Big Sky International evolution 1p
Long-term Report
June 27, 2006

Evolution 1P pitched at Spice Brook, Julimar Conservation Reserve. You can see the low-intensity bushfire in the background.

Authored by

Andrew Priest
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
aushiker@yahoo.com.au

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Product Details and Specifications
• Testers Details
  • Personal Biography
  • Testing Playground
  • Testing Environment
• Long-term Report

I am a 46 year old male, 180 cm (5' 11") in height, I weigh 104 kg (229 lbs). I have been bushwalking in Western Australia for approximately five years. For the past four years I have been regularly walking and leading on and off-track pack carries with the Perth Bushwalkers Club and more recently I have also got into geocaching. I consider myself as moving towards being a lightweight tent-carrying bushwalker with my pack base weight in the 8 to 12 kg (18 to 26 lb) range.  I have completed my End to End of the Bibbulmun Track (2003), the Cape to Cape Track (Nov 2001), the Coastal Plains Walk Track (numerous times), the Larapinta Trail (July 2005) and Fitzgerald River National Park (April 2006).

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The bushwalking environment of the south-west of Western Australia allows for bushwalks and backpacking from coastal plains to forest. Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this region, I walk in varying conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to single-purpose walking trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to completely off-track walking through open and dense country.

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During the summer period, daytime temperatures average 30° C (86° F), whereas from March through to December the daytime average temperatures range from 15° C to 26° C (59° F to 79° F). During the autumn, winter, and spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly wet with frequent heavy rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow in Western Australia.

According to The Times Atlas of the World (Concise Edition - Revised 1997) our weather is described as being "Mediterranean - rainy climates with mild winters, coolest month above 0° C (32° F), but below 18° C (64° F); warmest month above 10° C (50° F)." The atlas depicts the coastal area north of Los Angeles as having the same climate.
 

The 2006 Big Sky International Evolution 1P Shelter is a three season free-standing lightweight double wall single person tent with a single entrance.  The rain fly and floor is made of Silnylon. The inner is made of no-see-um mesh. The significant feature of the Evolution 1P is its length, 213 cm (84"). Its peak height is 99 cm (39"). It has a single vestibule on the same side as the entrance to the tent. There is also a small window on the foot end of the tent.  Within the tent has an small pocket on one side and a larger pocket, referred to as a clothes hamper by the manufacturer on the other side.

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• Manufacturer's specified weight: The manufacturer gives a weight of 1.02 kg (2 lbs 4 oz) for the shelter, fly and carbon poles and 1.16 kg (2 lbs 9 oz) for the shelter, fly and aluminium poles.
• My weight is reported for the configuration that I carry the tent in, i.e., stuff sack, rain fly, inner and poles. At the time of writing the titanium stakes have yet to be shipped. This weight will be adjusted once they are received.
  • With carbon poles - 1.08 kg (2 lbs 6 oz)
  • With aluminium poles - 1.20 kg (2 lbs 10 oz)
• For those interested or who wish to make up their own combination of components, the individual weights are:
  • Stuff sack - 34 g (1.2 oz)
  • Fly or outer - 370 g (13 oz)
  • Inner - 461 g (1 lb)
  • Aluminium poles - 336 g (12 oz)
  • Carbon poles - 212 g (7.5 oz)
  • Titanium stakes - NA
  • Guy ropes - NA

Having used the Evolution 1P for nine nights, I am a happy chappie. Sure I have my bug points with this tent, but the good points outweigh the bugs as I see it. I like this tent, I feel good about taking it with me in my backpack.  Well done Big Sky Products.

Testing during the Long-term phase of this test has been limited to two nights in the Wandoo country north-east of Perth.  The Evolution 1P was used overnight on a bushwalk in the Julimar Conservation Reserve, May 13 & 14, 2006. We camped on the banks of Spice Brook with a Conservation and Land Management (CALM) aerial burn as a backdrop (see the photo above).  The second night of use was at 37 Mile Break, Avon Valley National Park on June 5, 2006. Had the pleasure of sharing this non-designated, walking "camping" area with a bunch of school kids!  Thankfully the Evolution handled it well, even if the tester didn't.

No new issues where noted during these later two test trips, so my Field Report summary pretty much stays the same in this report. This summary is finalised here. My test plan is outlined in my Initial Report.

• Ability of the tent to provide shelter in three season weather conditions, particularly during winter here in Western Australia.

• Stability of the tent in varying weather conditions.

Throughout the test period I have not experienced much in the way of rain, but I have experienced some windy nights. Nights where it was windy enough to keep me awake with the flapping of the tent. Ideally I would liked to have guyed out the tent on these windy nights but did not  receive the guy ropes and titanium pegs during the test period. My experience therefore is reflective of a less than ideal pitch. All that said, other than some excessive flapping of the tent I have been happy with the performance of the Evolution IP.

• Ability of the tent design to minimise condensation.

Due to most nights been windy or mild, I have not experienced any significant conditions likely to produce condensation so really can't comment on this aspect, other than to say I have not experienced any condensation of note.

• Airflow in varying weather conditions.

I am happy with the level of airflow that I have been able to get with the tent. In fact on one night I brought the non-vestibule side of the fly in closer to inner to reduce the air flow as it was getting cold.

• Ease of pitch and break down in varying weather conditions with a particular focus on the single pitch approach.

As I indicated early I find the single pitch approach a bit of a fiddle and frustrating process as the fly and inner don't match together at enough points, meaning often that they have got tangled or it is hard to locate and push or pull out the poles and so have given this idea away. That said I have been happy with the ease of pitching and pull down. The tent hasn't blown away!

• Functionality of the interior dimensions/shelter design.

Love the space this tent provides. Find it more than sufficient for me. I keep some clothes and bit and pieces in the tent, the balance of my gear stays in my pack or loose under the vestibule. My only negative on this aspect is the size/location of the door way as discussed in the Field Report. If the door can be enlarged/moved towards the big end of the tent I would suggest the design is then ideal.

• Functionality of the vestibule design for storage of gear.

I use the vestibule to store my Granite Gear Stratus Latitude pack and my shoes. I have found it adequate and on the nights it did rain, it provided full protection for my gear.

• Access to the shelter with gear in the vestibule.

Again no issues. This is where the current door size/location comes into play as it opens widely into the vestibule area, making it easy to access gear in the vestibule.

• Durability of the floor in varying ground pitch conditions;

• Durability of the zips, fasteners, fly, inner and poles during the test period.

No signs of wear and tear noted during the test. My only negative here has been my experience with the carbon pole, not a design problem, more of a clumsy gear tester problem. That all said, I do have one bug-bear and that is I find that I always catch the vestibule fly zip rain flap in the zip. Damn annoying on a zipper run in the middle of the night.

So what do I like about the Evolution 1P?

1. Its light weight;
2. Smallness of the packaged size;
3. A stuff sack that is big enough for the tent - what a breath of fresh air, no fighting with tent and stuff sack every morning;
4. Airflow through the tent;
5. Drying pocket and gear pocket;
6. Access to the vestibule from inside the tent;
7. Interior space;

What do I dislike about the Evolution 1P?

1. Door opening size/location in terms of getting in and out of the tent;
2. The ease with which the fly zip catches in the zip flap. Damn annoying on the zipper runs in the night;
3. No guy ropes to insure a tight pitch on windy nights.

What am I neutral about at this point in the test:

1. The inner/fly pitch together design.  Would like to see more connection points, at least four more to help keep the fly and inner together.

My thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Big Sky International for being able to participate in this test.

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