get in my way.  But then nature and the great outdoors are vast, unpredictable and open to all possibilities.  Maybe I will never encounter a situation where I would want to leave it behind.  Stay tuned for further developments.

As far as I can tell, this tent seems to be aimed at those who do not have a large garage full of specialty gear, and instead will be buying one tent to handle most situations.  The specs and my own experiments so far seem to indicate that it is up to that task, but only real world experience will show if this is true.  Or, will the old adage “Jack of all trades, master of none” prove itself all too true in this case?  In the next 6 months I will be traveling in steep mountain country, low lying deserts, and high alpine plateaus.  Temperatures are expected from the low teens, to the low 100’s F (-10 to + 40°C).  Rain, sleet, snow, high winds and balmy still warmth are all very real possibilities.  Traveling on at least 1 to 2 trips per month over the next 6 months, I hope to test this tent in all these conditions.  From fast and light packing of the fly and foot print only, to car camping where the space and all features will be put to the test, to at least one river trip where ease of setup and packing will be paramount.  Can it hold up to such varied use?  Will it in fact be a sufficiently well designed, well built package that I do not find myself wanting more?  Or will it leave me something other than high and dry, and scrambling to get back to my old standbys post  haste?  Only time will tell, stay tuned for the up coming field report.

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 near by.  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!