Long Term Report

Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent and Vestibule

Date: October 25th, 2004

Reviewer Information

Name: Jim Sabiston
Age: 50
Height: 6' 3" (1.9 m)
Weight: 207 lb (94 kg)
Girth at shoulders: 52” (132 cm)
Width at shoulders: 21” (53 cm)
Email address: JimSabis(at)aol(dot)com
State: New York
Country: USA

Backpacking Background:

I've been camping for several decades. I joined the Adirondack Mountain Club four years ago, the Appalachian Mountain Club a year later and am active in both. I have also expanded my backpacking to include more winter trips, mountaineering and backcountry cross country skiing, and participated in the AMC's Winter Mountaineering training program with Chauvin International Climbing Guides. More recently, I have actively studied ways to backpack lighter and more efficiently. During the summer months, my style tends toward very light, but not quite ultralight. I use a hammock or tarp for warm weather, and a small four-season tent for winter trips. Most of my other gear is very changeable, as I am constantly experimenting with gear and techniques.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Black Diamond Equipment
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: www.bdel.com
Color: Maize (Yellow)

Manufacturers Specifications:

Capacity: sleeps 2
Tent Dimensions:
            - Height: 43 in (109 cm)
            - Length: 87 in (221 cm)
            - Width:  51 in (130 cm)
            - Weight (Tent with poles): 3 lb 3 oz (1.45 kg)
            - Weight (Packed): 3 lb 12 oz (1.7 kg)
Note: Packed weight: includes tent, poles, stuff sacks, stakes, guyline, Seam Grip, Monojet syringe applicator and instruction/care manual.
Vestibule weight: 1 lb 5 oz (605 g)
Pack Size: N/A

MSRP (Tent): $369 US
MSRP (Vestibule): $139 US

Tent Dimensions as measured:
            - Height: 43.5 in (110 cm) (to the bottom edge of the lowest pole)
            - Length: 86 in (218 cm) (rear, outer corner to corner at ground level)
            - Width: 51 in (130 cm) (outside corner to corner at ground level)
Weight as measured:
            - Tent: 3 lb 4 oz (1.47 kg) (unsealed tent body and poles, no stuff sacks or stakes, etc.)
            - Tent: 3 lb 12 oz (1.7 kg) (packed for travel: sealed tent body, 3 poles, 6 stakes, supplied guy lines)
            - Vestibule: 1 lb 3 oz (532 g) (all up: vestibule body, 1 pole, 2 stakes)
Packed sizes as measured:
            - Tent body: 6.5 in X 10.5 in (17 cm X 27 cm)
            - Tent poles: 16 in X 2.25 in (41 cm X 6 cm)
            - Vestibule:  21 in X 4 in (53 cm X 10 cm) (can be compressed to about 2 in (5 cm) diameter)

The Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent:

The Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent is a two person, free-standing dome style tent. The tent is a slightly smaller, and much lighter, version of Bibler’s Ahwahnee tent. The targeted markets are mountaineering applications and lightweight backpacking. The tent is of single walled construction with interior poles. The design includes an awning and an awning pole intended to permit the rear screened window and front screened door to be left partially open in inclement weather. The front door comprises one full side of the tent and has a no-see-um mesh screen panel, permitting easy access and an enormous amount of bug free ventilation. The tent body is constructed of EPIC by Nextec fabric, a highly breathable and water resistant (not waterproof) material. The tent’s tub style floor is constructed using a grey/olive drab waterproof silnylon.

The vestibule is designed specifically for use with the Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent. It is constructed of a grey/olive drab silnylon fabric, just like the various stuff sacks and the tent floor. The vestibule uses a series of hooks to attach to the tent body and a single tensioned hoop for structure with two stakes at the vestibule door for additional support.

For a more detailed description of the Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent, including a description of the set up process, please refer to my Initial Report. For additional field experience, please see my Field Report.

Long Term Experience:

Aside from the usual wear and tear focus of the Long Term report, I wanted to get the Lighthouse out into some heavy rain in order to find the limitations, if any, of the Epic by Nextec fabric. As the fabric is described as 'water-resistant', the implication is that it will leak if subjected to enough rain. I wanted to determine what conditions would exceed the ability of the Epic to repel water.  The summer season obliged with a series of tropical storms and thunderstorms and my experiences are described below.

 Aug. 14, 2004
Tropical Storm Charlie
Very windy, warm, very high humidity

The long awaited heavy rain storm finally arrived in the form of a tropical storm. The tropical storm Charlie, formerly hurricane Charlie, came through my area on a Saturday. I made a point of setting up the Lighthouse before the rain really arrived. I slept in the tent alone, in my backyard. As this was the first outing in the really heavy, wet stuff, I played it safe and stayed close to home, in case I got soaked. My wife nodded knowingly and wished me well, as she was going to sleep in our warm, dry bed!

The rain arrived late Saturday evening after an unsettled day and fell, steadily, and heavily, through the night and into Sunday morning, with intermittent showers for the next 24 hours. The wind never became an issue, but my yard is protected by numerous trees. I awoke about every two hours to check for leaks and must admit to being impressed with the performance of the Lighthouse. This 'water-resistant' tent held up under these extreme conditions better than many supposedly weatherproof tents I've used. The 'water-resistant' label proved to be technically accurate, as the rain finally breached the Epic materials defenses, but only in small amounts and in an essentially harmless fashion.

I recall when camping as a mere youngster that one of the rules of camping in the rain was NEVER to touch the inner wall of the tent. These were the days of all cotton canvas tents. Apparently, touching the wet canvas would start a wicking action in the cotton and allow the water being held in the canvas to migrate to the inner surface. The touched spot would then become a permanent leak, until such a time as the canvas had chance to dry out. I wondered if the Epic fabric would exhibit a similar behavior. The answer is 'yes and no' (mostly no!).

I made a point of touching the tent walls periodically during the night. The inner walls were damp to the touch (it was 100% humidity after all), but the rain never wicked through the side walls at all. The rain did finally penetrate the Epic fabric right at the four points where the hook and loop closures hold the tent poles in place at the roofline high point. The next day, I examined these points from the exterior and it was clear the Epic had 'wetted out' where the hook and loop tabs pressed hard against the tent fabric. This also seemed to be occurring where the tent poles came in contact with the fabric. This only seemed to occur on the topmost panel.

Curiously, none of the minimal amount of rain that made it through the fabric actually dripped into the tent. Instead, it remained at the contact point of tent pole and fabric and ever.....so.....slowly.....migrated down to the pole bases. The result was  'puddles' of water located right at the base of two of the tent pole bottoms. To call these accumulations of moisture 'puddles' is a gross exaggeration, as each was only about 1 in (25 mm) in diameter, right at the pole base. If I had not been looking specifically for them, it is highly likely that they would have gone unnoticed.

The only minor exception was a small drip from the point where the awning pole passes through the front wall of the tent. The metal grommet acts as a break point and the water did drip a bit from this point. Even this was minimal, leaving only a small damp spot right at the front center of the tent floor. Using the Lighthouse alone, this easily missed my sleeping bag. If sharing the tent, the person sleeping nearest the front of the tent would have found a very small damp spot on their sleeping bag. A Pertex shell would handle this easily.

August 21-24
Lake Lila, Adirondacks, NY
Mild to warm temperatures, rain, sun, mist, rain, winds, heavy rain, fog, more sun, etc. In other words, typical Dacks summer fair.

This was a joint four day canoeing trip with another couple put together by my wife, Nancy. You have just got to love a woman like that!

We used a fixed campsite on the Lake for the duration. The setting was Site #18, an open (by Dacks standards), wooded area with tons of shade and huge trees with access to a small sandy beach, a real rarity in the Adirondack lakes. As my wife joined me for this trip, and there was only a short carry from the parking area to the put-in, the vestibule was brought along. A good thing, as it proved to be needed.

As noted in the header, Dacks weather is nothing if not changeable. We drove to the parking area in a withering downpour. We paddled across the Lake in pretty high winds and scattered rain and closed the day under a golden sun. The following day dawned muggy with variable clouds, often threatening rain which never quite materialized. Late that night brought a heavy soaking downpour, which damaged my tarp, due to an off-angle installation, which allowed water from the downpour to pool.

This very heavy rain continued well into the morning, offering an excuse to sleep-in. Unfortunately, nature's call forced us to exit the dry comfort of the tent after sunrise. While out, I made a point of grabbing the food bag from the bear line and my galley kit from the designated kitchen area. Nancy has often commented on the amount of room the vestibule adds to the Lighthouse and on this morning it really paid off. A canister stove was set up on a very small folding table, with the food bag set off to one side. (Note: It is not recommended to cook inside a tent. There is even a large label inside the Lighthouse that clearly says not to do this!) Our wet sandals were conveniently out of the way on the other side of the vestibule. Nancy made herself comfortable in the rear of the tent, while I sat towards the front and brewed coffee. After the coffee was served, I then made a batch of scrambled eggs with fresh cheddar cheese. With breakfast served, Nancy and I sat in our respective Crazy Creek chairs facing each other (plenty of headroom!), sleeping bags across our laps, hot coffee in one hand and hot eggs and cheese in the other, listening to the rain drum on the tent. It was a wonderful morning.

Once again, the Lighthouse performed extremely well. There was no hint of leaks at all and the interior of the Epic tent body was dry to the touch. I never bothered seam sealing the vestibule, but it never leaked a drop that I noticed. The only condensation visible was, as before, on the interior surface of the vestibule and the metal tent poles. The rest of the trip was rain free and the Lighthouse remained dry and comfortable.

Sept. 1st, 2004
Assateague Island, VA
Clear, sunny, warm.

An unexpected opportunity presented itself for a backpack on Assateague Island, VA, land of the wild horses. This would be a very different environment for the Lighthouse. Think sandy desert, but with the potential for really high humidity. The light weight of the Lighthouse proved a real boon during the hike in, as the lack of water on the Island means carrying a LOT of water if hiking the 30 mile length of the Island from Maryland to Virginia, which was my intent. I carried 5 liters of water, all inside my Osprey Ceres 38 pack, possible because the Lighthouse packs so small.

The Lighthouse proved to be an ideal beach shelter and resembles nothing so much as a small beach cabana! I erected the tent at the State Line camp site, with a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean. The huge door opening was fantastic, allowing free breezes to circulate through the tent along with sweeping panoramic views. I experienced a potentially serious problem while setting up the tent, however.

I set up in the usual fashion, but was distracted by a couple of extremely aggressive deer flies. These large flies are common to many eastern beaches and are infamous for their extremely painful bites. In the process of hurrying to set up the tent, while simultaneously swatting at the flies and disparaging their family heritage,  I apparently failed to seat one of the pole sections fully. The result was that when bending the second pole into position, there was a loud snap and the pole violently straightened out - in two pieces! At first, I thought the pole had failed, but a quick examination indicated the female pole end on one section was flared out and had a small crack. Apparently, the pole was not properly seated and the pole wall could not handle the full loading. The result was a failure of the pole wall. Fortunately, the affected area is fairly small and I was able to reseat the pole properly and set up the tent without further incident. This was clearly operator error, but highlights the importance of making certain that the pole sections are assembled properly before erecting the tent. The damaged pole section is clearly usable, but should probably be replaced.

One surprise when sleeping on an ocean beach is the enormous amount of condensation, especially in the cool night hours with an on-shore breeze. I spent the night with the door fully open and the screen panel closed. I awoke at approximately 1:30 am and was treated to a view of a rising moon just clearing the horizon. I didn't even have to move! As has become my habit on solo backpacking trips, I did not bring the vestibule along, nor was it missed.

Rising at 6:00 am, I noticed that some nearby beach grass was beaded with dew drops. Checking the tent exterior, I found the windward face of the Lighthouse thoroughly soaked in condensation. The inside of the tent was absolutely dry, with perhaps the faintest hint of dampness on the windward side of the interior.

After breakfast and coffee, prepared while sitting in the tent with my stove set up on the sand just outside the front opening, I packed for my departure. In my past experience with silnylon, I have found it to be an enthusiastic sand magnet, attracting and then clinging to the little, abrasive particles with great vigor. I was concerned that this experience would be repeated with the silnylon bottom of the Lighthouse, especially as I had left my ground cloth at home. Fortunately, while the sand did stick as expected, it shook off fairly easily, requiring a minimum of fuss on my part prior to stuffing the tent into its silnylon sack.



Fig. 1: The Black Diamond Superlight Lighthouse plays beach cabana on Assateague Island.

Summary:

Thing I Like:

1 - Damn near everything! The full opening side is really terrific.
2 - Light weight and small pack size.
3 - Top notch construction and materials.
4 - Excellent combination of water resistance and breathability.

Things I Don't Like:

1 - The vestibule door is small, making for awkward entries and exits.
2 - The elastic toggle on the vestibule door is barely functional. The loose fit, combined with the slippery silnylon door, make for an unhappy marriage.

The Black Diamond Superlight Lighthouse Tent approaches perfection in my book. The size is trim, but not confining or claustrophobic. The tent is easy to set up (if a bit fussy with all those hook and loop tabs and make sure the pole sections seat completely). It packs in about half the size, or less, of any other two person tent I've used and the same comments apply to the tent's weight. I have to admit to being somewhat leery about the durability of the fabrics, but these concerns have proven to be totally unfounded. There are no signs of wear and tear at all, aside from the usual, expected dirt and scuffs.

The test period ends well before the winter season sets in. As the Lighthouse was actually designed for those conditions, I am very optimistic about its performance in the winter mountains. Considering the tents performance in the other seasons, the Black Diamond Lighthouse may actually be the first four season tent that really works well in all seasons, without the usual compromises. Truly impressive.

A few comments regarding the performance of the Epic by Nextec fabric are in order. My experience leads me to believe that Black Diamond is far too conservative in their estimations of just how water resistant the Epic fabric is. It is clearly not waterproof in the technical definition of the term, but for all practical purposes, it performs as if it is. I have become completely confident that the Lighthouse can handle any weather the Northeast weather is likely to throw at it. Throw in the breathability of the fabric and its ability to pretty much eliminate condensation, and this is a real winner.

The Black Diamond Superlight Lighthouse Tent is now officially my favorite all around two person tent!