Friday, May 16, 2014

Big Agnes Lone Spring 2

I was perusing the Internet recently looking for a fairly lightweight solo tent that would be suitable for backpacking but would not break the bank.  I came across a tent by Big Agnes called that I had not heard of yet.  It seemed to fit the bill.  Though not the lightest tent on the market, it certainly is better than the large tent that I have had for almost 30 years.  I've been looking for a smaller tent for the possibility of solo trips or trips with other dudes who are not keen on sharing tent space.  Mrs and I purchased a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3 this past winter (the number in the name of Big Agnes tents indicates the number of persons that can squeeze in) for trips that we hope to take together.  This should be plenty of room for us and a dog or two.  I hope to show this tent sometime soon.

I was thinking I could just use that tent on a solo trip, but it really is a lot of tent for just one person.  When I was looking at the Lone Spring tents, I decided on a Lone Spring 2 two-person tent to allow room for my pack and a dog.  The price was right and I also had a great coupon deal that brought the price well under $200.  I also purchased the tent footprint to go with it.

The tent (large bag complete with rain fly, poles and stakes) and the footprint (smaller bag).

The  tent footprint for the Lone Spring 2.  This gives a little more protection to the bottom of the tent.

Contents of the tent bag includes the tent, the rain fly (gray color), poles (in the long thin bag) and the stakes in the smaller bag.

Instructions are sewn into the main stuff sack.

Tent with the support poles in place.  This is one of the easiest set ups I have ever done.  the poles are very light and also come with a splint in the event of breakage during a trip.

The tent attaches easily to the poles.  This is a very fast setup.

Next step is to stake the four corners to keep the tent from blowing away.  In areas with hard ground one could use paracord to secure the tent corners to rocks or something else heavy enough to secure it.

Rain fly in place.  The fly also has venting at the top that I did not get a picture of in the open position.  This should cut down on condensation inside the tent from respiration.  There is a fairly good sized vestibule area to keep your boots or even a pack under.  The only real drawback to the tent is the single side entrance which would require the person on the inside to crawl over the person near the door to get out.  I don't foresee an issue with this myself, but it is something to think about when purchasing a tent.
Tent with the vestibule zipped up tight.  the only thing I did not do was set the guylines, but there are several on the outside of the fly.  I'm looking forward to giving this tent a try.  I may be headed out on a solo trip soon, though it will be in a campground so more of a gear test trip then anything.




2 comments:

Arkansas Patti said...

Looks great. On a solo trip will you take the dogs?

Barry said...

It could go either way. It would depend on the hiking I have planned.