For the common in a single day stargazer and astrophotographer prioritizing compact and light-weight gear for his or her trek, the brand new Backpacker from Colorado-based Sky View Tents could also be precisely what you want.
The Backpacker is a purpose-built, three-season stargazing tent that provides an enormous, lay-on-your-back panoramic view of the night time sky that’s good for first-timers or seasoned sky watchers. With some minor drawbacks if you happen to get caught in a storm, and a serious trade-off in privateness, the Backpacker gives a fast setup shelter splendid for 2 folks, or a solo trek with ample gear for an evening of astrophotography.
As is any night deliberate for staring up on the night time sky, climate is a significant factor on this tent’s performance. A simple-to-deploy inside rainfly helps with these surprising downpours, nevertheless it’s simply in need of fully waterproof, and a skinny blanket of condensation can construct up within the mornings when waking up in additional humid, dewy climates.
Sky View Backpacker stargazing tent evaluate
Sky View Tents Backpacker: Design
- Small and light-weight
- Fast-deploy inside rainfly
- Mesh ceiling
The Sky View Tents Backpacker incorporates a ceiling manufactured from a superb mesh that just about fully disappears in opposition to the night time sky. The view by the highest of the tent is nearly unobstructed throughout the 180-degree view, save the skinny line throughout the middle that helps the rainfly when deployed.
The Backpacker’s easy double A-frame/arched pole construction creates a modestly sized 52-inch by 80-inch rectangular base, with a triangular body peaking at 42-inches tall. When packaged, the 4.6 kilos of tent, poles, stakes and carrying bag compresses to a six-by-six-inch bread loaf-sized 20-inch tube.
When pitched, the tent options one major door for entry and exit, and a smaller hatch flap on the alternative facet that opens beneath a low overhang cover staked to the bottom as a “dry storage” space for sneakers or a small bag.
Low-profile, rounded-edged stakes safe every nook of the tent to the bottom. Guidewires stretch to stakes on both finish of the Backpacker tent assist assist the construction, however watch out to not journey on them when getting out and in.
Inside, there’s a single cell phone-sized pocked to maintain some small private objects you don’t need rolling round, however that’s it so far as inside facilities. The tent’s materials feels skinny, however appears sturdy. With no tarp beneath, it felt like spikes of dry grass may be sufficient to poke by the underside, however none had been profitable. Sky View Tents sells the Backpacker Footprint for an additional base layer of safety.
Specs
Sleeps: 2, or 1 with some digital camera gear
Pitch sort: semi-freestanding
Waterproofing: Inside rainfly, sealant-coated bolstered seams
Weight: 2.09kg
Materials: 20D Tear-Resistant Nylon
Dimensions: Ground space of 1.32 meters by 2.03 meters, inside top of 1.07 meters
From the surface, the Backpacker might be exhausting to see at night time, so use a flashlight or good headlamp when strolling round outdoors to maintain from tripping over it. On the within, the tent’s ultra-fine mesh ceiling stays largely invisible as you gaze on the stars, although some wrinkles within the materials right here and there can provide it away.
On the far finish of the tent’s inside, a skinny pocket drapes over the body, mounted closed with plastic hooks. Scrunched inside that pocket flap, the unfurlable rainfly that extends throughout the highest middle line on the ceiling and secured on the opposite facet with six hooks. Close to the underside, alongside the seam on both facet the place the ceiling mesh meets the nylon, lengthy parallel pockets held up taught by units of backside hooks on the rainfly function gutters for guiding runoff water down by the mesh and outdoors, fairly than into the tent’s inside.
Sky View Backpacker: Efficiency
- Straightforward, intuitive setup
- Fast-deploy rainfly, however will get muggy quick
- Mesh is an afterthought whereas stargazing
First, and perhaps most significantly, is the power of the Sky View Backpacker to dwell as much as its title, and it actually does. Laying down on this tent is nearly the identical as laying down in an open discipline to have a look at the night time sky. Although apparent on digital camera, the few wrinkles on elements of the mesh are a lot tougher to see with the bare eye, and its simple to your mind to disregard the road strung throughout the highest after a couple of minutes stargazing.
Organising the tent for the primary time took lower than 10 minutes, and will get even faster after you have finished it a couple of times. By advantage of that quick meeting and breakdown, the Backpacker is beneficial each for tenting, and likewise the fast jaunt out for a couple of hours sky watching. For significantly buggy nights, for instance, somebody eager to shoot some star trails can setup their digital camera gear outdoors, then wait unbothered by the bugs contained in the tent with out sacrificing the view.
For these choosing in a single day out of doors stays, it might be a good suggestion to deploy the rainfly, at the least just a little, earlier than going to sleep. Even with honest climate, the within of the Backpacker is not spared from the morning dewfall, and the rainfly goes a good distance in deflecting the buildup. So long as it is not really raining, although, there is not a necessity to shut the overhang all the best way, and, in reality, leaving a bit uncovered close to the primary door helps lots with airflow.
In the event you do get caught in a fast storm, or perhaps a longer one, the rainfly has been nicely designed to deflect the downpour. A draw back, nonetheless, is how muggy the tent can get when that is the case. A totally deployed and secured rainfly cuts off the tent’s air flow, and with restricted area, the air inside will get thick rapidly.
Relating to sturdiness, the tent’s materials appears just a bit skinny. Although, by a number of setups and breakdowns over many nights, the nylon confirmed no snags or tears. Neither did the mesh, however you need to nonetheless watch out to not catch it on one thing sharp. The zippers, too, felt clear and durable, and by no means obtained caught whereas opening and shutting the completely different flaps.
If you wish to journey even lighter, Sky View designed the Backpacker to be strung up utilizing climbing sticks, letting you allow the tent poles at dwelling. Although we didn’t have the possibility to check that functionality throughout our evaluate, ditching the poles does carry the tent’s weight down to three.25 kilos (1.5 kilograms).
Do you have to purchase the Sky View Backpacker?
Purchase it if:
✅ You need a easy, packable shelter: The Sky View Backpacker tent maximizes visibility for stargazing overnights and prolonged astrophotography shoots.
✅ You need a quick, repeatable setup: The Backpacker sacrifices complication for simplicity to supply a no-frills “sleep underneath the celebrities” expertise.
Do not buy it if:
❌ You typically camp in moist climates: This isn’t the tent for long-term backpacking journeys the place you anticipate to run into inclement climate.
❌ You want elbow room for 2: The Backpacker can match as much as two occupants, however they’re going to should be very snug with each other.
The Backpacker is a simple, pick-up-and-go tent that is good for a pair of stargazers, or a solo camper hauling some digital camera gear for an astroshoot or simply to put again and have a look at the night time sky. It gives a fast shelter and a light-weight design that simply integrates right into a digital camera bag or tenting backpack — therefore the title.
The inside rainfly offers it a leg up in opposition to different tents with rain guards that connect on the surface of the roof, however as tents go, the Backpacker is constructed with a singular function. This tent is for you if you wish to add to your sky watching arsenal to supply some shelter on these longer treks to darker skies. However its comfort and performance come at a little bit of value. Actually.
If the Sky View Backpacker is not for you
Equally sized tents might be discovered at some main retailers as low-cost as $30, or as much as virtually $300, relying on their facilities and construct high quality. The Sky View Backpacker comes with a $350 price ticket. Different tents and pop-up shelters constructed for stargazing vary between about $100 and $350.
In order for you a extra rugged tent for an extended tenting journey, one thing just a little extra sturdy could also be what you are searching for. If area is your predominant deterrence to the Backpacker, Sky View Tents does provide a bigger XL Stargazing Tent constructed to suit three folks.
