#91 Big Sky Chinook 1p 4 Season Tent - First Impressions
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- Опубліковано 24 вер 2018
- First impression of the Big Sky International Chinook 1 person 4 season backpacking tent. There's very little video material about these so hopefully it will help potential buyers like myself.
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Thorough review as always Andy
I add some comments here as there are so few reviews of these tents.
I got Chinook 2p some weeks ago and I used it for a couple of nights in Finnish Lapland. It seemed perfect for my needs: 4-season camping at or below the treeline. The tent is quite versatile with the fly sheet edges you can roll up as Andrew showed in the video, the vents at the top and third optional pole that can be left at home. Hiking in Lapland means that you may want to use winter and summer tent during the same 5-day trip, and I think Chinook is a rare example of a tent that does both. The weight is hard to beat for 4-season tent with three poles. But I am at the moment still unsure if it was the best choice, and the choice followed some weeks of research and almost getting a Hilleberg (I tend to be a bit sloppy/flimsy when hiking/camping - I had stupidly punctured more than one tent - and I just found it uncomfortable to deal with so expensive piece of kit, even if it clearly gives you more security in snow and wind).
I had no issues with manufacturing but the stitching indeed does not look super-sturdy, the way it looks on them Hillebergs for instance. I believe that some critical seams are sealed with silicone.
The rain does get into the inner tent when you open the fly. There is a way to half-open the fly using he strap in the middle of the door and the strap next the pole normally used to completely opening the entrance. Then, the vestibule is better for cooking and gives even better ventilation. However, I believe that is coincidental not a purposeful design feature.
The tent took rain and wind well, but I also have doubts about storm winds. The sturdiness may be problematic as I expect to have it often covered with snow in winter and spring. We'll see by the New Year's. My old tent is a 3-season Polish para-military tent (no good for winter use though), and at 3 kg it was a bomb shelter able to take a lot of wet snow without guylines, so maybe my concerns are due to the fact I am not really used to lightweight fabrics.
Hard to say about condensation as we used the tent when the air was soaking with humidity. Chinook was soaking from inside in the morning, but so was an open tarp (used as a hanging-out shelter) under which no one slept. There are no condensation-free tents in that sort of conditions, I guess. But the ventilation options in Chinook are better than for most competitors.
I was actually happy not to get pegs and guylines as one tends to have those in abundance after some years of camping. However, lack of repair section is a major shortcoming.
My Chinook came with a footprint which is useful in setting the tent up without the inner tent. Weird thing is they chose white as the colour of the footprint. After two nights mine is already partly blue/violet from the bilberries. maybe it doesn't matter that much.
I guess one will have to make a proper review after a couple of trips.
A bit disturbing to see Andrew in the same tent as I have, wearing the same FR jacket I have.
Thanks for the video. Enjoy the future trips.
And to add a final sentence: the hooks for the fly work really well when you use thicker winter gloves.
Great comments Adam, i have to admit I laughed when i read we have the same kit. Great minds think alike ! Happy camping in Finnish Lapland, it sounds like bliss..best regards Andrew
How did this tent hold up after these years past? Did you ever manage to take it out in storm winds?
Looks a nice tent! Good ventilation options for a 4 season! Poles won't let you down either, featherlite nsl' are one of the best! Really enjoy your tent videos, bought a litetrek 2 a few months ago, you may remember me asking questions about it 😂hasn't let me down! Good video... atb
Hi Lewis, good to hear. This one has just had 24 hours of driving rain, no leaks, good to go this weekend. Happy camping ! A
@@AndrewParkOutdoors fantastic, can't wait for the video 🤣
That's a very nice little tent. Love the double vestibule and inner door design. I think it's better then the one on the light wave, which is great when waking up (unzip that door, enjoy the view and set some coffee to boil with leaving your bag) but it's not that inviting to stay in beyond that. This tent is a lot more open.
The external poles are great too, i love a tent that allows for the inner to be separated like that.
It does look narrow though, and I wish the mesh part would reach all the way down, whilst still having this fabric to close it up, like the hilleberg tents. And drips in tent are just bot necessary, the lightwave allready proved that.
I took the S10 on a weeklong trip btw, in norway, and it performed great. No condensation, which is no surprise given the heat last August, and surprisingly cool if you don't zip the outer door down completely. It feels very spacious indeed and it's close to perfect imo. The one thing is it's just not a very .... sociable(?) tent? I took a light stool with me and was allways sitting by my friend's hammock.
Hi, that's good to hear you have the S10 and like it too. I'm going to give this a few nights and see how it goes. You can get a mesh inner or a wider inner so it's fairly customisable. If I don't like it may return to the S10 ( which becomes the S15 next year , the 2019 S10 will be smaller and lighter apparently ) . Atb Andrew
@@AndrewParkOutdoors ok now you really have my attention :) If they have several inners this could become my new favourite tent.
An even smaller version of the s10? I'm curious where they will get that from because it's close to perfect the way it is. It's allready small, whilst feeling spacious ones you're inside and leaving a little bit of room to store those bits you want to keep close by and inside during the night. That's not space I would personally want to miss out on. If they can pull it off though :)
I was looking at the Chinook 2P tent. Binned the idea when I seen the RRP.. Almost Hilleburg/Terra Nova prices with Q.C. Issues...
Yes it's a fair point, they are not much cheaper, have to say probably a bit of an underrated brand tho, you don't see many around in the UK at least. A
@@AndrewParkOutdoors I found new brand selling on Aliexpress, called Asta Gear. They have some pretty high spec tents for around the 100 USD mark. Just ordered the crescent 2 model ..comes with 3 or 4 season option and foot print.. Thought it might interest you Andrew..Cheers anyway buddy . Enjoy your videos..
Hi Andrew, appreciate this review is from a few years back. I have been seriously considering the 2p chinook but have reservations about the waterproof ratings - floor 3000mm and fly 1500mm. Do you think this is enough for 4 season winter wild camping in the uk? See you also use the Msr Access which has low waterproof ratings. Was also looking at the Kuiu Storm Star which looks excellent. Hilleburgs are just too expensive! Any advice would be appreciated! Cheers John
Hi John, absolutely. I've never had a problem with HH ratings affecting the tent, it has always been the seams and stitching that have leaked for me. Ironically one of the worst leaks was from my Hilleberg , so don't believe everything you read :-) Personally I wouldn't worry about . A
@@AndrewParkOutdoors Thanks for the quick reply! Really enjoy your tent reviews ! Have a good New Year!
I've been searching for a light weight tent and this looks great. Read a lot of reviews saying it handles 60mph winds in its stride. However, the price is pushing my budget a little. Do you have any experience with the tarptent scarp 2? Just wondering how you thought it would compare to the chinook 2p in bad weather.
Hi Alex I had the Scarp 1 and I would say the Chinook is far sturdier and less flappy so you'll get a better nights sleep too ! A
Looks ok. Narrow ?
Hi S, I guess yes but only in comparison with the Lightwave which I'd got used to but then you get 2 decent vestibules. You can get a wider inner for it apparently , seems to be to tons of custom options, hope you're well sire.
Have a look at the Chinook 1Plus. Flexible floor plan - 2 vestibules like this one, or peg out the floor one side, sacrificing a vestibule but gaining a stack of floor space, or sacrifice both vestibules for a very large floor space.
@@NickLM2008 I might end up buying one of those inners, are they much heavier ?
What kinda price range Andrew ?
billyboy Shields $390 mate. bigskyproducts.com/big-sky-chinook-1p-tent.aspx
Worked out about 350 ex guys pegs from the European site
Ha ha. Another one.