This is a very basic and brief review for the reasons your will see. Firstly let me say that I pitched the HP as it came out of the box. I was estimating the wind speed to be between 30-40 mph and the local weather station confirms that the winds speed in the town was 35mph and I was near to the top of the South Downs so maybe add 5-10mph more. Luckily it stopped raining 2 hours beforehand.
Ive had a Mini Peak for some time now and that together with my Zephyros 2 are my go to tents. I love the space in my MP and it has always performed well. Whether its braved 40 mph winds (with me) I cant say as I had always taken the Zephy if the weather looks windy.
Anyway back to the HP. First thing that I noticed was just how noisy it was. This is the first time Ive had sil nylon and it took me by surprise, this isnt a complaint it just surprised me. The next thing I noticed was that the pegging points are nowhere near evenly spaced which for a hex design threw me a little. Anyhow, I pegged out and put up my walking pole and noticed that the tent was now moving side to side with the wind. I tightened up the points one by one and when I returned to the first point it was loose again!
Youll see from the pegging diagram that the pegging points are controlled by a friction fit plastic buckle. Initially I thought they may be a variation on a clam cleat but they arent. I am guessing that in still weather with NO wind they may do the job, however in wind they were hopeless and I had to resort tying them off to prevent them loosening which wasnt particularly easy in 40mph winds! Make sure you use them the correct way, as one way offers no resistance at all.
When I was satisfied with the pegging, it was obvious that the HP needs to be used with additional guy lines, the tying points for which are already attached but no guys or additional pegs are provided. In consequence, out of the bag it did not cope well with the wind and bowed inwards badly. I tried differing pitch heights with no change. Obviously with 6 more pegs and guy rope the weight will increase exponentially.
What would help is to pitch the side with 3 pegging points into the wind but this then means you are pitching the tent diagonally. This seems a strange requirement for a Hex tent. What it actually needs is intermediate pegging points between the long sides, but the guying points will still need to be used as well. The pyramid MP actually has more pegging points than the HP! Something's not right there.
I went to attach the inner but upon entering the flysheet it was clear that it was going to be a waste of time. The sides were bowing so badly that the inner would have been touching the fly. It was then that I noticed that the inner also requires pegs to secure it instead of attaching to the fly like the MP, even though attachment points are already affixed on the fly (small plastic circles that the MP fixes to by elasticated toggles). However, the HP inner guying points are the same set up as the flysheet. It may be possible to attach toggles but I didnt investigate further. No pegs are provided for the inner meaning that at least another 5 pegs/pins/stakes are required.
In summary, I was attempting to pitch the HP in moderately poor but dry weather. I was unprepared as was the HP as I need more guylines and at least another 11 pegs from the 8 already provided! I havent given up just yet and need to prepare both the HP and myself better next time, but my MP was never this much drama to pitch! What I need to do is pitch it in still weather and see what I can do to improve it, but with Luxes prices moving ever upwards is this really something that we should be doing?
Ive had a Mini Peak for some time now and that together with my Zephyros 2 are my go to tents. I love the space in my MP and it has always performed well. Whether its braved 40 mph winds (with me) I cant say as I had always taken the Zephy if the weather looks windy.
Anyway back to the HP. First thing that I noticed was just how noisy it was. This is the first time Ive had sil nylon and it took me by surprise, this isnt a complaint it just surprised me. The next thing I noticed was that the pegging points are nowhere near evenly spaced which for a hex design threw me a little. Anyhow, I pegged out and put up my walking pole and noticed that the tent was now moving side to side with the wind. I tightened up the points one by one and when I returned to the first point it was loose again!
Youll see from the pegging diagram that the pegging points are controlled by a friction fit plastic buckle. Initially I thought they may be a variation on a clam cleat but they arent. I am guessing that in still weather with NO wind they may do the job, however in wind they were hopeless and I had to resort tying them off to prevent them loosening which wasnt particularly easy in 40mph winds! Make sure you use them the correct way, as one way offers no resistance at all.
When I was satisfied with the pegging, it was obvious that the HP needs to be used with additional guy lines, the tying points for which are already attached but no guys or additional pegs are provided. In consequence, out of the bag it did not cope well with the wind and bowed inwards badly. I tried differing pitch heights with no change. Obviously with 6 more pegs and guy rope the weight will increase exponentially.
What would help is to pitch the side with 3 pegging points into the wind but this then means you are pitching the tent diagonally. This seems a strange requirement for a Hex tent. What it actually needs is intermediate pegging points between the long sides, but the guying points will still need to be used as well. The pyramid MP actually has more pegging points than the HP! Something's not right there.
I went to attach the inner but upon entering the flysheet it was clear that it was going to be a waste of time. The sides were bowing so badly that the inner would have been touching the fly. It was then that I noticed that the inner also requires pegs to secure it instead of attaching to the fly like the MP, even though attachment points are already affixed on the fly (small plastic circles that the MP fixes to by elasticated toggles). However, the HP inner guying points are the same set up as the flysheet. It may be possible to attach toggles but I didnt investigate further. No pegs are provided for the inner meaning that at least another 5 pegs/pins/stakes are required.
In summary, I was attempting to pitch the HP in moderately poor but dry weather. I was unprepared as was the HP as I need more guylines and at least another 11 pegs from the 8 already provided! I havent given up just yet and need to prepare both the HP and myself better next time, but my MP was never this much drama to pitch! What I need to do is pitch it in still weather and see what I can do to improve it, but with Luxes prices moving ever upwards is this really something that we should be doing?
As to the webbing straps, no I didn't use them and as you rightly point out you can't lower the height without removing them. Have a dig through my review and you see that I think you could adapt the inner tie outs to fix onto points already sewn onto the outer. Perhaps by removing the line and replacing with elastic cord and some small hooks. It would be a very easy job.
