The manufacturer calls this a "conical" tent because it has no flat panels in its design (this results in fewer seams, ostensibly reducing potential for leaks). However, this is not a cone of the inverted ice-cream cone type. Rather, it is a "pole forward" design where the pole is placed closer to the front than the rear (53"/1.3 m front to pole, 67"/1.7 m pole to rear). This is typical of the traditional Tipis of the American Plains Indians. This provides a more vertical front that allows (for tipis) better venting at the peak, easier entry through a taller door and more vertical space at the front for sitting/headroom. From my early use of the Vertex 5 it appears that the benefits that accrue to the tipi design also apply to the Vertex. The American Indian developed the slanting design (which Titanium Goat terms "racy") through considerable use & modification. It's nice to see that Titanium Goat recognized the virtues of the design and did not opt for a simple inverted cone. The side view of the tent in this photo shows the longer slanting rear with the more vertical front that is a hallmark of this design.

The manufacturer also notes that the Vertex tents can be heated using their Vortex stove. Their larger Vertex 6 comes with a stove port and is larger. That extra size allows for the addition of the stove. I don't believe the room in the Vertex 5 is sufficient to include the stove, especially when one large or two normal sized occupants occupy the tent. If I were considering the use of the stove in this tent I would spend some time in discussion with Titanium Goat before I assumed it was possible despite the "stove compatible" comment on their website.

The tent ships with a single Easton 5-section shock-corded aluminum pole. Titanium Goat says that 8 oz (227 g) can be shaved off the total weight by switching to the Fibraplex pinnacle 62 pole (a carbon fiber pole) and Vargo ultralight titanium stakes. I found the pole to be deceptively light at under 9 oz (255 g) and was impressed with the supplied pegs.  Rather than the 12 Y-pegs the website lists, I received 14 V pegs. These 14 pegs weigh slightly less than the specified 12 Y-pegs. The supplied pegs are aluminum Vs with a rod running down the length of the V providing outstanding strength. I was able to pound the stakes into frozen ground without any bending or deformity. Each stake has a notch taken out of each "wing" of the V which allows the stake loop to catch and hold (this means the stakes should be placed with the open end of the V facing away from the tent so the stake loops have something to hook into). The 14 stakes were sufficient to stake out the 14 stake loops sewn into the tent (I'm not sure why 12 are specified on their website unless they've made some modification that included the addition of two new stake loops). However, I will be adding 3 more stakes so I can provide another stake to tie the rear vent flap to and one for each guy line.

The tent comes with two stuff sacks - one for the tent itself and one for the included pole & pegs. I doubt that I will be using these as I prefer stuffing my tent into my pack to make the most efficient use of the space and will just use a couple of rubber bands to hold the pole sections and the stakes in a package. I usually keep my tent stakes in an outside pack pocket since after the first day they tend to have dirt and forest detritus clinging to them unless I spend more life minutes than I care to cleaning them.

Initial impressions

The Vertex arrived with a page of pitching instructions and one for care and maintenance. The care page notes that the seams need sealing and recommends a couple of different products (McNett Seam Grip or Kenyon Seam Sealer 3). Not always a patient man, I decided to table this exercise until after I found if it would leak. Inspection of the seams showed excellent construction with tight stitching and overlapped felled seams. I was willing to risk damp feet and put off seam sealing until later. I turned to the pitching instructions and after reading them decided to just do it. The sheet is well illustrated with a photo for each major step and the text clearly explains the steps involved in pitching the tent. A conical design has certain stresses designed into it in order to keep the fabric taught and staking the tent appropriately insures that these stresses are distributed correctly. In a tipi, this is accomplished by many poles as well as the stakes. Since there's only one pole involved here, the stakes are critical. This does mean that the tent cannot be free-standing and I'm unsure of how it will work in deep snow as providing deadmen staking options for 14 staking points may prove to be problematic.