Initial Report Titanium Goat Vertex 5 February 20, 2005 Manufacturer: Titanium Goat URL: http://www.titaniumgoat.com MSRP: $400.00 (US) Year model: 2005 Listed weight: 2 lb, 2 oz (.96 kg) Tested weight: 2 lb, 5.8 oz. (1 kg) Tester: Colleen Porter (Tester biography can be found at the end of the report)

Product Description: A single-wall, conical, floorless 2-person tent constructed of 1.1 ounce ripstop nylon with a DWR (Durable Water-Repellent) treatment.  It has 14 stake loops, a single pole, a single vertical zippered entrance, a small zippered ventilation port at the rear base, and a removeable guyline system on both the left and right sides.  Here is a table showing how the listed weights differed from the actual weights (as tested at my trusty local USPS postal office):

Listed Weights Tent & Stuff Sacks: 19 oz / 1 lb 3 oz (539 g) Pole: 9 oz (255 g) *Stakes: 6 oz (170 g) *this is the weight of 12 stakes, but TG actually supplied 14.

Tested Weights Tent & Stuff Sacks: 22.8 oz / 1 lb 6.8 oz (646 g) Pole: 8.7 oz (247 g) *Stakes: 6.2 oz (176 g) *this is the weight of the 14 stakes that TG actually supplied. Their listed weight is only for 12 stakes.

Initial Impressions:  The Vertex 5 arrived with no retail packaging (which isn't surprising considering that Titanium Goat is currently the only seller of their tents), just stuffed into its storage sack along with the pole & stakes.  The pole & stakes had their own sack, also inside of the main stuff sack.  In the shipping box were two pages of instructions, one for pitching and one for care & maintenance.  The day after it arrived, I was able to sneak out just before sunrise to the grove of Eucalyptus trees that makes up the "forest" behind my house.  We had just weathered three days of heavy rain and our soil here in California was completely saturated.  Using the pitching instructions supplied by Titanium Goat (hereafter referred to as TG), I was able to get the tent pitched pretty quickly - around 10 minutes, maybe less.  The only problems I had in the pitching were due to the extremely wet and sandy soil I was working with.  The tent is pitched by first staking out the front two loops, then the back two loops, one loop on the left side, and then one loop on the right side, so as to create something like a square on the ground.  Then the pole is inserted, the canopy raised, and the remainder of the loops are staked out.  When I raised the pole, a few of the stakes pulled free from the wet, sandy ground.  I simply re-inserted them as deeply as I could, and raised the tent again with no further stake problems.  The tent requires 14 stakes for a complete pitch. 

Front of the Vertex 5, zipped shut.  the pink cords on the sides are the removeable guylines.  You can see that the zipper extends all the way up to the pole cap (the black cap at the top of the tent).

Side view of the Vertex 5, with a better view of the guylines.  At the bottom rear of the tent (extreme left of the picture), the vent cover is just visible.

Once the Vertex 5 was pitched, I did a visual inspection both inside & out, and played with the features as much as I could.  I was really impressed with the tautness of the pitch - there was very little sag, which can sometimes be a problem with single-pole shelters like this.  Based on TG's online description I had assumed that only 12 stakes were necessary to pitch the tent, and figured that the two extra were for the guylines.  Alas, all 14 stakes were used in pitching the tent,  and I had no way to pitch out the guylines.  So I just pulled them out by hand to see how effective they might be.  With the tent dry and pitched tautly, it was difficult to get an idea of how much help the guylines will be, but I have faith that I'll be able to test them in wet conditions soon.  California has already received three times our normal rainfall for this season, and we usually get rains for the next two months.  But I'll be sure not to camp in any landslide-prone areas.

I opened up the tent and laid down my sleeping pad.  I had pitched the tent over my 5' x 7' (1.5 m x 2.1 m) NeatSheet groundcloth, so I was able to get a quick visual approximation of the useable space inside the tent.  Based on this, I concluded that the Vertex 5 could easily hold 2 adults comfortably, but with the pole between them there will be limited opportunities for canoodling with one's tentmate (and since I am most often out with my husband, we have been known to canoodle in the tent).  I am 5' 8" (1.73 m) tall, and I fit inside the Vertex 5 with plenty of room to spare.  As a solo shelter, this tent would be a palace.  Another thing I really like about the Vertex 5 is that when the entrance zipper is completely open, the doors can fold out and the front stake loops can simply loop over the next set of stakes, requiring no hardware or toggles to hold the doors wide open.  None of my other similar tents can do this - they all require either a tied or toggled cord to keep the doors out of the way.

I got out of the tent to play with the rear vent and its rain cover.  The vent is a zippered opening about 18" (46 cm) long, with a triangular panel sewn over it to keep rain from getting in through the vent.  About halfway down the zipper, on the inside of the tent, there is a cordlock attached to the zipper seam on each side.  Through these cordlocks runs cord that is sewn into the next stake loop reinforcement.  The cord can be drawn through the cordlocks in order to pull the vent as wide open as desired.  I know it's hard to imagine it from a verbal description, so let's see if some pictures can do it justice.

Two pictures of the rear vent - one from inside, one from outside.  Above, you can see the cordlocks that pull the vent open when it is unzipped. On the right, the triangular vent cover has been folded up so we can see the open vent. In rain, the triangular cover would be folded down and staked out so as to keep rain out but allow air to circulate.  I'm not sure how to do this without carrying an additional stake for the vent cover.

This is the venting option for the front entrance.

There is a second venting option, at the top of the entrance zipper at the front of the tent.  The zipper is a double slider, so the tent can be unzipped from the bottom or from the top.  When the tent has been zipped shut, the top slider can be pulled down to begin opening the zipper from the top.  A hollow plastic tube has been ingeniously sewn into the zipper seam, and there is a tiny corresponding webbing pocket sewn into the other side of the zipper, so the end of the tube can be placed into the pocket and create a "spanner" to push the zipper opening wider than it would be on its own.  This doesn't strike me as a very useful option in rain, but rather for times when the weather is warm but privacy is needed or wanted.

An angled view of the interior of the tent.  The groundcloth is 5' x 7' (1.5 m x 2.1 m), and the sleeping pad is 32" (81 cm) long.

The guylines.  They are threaded through a webbing daisy chain sewn into the seam of the tent, and run through a mini-carabiner.  The carabiner has a long length of cord tied onto it, which can then be staked out.

So far, I think I will like the Vertex 5 quite a bit.  It's very cleanly sewn, pitches tautly, and seems to be very functional.  I can't see any reason why two adults won't fit comfortably in it.

Test Plan: When I submitted my application to test the Vertex 5, I had a fair number of questions that were answered fairly quickly with this first setup of the tent.  But of course, just as many questions have been raised!  Here are the main evaluation points I will be looking at during my testing of the Vertex 5:

Setup.  Setting it up in my backyard is one thing, but what about setting it up in pouring rain?  What about areas where a non-freestanding tent might become a problem, such as extremely rocky ground? 

Construction.   The Vertex is constructed differently than any tipi or pyramid tent I have seen before. While other tents of this ilk are constructed out of geometrically-shaped panels (think of eight identical triangles all leaning together at the top), the Vertex is basically a flat half-circle rolled into a cone. The good folks at Titanium Goat took their inspiration from the traditional plains indian tipi, which is also constructed in this manner. I can't emphasize enough what a stroke of genius I consider this to be.  Fewer seams equal less weight, less possible failure points, less seam sealer needed, and that the peak of the tent is not riddled with messy seams joining together occasionally imprecise panel alignments. All of my similar tents have EIGHT SEAMS meeting together at the peak, while the Vertex has only one.   While the Vertex appears to be a very well-sewn tent, only time and use will tell. 

Materials.  The Vertex is not made from coated nylon, but from 1.1 ounce ripstop with only a DWR (Durable Water Repellant) finish. What this means is that technically the Vertex is not waterproof. This is what makes things very interesting indeed. One's first thought would be "Well, what's the point in a tent that isn't waterproof?" But BGT recently finished testing a tent from Black Diamond that is also made with a fabric (Epic) that is not truly waterproof, and Bozeman Mountain Works is offering tarps made from Spinnaker cloth, which is also not waterproof. The interesting thing that I am hearing from my hardcore ultralight do-it-yourself friends is that these water-repellant fabrics, when stretched taut and with nothing behind them to increase the pressure of water pushing from the other side, are
functionally as waterproof as coated fabrics. The OTHER side to this coin is that an uncoated fabric is breathable. The greatest drawback to single-wall shelters made with waterproof fabrics is the insane amount of condensation they can generate in certain conditions, even with built-in vents. So in theory the Vertex will keep its occupants dry, while preventing the buildup of condensation inside the tent. But even Titanium Goat admits that there are "limitations to this Utopia." They state that heavy downpours can result in the DWR finish being compromised, resulting in a slight condensation buildup inside.  But just how much condensation is "slight?"  Will the Vertex 5 really and truly keep me dry?  Will it really minimize or eliminate condensation?

Performance.  This is, of course, the concern that can only be assuaged by field use. In all of my test reports, I will include details about the terrain and weather conditions that the Vertex was used in. Triumphs and failures will always be reported in the contexts in which they occurred.  The durability of the lightweight materials involved will also be evaluated and reported on, as will construction quality.

Likes easy, taut pitch 2 vent options seems well-made spacious interior light weight

Dislikes pole between tentmates minimum of 14 stakes required to pitch

Thanks so much to both Titanium Goat and to BGT for the opportunity to participate in this test series.

Tester Name: Colleen Porter
Gender: female
Age: 30
Height: 5'8"/1.73 m
Weight: 150 lb./68 kg
Email address: tarbubble at yahoo dot com
Location: Orange County, CA

Backpacking Experience:  I have been hiking for fifteen years, backpacking for eight.  I've only been serious about it in the last two and a half years.  I mostly hike on established trails – bushwhacking is rarely planned. I like gear to be simple and light, and I do make some of my own equipment.  On my own I pack pretty light (about thirteen lbs/6 kilograms base weight) and am always trying to get lighter, but I am often on family trips with my two-year-old son and the weight usually doubles.  My 3-season backpacking haunts are the San Gabriels, the Sierra Nevada, and the Grand Canyon, and winters find me in the Mojave and Colorado deserts.