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  1. #1
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    Default Thru Hike with REI Quarter Dome 1. Will it do the job?

    I am thinking of getting the quarter dome 1 to thru hike the AT. Is it dependable enough? Have I lost my mind? Have heard of problems with condensation getting on footbox of the sleeping bag. I wonder if that is just a poor pitch or if there is a secret to taking care of that.

  2. #2
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    Excellent little tent, especially for the money. There are plenty of other options, and you'll hear all about them on this thread, this tent, that tent, whatever, but really, that tent should work fine.

  3. #3

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    I don't see why it wouldn't work. I personally prefer a little more space, but that's only a personal preference to store gear. The length is 7.5ft so as long as you aren't super tall I don't see how you would end up with moisture on the footbox of your sleeping bag

  4. #4
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    I seem to keep seeing that mentioned in reviews, condensation on the floor at the foot end, waking up with wet feet.
    Was wondering if that was a tent problem or a pitch problem . Also , I was hoping to alleviate this if possible.

  5. #5
    Registered User ggreaves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by methodman View Post
    I seem to keep seeing that mentioned in reviews, condensation on the floor at the foot end, waking up with wet feet.
    Was wondering if that was a tent problem or a pitch problem . Also , I was hoping to alleviate this if possible.
    A hammock will solve that problem. You'll never have wet anything, I can promise you that.

  6. #6
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    I just cant make myself go that route. (mindblock)

  7. #7
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    All tents will condensate to varying degrees depending on environmental conditions. Rubbing up against a coated nylon side wall and sometimes even the floor will get your bag damp. I have never had it soak my down basg to any degree and can usually let it dry out most evenings. To prevent my feet from getting wet I have zipped up my rain jacket and used it as a foot bivy. At 7'5" you would think it would never be an issue but since level ground is rare in the mountains you will find yourself sliding down and touching the walls.

  8. #8
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    That is a fine little tent, but if you are counting ounces, it is about 6 ounces heavier that advertised, once you add in stakes and guy lines! So, it is a 2.5 pound one person tent. Not bad, at all. Plus, its REI, so the warranty rocks. Plus, if you are a coop member, you get 10 percent back. Plus, now the best news of all....ITS ON SALE!!!

    It's sale price comes in at just under the BA BitterCreekUL1 sale priced out at backcountry that I found somebody this week on WB, so you might want to give that tent a look as well...

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by hyperslug View Post
    At 7'5" you would think it would never be an issue but since level ground is rare in the mountains you will find yourself sliding down and touching the walls.
    Don't be misled by marketing-speak measurements. The Quarter Dome 1 is listed as being 90" long, which is actually 7'6", not 7'5". Perhaps you meant 7.5 feet. In any case, there are 2 reasons that tents never provide the interior space as advertised. Reason #1 is that the standard practice for measuring length and width is to measure from stake-to-stake. This is not an interior measurement, so it exaggerates the length and width of the usable area of the tent (it may be helpful in figuring out if your tent can be staked down in a given space, like a tent pad - but those are almost never that short).

    Reason #2 is that the reality of inwardly sloping walls and non-flat occupants is that to avoid touching the walls, you need clearance for your feet and head (plus pad and loft of bag). This means you must position yourself a few inches to several inches away from each end to avoid touching the walls.

    What is the net effect of reasons #1 and #2? I don't know what it is for the Quarter Dome 1. But I can tell you that for another tent, an accurate measure of the interior length required a total reduction of 11 inches from the advertised length. So a 90" tent might not fit anyone over 79", or 6 foot 7. While that may sound generous, it still provides no margin at all at head or foot, either for your things or as a hedge against moving towards one end or the other while asleep.

    Add to this that the stakes of the QD1 may be further from the tent body than the tent I took my measurements on. Or it may slope more or less sharply than the one I measured.

    Bottom line: if reviewers complain about getting wet feet from condensation, see if they state how tall they are.

  10. #10
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    That is extremely thorough. Thank you. The only other thing I would like to know is if you have this tent, is there a solution by altering the pitch ? Are you just stuck with the problem?

  11. #11
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    That tent doesn't look like you can/want to alter the pitch much...

    It doesn't look like you can alter the fly at all, except at the vestibule. And you probably don't want to do that...just sayin...

  12. #12
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    Condensation at the feet v. rainwater infiltration is a problem best solved by proper ventilation design. Rainwater infiltration, if caused by design, is an epic fail for a tent...

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by methodman View Post
    The only other thing I would like to know is if you have this tent, is there a solution by altering the pitch ? Are you just stuck with the problem?
    Sorry, I don't have the tent. By the looks of it, I don't envision any means by which the slope of the side walls could be made more steep. In fact, I suspect that this particular tent already has (some) steeper walls than the REI Passage 1, based on the unusual pole design of the former compared to the traditional design of the latter.

    If you have an REI near you, they may let you set it up in the store and test it for fit before buying it. Note, though, that the QD1 is semi-freestanding, so you may need some cordage with you to use in lieu of pounding in any required stakes. Alternatively you could buy it, set it up at home, then return if necessary.

    How tall are you? Sometimes a 1.5P or 2P tent can be nice for a little more room; you could possibly sleep diagonally to get a bit more length, and have room for your stuff inside. But obviously that will cost you extra weight and volume. A true 1P tent means the pack is likely going to be outside, and in my experience, the vestibule and pack aren't so perfectly matched in shape that the pack is 100% out of the rain. Plus, storing it there likely blocks your sole entryway to the tent.

    Hammocks are a potential solution for those who can sleep well in them. Many can; I cannot, but really wish I could. They have a unique set of advantages and disadvantages, and a devoted following & vibrant community over on hammockforums dot net.

    Good luck!!

  14. #14
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    6', 175 pounds

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by methodman View Post
    6', 175 pounds
    Then I suspect the Quarter Dome 1 would probably work for you, assuming you have no need to store gear inside. A nominal length of 90" is 18" longer than you ... if it was closer to only 12" longer then I'd say it's pretty iffy, but I think that's enough margin that you should not have to worry about it.

    As of yesterday REI had the item on sale, too - $170. Footprint $18 or do the polycryo thing. (I'd definitely use a FP with these ultralight tent materials - they're getting thinner all the time).

    Caveats: sorting the reviews in order from low to high rating, I see some commonly cited issues (among the relatively few low ratings) regarding the design of the foot end of the tent. Someone claimed that the tent fly touches the inner tent at the end and thus can convey moisture to the inside. Some others say the fly does not go low enough. A few cite how the wall at the foot end is not nearly as vertical as desired. One points out that the 90" length measures from the center pole at the foot end, which is further out than the corners.

    While these seem to be valid criticisms to me, I suspect there are solutions to most of these issues. For the fly touching the inner issue, perhaps you could sew or clip on an additional guyline tie-out in the middle of the side, to help pull the fly away. This should help with ventilation and might make up for any shortness of the fly by creating an overhang. The bit about the length is par for the course, as I noted above, but REI claims the tent should fit anyone up to 6'4". (That implies a 14" drop from the 90" nominal length, so longer than the 11" I cited above, perhaps for that reason of the pole being further out than the corners). As for the slope of the wall at the foot end, I'm not sure you can do anything about that, other than bias your positioning toward the head end, where the wall might be more vertical. Perhaps there might be a way to position some gear down at the foot end to block your bag from touching that wall, should you move in the night. Not sure if that would just result in the gear getting wet, or what. cover it with rainjacket?

    Nothing is perfect, but given REI's solid guarantee, it seems worth a try.

  16. #16
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    PS there are several video reviews of this tent on Youtube, some quite lengthy and detailed. Hope you find one that helps!

  17. #17
    Registered User Maineiac64's Avatar
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    I have Quarter Dome 2, just do 1-2 nights, not any long trips so I wanted something that would be roomy for me and big enough if I can convince my wife to go on a trip or two. The QD2 has decent room for me when I use it solo which I like. It seems like the quarter dome tents might be made by big agnes, very similar design and specs but more money. I really like my tent and will keep it but if I had it to do over again and was doing a ton of hiking I might look at a zpacks duplex to get weight down. I know that mountain crossings had a sale on big agnes tents going a week or two ago.

  18. #18
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    Once again, thank you cspan for the in depth replies. You helped me a lot. Went down to REI this morning and purchased the quarter dome 1 and the footprint. I know it is on sale because a new model will be out soon. However, an "ultralight" tent that could make an A T thru hike and footprint for under $200 has to be a bargain. Thanks to everyone.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maineiac64 View Post
    I have Quarter Dome 2, just do 1-2 nights, not any long trips so I wanted something that would be roomy for me and big enough if I can convince my wife to go on a trip or two. The QD2 has decent room for me when I use it solo which I like. It seems like the quarter dome tents might be made by big agnes, very similar design and specs but more money. I really like my tent and will keep it but if I had it to do over again and was doing a ton of hiking I might look at a zpacks duplex to get weight down. I know that mountain crossings had a sale on big agnes tents going a week or two ago.
    Yeah, I have noticed that the new line of REI Quarter Domes has suspiciously similar designs and identical fabric ratings(colors too!) to BA. Which, isn't a bad thing. However, comparing the BA BitterCreekUL1 and the REI QD1, for a $5 difference, I'd probably go with the BA...but either one is a valid choice. There was some initial complaints about BA FlyCreekUL's and condensation, until folks realized the need to evaluate conditions and guy out the fly accordingly. Which is why there are so many dang guy outs and stakes needed on my BA FCUL3...I suspect any issue with the REI QD1 and condensation is due to either incorrect guying, placing pad/bag against tent wall, having some object inside tent alter fly surface tension causing condensation run-off infiltration(which would be rain infiltration as well) or a combination of any of these. I wouldn't worry.

    The more I look at this tent, the more I am convinced it is BA design and manufactured by BA. The similarity in the fabrics isn't by chance, including the colors....however, the designs are a bit different and the BA designs still seem superior, IMHO. YMMV...the REI QD3 has a very interesting double door/vestibule design...

  20. #20

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    We, me and Rollergirl, use a QD2 - and love it. (PCT 14, AT 14, CDT 15, AT 15 - "just" sections) it was hers. Alone I used the Eureka Spitfire - then a North Face Chrysalis (thanks Smokes!) At 99.99 the Spitfire is a killer setup. However, we were going to gift the QD2 to our man Flint now somewhere in GA or TN and I kept it last minute I like it so much. It's still the tent I go to even for solo hikes now.

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