MSR Flylite

[devoidapop]

I just got this tent for me and my daughter and I'm curious about people's experiences with it.

Did you keep the mini pegs or go with something larger?

Any success at creating a vestibule with a poncho or raincoat?

Did you feel like it needed a rainfly in heavy rain?

Was the floor too thin to not use a ground sheet?

[Runner2017]

I just got this tent for me and my daughter and I'm curious about people's experiences with it.

Did you keep the mini pegs or go with something larger?

Any success at creating a vestibule with a poncho or raincoat?

Did you feel like it needed a rainfly in heavy rain?

Was the floor too thin to not use a ground sheet?

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revie.../msr-flylite-2

[Venchka]

If you bought it from REI you can return it. I’m prejudiced. MSR & TarpTent, among others, make better shelters. Good luck.
Wayne

[devoidapop]

I just got this tent for me and my daughter and I'm curious about people's experiences with it.

Did you keep the mini pegs or go with something larger?

Any success at creating a vestibule with a poncho or raincoat?

Did you feel like it needed a rainfly in heavy rain?

Was the floor too thin to not use a ground sheet?

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revie.../msr-flylite-2

I had read this review and thought it was a bit overly dramatic and the pics kind of look like they pitched it wrong. I have seen other reviews that said the biggest problem in rain was misting through the mesh.

[devoidapop]

If you bought it from REI you can return it. I’m prejudiced. MSR & TarpTent, among others, make better shelters. Good luck.
Wayne

I might have gotten suckered by the REI sale price, but I'm willing to try it and find out.

[Venchka]

You’ve got a year. That should be enough time.
There’s a reason why some products are deeply discounted while others are rarely discounted.
I think WhiteBlaze member Patman may have had this tent for a review. Ask him what he thought of it.
Good luck.
Wayne

[nsherry61]

Just to be contrary, I think it looks like a great tent design idea. I can see it not selling well for REI as it doesn't look like a traditional tent, so many folks will shy away from it. MSR generally does pretty well with design. I'd try it out and then make up my mind if it were mine.

[Venchka]

Just to be contrary, I think it looks like a great tent design idea. I can see it not selling well for REI as it doesn't look like a traditional tent, so many folks will shy away from it. MSR generally does pretty well with design. I'd try it out and then make up my mind if it were mine.

Agreed. The REI 1 year return window is perfect for this.
Wayne

[Venchka]

Sometimes my C. R. S. goes into remission.
From the Section Hiker review of this tent:
“tipiwalter November 25, 2015 at 9:50 am
My backpacking buddy Patrick Mason (Patman) gave a good review of this tent. I went on two trips with him using the Flylite in some tough conditions and he only gives it a 2 star rating.”
YMMV.
Wayne

[PatmanTN]

Hi devoidapop,

Yes I did indeed review this tent for Trailspace.com in 2015: http://www.trailspace.com/gear/msr/flylite/#review33314

Not to besmirch outdoorgearlabs (whom I think highly of) or Backpacker Magazine, but I think my review is the most in-depth you'll find and you're right: from the pictures I saw it appeared that OGL didn't pitch it taut for whatever reason.

I think my review sample was a pre-production prototype so it's possible there have been some changes since then. I believe my review will answer most of your questions, but I can answer these directly:

Did you keep the mini pegs or go with something larger? Those mini pegs were wholly inadequate for me. That design catches wind like a sail, the single foot-end stake is critical, use a good strong anchor at that spot.

Any success at creating a vestibule with a poncho or raincoat? I didn't really try that but did use an umbrella as a porch a couple times when the weather allowed it.

Did you feel like it needed a rainfly in heavy rain? Indeed this tent did not do well in any extreme weather.



Was the floor too thin to not use a ground sheet? I didn't use a ground sheet, seemed fine without.

In the right conditions this tent could be OK. I'm thinking of arid places in the western US where humidity is not a factor. In the balmy southeast this tent is a condensation factory when you close the door.

[devoidapop]

Thanks Patman, setting it up in the back yard yesterday I figured the most important stakes were that foot pole stake and the two from the awning. This will primarily be a tent for me and my 4 yr old, so I'm gonna try to keep it out of extreme weather by default.

[Time Zone]

Just to be contrary, I think it looks like a great tent design idea. I can see it not selling well for REI as it doesn't look like a traditional tent, so many folks will shy away from it.

That's sort of how I feel about my SD Tensegrity tent. Odd duck, but pretty clever with the design. Haven't had it in bad weather though, so I can't vouch for it entirely just yet.

One thing that Patman noted was the importance of good staking at the foot end for that MSR FlyLite. Same is true of the Tensegrity. But I'd like to mention something about stakes, which I have only just come to appreciate.

Until buying the Tensegrity, the stakes I had from tarps and tents have been either shepherd's hooks or Y-stakes (sometimes called V, I don't know why - cross section is more like a Y). In any case, these stakes have always been aluminum, and they're OK, but you're liable to bend one in really hard soil (or roots), or of course if you hit a rock.

Last weekend I was out at a campsite where the ground was really quite hard with rocks and roots. Until now, I had always used my same stash of cheap stakes, with even the Tensegrity - I hadn't yet tried the nice DAC J-stakes (which have a V-cross section, go figure) that came with it. But at one point I was in a bit of a hurry packing, and the cheapies didn't go in the stake pocket of the stuff sack very well, so I just brought the stock DAC ones instead. Well, as I said, the ground was hard, and I made no headway getting the stakes in with my hiking shoes. I have to go find a fist-sized rock and pound the heck out of those stakes to get them in (they never stopped progressing, but were very slow to progress. They're not very long, so getting them in well was important).

After returning home, I knocked the dirt off the stakes and wiped them down. I was amazed to see that they not only didn't bend, they didn't even have a nick on them! Not even where the rock was hitting them!

The difference? 7000 series aluminum vs. 6000. Specifically, 7075-T6, I think. In any case, what a difference in durability! They held well, too. I'm used to premiums being charged for rather marginal improvements in gear; this is one upgrade that strikes me as dramatically better than what it replaces, for very little extra layout of money.

[Franco]

There are Y and V stakes. Not sure how the two could be confused.
V stakes.jpgy stakes.jpg

[devoidapop]

So, after using this shelter a half dozen times, I returned it to REI today. I loved the ease of setup, roominess, and lightweight. Condensation didn't seem to be a big problem, but I never used it with another adult. It did collapse during heavy rain and that was the deciding factor. I hope that MSR doesn't completely abandon the concept and can work on that roof design.