[at-l] Nomad 2-4-2

[daveh@psknet.com (Dave Hicks)]

Due to canceling my thru, I have only a few nights in my 2-4-2 -- none in
adverse conditions.

However, I am a Wanderlustgear junky.

The 242 is my third Nomad.  So, that should give you some idea of my
opinion.

I have used the Nomad, since they first became available.

All of my Nomads are three-season tent.  However, I have pushed the first
two into MILD four-season use -- with good success.

The first Nomad I had was the earliest model with the single front window
and the small vent in the back.  The first two times out turned out to be no
more than a pitching practice and were no test of the tent itself.  Both
overnighters were sleep-under-the-stars nights -- in January yet.  I pitched
the tent, just in case the weather turned, but I did not need it -- sleeping
out instead.

First real test came in February.  Overall, it worked quite well under very
adverse conditions, for a three season tent, 18* w/ winds to 30+ mph, plus a
light snow overnight.

I had to pitched it in a twenty plus mph wind, in the dark -- a whole lot
trickier than the daytime pitches earlier, much less than the pre-woods
practices in the living room and in my backyard during the day.  Luckily,
the snow did not start until later.  The best judgment on my performance is
that I got it up.

It stayed up under harsh conditions.  As the temperature dropped and the
wind rose, it did a lot of flapping, but stayed put.  None of the current
Nomads are going to be as rigid as a dome, or one of the other tightly
stretched multi-pole freestanding tents.  Need that; carry more weight.
Need a bombproof single-wall, get a Stephenson.  The bottom line was that I
had shelter and I stayed dry.  [BTW: a lesson learned for me was "adjust the
length of the hiking poles at the wider-diameter (upper as you walk; lower
as you pitch the tent) telescoping adjustment point."  I had trouble getting
enough grip on the small pole segment to lock them tight.  Earlier, under
still conditions, they had worked OK -- they just needed to hold up a very
light tent.  That weekend however, the strength of the wind forced the
lee-side pole to collapse -- ever so slowly.  At first, I thought I had not
pitched it right.  I may be a little slow; but in my defense, it was doing
its thing in the dark, as I slept.  When I realized what was happening, I
took the poles out of the socket one at a time (holding the tent up with my
head), I got a good grip, I really locked the small friction clamp, I
reinserted them, I readjusted them at the big friction clamp, and I went
back to sleep (w/ no further problem).

It is not sold as a four-seasons tent and I had it out in near four-seasons
conditions.  I would not recommend it in heavy snow conditions, but unless
the weight of the snowfall becomes a factor, it will do for four-seasons for
me.

I did not have a lot of condensation in these conditions.  Just light frost
coating the inside over my head and at the foot where my sleeping bag
touched the tent.  I suspect that I could have wiped the inside dry with a
small camp towel, had it been above freezing.

My next over night trip was cool w/ light rain and light wind -- rather
typical of early three-season hiking.  Again, the performance was good.  I
pitched it in the rain.  I got it up w/o much water inside.  Pitching when
it was still light helped.  A bit more condensation in the AM; or maybe it
just seemed that way, as it was not frozen.  Since then, I have had it (and
its successor) out in various levels of humidity and with less wind to
support ventilation.  I never had more condensation than I could handle with
a small camp towel.

Overall, I was quite happy with its performance.  I did a lot of hiking with
it.  However, when Kurt came out with a new design for taller folk, I
upgraded.

In January of '00, I got a chance to field test my new model Nomad MII.  All
I can say is great tent.

Although I loved the original Nomad, I found it a tad short.  This one is
long enough and has even better ventilation.

This test was not a demanding as my first night in the original model, as it
was only in the twenties with no real wind or precipitation.  However, in
some ways it was a better condensation test - which it passed with flying
colors.  Again not a lot of condensation in these conditions.  Just light
frost coating the inside over my head and this time sleeping bag did not
touch the tent at the foot.  I suspect that I could have wiped the inside
dry with a small camp towel, had it been above freezing.

I must have a thing for first trips in a three season tent in the forth
season.  It is not sold as a four-seasons tent and I have had the original
model out in near four-seasons conditions.  Again, I would not recommend it
in heavy snow conditions, but unless the weight of the snowfall becomes a
factor, it will do for four-seasons for me.

It was surprisingly roomy, even more so than my other Nomad I'm a six footer
and I had plenty of room for all my winter gear inside -- albeit I left my
large external outside.  Even with the older model, I took my internal
inside in warmer weather and had no problem doing so with this one.  With
this one, the external would fit, but will continue to leave it out to
reduce wears, as it had more hard parts to do damage.

Since then, I have had it out in a wide range of conditions.

In March '01, I weathered a blowing rain, sleet, snowstorm that defeated
other tents in the trail crew.  I had a good night, whereas even the folk in
the four sided shelter had problems with blowing snow finding "leaks" in the
roof.

The last major challenge was this past summer on Konnarock Crew during the
June flood on Firescald.  I stayed dry in a virtual washout.  No other tent
came close.

I got my new 242 shortly before my blood clot and only had it out for three
weekend/overnight trips.  No condensation.  No wind to test the flapping.
No serious rain.  No real test.

It is a pyramid rectangular based tent rather than the earlier diamond
shaped Nomads.  So, there might be more flapping.

I have never had what I consider a condensation problem.

OTOH, I know folk who could not stand the condensation which they had in the
earlier Nomads.

I don't have enough data to support a conclusion, but anecdotal information
suggests that the condensation could be a function of how "warm" or "cold"
you sleep.  Everyone I met who complained about too much condensation used
more bag than I, for the conditions.  They complained about the cold.  I'm
just speculating here, but I think their excess condensation was a factor of
sleeping with so much insulation that they sweated all night.  This theory
is also supported by the fact that I occasionally use a vapor barrier inside
my bag, to extend its range.  When I do, there is virtually no condensation.

If you are ever in SW VA I could show you all three.

Chainsaw

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis Gass" <dennis@bcontech.com>
To: <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, July 07, 2002 4:44 PM
Subject: [at-l] Nomad 2-4-2


I'm seriously considering the Nomad 2-4-2 but I have not seen one in
person yet.  Is there someone in the North Atlanta (North Georgia) area
that has one and is willing to let me take a look at it?  I'm pretty
flexible on being able to come to location of your choice at time
convenient to you.

If you have an opinion of the tent and would like to send it to me
offlist please feel free to do so.  I would love to hear the info, but
hopefully without flooding the list.

>From the www.wanderlustgear.com web site I have checked out the specs of
the Nomad lite and 2-4-2.  The 17 square feet of additional floor space
and 15 inches of headroom in the 2-4-2 over the lite appear to be worth
the extra one ounce of tent weight and two stakes.  I'm looking for a 1+
person tent that I can bring all of my gear (less food and smellables)
inside and still have room to move around in.  I'm currently using a
North Face Canyonlands and it meets all of my goals in a shelter other
than weight at 3 pounds 7 ounces.  Giving up close to a pound and a half
while gaining square footage kind of has my attention.

Constructive input from the experienced and experts welcomed.

Thanks,

Dennis
Trailwind

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