BUTTERMERE TRIP - AUGUST 2013

All packed up & ready for a three day trip to Buttermere on Sunday.
A no car trip - train to Windermere then taking the 555 bus up to Keswick, then on to Buttermere for a few days.
All the kit has packed into the Osprey Exos 46, North Face Terra 45 & North Face Terra 30.
Impressed with the Exos - will be excellent for solo trips with the Zephyros.
Weight in each pack seems good & distributed evenly…..

WILD COUNTRY ZEPHYROS 2 MODS

Just done a couple of mods to the Zeph to enhance the stability & make life easier.
Dyneema V shape guys front & rear with Lineloks & gold Dyneema side guys. While I was at it I pitched the TQ & Dyneema'd the guys on that as well. I also had enough Dyneema left off the 30 metres to put some loops on the TQ's pegs!
Dyneema in 2mm was from eBay at £15.99 for 30 metres - loads of colours available
Link: eBay 2mm Dyneema rope
Lineloks also off ebay - I needed 12 loks for both tents for £3.49
Link: eBay Lineloks

VAUDE TERRAQUATTRO 3P

Well after much deliberation I decided to sell the Ortik. The main reason was that I wanted something a little lighter & not quite as "bright" for any wild camps needing a little more space that also pitched all as one (the Ortik was inner first with quite a few time consuming poles).
The Ortik, while a fantastic tent, also seemed a little overkill for our UK three season use - let's hope the new owner will give it the use it deserves. Got back what I paid for it so happy with that & put the funds onto the new purchase.....
After spending some time looking, deciding, changing minds & re-deciding I finally went for the Vaude Terraquattro 3p, based on the legendary Mark II.
The cost was a major factor & while the tent tips the scales at 3.5kg it wont be an issue when split between the two of us. Also like the pole system with the elastic suspension system & how easy it easy to pitch.
So the Terraquattro arrived 24hrs after ordering & was up in the garden that evening.....
First impressions:
Pitched in 5mins without instructions
Easy to peg out & tension
Nice roomy interior
Reasonable vestibule space (x2)
Built quality seems good but nowhere near to the Ortik standard
Good compressed packsize with poles separate

LATEST KIT

TENT
Having spent a few weeks looking for a lighter tent for solo use & two at a push use I finally settled on a new Wild Country Coshee 2 which seemed to tick most of the boxes I wanted & came in at 2kg.
The tent was ordered for a knock down price of £89 at Oswald Bailey online. The day after ordering I received an email to say that the Coshee 2 was out of stock but they could offer me the Coshee 3 at the same price - while I was tempted by the extra living space I felt that I was going the wrong way weight wise but was then offered a Zephyros 2 or Banshee 200 in exchange.
I opted for the Zephyros & the new tent arrived within 24hrs - superb service & can thoroughly recommend Oswald Bailey.
Anyway I pitched the tent in the garden - first time a max of 10mins, a few irritations with tension & the pegs are awfully short/sharp.
Spent a few hours reading reviews & instructions then pitched again the morning after. Vast improvement but still could be better so some mods are planned before the first hill outing.
First impressions:
Easy to pitch but will take some practice to tension. 
Pitches easily as an "all in one" style.
Some mods needed - lineloks, Dyneema guys (V guys at ends), hanging loop on inner.
Take out the end poles for packing - the pack size compresses down really small & the pole back slips nicely down the back of the pack.
Short sharp pegs are rubbish - new Terra Nova Ti pegs on order.
All in all I can't wait to get this tent out for some serious testing in the next month.

ORTIK JETSTREAM 2

What Ortik say - "The JETSTREAM tents are base and advanced camp tents developed to endure the toughest conditions. The structural concept with 14 pole crossings offers tremendous resistance to strong winds and reduces the area between poles keeping the fly away from the inner tent. Its shape allows both occupants to sit anywhere with comfort, minimizing the claustrophobia effect. The colour scheme illuminates the interior in the morning and evening and shadows it during the heat hours."

Bought for a bargain £250 from good old eBay. Brand new & still tagged up from a cancelled expedition.
First pitch in the garden was easy & straightforward. Pitching was self explanatory & total time taken was about 10 minutes with no instructions used.

First outing was to Cooper's Campsite in Edale. Again the Ortik pitched easily & with it being freestanding could be moved to the desired spot once up. 
Plenty of internal space & good headroom. Also plenty of condensation on the inner fly in the morning!

Good points:
Easy to erect.
Stable.
Useable space.
Storage shelves along each side internally.
Good size porch.
Light & airy inside.

Bad points:
Condensation (this is a 4 season tent though)
Heavy (full weight 4.5kg)

Sold on for what I paid for it….

Current Kit

Current kit is mixed & matched depending on the duration of the trip, location & whether travelling solo or with a partner.

Current Tents

Vaude Terraquattro 3p - for base camp & wild camp double ups/family use.

Wild Country Zephyros 2 - for overnighters & solo use.

Packs
Osprey Exos 46 pack.

North Face Terra 30 pack.

North Face Terra 40 women's pack.
Karrimor Skido 65 (x2).

Sleeping

Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 sleeping bag.

Mammut Alpine UL sleeping bag.
Vango Horizon sleeping bag.

POE Oyl Lite mat.

Tesco self inflating mats.

Clothing
Mens
Mammut Mercury Advanced GTX boots
Brasher Hurricane shoes
Berghaus Mera-Peak XCR (late model) & IA fleece
Rab Microlight Alpine jacket
North Face Shaffle down jacket
Mountain Hardwear microfleece
Montane Volt jumper
Mountain Hardwear Canyon shirt
Mountain Equipment Ibex pants
Montane Terra pants
Icebreaker thermals
Icebreaker & Bridgedale socks

Some basic & more in depth kit reviews to follow.....