BackpackGearTest.org - MSR Missing Link Cheri Tyre-Roberts

Long Term Report MSR Missing Link Tent

Name: Cheri Tyre-Roberts
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 7" (1.7 m)
Weight: 137 lbs (62 kg)
Email address: tyrerob at earthlink dot net
Location: North Central Florida,USA

Date: 9/23/2004

Backpacking Background:

I have been backpacking for over 20 years. The majority of my
trips have been 3-6 day trips with "the big one" still looming in my
future. I backpack mostly in Florida, in extremely hot conditions
such as the Florida Trail in July, or the North Carolina Mountains.

The terrain in Florida is varied, trail conditions are extremely
sandy, swampy, muddy, or completely wet. In North Carolina the
terrain is muddy and rocky with drastic elevation changes. I also
backpack with my dogs and young children ages 8 & 9. I pack light
but am not obsessed with it as I enjoy some of the "creature
comforts".

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Mountain Safety Research (MSR) Year: 2004
Manufacturers Website: http://www.msrcorp.com
Materials: Fly: 30D ripstop nylon, 1500 mm PU/silicone coating
Floor: 70D 190T, 5000 mm PU coating
Capacity: 2 person
Listed Weight: 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms)
Listed Size: Rear wall (farthest from door) 11 feet (3.3 meters)
width 4 feet, 11 inches (1.5 meters) awning 6 feet (1.8 meters)
Interior peak height: 42 inches (1.1 meter)
Actual Measurements:*using 51 inch (130 centimeter) trekking poles.
Rear wall 11 feet (3.3 meters), width 4 feet 2 inches (1.3 meters),
awning 6 feet (1.8 meters), Interior peak height: 37.5 inches (.95
meter)
Weight as delivered: *without owners manual* 3 pounds, 9 ounces (
1.62 kilograms)
Weight measured with U.S. Postal Scale
Color: Sunset Orange
MSRP: $229.95 US

Product Features and Construction:

The Missing Link tent is designed like a lean to shelter with an
awning. The rigid support for the tent is supplied by the use of
trekking poles or you could tie the peak off in a tree if there was
one available directly overhead. There are nylon loops sewn to the
tops of the trekking pole pockets for the tree tie option.
The tent has a nylon stake loop on the exterior of each of the four
corners and in the middle of the rear wall. There is a nylon loop
about half way from the floor to the peak on the exterior of the
rear wall. The directions state that an extra guyout line may be
used from here to increase the shoulder room inside.
The floor of the tent is made of a 70D 190T, 5000 mm PU coated
nylon. It is a red color that makes it easy to tell which end goes
down when taking the tent out of the stuffsack. The body of the tent
is a Sunset Orange color and made of 30D ripstop nylon, 1500 mm
PU/silicone coating. It is translucent (allows some light through)
and reminds me of the texture of onion skins.
The door is huge easily allowing two people to sit shoulder to
shoulder in the opening. The door has screen mesh on the top half
that can be zipped shut with a layer of the same material as the
tent body or left open to allow ventilation while keeping bugs out.
The door zips all the way to the floor on both sides.
The ventilation inside includes the top half of the door, a piece of
screen that goes across the top of the peak above the door well
covered by the awning and almost at the highest peak. Additional
ventilation is from a strip of screen mesh that goes across the back
of the tent, right above ground level and covered by the rear staked
down wall of the tent.
The peak of the tent is held rigid by using 2 trekking poles or by 2
guyout lines to a tree. I used Leki TiAirErgo Trekking Poles with a
maximum extension of 51 inches (130 centimeters). The handle of the
trekking poles fits into a reinforced pocket in the peak of the tent
and the bottom of the pole sits on the ground outside of the tent
body at a 90 degree angle. The poles are stabilized by the tension
created by pulling the awning tight to the ground with two guyout
lines and stakes, one at each corner

Set up:

The MSR Missing Link Tent was very easy and intuitive to pitch. My
10 year old daughter had the tent laid out, staked and was adjusting
my trekking poles before I could read the instructions. It took less
than 5 minutes to completely pitch the tent using the trekking poles
for rigid support. I ran into a problem using my trekking poles that
may be a problem to many others. My trekking poles are adjustable to
51 inches (130 centimeters) which is probably taller than most women
use. The Missing Link directions say to extend the poles to 54
inches. I pitched the tent with my poles extended as far as they
would go (51 inches / 130 centimeters). In this configuration the
front part of the tent, where the door is, will not draw as tight as
I would like.
Field Test:

Long Term Results:
I used the Missing Link on a 3 day backpacking trip on the Florida
Trail in April. The weather conditions for this trip were hot during
the afternoons 80-86 degrees Fahrenheit (27-30 degrees Celsius) and
cool at night dropping to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees
Celsius). The Missing Link was pitched on level ground. The ground
consisted of fine sand covered in a layer of pine needles. The
humidity was high which is normal in Florida in the spring, but it
did not rain.
Field conditions:

On the April trip I really enjoyed how fast the Missing Link was to
pitch. The Missing Link is easily pitched in under 3 minutes. On the
first night I used two pieces of wood that I found near the campsite
to put under my poles in order to pitch the Missing Link to the
correct height. This worked fine and the tent was stabile enough to
endure my crawling in and out many times. The design of the Missing
Link really makes it seem huge inside. I had plenty of room for my
backpack and headroom to spare. I was alone on this trip so I could
not evaluate the comfort level for two people. In the morning there
was a slight amount of moisture on the interior ceiling which dried
in approximately 20 minutes.
On the second night of the trip I didn't place anything under my
poles so the Missing Link had a noticeable "sag." The only effect
this "sag" seemed to have was that I noticed a lot more condensation
inside the tent in the morning. The "sag" seemed to cause the
ventilation screen over the door to be covered, not allowing as much
air to circulate as when the Missing Link is pitched to the correct
height.
The Missing Link made half of the 100 mile (161 kilometer) section
hike along the Appalachian Trail in June. It was only used one night
as we were required to stay in shelters while crossing the Smokey
Mountains National Park. The Missing Link performed well and was
comfortable in night time temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16
degrees Celsius). I used another hikers poles as the supports for
the Missing Link. These borrowed poles adjusted to the correct
height and the pitch of the tent was tight with no sag along the top
line.
The next time that I used the Missing Link was in the front yard of
our house during the period of time that we were without electricity
due to damage caused by a hurricane. The Missing Link proved to be
waterproof with no leaks despite heavy rainfall. I was not
satisfied with the ventilation of the Missing Link, even with a
stiff breeze the Missing Link did not allow enough air circulation
for me to comfortably sleep.

Things I like about the Missing Link:
1. Interior headroom
2. Large door opening
3. Lightweight

Things I don't like about the Missing Link:
1. Inadequate ventilation
2. Will not pitch correctly with different height hiking poles
3. Interior condensation

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > MSR Missing Link > Cheri Tyre-Roberts > Long Term Report

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > MSR Missing Link > Cheri Tyre-Roberts > Long Term Report