I've had some e-mail discussion with one of the guys at Terra Nova regarding the Laser/Phreeranger. Opinions vary (obviously) but it was pointed out to me that the Phreeranger rather than having a higher Hydrostatic head figure is actually much lower. I'd mistakenly claimed that the figures were 8000mm/4000mm Phreeranger/Laser respectively, in fact it's 80cm (800mm) not 8000mm which puts the Laser well ahead.
Apologies for that.
I still think the Phreeranger is a better design though :-)
Has anyone ever had a tent leak through the fabric, due to insufficient hydrostatic head, rather than in through seams? Groundsheets yes, but the main fly?
ReplyDeleteI reckon hydrostatic head is one of those marketing stats, like megapixels, that is meaningless above a modest level.
I've been out in the Phreeranger in heavy rain with no leakage but at the time I thought it had an 8000mm, all things being equal I'd say more is better so the Laser is much better in that respect. One thing that tends to put me off some of the US tents (Big Agnes etc) is the lower rating.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem for me is that I started out when heavy = tough = good was king, I still need to find out for myself if new = light = better. I'm getting there, but slowly. ;-)