Big Agnes Sarvis Superlight 1+

Owner Review

Reviewer Information

Name: Raymond Estrella
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (187.5 cm)
Weight: 210 lbs (95 kg)
Email address: rayestrella@hotmail.com
City: Huntington Beach
State: California
Country: USA 
Date: October 13, 2005

Backpacking Background: I fell in love with the outdoors (camping) at 10 years of age. Got my first backpack with Blue-chip stamps when I was 12, but did not use it until I was 14. And have been hiking ever since. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierras, and have put 489 miles (782 km) on my boots this year.  As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller packs.

Product Information:

Manufacturer:  Big Agnes Inc., Steamboat Springs, CO USA
Year of Manufacture: 2005 MSRP $ 279.00 (US)
URL:  http://www.bigagnes.com

Company specs:
 
Size: Length 90” (225 cm)  Width 43” (107 cm) at head, 45” (112 cm) in the middle, 30” (75 cm) at foot.

Head height 38” (95 cm) 

Weight: 3 lb 5 oz (1.5 kg) Actual 3 lb 4.5 oz (1.47 kg)

Optional footprint 6 oz (170 g) Actual 6.4 oz (181 g)

Warranty: “If you are not satisfied with any Big Agnes product at the time you receive it, or if one of our products does not perform to your satisfaction, return it to Big Agnes for a replacement or refund”.

Company supplied selling points:

• 20D mesh on double wall section

• Hybrid single/double wall construction combines weight savings of single wall with flexibility and ventilation of double wall

• Rear vent

• All seams are taped

• Single hub/pole system with DAC Featherlite hub

• DAC Featherlite pole system

• Superlight, V-peg aluminum stakes included

• Plastic clips attach the tent body to the pole frame for quick and easy set-up

• Bathtub design floor, 30D nylon ripstop with a polyurethane and silicone coating.

• Gear loft loops included: Big Agnes gear loft sold separately

• 2 ridge vents

• Storm flap over vestibule zipper

• Single wall and fly is 30D nylon rip stop with polyurethane and silicone coating

• Free standing

The Real World, phase 1 (Initial report)

I purchased the Big Agnes Sarvis Superlight from Big Agnes for $279.00 (US) in March of 2005. I also purchased a footprint for it. I did not order the optional gear-loft but they sent one with it.

Like I always do, as soon as I got it I set the tent up in our office to familiarize myself with its operation. I have a Seedhouse 2 SL also, so was very familiar to the setup of this tent. This tent is a fusion of a regular tent with fly, and a single wall abode. The back half of the tent is silicone impregnated nylon, as is the floor. The front half of the tent is fine netting. A silnylon fly is permanently attached to the tent and can be pulled over the front half, or rolled up and strapped to the tent body at the mid-point of the tent. The poles consists of two hubs, one of which has two sections of poles that when clicked together form a wide V with the hub in the middle. The other hub has three sections of poles, and when put together form a Y with a long tail. The long tail of the Y runs through a sleeve running from the rear, or foot of the tent to about ¾ of the length. It then goes into the hub of the V poles. The 4 ends of the poles now plug into grommets at the bottom corners of the tent. Plastic clips attach to the poles creating a firm free-standing structure.

There are two ridge vents near the top on either side of the tent. A small pole is push away from the tent body, and attached to the Velcro patch sewn on to keep the vents in the open position. At the back and to either side of the single-wall portion of the tent are vents that can be pulled open/away from the tent, using the stakes provided, or by tying off to a rock or tree. If the fly is pulled over the front half, there are two more vents on the sides of it. There are also guy-out points in the center of the tent on the sides, that when utilized create a lot more sense of roominess inside.

I replaced the stock tent stakes with 12 Ti stakes. It brought the total weight of the tent with footprint, sack, loft, etc. to 3 lb 9oz What I really liked about it was how much smaller it packed down than any of my other tents. Even though it is only 9.3 oz  (263 g) lighter than my Seedhouse, it is about 2/3 its size. This allows me to take a smaller pack.

The Real World, phase 2 (Field use)

I used this tent from June until October of this year. I used it from Southern California, up to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. Down low in Dome Land Wilderness, and the Kern River, and up high in Kings Canyon. With nights hitting lows of 65F (18C) all the way down to 17F (-8C).  The nights were spent from 3840’ (1152 m) elevation for a low point, (above Fairview CA) to a high point of 9300’ (2790 m), in Yosemite.

I was rained on only one time with it. This was July 28^th in Kings Canyon, near Roaring River, elevation of 7432’ (2230 m) The temps were low 60’sF (17C) when I turned in and may have dropped to the 50’s (10C) during the night. It handled it with no problems, and no leaking. It did not get any condensation on the rainy night either, which was a concern with the single wall aspect of the tent. I did not do any more seam sealing of the factory taped seams. It seems they did a good job.

The room was nice. It is long enough to stretch out with no problem. But the head height left a little to be desired by me. To sit up and dress in the morning I had to deflate my sleeping pad (Big Agnes Insulated Air-core) to get the two inches of extra clearance. The width was just right to put my pack in with me, which I did each night on the John Muir Trail this October.

The stability was very good with this tent. I always use my stakes, and use most of the guy points. When weather looks imminent I use all of them. We got clobbered by high winds, once in Kings Canyon, and two nights on the JMT. My guess would be gusting from 45 to 50 miles per hour. (72 to 80 km/h) With the guy-lines tied off the tent did not budge. I was very impressed with it.

Condensation was a worry to begin with. My first test of it was staying on a sand flat 30’ (9 m) from the Kern River. The temp only got down to 61F (16C) that night and I had no condensation in the morning. In the Dome Land wilderness I had it all buttoned up and had the slightest bit of moisture, like a wet film on the single wall portion of the tent. But not enough to form drops. That all changed when the temperature dropped. On the JMT, after two nights with no problems, it shot down to 17F (-8C). I had the fly on with the door closed, and woke up to wet walls, and moisture on my bag. I wiped it off as best I could before packing up for the day. The next night I was by a bunch of creeks. It got to 18F (-7) for a low, and even though I had every vent open and the door partly open it was very wet inside. After wiping it down with my Packtowel brand washcloth I could wring water out of it. The proximity to so much water compounded the problem I am sure. It was a little better the following night, which saw a low of 21F (-6C). That night I had the door half open. As it was not raining I could have just not had the fly on at all, but the wind blowing on my face was not very pleasant.

It has held up very well. I always use a footprint so any dirt from moist parking spots stayed on the footprint. The tent has not given me any problem with wear of the body or poles. The shock-cords in the poles are still tight, and the hubs lock in very well.

Summary

For the most part I really like this tent. Everywhere I took it people were interested in it. The lack of head room for my tall body does get to me, especially as the weather forces me to do more inside of it. I really like how small it packs down to. I give it a thumbs up.

Pros: Lightweight, small package, roomy for its size, strong, freestanding.

Cons: Limited head clearance for tall folks, wet in certain conditions.