Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent > Stephanie Martin > Long Term Report

Long Term Report: Black Diamond Lighthouse and Vestibule

This report should be read in conjunction with my Initial and Field Reports.  My Field Report includes my experiences with the Lighthouse as used in the alpine regions of Switzerland.

Contents

- Product Performance and Durability

    - Raising and Lowering of the Lighthouse - Specifics Regarding the Vestibule

    - Nice and Dry. Just the way I like it! Comments on Weatherproofness and Ventilation

    - Wide Open Spaces - Comments on Overall Design and Comfort

    - Keeps on Tickin' - Observations on Durability

- Summary

Product Performance and Durability
Freestanding, and with plenty of room for myself and my husband, the Black Diamond Lighthouse is a clear winner in my mind in the lightweight tent arena.  Compared to other lightweight tents, it offers fantastic floor space, and plenty of headroom in a free standing structure.  The Black Diamond Lighthouse provides the advantages of a free standing shelter, more headroom and real estate for both myself and my husband in a lighter package when compared to other two person tents we've used in the past.

Raising and Lowering of the Lighthouse - Specifics Regarding the Vestibule
Setting up the Lighthouse is, in theory, a relatively simple affair and is fully detailed in my Initial Report.  For more detailed insight to my field experience with pitching and tearing down the Lighthouse, please review my Field Report.  Unfortunately, I continued to be slightly challenged in setting up this tent with minimal frustration during the long term test period.  The awning pole still seemed determined, at each pitching, to require coaxing through its grommets and I often found myself struggling to get the poles inserted and seated without seriously worrying about puncturing or tearing the tent.  I honestly thought this would get easier with practice, but it certainly doesn't appear to be going that way for me.

During the course of long term testing, I was able to more fully evaluate the Lighthouse vestibule.  The manufacturer's instructions on attaching and setting up the vestibule are available in my Initial Report.  In the field, I preferred to set up the vestibule by first attaching it to the tent by inserting the metal hooks into the matching webbing straps on the tent.  Once the vestibule was attached to the tent body, I inserted the aluminum pole into its grommets and then pulled the vestibule fabric over the top.  I would then enter the vestibule to deal with the multitude of hook and loop straps while my husband staked out the front.  I personally thought it took quite a bit of time to attach the vestibule to the tent.  While it is easy enough to connect each hook into the mating webbing loop, I kept wondering if there was a better and more efficient system that could be employed.  I suppose I could have opted to leave the vestibule attached; however I would not have been able to stuff both the tent and attached vestibule into the tent bag for storage (the bag is too small to accommodate this).  Tearing down the vestibule was just as simple as putting it up, with the steps reversed.
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Nice and Dry.  Just the way I like it! Weatherproofness and Ventilation of the Lighthouse
I unfortunately (for testing sake) didn't encounter any inclement weather while using the Lighthouse during my long term testing, with the exception of a few minor sprinkles and some light to moderate winds.  I'm pleased to report that in the arid environment of the desert southwest, the tent excelled.  On nights with no precipitation at all, the Lighthouse remained nice and dry inside, even with two occupants and the door and window closed almost completely.  Even with drizzly weather, and the tent mostly closed, I experienced much less condensation inside the Lighthouse when compared to my adventures in Switzerland.  With its tightly stretched fabric, it was very pleasant listening to the musical sound of the rain hitting the Lighthouse walls. 

Once pitched, the Lighthouse fabric is stretched very taut.  In addition to its musical abilities when items strike it (such as rain or insects), the tight pitch of the fabric results in a tent that doesn't have much flap in windy situations.  While I did not encounter high winds, the Lighthouse hardly flapped at all in the moderate winds I experienced.  Similar winds would have kept me awake at night in some of my other tents simply due to the noise of flapping of fabric.
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Wide Open Spaces - Overall Design and Comfort
As far as tents go, I have to say I really like the Lighthouse once it is pitched.  Its steep sidewalls allow for both my husband and myself to sit up side by side while inside the tent with headroom to spare.  I was able to sit up in the tent to while away the evening with my knitting without having to hunch over or worry about whacking my husband with my knitting needles.  With some careful arrangement, we were able to haul all of our gear inside the tent without impinging on our sleeping space.  While the small pockets were sufficient to consolidate my money, lip balm and keys, I sometimes wished it was a bit deeper so I could keep some bulkier items inside.

The Lighthouse vestibule is nicely designed, and connects smoothly with the tent.  Unfortunately, some of the fine detail work present on the Lighthouse seems to be missing on the vestibule.  Like the tent, the vestibule uses hook and loop tabs to secure the pole in the correct position - unlike the Lighthouse, the vestibule hook and loop tabs are long skinny strips, far more than is required to wrap around the pole.  In addition, the Lighthouse hook and loop strips have a small tab on them to help in disengaging the hook and loop fastening while tearing down the tent.  These thoughtful tabs are not present on the vestibule strips.  One other difference can be observed in the door keepers for the vestibule versus those on the tent body.  The vestibule door keepers are the standard loop and toggle closure found on many tents - this type of system, in my opinion, leaves the bundled fabric a little bit floppy.  The Lighthouse door keepers feature a barrel lock and loop, so I can keep the fabric snugly in place when I want to stow it away. 

Getting in and out of the vestibule isn't as easy as getting in and out of the tent itself, as the door is considerably narrower and not as tall as that of the Lighthouse.  Once inside, the vestibule has plenty of headroom for me to sit or even squat while arranging gear.  The Lighthouse vestibule covers enough space that if I didn't want my gear inside the tent with me, for whatever reason, it can still be protected from the elements.  While I appreciate the ventilation beak of the vestibule, I was unable to determine if it truly aided in air circulation during inclement weather.

One of my favorite things about the Lighthouse, aside from its overall roominess, is the large side door, which allows for panoramic views of the local scenery, while allowing easy entry and exit to the tent.  My continued complaint on the door is that the mesh is located on the inside of the tent, rather than on the outside - making it more of a nuisance to adjust ventilation.  If the mesh was located on the outside of the tent, adjusting ventilation would simply require zipping up a portion of the Epic fabric door - however, as the tent currently is, I have to open the mesh door (letting in various flying (and sometimes biting) insects or inclement weather) to get to the zippers for the Epic fabric door.

My other design complaint lies with the hook and loop fasteners for the poles - while I appreciate the small tabs sewn onto these fasteners that facilitate opening them, I find them excessive, noisy and just a plain nuisance.  I would think it might be easier to design something else to hold the poles in the desired location inside the tent.
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Keeps on Tickin' - Observations on Durability
Through the six month long term test period, I have not noticed any issues with the durability of the tent or its materials.  With the majority of my camping taking place in the redrock areas of the desert southwestern United States, the tent body has picked up a slight pinkish tinge from dirt and sand.  While it has picked up a bit of dirt, it has picked up much less when compared to some of my other shelters in similar conditions.  Other than the dirt and sand, the Lighthouse is as good as new, and the fabric of the body and floor shows no signs of wear.  All of the zippers are still zipping smoothly, and the hook and loop closures continue to be holding firmly.  I've had some of my seam sealing delaminate from the tent, but did not notice any leaks during the brief showers that the Lighthouse was exposed to during the test period.
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Summary
When compared to other tents in its weight class, I will admit that the Lighthouse comes out as a definite winner.  My conundrum is that I've made the jump to tarptents already, and find them a lighter weight option that I'm still not certain I'd be willing to set aside in favor of the Lighthouse.  I do like the Lighthouse, and find that it provides ample living space for two adults and their gear in a free standing package.  Personally, due to my location, and my style of backpacking, I don't think I will be carrying the Lighthouse vestibule when backpacking unless I am sure of a lot of inclement weather.  With that said, here are my likes and dislikes:

Woo Hoos (likes):
- Plenty of floor space to accommodate both myself, my husband and our gear
- Steeply sloping sides and tons of headroom means both of us can sit up inside the tent to fuss with gear or change clothing
- Huge side door allows for easy entry and exit, along with spectacular views

General Comments:
- I was surprised that a tent in this price range requires that the consumer complete seam sealing duties
- As with any single wall shelter, understand that condensation will happen in areas that experience overnight temps below the dewpoint

Boo Hoos (areas for improvement):
- I really wish Black Diamond had put the Epic fabric door inside the tent instead of on the outside
- I'm really not in favor of all the little hook and loop fasteners required for securing the tent poles inside the tent and vestibule- I find them noisy, and just a bit awkward to handle, even with the nice pull tab on them.
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My thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Black Diamond for this testing opportunity.

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent > Stephanie Martin > Long Term Report