Subscribe

First Look: SlingFin’s Cinder Cone 4P Pyramid Tent

SlingFin’s mastery of tent design takes a more basic form: the pyramid tent, or mid.

By

Jason Albert

SlingFin’s Cinder Cone 4P Pyramid Tent.

SlingFin’s Cinder Cone 4P Pyramid Tent.

Disclosing one’s trip before it’s complete might be bad form. The kids call it spray. Old folks call it weak. Either way, I’m planning a late-March traverse in Canada. If you’re reading this first look around the original post date, assume the mission is still incomplete. The traverse will last 7-9 days under optimal conditions.…

Responses

  1. leonardthedog

    I will be curious to hear if you find the extra weight of this compared to the MSR Front Range to be a decent trade off for features/construction!

  2. Leon Cyliax

    Nylon stretches when it gets wet, Polyester/DCF/Ultra don’t suffer from this.

  3. Will Tabor

    Adding a quick pitch before my next trip. Smart!

  4. Will Tabor

    Any commentary on packability from your trip? Just got back from a trip using my dyneema mid and I’m now shopping for something that would take up less space in the pack.

    1. Jason Albert

      Hey Will, a few things first. Looking at the claimed dimensions from SlingFin and, for example, HMG, the packed volumes for each mid are slightly different. I suppose a side-by-side comparison would be best. But, at least for me, packing the SlingFin mid was not an issue. I suppose Dyneema is a bit less supple/packable. I packed this mid in its provided stuff sack, after allowing it to dry a bit in the morning.

      SlingFin: 12″ x 5″ x 5″ (30.5cm x 13cm x 13cm)

      HMG 4P Mid: 10.0″ x 7.0″ x 5.5″ (25.4cm x 17.8cm x 14.0cm)

      I hauled my gear in a HMG Porter 70, and I had a ton of bulky gear in there, including a Grade VII down jacket, an FF Raven sleeping bag, extra clothes, etc. I suppose, in drier weather, the SlingFin’s supple Sil-Nylon fabric would be super easy to shove (sans stuff sack) to occupy voids deep down in the pack. Which is to say that the mid didn’t seem an outlier in terms of problematic packability. I will include this in the full review: these 4p mids, including the SlingFin, lose some of their floor space when built out for winter use. It was ideal for two occupants and plenty of real estate to store gear and move around/cook. In the past, I’ve found 4P mids are fine for 3P during winter/snow use, but adding a fourth person…that might be pushing it.

    2. Jason Albert

      Just an update. And I probably should/could have done this; it’s easy to reduce the packed volume of the SlingFin mid by at least 1/3 by using a compression stuff sack. I was experimenting this AM with that…and maybe it’s possible to reduce it by 1/2??

Leave a Reply

Latest Features