Category: Gear

Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear, Reviews3 Comments

(Disclaimer: Below list contains affiliate links, which means I get a small commission for purchases made through the links. The gear is bought with my own money though and I have not been asked to review the gear.)

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 at Fulufjället National park

I’m going to give a review of my Hyperlite Mountain Gear 4, with the full- and the half inner and go through my likes and dislikes with it. While it’s a great tent, it still has its downsides. I’ve owned the tent for a little less than a year, and used it both below and above the treeline and I have used a lot of different tents before this one.

For those who don’t know, the HMG Ultamid is made out of Dyneema composite fabric, formerly known as Cuben Fiber. The material was originally made to make sails for sail racing boats, but have been widely used by parts of the outdoor business. The pros, as opposed to sil nylon which is the standard material used in tents, is that it is both lighter and stronger. It doesn’t stretch, sag when wet or soak, and is easier to just shake or wipe off moisture. The cons however is that it is less resistant to abrasions and folding. I’ve read that you can expect almost twice the amounts of nights a Sil tent will take before worn out, compared to a DCF tent since the material will wear quicker. Another downside is price. The material itself is expensive, thus making the gear expensive.

I’ve owned gear from Hyperlite Mountain Gear since 2017, and before the Ultamid 4 I had the Ultamid 2. I have the backpack Southwest 4400, pack pods and a stuff sack pillow, and I’m generally happy with the gear I have from them. I’ve used a lot of tent before; Bergans Compact tunnel tent, Hilleberg Enan, Niak and Staika, Luxe Sil Hex Peak, Twin Peak and Tentipi Olivin Light, Olivin BP and Safir 5 BP. My reason for buying the Ultamid 4 was to have one tent that was light enough for solo use, but still large enough for family camping.

The Ultamid is a so called Mid, or Pyramid shelter. It’s easily erected. Lay it on the ground, put the pegs in the corners and make sure the corners are in a 90⁰ angle. I also recommend securing one guy line to a backpack too, to mitigate the risk of it blowing away while you are setting it up or taking it down.

Insert the center pole and adjust the guy lines. Tighten them a little bit at each corner to get even tension and then go around again and tighten them some more if necessary. The half inner gets secured to the fly with hooks, and with pegs in the corners, and then secured to the top with a carabiner.

The tent, with the material and shape, is made to withstand much of what nature can throw at it. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard or read ‘bombproof’ in tent reviews, and while I don’t plan to do any camping in the conflict areas of Syria any time soon, it do tell some about whats expected of it.

Pegging out the full inner before adding the fly. The inner can be left attached to the fly to set up both at the same time

So whats my impression of it then? I’ve had both the Ultamid 4 and the 2 on both low land trails and in the mountains above the treeline. And it do handle wind very well. Despite not having a solid inner it doesn’t get particularly breezy inside, even in hard wind. When it comes to quality it’s OK. It’s not Hilleberg quality, and while I didn’t have any issues with the 2, I had water seeping through the seams and dropping down in my face at night in the Ultamid 4. HMG refunded the shipping cost and sent me a few meters of DCF tape, and I taped up the weak spots. One area in the top was supposed to be covered with tape, but the tape there didn’t cover the seams. This made it possible for water to seep through, and on two trips I frequently had water dropping down on my face at night. I have a lot of other gear from HMG, and I had the Ultamid 2 without any issues, so I could have just gotten a bad one, since it was made when HMG where overwhelmed with orders during peak Covid in late 2020/early 2021.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 with the full inner
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 with the full inner
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 with the half inner
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 with the half inner

When it comes to details it has 8 peg out points along the perimeter, and 7 guy line points half way up. You get a lot of guy line with the tent, but you have to cut it and tie it by yourself. I cut mine in a length of roughly 4 meters, and use a Tautline Hitch at the end, to easily be able to tension the guy lines. With all guy lines pegged, the tent should be able to take quite a beating from the elements. But hard wind will put a lot of pressure on the center pole.

I have a carbon fiber pole from Ruta Loca. It’s lightweight, at 266 grams. I can’t say how well it would fair in extreme weather, but there is also the option to strap two hiking poles together with the HMG pole straps. I use aluminum 4-season poles from Black Diamond, and with a fair share of the poles overlapping the center pole gets really strong.

The tent itself weighs 774 grams for the fly with guy lines, 539 grams for the half inner and 823 grams for the full inner. My pegs weighs 305 gram, and I have a mix of MSR groundhogs, generic Y-pegs and nails.

But the biggest issue probably is the price. In USA the price is $890-$975 for fly, $405 for the half inner and $510 for the full inner. In Europe it’s even more expensive with 1141€-1238€ for the fly, 486€ for the half inner and 624€ for the full inner.

Another downside with a Mid with a full inner is that in a downpour it’s hard to not get a lot of water inside the tent while entering and exiting. When I camped with my daughter with the full inner in 12 hours of torrential rain it was a pain.

But do I like it?

I do, despite some downsides I feel that it’s the best compromise there is for my needs, which is lightweight, large enough for four persons but light enough for one to carry. And despite the downsides with the full inner in rain I do really like the modular approach. I think it really shines when used as a palatial 2-person tent. With the half inner as a fairly large area secured from bugs and the other half as a vestibule with a groundsheet, for cooking and gear. And with only the half inner you could enter and exit without having a swimming pool in your inner tent.

Do I recommend it?

It’s not a tent for everyone. Is a bit more complex to set up than a regular tunnel- or dome tent, it’s very expensive and DCF is bulky and not very resistant to abrasion. But if you prioritize having a large tent that can handle rough weather to a really low weight I do recommend it. For me, the benefits outweighed the downsides, and I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 at Fulufjället National park

Gear walkthrough from our Fulufjället hike

On By Småland OutdoorIn 2021, Gear, ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ve tweaked my gear over the years, but the thing that’s changed most of the times is probably the tent, since I never seem to find the perfect one, and still haven’t. Having a lightweight setup felt more important when hiking with my family. I carry most of my daughters gear, and I also wanted to carry more of the shared gear since I wanted Maria to be as comfortable as possible since she’s not as used to hiking as I am.

(Disclaimer: Below list contains affiliate links, which means I get a small commission for purchases made through the links. The gear is bought with my own money though.)

Backpacks

I used my Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 4400 (int) (SE) with the pack pods (int) (SE). It’s a good roomy pack that’s more or less waterproof. It feels durable, and I’ve had it a few years without any issues. I really like using it with the pods to fully utilize all the space and I like the roomy front pocket.

Maria used the Exped Lightning 60 with the optional front pocket. It was my first lightweight backpack, and it is super comfortable. I seam sealed it on the inside to get it a bit more waterproof. The bungee straps on the front pocket is getting a bit stretched out, but other than that it’s in good shape. It’s a really great pack, and since it has an adjustable back height Maria can use it too.

C used a Bergans Lilletind 12 rolltop. They sell them with top lids too, but I prefer roll tops as it’s a lot easier to compress the pack when you’re not carrying that much. It has a waist belt, but it’s important to remember not to pack too heavy for a kid, even if it fits in the backpack.

Tent

We used Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 (int) (SE) with a full inner (int) (SE) and a Ruta Loca center pole. I’ve had quality issues with my tent (probably because it was made when they had a record high demand and was getting behind schedule), and using a mid with a full inner in a downpour means a good likelyhood of getting rain in your inner. But despite the downsides I was very pleased with the tent.

It has a large footprint, but since it is that large, and use a tall center pole it has a lot of usable space inside. It was very welcomed at our second campsite, as it was swarmed by mosquitoes. I like to spread out too, so using it for 2 adults and 1 kid was perfect.

It’s also very lightweight. I haven’t weighted mine, but the official weight is 657g for the fly, 765g for the inner and 271g for the center pole. I think my mix of groundhogs, shepard hooks and nails weigh 200g. It’s a 4 person sub 1900g shelter, and you could save 250g if you ditch the center pole and use pole straps (int) (SE) and hiking poles instead.

When we had our camp set up we used half the inner for mine and Marias sleeping pad, 1/4 of the inner for all of our gear and 1/4 for a CCF-mat for C, where we also could sit, cook etc.

Sleeping pads and pillows

Me and Maria used an Exped Duomat HL LW. It weighs 1155g, so the UL-purists might frown upon the LW-part but it is definitely worth it in my book. It weighs more than two UL pass, but with a size of 200x130cm and two separate air chambers it’s a very comfortable pad, and it takes up half of the inner tent. I think this is as comfortable as it gets when sleeping outdoors.

We brought my Exped Winterlite HL for C, but she kept rolling off, so she used a CCF-mat instead, and preferred that.

As a pillow I used Hyperlite Mountain Gear Stuffsack pillow (int) (SE) with my Cumulus Incredilite Endurance downpuffy (int) (SE) and extra socks stuffed in it. It’s fairly comfortable. Maria used a Thermarest Compressible Pillow, that is quite heavy and bulky, but probably one of the most comfortable hiking pillows there is.

Sleeping bags

I used my Cumulus Quilt 450 (int) (SE)and I love it. I had their first generation quilt, but never liked the strap system. With their updated models they fixed the issues I had and I really like it. It’s lightweight, warm and flexible, as it can open up as a square quilt, or strap up a foot box.

My wife used an Aegismax G1. I’ve washed it with Nixwax Downproof to make it more moist proof, and it is well worth it’s money. It’s warm and light and a good choice for someone on a budget, or buying for someone who rarely uses it like my wife. But if that’s not the case I do prefer Cumulus and supporting local high end manufacturers.

C uses a Cumulus Junior 250. Originally they use 750cuin down in their Junior bags, but they make them for order, and I ordered C:s with 850cuin down instead, to get more loft with the same weight. She’s never been cold in it, but when we’re winter camping she sleeps in a fleece base layer and I usually bring a quilt to throw above the back if she would get cold.

Stove set

I have a lot of stove sets, and a nostalgic love for Trangias. I did consider bringing my Trangia 27HA but in the end I didn’t want to carry all that weight. So I used my Toaks 1350ml pot (115g) (int) (SE), an Evernew titanium frying pan (155g) and a Firemaple 117T burner (104g). It’s really lightweight but a large enough pot for us, and a frying pan for pancakes or falafel. Since the hike I bought a Soto Windmaster (int) (SE) that I’ve heard a lot of good things about.

Conclusion

I was happy with the gear we used, and I don’t have any complaints. I do look forward to trying the Soto Windmaster, as I’ve read that its a very efficient stove even in wind. The sleep system is dialed in and I also think it’s hard to get a better setup with the tent, since I like to keep the weight down while still having a lot of room to spread out. In general I’d say my gear is as dialed in as it gets. I have considered a couples quilt, but I don’t know if it would be worth the money, since Maria doesn’t join us that often. I have also considered buying the Thermarest Compressible pillow in the large size for me, but it’s really heavy and bulky, and I think I’ll just stick with the stuff sack pillow.

The constant chase for the perfect tent

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear, Lightweight philisophy2 Comments

I have an addiction. My great poison is tents, and I’ve bought and sold numerous tents over the years in search of the perfect one. But I don’t think it’s just the chase for a prefect tent that drives me, but also the fact that I really like tents and want to try a lot of different ones. I guess I should have been a tent salesman.

But lately it’s been stressing me with the different tents I have and what to use on which occasion. When I started the search for a 3-4 person tent to have something that both me, C and my wife could share now that C is getting older, I realized that I wanted to clear out the gear shed and minimize my options.

I had a Hilleberg Staika, that I bought to use together with C and my wife, naïvely not counting in how fast kids grows and how tight it would actually be inside when the kids get a bit older. I also bought it because I planned to do ski touring trips in the mountains, but it looks like that’s in a far away future. I decided to sell this one. I’ve discovered the option the rent tents recently, and if I’ll get away on a ski trip where a tent like the Staika is needed, I rent it.

I also had a Hilleberg Niak that barely got used. I bought it before I bought the Staika. I never had a freestanding tent before and wanted to try it out. I thought of it as a solo tent, but wanted to use it with C too. She was used to large tipis and mids though, and thought it was way too small for us. And to be honest, so did I. It was very roomy for one though, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get out on a lot of solo trips. C accompanies me on all my trips lately, and despite not being as calming as the solo trips I love to bring her out and share my love of the outdoors with her. But not getting used, the Niak acted as a bad conscience every time I looked at it. It felt like better use of the tent to sell it, than to have it laying on the shelf.

The previously owned Tentipi Olivin BP that I bought on a whim is put up on sale too (still there if anyone’s interested). I wanted to have it as a small canoe camping or bushcraft tent that’s more portable that its large siblings. I love sleeping in a canvas tent, but since I already have the Safir 5, it felt like an unnecessary purchase to have both of them. I really like it though, but I want to minimize the number of tents in the gear shed.

With the need for tents that are light enough to be used solo, mostly will be used for trips with me and C, but are suitable to use with both my wife and one or two of my kids I decided to have just two tents. I’ll keep the Tentipi Safir 5 as a great tent for car-, canoe- and hot tent camping. I’ve also looked into using the money from the tent sales to buy a HMG Ultamid 4 with an inner if they’ll come out with a discount (missed Black Friday). If it was only meant for me and C I would probably settle with just the floorless bugnet. But since I’m trying to persuade my wife to come with us more often, and she’ll definitely prefer at bathtub floor, I’ll get that one instead.

Hopefully I’ll never look at another tent again after this. It’ll be nice to get back to a lighter option too. I’ve had heavier tents for a few years now, and I’ve missed having a really lightweight backpacking tent.

I’ve also looked in to the option of setting up a UL cookset suitable for family use. Right now it’s leaning towards a Toaks 1600ml pot, a Storminstove cone, base and burner and my Evernew titanium frying pan. It’ll be an estimated weight of sub 450g, which is half of what my Trangia 25 weighs (though I really love the Trangias). I think this will be a nice, stable and fuel efficient set suitable for more outdoor cooking than just freezer bag meals. For solo use (and previous trips with C) I’ve used the Storminstove setup with a Toaks 700ml pot, and it’s a really great setup.

Merry Christmas in advance everyone. I hope everyone is safe, and that we’ll see an end to Corona soon. Until then I hope everyone has the option to get out in nature, at least for short periods, to recharge and disconnect from all the negative aspects we’ve seen this year.

Sleep system update

On By Småland OutdoorIn GearLeave a comment

When I first started to get seriously interested in hiking, and keeping the weight down, I bought my first down sleeping bag. Changing the sleeping bag from a synthetic bag to a down bag is one of the things that could greatly reduce your weight and bulk.

After a lot of research I choose to go with Cumulus, and bought their Panyam 600. When I bought it my goal was to have it as “The one bag to rule them all”, and use it all year around.

It did however prove to be too warm even for late summer use in the mountains, so I bought a Quilt 350 from Cumulus. It was my first quilt and I had some issues with it at first, but after some tweaking I got it to work good without getting any drafts. The Quilt 350 has a sewn foot box.

20180714_104939535_iOS

When buying gear for my family I stumbled upon the Wind Hard Tiny quilt from AliExpress. It’s cheap, with sewn-through baffles, but it proved to be better than I expected, and now I use it myself in the summer.

I really liked the rectangular shape of the quilt, without the sewn foot box, and decided to update my sleep system.

I’ve sold the Quilt 350, and bought the updated Quilt 450 from Cumulus instead. With the new model they’ve updated the straps, and they don’t have a sewn foot box, but instead have the ability to open it up like a regular quilt at home. The warmer rating will make it possible for me to use this almost all year around in southern Sweden. If it gets really cold I could use the Wind Hard Tiny over the Quilt 450.

img_1558

This will probably make the Panyam 600 a bit redundant, since the rating won’t differ so much between the Quilt and the Panyam. My plan is to eventually sell the Panyam and buy a Teneqa 850 or an Excuistic 1000 as I want to do deep winter travels in the north, either on skis or with snow shoes.

My new Quilt/sleeping bag setup will be the Wind Hard Tiny for summer use, the Quilt 450 for spring, fall and southern winter use and the Teneqa or Excuistic for deep winter use.

Quilts vs sleeping bags

On By Småland OutdoorIn GearLeave a comment

When it comes to reducing your pack weight, reducing weight on the big three often has the biggest impact with just a few items. The big three is the backpack, tent/shelter system and the sleep system (sleeping bag and sleeping mat).

One thing that saves a lot of weight and bulk is to choose a down sleeping bag instead of a synthetic one. Down weighs less for the same insulation, compresses better and have a longer lifespan without loosing loft. A way to save even more weight is to switch from a sleeping bag to a quilt.

In the ultralight community quilts have become more or less the standard. A quilt, as opposed to a sleeping bag, doesn’t have a hood, and is also open in the bottom, where your sleeping pad insulates you from the cold.  This saves weight as it uses less material. For colder weather a down hood can be used, which add warmth but is more flexible than a sewn hood on a sleeping bag. Another great feature with quilts are that it’s easy to regulate temperature and they’re easy to get in and out of.

Quilts come in different versions. There are ones without the sewn in foot box. These can be opened up like a regular rectangular quilt at home, which gives great ventilation and an easy way of regulating temperature. The foot box can be closed with zippers, buckles and draw stings. One negative thing about these quilts is that in theory the foot box doesn’t get as warm as a sewn in foot box since it’s not completely sealed.

The other version is a quilt with a sewn in foot box. The bottom of the quilt looks like a sleeping bag, which makes it a bit warmer than an open quilt, but you also loose ability for configurations and ventilation.

20180714_104939535_iOS.jpg

The quilts can be used as a regular quilt at home, where you just wrap it around you, but for colder weather you’d want to prevent drafts. To do this most manufacturers have straps that you wrap around your sleeping pad and then secure to your quilt. This will make the quilt stay in place when you move around in your sleep.

Quilt modification

I switched to quilts for three season use in 2016, but it took a while for me to get used to it. My quilt was a Cumulus Quilt 350, and I had a hard time getting the straps to work good without getting cold drafts. I was close to selling it and go back to using sleeping bags when I finally found a way that works; Using the lower strap around the pad, with the quilt above it, move the upper strap to the middle of the quilt, securing it under the pad with the quilt down to the sides.

Since I got it to work without drafts I started to really like quilts. Especially since I toss and turn a lot at night, and also like to sleep on my belly. Having a quilt, that doesn’t have a hood and that you don’t get tangled up in, works very well for this.

Manufacturers

Below is a list of some of the most known quilt makers.

Cumulus is a polish brand that makes sleeping bags, quilts and down clothes. They make high quality gear at a reasonable price, and their products are common in Sweden. I’ve bought several items from them over the years and I’m very happy with both the products, the service and the price. They recently (2018) updated their line of quilts, so they now come without a sewn foot box and with an updated strap system.

Katabatic Gear is by many considered to be the best in the industry, with very high quality on their products. There are a number of different configurations you can do, with both width, length and fill. They are, however, a very pricey.

Hammock Gear is another company that often gets recommended. Especially their Econ quilts when it comes to recommendations for getting ultralight on a budget. For us Europeans customs and sales taxes would probably push the price up a level where it’s not price worthy anymore.

Enlightened Equipement is an American cottage brand. Unlike most other companies Enlightened Equipment uses vertical baffles instead of horizontal. I’m not sure if there’s any benefits with the design, but if I remember correctly it’s designed like that to be able to push the down up and down to where you’d want the most warmth. There is a bit of a lead time to get the quilt, but they regularly go on sale on Massdrop.

As Tucas is a small European cottage brand founded in 2013. As Tucas makes both synthetic and down quilts, as well as bivy bags and clothes.

Issues with the canoe hull

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear2 Comments

I recently decided to wash and wax my canoe. In retrospect I read that you really don’t have to wax canoes with a polyethylene hull since the wax won’t stick anyway, so in one aspect it was unnecessary.

But waxing the canoe exposed what seems to be an issue with the mold. The hull was covered with small air bubbles and holes, most of them in the aft and stern, and less in the middle. The holes got filled with wax, and thus easy to see with the naked eye, and with a closer look I saw that there where air bubbles inside the plastic. Some of the holes where also fairly large.

kanot.jpg

I took a couple of photos and asked about it in Reddits caone forum and got the answer that it should definitely not look like that, and that I should contact Mad River about a replacement. I’ve read before about issues with the hull on these models but I thought it had been sorted out.

I’ve contacted the retailer and Mad River, and now I hope for the best. I haven’t heard back from the retailer yet, but Mad River was forwarding the info to the fabric.

Since I was considering selling it I guess the best case scenario would be to get the money back, especially since the shipping alone of a new canoe costs 150€ (should be covered by the warranty but I don’t know). If the manufacturer doesn’t come through, selling it with these issues would mean loosing a lot of money, if it’s even possible.

Now I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out with Mad River and the retailer as fast as possible. With the never ending heat stroke we have here in Europe I’m more and more leaning towards canoe camping in Femundsmarka rather than hiking in Hardangervidda, to have constant access to the lakes for cooling off. But with a potentially weakened hull I’m not too keen on taking it on a week long trip far out in the wilderness. I hope everything works out before I leave.

Update 31 July

I got in contact with the retailer again, who said that according to Mad River the issue was just a cosmetic one, that doesn’t affect durability or function, and nothing they will return it for. I’ve also emailed their European contact, who forwarded the images to the factory, but said he thought it looked like a cosmetic issue.

If this is accurate it’s nice to not having to hassle with shipping it back to the retailer. My wife and I have been out on more short canoe trips, and now she has started to like canoeing and wants me to keep the canoe as a family canoe. I’ll save up for a more lightweight canoe for solo use in the future though. I’m not all too pleased about having paid full price though, as this probably affects second hand value. I do think that Mad River should offer a partial refund.

Storminstove alcohol stove system

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear, Reviews3 Comments

I just received my stove system from Storminstove. Storminstove is a small UK based business, and the closest resemblance would be the Caldera Cone.

Storminstove

I bought a set with a cone, that serves as both a wind shield and a pot holder, a ground reflector and a stove. Everything together weighs 70g.

Storminstove

The cones are made to order and you can give the dimensions of your pot on the webshop, but he already has templates for a lot of different pots.

I have the Toaks 700ml UL pot with thinner titanium. I didn’t have to state any measurements, but he already had a template for my pot. The communication was great, and he answered all my questions in a very short time, even during the weekend.

StorminstoveStorminstove

The cone is made of two parts, that you put together using rivets on the lower part. The pot fits tightly in the cone. The stove has a capacity for 30ml of fuel, and the system is estimated to boil 450ml of water on 15ml of fuel. With three boils per day you only have to use 45ml per day. On my average two-night trip I have five boils, which means a fuel weight of 75g. The lightest gas canister weighs 198g full. I also like that alcohol stoves are quiet.

Storminstove

Everything nests in the pot and my complete system with the Storminstove-set, pot, spoon, fire steel and mini bic weighs 225g.

I’ll write a review as soon as I’ve used it enough.

Trangia stove system – a walkthrough and review

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear, Reviews3 Comments

If you’ve grown up in Sweden with any sort of outdoor experience it’s highly likely that you’ve come across a Trangia stove. The company started in 1925 with regular cooking utensils, and in 1951 the first prototype of the Trangia stove system was launched.It’s far from a lightweigh stove system, but it is very windproof, fuel efficient and relatively safe to use around children. The stove consists of a frying pan, two pots, a gripper, an upper and lower windshield and the burner. The standard burner is an alcoholburner, but you can also get the set with a canister gas burner. The gas burner is also sold separately. You can also use the Trangia with the Multfuel X2 burner, witch uses kerosene, gasoline or canister gas amongst others.

Sizes

The series are the 25-, the 27-series and the Minitrangia. There are three different sizes, and a lot of different options to choose from, with regular aluminum, Hard anodized aluminum, duosal (outside aluminum, inside steel), non-stick or with a kettle.

Trangia stove setsTrangia stove sets

Burners

The spirit burner weighs 110g. The gas burner weighs 180g and the Multifuel burner with everything included weighs 525g. All burner can be used in the 25- and 27-series, but the Trangia Mini can only use the spirit burner. With a Trangia Triangle (stove stand 112g) other burners can be used with the Trangia Mini too.

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25-series

The 25-series is the largest one, suitable for 3-4 persons. It has a 1,5l and a 1,75l pot. The windshields of the 25 series weighs 200+120g, the pots weigh 110+115g, the frying pan weighs 110g (165g for the non-stick) and 48g for the gripper. The strap that holds it together weighs 20g.

27-series

The 27-series is the medium sized system, suitable for 1-2 persons. It has the same basic components as the 25-series, but everything is smaller, and it has two 1l-pots. The windshields of the 27-series weighs 170+90g, the pots weigh 80g each, the frying pan weighs 85g (120g for the non-stick). The gripper and the strap weighs the same as with the 27-series.

Mini Trangia

The Mini Trangia consists of a spirit burner, a pot stand, a 0,8l pot, a non-stick frying pan and a gripper.

The pot stand/windshield weighs 50g, the pot weighs 92g, the frying pan 76g and the gripper weighs 18g.

Setup

You set up the stove with the vent on the lower windshield facing the wind. This drives the wind up through the windshield providing oxygen to the burner. If you face it in the opposite direction the air will be drawn out of the windshield and pull the flame and the heat down, with a risk of melting the windshield.

Trangia 25UL, Trangia 27ULHA, Trangia MiniTrangia 25UL, Trangia 27ULHA, Trangia Mini

Put the burner in the hole in the lower wind shield, and fasten the upper windshield on the lower. If you use a gas burner or a Multifuel burner, pull the tube through the big hole on the side of the lower windshield.

The upper windshield has three pot holders. When they’re flicked down, they hold the pots inside the windshield. You flick them up to use with the frying pan.

Trangia 25UL, Trangia 27ULHA, Trangia Mini

Using the Multifuel X2

The Trangia Multifuel X2 can be used with gasoline, diesel, kerosene, canister gas, well basically any fuel. You put the burner in the hole in the bottom windshield, and put the hose through the larger hole on the side of the windshield. Connect the stove to pumpbottle and pump it 20-25 times if the bottle is full. More times if there’s less fuel in it. The bottle is marked with an on and an off sign on each side. If you use liquid fuel you first need to prime the stove. Make sure the on-sign on the bottle faces up and turn on the valve for a couple of seconds and then close it again. Then light the stove. When the flames have almost died out, slowly turn on the valve to let more fuel out. If the stove is hot enough you should get a nice blue flame. To put the stove out, turn the bottle around, so the off-sigh is facing up. The fuel in the tube will burn up, and it will depressurize the fuel bottle. Close the valve after this, and unscrew the bottle.

My usage

There is something almost sentimental about the Trangias. It’s the first stove I’ve used, as a boy scout lending my parents stove. For a long time I basically though it was the only stove out there.

I bought the 25-series on my first hike in Norway. I really had no idea that there where different options at the time, and thought everything Trangia was the same. So I went on a hike, using a stove-set for 3-4 persons for just boiling water for freeze dried food. I do still use it however, when I’m out with the family on day hikes or car camping tips.

The Trangia Mini was the second stove I bought, and my first lightweight stove.

I wanted to use a gas canister stove instead and didn’t come to use the Mini that much. It is however compact and fairly lightweight. I do recommend a separate windshield, since the pot stand is only a windshield by name.

I bought the 27-series and the Multifuel X2 burner when I planned to go to Greenland, where it can be hard to find gas canisters. I wanted the hard anodized aluminum since they doesn’t scratch as easy, and you could use sand and other stuff like that to clean it out. I haven’t used it that much, but it has come to use when I’ve been out in the colder seasons. I should have brought it when I was in Tresticklan in January, since it was too cold for my gas, and I barely could get a flame.

I like the stoves. They’re really stable, and the windshields makes for a very fuel efficient burn, even in very windy conditions. The stability makes them good when you got small kids around. They’re suitable for real cooking. The negative thing with them is the bulk and the weight. If you don’t do any real cooking, but just boil water, there are a lot lighter options. I mostly use my FireMaple 116T (48g) with a Toaks 750ml pot (113g).

The gram geek in me has a hard time recommend them, but there is something with Trangias that just makes me want to use them. They are really good quality, and if weight isn’t a priority, or you like to expand your outdoor cooking to more than just boiling water, I’d recommend them. I do prefer the hard anodized aluminum version though.

Cumulus Junior 250 – first impressions

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear, Reviews5 Comments

I’ve been looking for a dedicated sleeping bag for my youngest daughter. She’s two years old, and I have bought cheap Aegismax quilts and sleeping bags for the rest of the family. But since C is a lot smaller, and basically the only family member that likes to join me in the woods (Outside of car camping), I thought I’d get her a dedicated kids sleeping bag.

The Cumulus Junior comes in two versions, the 150 and the 250, which states how much down it has in it. They both come with 700cuin down as standard. The 250 has a comfort temperature of 9°C. The fabric is made from 35g/m2 Pertex Quantum. I prefer the thicker 35g/m2 to the 27g/m2 that I have in my Quilt 350. Especially since it’ll be used by a kid that might not go so easy on the gear.

I made a custom order of the 250 with 850cuin down. This gives it an estimated comfort temperature of 5°C, according to Cumulus. With a thick fleece base layer I think it’ll be ok down to freezing. She has always slept really good outside, in her stroller, with just a thick base layer and a knitted wool blanket. I could also bring the Aegismax Wind Hard Tiny as an extra layer over the sleeping bag for insurance.

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Since it was a custom order it took a few weeks for it to arrive. As with my other products from Cumulus it has a feeling of high quality, and it lofts up fine. There is a tag on the baffle along the zipper that states the cuin of the down. It comes with a small stuff sack, and a larger mesh storage bag.img_0490img_0491

In the foot end there’s a draw cord. You could stuff the lower end of the sleeping bag into itself, and close the draw cord. That way you get a shorter sleeping bag, with less air to heat up, that is suitable for smaller children.

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Cumulus Junior 250

The weight of the sleeping bag is 520g. It suitable for kids up to 140cm.

As it is now I’m just waiting for the temperature to warm up a bit before I bring C along again. Winter still holds a firm grip of Sweden, and night temps dropped down to -16°C just a few nights ago. I don’t want to risk exposing her to those temps, and give her memories of he outdoors as the place where you’d freeze your ass off.

Tweaking gear and shedding weight

On By Småland OutdoorIn Gear, Lightweight philisophy4 Comments

It’s no secret that I really like my Tentipi Olivin. It was love at first sight, and I don’t regret buying it. It is however a lot heavier than my the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 that I owned before I bought this shelter.

The Ultamid, with pegs, all the guylines attached, polycro groundsheet and polestraps weighted just under 1000g.

My Tentipi Olivin with the 3F UL Gear floor weighs 2325g.

The gram geek in me just couldn’t let that stand, so I looked at ways to reduce weight.

There are 12 perimeter anchor points, and 6 guylines. I had 18 Y-pegs, but changed 6 of them to Toaks Shepard Hooks. They weigh less than half of a Y-peg.

I also ordered Hyperlite Mountain Gear polestraps to use my trekking poles instead of the dedicated center pole. The centerpole with its bag weighs 484g. The polestraps weighs 36g.

I’ve switched the original tent bag for my Luxe Outdoor stuff sack that weighs 22g instead of 67g.

I’ll also skip the bag with the repairkit and the pitching aid, which saves me 29g.

With this setup my shelter weighs a lot less:

  • Tentipi Olivin fly: 1161g
  • HMG polestraps: 36g
  • Pegs + bag: 214g
  • 3F UL gear floor: 320g
  • Tent bag: 22g
  • Total: 1753g

I could save 220g more if I use my polycro groundsheet instead of the silnylon floor.

That’s it. With a few simple moves I could reduce 572g from my shelter system, with another 220g easily removed if I want to.

It still not a UL shelter if you count it as a one person shelter. But it’s still quite a lot lighter than before. I’ll try this new setup the next time I’m out.

Other than that I ordered a Hyperlite Mountain Gear stuff sack pillow when I ordered the pole straps. The stuff sack pillow weighs the same as the old stuff sack that I used to store my down jacket in, but I can skip the inflatable pillow, which sheds another 49g of my base weight. Hopefully it’ll also improve my sleep, as the air pillow isn’t that comfortable.

Over and out from the gram geek.