Zoid 1 Field Test

I finally got a chance to try out my Zoid 1.0 last week. First I'd like to talk about what I don't like about this tent and then what I do like about it.

I have to admit, most of the things I found wrong with this tent were quality control problems. The cut on the lower pole sleeve is so tight that I could barely get the pole in the grommets. The fabric in the pole sleeve is stretched so tight I'm actually worried about the long term durability of the seams and fabric. The first Zoid 1.0 I received had only one slider on the mesh door zipper. I returned the tent and MSR sent me a replacement. It also had only one slider on the mesh door zipper. These things are minor but indicate poor quality control. The good news is that MSR assured me that they are just "burning off" the small inventory they inherited from Walrus and that the tents would be produced in house in the future and such quality control problems would go away. I was very glad to hear this because I really like this tent. The only other thing I didn't like about it is that the door is a left hand door. All my sleeping bags, like most people's bags, are right hand bags. It makes it just a little harder to get in your bag.

The things I do like about this tent are many. Among them are ease of set up. This tent is an advanced version of the classic two hoop, non-free standing tent. With this particular version you just insert the two aluminum poles, small one at the foot and large one at the shoulder level, in their sleeves, clip the clips ( two on the small, four on the larger pole) and stake it out. The tent requires one stake at each of the four corners and the tent body is up. From around 5 inches or so up from the floor on the tent is all mesh. There is a solid rip-stop nylon panel that runs the width of the tent from the large pole to the small pole on the "top" of the tent body. This is an important feature. It keeps the sun from shining directly in your face on those long summer evenings and catches the small amount of condensation that drips from the fly. This is important because this tent really sweats. I guess I have to qualify that. It was in the mid 20s and 65% humidity during the test. Any tent would have had condensation problems under these conditions. Although there was a truly impressive amount of water on both the inside and outside of the fly, none got in the tent. The tent has a long zippered mesh door that runs down the left side of the tent. That door also has two elastic loop/"barrel button" retainers to hold it open. The fly, which has a small vestibule opposite the door, also has this arrangement but the loops aren't elastic. They should be. Those loops are very important for exiting the tent without getting condensation in the tent but they are much harder to use than the ones on the mesh door because they aren't elastic and, therefore, cumbersome to use. I just left the mesh door unzipped and latched up. When I wanted out the next morning I just carefully unzipped the fly and very carefully rolled it up. It was a little tricky to get the latch loop around the retainer "barrel" with one hand while holding the rolled up fly with the other.

Another thing I like about this tent is the side-release buckles on the fly. I realize they add weight but they sure are easy to use. You just plug in the buckles ( one on each corner and one on each side, six total ) and pull the straps going through the buckles tight. There are no guy lines or anything. There are also two pieces of Velcro on the fly at each pole point. Apparently, you are supposed to wrap the Velcro pieces around the poles. I just can't see want advantage there is in that. Anther testers have noted trouble telling one end of the fly from the other. The fly is vaguely kite shaped. The "small: end of the "diamond" is the "head" end. I've had a number of tents in this style so it wasn't a problem for me.

As others have mentioned, the aluminum stakes are the lightest I've seen. I really didn't expect them to work as well as they do...but they do.

The fly has additional tie out loops and extra loops for high wind. The basic tent sheds wind well and I can't imagine anyone being out in wind conditions take would require the extra guy lines

All in all, this is the nicest tent of it's type I've seen. I was looking for a tent in this weight and feature range. Not any more...this one is a keeper.

Jerry Goller

geartester@qwest.net

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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > MSR Walrus Zoid Tents > Jerry Goller > Zoid 1 Field Test