Long Term Report

Mountain Safety Research
Fling Tent
Long Term Report
October 1, 2006

Personal Information:
Leesa Joiner
leesaj@gmail.com
Southwestern Maine, United States
45 years old
Female
5' 7" (1.7 m)
160 lb (73 kg)

Background:
   My camping, hiking and backpacking experience has included trips varying in length from one-day hikes to two-week trips. My experience hiking began with my father when I was about six years old. We hiked along the river pathways in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
   While enjoying the outdoors with my friends and family, I spend time hiking, geocaching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and camping.  Although I am not a lightweight backpacker, I am trying to ‘lighten up’. I spend almost as much time outdoors during the winter as I do during the summer.

Product Information:
Fling Two Person Tent
Manufacturer: Mountain Safety Research, Inc.
Manufacture Date: 2005
Web site: www.msrcorp.com
Weight as advertised: 4 lb (1.8 kg)
Weight as measured: 4.5 lb (2.04 kg)

For a more detailed description of the Fling, please see my Initial Report.

Summary:

I have been able to carry this tent on quite a few weekend trips this summer. It is so easy to set up and take down, and fits in my pack without taking up too much room. These are important factors for me when looking at a tent. The most important, of course is how well it works at night. Keeping mosquitoes and rain out, allowing for ventilation and having enough room are the 'biggies'. How well the tent holds up is also important, but usually not something that can be judged too early.

I found that all the times I used it, it kept the nasty biters out of the tent. There is nothing worse than being awakened in the middle of the night by something buzzing in my ear! We did have rain on two of the nights - one night was a steady, but light rain. There were no leaks, and the front 'beak' seemed to keep the water off of the mesh 'window' at the front of the tent. The second rain was fast and furious, with quite a bit of wind. I closed up the vents, and the rain stayed out. There was no seepage either time, but I don't know what would have happened if the hard rain continued. I will say that it was a little nerve wracking the second time. The tent was staked out, and didn't move around too much, but we could hear the lines pulling and feel some vibration. I was somewhat surprised that there was no condensation build up in the morning. Most of the nights were clear and breezy, which I'm sure helped. I always had the vents open, which would also help. I usually use the tent alone, with my 11 year old daughter or one of two dogs. I find it very roomy, with plenty of gear storage space. I've kept 4 backpacks in the tent (on the rainy nights) along with two open sleeping bags and I didn't end up 'squished' in the corner.

The tent, after four months of fairly solid use has held up very well. Other than a few sap stains, it looks very good. The closures all work well, the seams are holding up fine and it hasn't developed that common musty smell that many tents do.

My only somewhat negative thought about this tent is that the 'beak' is not really usable space, although it does seem to keep the rain out of the front opening. In my head, I had pictured it being usable for cooking and/or a spot to sit in the morning with a cup of coffee watching the sun rise. Or maybe a glass of wine, watching the sun set - except my dog doesn't drink wine.

The tent worked extremely well and I will continue to use it while camping, except in real winter weather. It is not designed for extreme weather camping and I would hate to damage it.

Test Locations, Conditions and Time Frame:

Living in Northern New England, I have the good fortune of being able to experience at least 4 seasons (sometimes within days of each other!) and some of the best outdoor areas around. Spring brought heavy rains and some flooding. Early summer continued with much rain. We've had some hot and humid weather recently, with a few days that were perfect hiking weather - clear and breezy. Our temperatures have ranged from daytime highs of 95 F to lows of 75 F ( 35 - 23 C).

While hiking in northern New England, many of the trails are unimproved, meaning that I spend lots of time climbing over rocks and brush.   We also tend to camp in remote, unimproved areas, as opposed to ‘camp grounds’.

I want to thank MSR and backpackgeartest.org for the opportunity to test this great tent!

Read more reviews of MSR gear
Read more gear reviews by Leesa Joiner

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > MSR Fling > Leesa Joiner > Long Term Report

All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson