I got a nice present from some friends who visited Lightheart Gear at the Friedrichshafen Outdoor Fair this summer. It was a Solong 6 tent from American company Lightheart Gear, seeking representation in Europe. This particular tent is especially designed for big people. Me, I am a tall guy, so it seemed a good pick. I could not resist putting the tent up in my garden and taking some photos. I have not used it yet, so my impressions are just impressions, probably sprinkled with equal shares of experience and prejudice.
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By Jörgen Johansson
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| The 940 gram Solong 6 in nice weather mode. Note the front canopy supported by a strut. Should mean good ventilation. |
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| When the weather is not so nice this big front canopy is minimised using some loops and a light carabiner. The strut is removed and you have a foretent that goes all the way down to the ground. You can see the folded fabric, which likely will flap a bit in high winds. Still, I think this is a tent that would do well above timberline and not only in the forest. |
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| This is a single skin tent with mesh walls towards the big front foretent and the small rear foretent. Wind and waterproof bathtub floor is good for keeping a supine hiker out of the wind. IMHO these non-mesh walls could have been even higher to deflect wind. |
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| This photo shows the big front canopy (right) and the smaller rear canopy (left). It also shows the ridgeline, which is a pretty neat construction. |
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| The ridgline is made up of the white plastic pipe connecting the tips of my walking poles. There is reputedly a patent pending for this white pipe. If the tips of the poles are too wide for the pipe (mine were) you simply heat the pipe a bit over your campstove. The pipe turns malleable very quickly and then you press the pole tips into the pipe and let it cool. Worked very well for me. |
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| Another detail are the carbon fiber struts inside the ventilators at the top of the tent. This one is in bad weather mode, the ventilator kept closed with the velcro. |
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| This crappy photo shows the strut holding the ventilator open in nice weather mode. |
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| Struts in the four corners keep these ship shape. However, the seam where the purple roof meets the grey bathtub wall seems like it could be a weak spot. Usually I am not that religious about seam sealing, many tents I have slept in have managed without that. However, before taking this tent on serious hike I would make sure that this seam is sealed with utmost care. |
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| This tent is plenty long, even for a tall guy. It is 2,54 meters and has corner struts that ensure that most of that is in fact usable. |