Life has been busy in recent years and I haven't been able to get out as much as I'd like. As I write this, my wife and I are on the verge of moving into our new house in Scotland....so the wildcamping drought is set to continue a little more. Between decorating and bouncing back and forth to help care for my father in Wales...my free time is going to be limited.
Having moved almost 700 miles north (by road) from Kent presents new challenges. Midges...a higher prevalence of Lymes disease in ticks...snow and a colder climate meant it was time to upgrade shelter. Originally I had planned on just using an inner nest with my Trailstar, but I found my SMD Serenity Inner to be too small and restrictive. How could I operate inside that when attacked by a cloud of midges?
After much research it came down to two contenders...the Hilleberg Soulo or the Tarptent Stratospire Li. I chose the latter as every man and his dog owns a Soulo these days it seems.
Putting the Stratospire up in the garden was a breeze and I had it pitch perfect on the first attempt. The loops on the tieouts were too small for blizzard stakes so I adjusted each bowline accordingly and fixed up a hanging line within the inner. Also the line on the ridgeline tieouts were way too short , so they had to be extended. Packing the tent back down presented problems, but with some trial and error I found what worked in regard to folding and rolling...getting it back into the stuff sack.
After the garden familiarisation it was time to take it out into the field. I gathered some kit and after a 2 mile hike from the car park I found myself atop Cnoc Fyrish....famous for its monument that can be seen for miles along the A9.
After finding a slightly raised patch of moorland to pitch up on, the Stratospire was up in no time. However an error in how I perceived the inner was going to align meant my lie was 45° askew and I had to contend with some tussocky lumps. I couldn't be arsed readjusting it though...a bit of discomfort would remind me to get it right next time.
The forecast was for wind and rain and it wasn't long before the tent was being buffeted. The inner was spacious with plenty of headroom and the vestibules were sizeable...perfect for future multi-day adventures. I placed my wet gaiters and rucksack in the rear vestibule out of the way, and put my boots, water and stove in the front. Changing into my camp clothes I hung my slightly sweaty socks on the internal ridgeline and cooked up a Bla Band dehydrated meal whilst admiring the view. The magnetic loop that holds the door open is a great idea but i found a strong gust would blow the door loose. As darkness fell I zipped it down and deployed my sleeping pad and quilt.
At 2am the wind picked up and the tent started getting louder. I grabbed my head torch and headed outside. On inspection the line on the apex of the pitchloc system had slipped through the lineloc taking the tautness out of the tent on that side. After retensioning, the MSR groundhog peg flew out of the ground during a strong gust and pierced the cuben fibre fly (3-4mm hole).
"Fuck this!" I thought. It just so happened that I had some Delta Ground Anchors...so I wasted no time in deploying all four of them on the windward side of the tent. To prevent the line slipping through the lineloc again, I just tied a knot below the lineloc. Job done, I retreated back inside and settled again.
The tent actually does do a good job of reducing wind noise when tensioned....not as good as a silnylon Trailstar...but decent nonetheless. The walls don't cave to the wind as much either. I had no anometer on me but I believed the windspeeds during that situation to have been 40mph+ during the gusts. Groundhogs are a great peg....but for big winds they don't cut it. Blizzard stakes or Delta pegs are what you need.
After no further incident I snoozled away the rest of the night and come morning, packed the tent away first attempt into its stuff sack. Upon returning home I promptly replaced all the lines on the tent with some thicker line, in the hope that in the future there will be no further slippage. Setting it up in the garden I patched up the hole with repair patch material and brushed out the inner. After letting the underside of the inner dry for a little time I packed it away for the next adventure...whenever that will be.
When my life settles back to normal I look forward to exploring this majestic country and spending more time in this ultralight tent.
