Alpkit Kangri v. Terra Nova Quasar. Discuss

[EmilyD]

I may be needing a new mountain tent and have always oggled my friends' Quasars. I have also established that Terra Nova makes replacement flys (Hilleberg does not, FYI; hence the need for a new tent). But Quasars cost an arm and a leg, which is the downside. The Alpkit Kangris look very similar and the online reviews I've found seem generally positive. And they are a lot cheaper.

What do you all recommend?

[basscadet]

I think they both have a major design flaw - I have never got why tent manufacturers make tents where when you open the door, the entire porch gets soaked if it is raining. Why would you bother with the weight of a porch if it doesn't keep your gear dry? Especially 4 season tents where you have the door open often, as you are cooking/making hot drinks more on those long cold winter nights.. Do the designers have a brain?

Terra Nova havent been as good as they say for spares. I have been waiting for a new pole to come into stock for my laser competition for well over a year.. I have made my own replacement out of a carbon pole, but would prefer a proper one as it mine keeps falling out

All tents are a compromise however, none are perfect

[jacob]

All tents are a compromise however, none are perfect

The imperfection is the charm, isn't it

[Porrige Pot]

having owned both, i'd pump for the Kangri once, twice and a hundred times.

i had the Ultra Quasar for 12 years, i used it all year round in the Lakes, Scotland, central Asia, the Falklands and South Georgia. it did the job it was advertised as doing - except the bit were a pole snapped on a dead calm, warm spring day in Langdale...

the Kangri however does that job better: tweeks to the design of the height of the tent, the door, the porch etc.. all make the tent much easier to operate in/out of and - i think - more weatherproof. i've had it 3 years, and while i've not used it as much as the Quasar because i'm now old, fat and have three children and a wife to entertain, i've used it in pretty grim wind, rain and snow winter hill conditions in Scotland, North Wales, Dartmoor and the Falklands, and i'm convinced by its stength and design.

saving £160 also bought three long weekend trips to Scotland...

[EmilyD]

Leaning towards a Kangri. I can't find tons of reviews on them, but the ones I have seen are quite positive. T

Is it a totally bogus theory that a red tent is more susceptable to UV damage than a green one?

[Porrige Pot]

...Is it a totally bogus theory that a red tent is more susceptable to UV damage than a green one?

dunno, but i can confirm that the Red is RRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!! and is quite possibly the only man made object that can be seen from Mars. while wearing a blindfold, and facing the wrong way.

[EmilyD]

dunno, but i can confirm that the Red is RRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!! and is quite possibly the only man made object that can be seen from Mars. while wearing a blindfold, and facing the wrong way.

Or indeed be missed while staggering back to your tent after a drunken night of debauchery in the King's House?

[knife_133]

Just too add my 2 cents to this topic, I was interested in the Kangri tent after purchasing a couple of Alpkit sleeping bags and was really impressed with the quality and value for money. The groundsheet of the Kangri is rated 10,000mm which is the same as the Quasar, however there is no mention on their website as to what rating the flysheet has, so I emailed them to find out:

"The hydrostatic head of the outer fabric on our mountain tents is 1200mm. Although this sounds low compared to some other tents we use siliconised PU nylon which means it performs incredibly well in actual use despite sounding quite low from the testing. I used the Heksa to camp near fort William while Storm Desmond poured down on us and we didn't have any problem with water getting into the tent other than on our clothes."

I appreciate statistics aren't the be all and end all and in reality 1200mm is probably sufficient for the majority of UK weather, when you're spending £300+ those are the sort of details I want to know.

In comparison the Quasar is 8000mm HH for the flysheet.

[Porrige Pot]

Just too add my 2 cents to this topic, I was interested in the Kangri tent after purchasing a couple of Alpkit sleeping bags and was really impressed with the quality and value for money. The groundsheet of the Kangri is rated 10,000mm which is the same as the Quasar, however there is no mention on their website as to what rating the flysheet has, so I emailed them to find out:

"The hydrostatic head of the outer fabric on our mountain tents is 1200mm. Although this sounds low compared to some other tents we use siliconised PU nylon which means it performs incredibly well in actual use despite sounding quite low from the testing. I used the Heksa to camp near fort William while Storm Desmond poured down on us and we didn't have any problem with water getting into the tent other than on our clothes."

I appreciate statistics aren't the be all and end all and in reality 1200mm is probably sufficient for the majority of UK weather, when you're spending £300+ those are the sort of details I want to know.

In comparison the Quasar is 8000mm HH for the flysheet.

i'm surprised that the headline figure is so low compared to the quasar, but i can only echo their experience - i've repeatedly had the tent out in driving rain for days without any feeling that the waterproofness (word?) was under strain.

it doidn't have a problem at 600m with heavy snow in the Southern Uplands this weekend either...

[Mal Grey]

I don't pretend to understand why, but it seems you can get away with a lower Hydrostatic head on a siliconised nylon outer than on more traditional nylon and polyester fabrics. You may need to seal the seams yourself though, as siliconised PU nylon can't normally be taped.

A friend has used his Alpkit Zhota in all sorts of grim weather, for a couple of years now, no problems at all. Quality is excellent.

Equally, the Quasar has an excellent reputation.

Not helping much, but I wouldn't write off the Alpkit because of the hydrostatic head on the flysheet.

[EmilyD]

I was in the Southern Uplands on Friday and saw what the weather was doing. So that's a good sign for the Kangri.

The main draw of the Alpkit tent over the Terra Nova one is price. It's much more affordable, but I want a tent that will last for a while and withstand the abuse Scotland's mountain weather throws at it. I am really bummed that I had to retire a Hilleberg after only 8 years.

[Maverick777]

Hi All,

As this is an old thread. I note now that the Fly Sheet on Alpkit page is now 40d Si/PU N6/260t ripstop nylon (HH: 5,000mm) which is way above the previous HH:1500mm previously specified. The Quasar is only 1000 more. I wonder if you treated with Fabsil Gold?

Cheers