Biographical Information

Name:  Andrew Henrichs
Age:  25
Gender:  Male
Height:  6’ 2” (1.88 m)
Weight:  190 lb (86.2 kg)

Email address:  a_henrichs@yahoo.com           
City, State, Country:  Carbondale, Colorado, USA

Backpacking Background

   Most of my backpacking has been in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, as well as the desert in the southwestern US.  I’ve gone winter camping several times, but I still prefer backpacking in the warmer months.  Most of my trips are 2-3 days, but I have taken several trips of 5-6 days.  This past summer, I was fortunate enough to have thru-hiked the 476 mile Colorado Trail over 35 days.  Recently, I have been leaning towards the lightweight side of the spectrum. 

Product Information

Manufacturer:  Sierra Designs (www.sierradesigns.com)

Year of Manufacturer:  2006

MSRP:  $289.95 US

Manufacturers Specifications

Stated Trail Weight: 4 lb 0 oz (1.8 kg)

Stated Packed Weight: 4 lb 7 oz (2.0 kg)

Stated Packed Size: 21 in by 5 in (53 cm by 13 cm)

Stated Floor Length: 83 in (211 cm)

Stated Floor Width (narrow side): 45 in (114 cm)

Stated Floor Width (wide side): 52 in (132 cm)

Stated Interior Area: 28 sq ft (2.6 sq m)

Stated Vestibule Area (each): 7 sq ft (.7 sq m)

Stated Peak Height: 40 in (102 cm)

Tester Measurements

Measured Weight (as delivered): 4 lb 7.5 oz (2.0 kg)

Measured Trail Weight: 4 lb 0.5 oz (1.8 kg)

Measured Weight (tent body): 3 lb 2 oz (1.4 kg)

Measured Weight (poles): 14.5 oz (411 g)

Measured Weight (stuff sack total): 2.5 oz (71 g)

Measured Weight (6 stakes): 3.5 oz (99 g)

Measured Weight (guy lines): 1.5 oz (43 g)

Measured Packed Size (uncompressed): 21 in by 6 in (53 cm by 15 cm)

Measured Packed Size (compressed): 15 in by 7 in (38 cm by 18 cm)

Measured Floor Length: 82 in (208 cm)

Measured Floor Width (narrow side): 45 in (114 cm)

Measured Floor Width (wide side): 51.5 in (131 cm)

Measured Interior Area: 29.3 sq ft (2.7 sq m)

Measured Vestibule Area (each): 7.1 sq ft (.7 sq m)

Measured Peak Height: 38 in (97 cm)

Product Description

   A thorough product description of the Baku 2 can be found in my Initial Report.

Field Testing

    While I haven't been able to get as many testing days in the Long Term portion of my test as I wanted, I've had a few.  In addition to the 12 nights of use during the Field Report phase, I've been able to use this tent on two additional overnight backpacking trips and one additional car camping night.  These additional nights have all been in sub-alpine forests .  Elevations on these trips ranged from 9000 ft (2700 m) to 10500 ft (3200 m).  Night time temperatures ranged from approximately 30º F (-1º C) to 50º F (10º C).  Weather encountered on these trips has included clear skies,  moderate wind, and moderate yet sustained rain. 

My observations of the Sierra Designs Baku 2 Tent are as follows:

1.   Ease of Set-Up - This tent is very easy to set up.  I don't have to struggle to get the pole tips into the grommets, and there are only six stake-out points, making it easy to anchor the tent down.  For the sake of testing, I tried setting the tent up in my backyard in the dark with no issues.  I was using a backpacking headlamp, and didn't encounter any problems at all.  After locating the appropriate grommets, it's just a matter of clipping the "Clip Locs" to the pole.  Setting the tent up in high winds concerned me initially, but I'm not worried about it any more.  Once both poles are inserted into the grommets and clipped to the "Clip Locs", the tent has a substantial side profile.  This acts as a moderate-sized sail until I get a couple stakes to anchor it down.  A rather brainless solution is to stake one or more of the windward corners down before inserting the poles.

2.   Living Space – I like the living space provided by this tent.  When I've used it solo, it's been near palatial.  When used with two people, it's very adequate.  The double vestibules play a big part in providing enough living space.  I have noticed that if I don't have the tent staked out taut, either the head or foot of my sleeping bag touch the end walls of the tent.  This isn't a problem if I'm solo, as I can sleep diagonally, but it does pose a problem when sharing the tent with a friend in wet weather.  I've found that I will oftentimes curl up a little bit while sleeping.  This keeps any part of my bag from touching the ends of the tent.  On my longest trip, I shared the tent with a friend with a build similar to me.  We were definitely cozy, but neither of us felt cramped. 

3.  Vestibule – I'm pretty impressed with the vestibules, provided they are staked out taut.  I could easily fit a 4000 cu in (66 L) pack under the vestibule.  I also had spare room for hiking shoes, a rock climbing helmet, and my camp sandals, all the while leaving me plenty of room to get into and out of the tent.  My friend was able to fit the same gear under his vestibule.  One small quibble that I have with the vestibule actually pertains to the ball and loop used to fasten the vestibule out of the way when it's rolled up.  It would be nice if each strap were just a little longer.  I've had problems unhooking the vestibule when I'm rushed, have only one free hand, or cold hands. 

4.   Breathability/Ventilation – This is my first experience with a single wall tent.  After four months of using this tent, I have mixed feelings.  When it's dry out, the tent is fabulous.  When I'm solo and there is a light rain, it's pretty good.  When I have a friend along and there's some form of precipitation, I'm less than thrilled.  The two small vents are great as long as there is wind to ventilate the tent.  I've also found that it takes some foresight to "aim" one end of the tent into the wind.  This increases the airflow through the small end vents, thus decreasing the amount of condensation.  When the weather looks like it will cooperate, I'll unzip one or both of the zippers from the top to increase ventilation.  In these situations, there is no condensation at all.  If there is no breeze and I'm solo, sleeping with the vestibules completely closed, there is some condensation in the morning.  If there is no breeze and I'm with a friend, sleeping with the vestibules completely closed, there is more condensation in the morning.  Any time that it really rains and I have to leave the vestibules closed, there is a lot of condensation in the morning.  Unfortunately, this condensation likes to drip from the ceiling onto me any time the tent is bumped.  This makes entering and exiting the tent a tenuous dance to avoid getting wet. 

5.   Waterproofness – The siliconized 40-denier nylon is very waterproof.  All of the moisture that I've encountered on the inside of the nylon is condensation.  I haven't found any leaking seams yet.  After my first storm (without a groundsheet under the tent), I looked at the floor and thought "Oh no, the floor is soaked!"  Upon closer inspection, I realized that the underside of the SuperSeal floor must be soaked, but the moisture never penetrated into the tent itself.  Still, looking at water pooling under my tent is unnerving.  I have started using a thin plastic groundsheet to ease my mind and protect the floor from punctures, if nothing else. 

6.   Stability – The Sierra Designs Baku 2 has not let me down in the wind.  I have experienced several strong gusts, as well as a moderate sustained wind when camping above treeline.  I decided to guy out the windward side of the tent when initially faced with this wind, but I soon realized that it wasn't necessary.  Once staked out, this tent is rock solid in the wind. 

7.   Durability – The tent is very durable.  I haven't experienced any tears or holes in the floor material, even after I used the tent several times without a groundsheet.  As for zipper durability, the only problem that I've noticed with the zippers is that the vestibule zippers tend to get caught on the material covering the zipper if I'm not careful.  It would be nice if the storm flap around the zipper wasn't quite so taut at the top of the zipper track. 

8.   Packability – The Baku 2 fits into my backpack very well.  It's packed size seems fairly similar, if not slightly smaller than, other tents I've used.  I do wish that the provided stuff sack had a small handle sewn onto the bottom.  This minor detail makes it much easier to pull the stuff sack out of a stuffed backpack. 

9.   Organizational Simplicity – I'm fairly happy with the gear pockets.  I find myself using the "stash door" pockets more for gear than the door itself.  The medium-sized pocket located just above the floor is nice, but it would be really nice if there were one more of these pockets, particularly when there are two occupants in the tent. 

10. Smell – The only time that I noticed any funky smell emanating from the Sierra Designs Baku 2 was when I was lying in it after a long day of hiking.  That said, the “Tent Guard with Ultra Fresh” fungistatic agent seems to work very well.  I put the tent away damp after one trip, stored it that way for a few days, and set it up again.  There were no funky smells to be found.

Pros

Great living space.

Fairly lightweight for a two-person tent.

Excellent waterproofness.

Lots of pockets.

Lots of vestibule room.

Very easy to set up.

Very stable in winds.

Cons

There is moderate condensation when two people are using the tent in wet weather.

I wish the stuff sack had a handle on the bottom.

The ball and loop that holds the vestibule open can be tough to get undone in certain situations.

The vestibule zipper will sometimes snag on the vestibule storm flap.

Thank you to Sierra Designs and BackpackGearTest.org for giving me the opportunity to test this tent.