Now, this is a tent review! You really made me consider getting this tent. I already got an Olpro Pioneer, but this trsting really made me think of a backup tent. Thanks for an awesome test! 👍
You are welcome 😊. It is a fabulous tent and is very comfortable to live in. In this video I probably pushed it to its limit, and over what it is designed to do. In order to not ruin it, I have decided to keep it for 3 season use, which it is perfect for. I hope you enjoy yours, and thank you very much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate your support 👍
Thank you 😊 The tent did a great job considering these were not conditions it was designed for, and the space you get in it is amazing. Thank you for watching and commenting, and I hope you have a great weekend 👍
Nice video John - very windy out there! I am a big fan of the MSR Access range and have the 1 and 2 person version, absolutely love them especially in winter
Thanks Andy 👍. I have my eye on the Access 2 person tent for when I retire my Vango Torridon 200 tent. I have seen some great reviews of it. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment 👍 🙂
Thanks Tony. I always feel safe in my tent once I've zipped it all up. As you say listening to rain fall on your tent is very relaxing (once you know it doesn't leak of course) 🙂
Well Done John lots of Respect to you going out in winter on your own in Tricky Condition’s i also have the same tent but only use in Spring/Summer Keep on doing what you do Good Job Sir 👍👍👍
I think I should get in the habit of taking ear plugs with me, although I generally prefer to be able to hear what is going on around me. The tent did well though. I am in the process of gradually reducing the bend in the pole, although in reality I think the bend is more of a cosmetic than functional problem.
It certainly was Brian. Funnily enough Mark I also watched it and thought I was going to be blown of the hill in my tent. Best Wishes to you and yours this Christmas 🎄 🙂
I’m glad you survived the night Jon 👌. That looked like a good test of the MSR. Pebbles and Poppet said that you had ‘bad wind’ on their Facebook page, but intimated it had nothing to do with the weather 😉🙂
I just thought I'd let you know that Miss Camping Astronomer (who is now at uni) got all excited when she saw your comment. She watches my videos and reads the comments. She thought I'd created a Facebook page for the cats 🤣🤣
@@thecampingastronomer8554 Oh bless her 😊🤗. I think it’s a great idea 😁… it will help her keep tabs on the P’s if they’re on FB! Best of luck at uni Miss Camping Astronomer 🤞👌
certainly a good test for the tent John 14hrs is a long time I remember camping on the south downs way through storm Francis didnt get much sleep atb daz
The tent did very well. I am going to pitch it in the garden tomorrow to make sure that the bent pole is only cosmetic damage. It looks like it is just permanently bent to the curvature that it has when installed. It is surprising how windy it can get on the Downs. I guess that a lot if it is quite exposed though, so if it is windy there is not much shelter.
Thanks Gary 👍🙂. From what I have seen, the Cloud Peak 2 is a very popular tent, and deservedly so I think. Thanks very much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it.
Good stuff, I waiting for the green colour to come back in stock. I going to buy it primarily for the WHW. I originally was looking at the much lighter Big agnes copper spur but they look too fragile. Saw a review on the copper spur and guy said its a great tent but it ripped on first camp! I really like the look of the Elixir porch seems a great design.
Thank you 😊. It is a great tent and quite robust. The porch is fantastic, loads of space. I really like the look of the silver one, but I do a lot if my camping in the South East where you really need a green tent to hide away. Good luck on the WHW 👍
Wow, it sounds like the tent did really well. I think this model is great value for money, and is often overlooked in favour of the more expensive MSR options.
If pole isn't bent too much, don't even try to fix it mate. I've got a Terra Nova quasar that is 20 years old and has had Bent poles for the most of its life following a trip to Glencoe in winter..........its seen loads of abuse since and has been fine. ATB 👍
Nice Vid John. Looked like the tent held up well. If your ever up for another winter camp on the downs let me know if you want another partner in crime . Still looking to do my first winter camp . Atb Graham 👍
If you use trekking poles, you can use them to prop up the ends of the short cross pole to strengthen the structure so the tent doesn't fold in on you, I've been doing this for years with my elixir 3 and it makes a massive difference. It appears terra nova has pinched my idea in their new tents lol.
I also have these early sunset problems of being all fed and ready for bed at 7 🤦🏻♂️ sounds like that MSR struggled a little with the wind, sorry to hear about the bent pole.
The Elixir tent isn't really designed as a winter tent. They have their Access range for that, so in reality the tent did about as well as I could expect. Normally in those conditions I would be in my Torridon 200 tent which has much thicker poles and much less mesh to keep the warmth in. I'll put the inner up tomorrow to make sure that the bend in the pole doesn't effect the tent at all. Thanks very much for watching and commenting 👍 😀
Hi Mark. I think it is a matter of knowing what your gear can cope with and having had experience of poor conditions before. Although this tent is not a winter tent (it's too ventilated for that) it should be able to cope with reasonable levels of wind. Had it got to 60 mph winds I think it would fail. If a tent is securely pegged down, then the most likely failure is a broken pole. Here you would have the choice of sitting it out till morning or deciding to bail out and go home. In this case I was only half an hours walk from the car, so I could have picked either option if the need arose. On this trip I was more worried that my sleeping bag wouldn't be warm enough. In reality it was fine and I actually got a reasonable night's sleep despite the conditions.
"slightly more interesting night" - now that is one way to put it:) Does the MSR come with an extra pole; or is that something you must purchase as an extra? My winter tent is the Hilleberg Soulo as it has a strong resistance to wind and snow; but it is a tight fit and needs good camp drill in winter. In my place the snow makes the nights much brighter, so it is possible to keep hiking when dark if conditions are good and the terrain is safe. So 14 hours will only happen if the weather is rotten.
This particular tent is not really a winter tent, so it can't take an extra pole. In an ideal world I would like a Hilleberg Soulo, or even better an Allak 2. As you say, the Soulo needs a good camp routine I think. Either tents can cope with any conditions in the UK, perhaps apart from tge 160 km/h winds the north had a couple of weeks ago.
@@thecampingastronomer8554 That is what I love about Hilleberg - there is a spare part to fix a broken pole stitched into the pouch for the poles. A very useful thing. I think the Soulo can deal with really rough weather, but for 160 km/h winds you would need to know your camp drill and not experience a change in the wind direction. I used the Alto when I lived in the benign south; but up here I carry the extra weight for safety:)
Hi Alan I did actually get some decent sleep. Once I have closed the doors down of my tent, and shut the inner one I always feel safe and secure, which sounds odd given the battering the tent was taking. Although I didn't have ear plugs, red wine helped 🤣. Working for an outdoor store is handy as we get a staff discount. Trouble is, I've used my allowance up now and it's not reset until April.
I was fine in this bag, but the minimum temperature at my location was still 6 - 7 deg, so not very cold. I slept in merino wool base layer and a pair of socks. I wouldn't like to use it below 4 or 5 deg as I know that it would be too cold for me. The bag has been used as a spring/summer bag with night temperatures of about 12 deg and worked well. In general I would use this at temperatures between say 7 and 12 deg. I'll probably do a review of it in a couple of weeks.
This made me nervous for you even knowing you obviously did fine. I grew up in tornado alley in the US so storms from the safety of my home don't feel safe to me. I tip my hat to you. I think there's something distinctly English about facing what most would consider potentially life threatening without visibly flinching. What did you do about that bent pole?
Hi Franchesca, thank you for watching 🙂. I think that the typical storms you are used to are on a much higher level than those we usually get. On the night of this video the gusts were around 40 mph or so. This is a level of wind that makes walking very difficult and makes life difficult for tents, but probably looks and sounds much more severe It makes for a challenging night out but not life threatening. However, we do get the odd night where the wind becomes much stronger, and every winter winds of 60 - 80 mph occur on our mountain tops. In fact, the week prior to this video being filmed saw a storm with 98 mph winds. My equipment is OK at around 40 mph, but not much more, so I tend to limit my winter trips accordingly. As you say, there were quite a number of people here who deliberately go out in very bad weather to see if their gear can cope. In general these people are using equipment specifically designed for these sorts of conditions, and have a lot of experience. There is always a bit of debate about this though, as you don't want to get yourself in a position where to need to call out mountain rescue and put their lives at risk. As far as my tent pole goes, I bent it back a little way and then left it. I think that the damage is more cosmetic than anything else. As it happens I will be out again tomorrow night. I notice that the general wind speed is meant to be 25 mph with 45 moh gusts. I will be in a stronger tent tomorrow so hope for no bent poles. Thanks again for watching and commenting, I enjoyed reading and replying to it.
@@franny5295 Hi Franchesca, yes I will be filming it. I am probably going to do a video combining tomorrow's wild camp with a long term review of my sleeping mat from inside my tent My plan is to upload this on Saturday early evening 👍🙂
Yes, I think it was a little bit too windy for this tent. However, it stood up to it well. I have got a section of pole that is a bit misshapen, but I think this was from the constant 25 -30 mph winds rather than the stronger gusts. I am trying to reduce the bend a little by bending it back a short way. The main issue with the tent in these conditions was the amount of cold air that was being blown in through the large mesh sections of the inner. However, I did get some decent sleep so I can't complain 👍
@@pliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii unfortunately, here in the South East of the UK we haven't had decent snow for several years. Our winters tend to be wet and windy 🙂
@@thecampingastronomer8554 i just came bacj from camping with the MSR elixir 1 that i just bought and i really.liked it. It went down to 4 degrees two nights in a row and it isnt the best for that kind of cold tho. But i still liked it
Massive respect for getting out in this mate, really good video. I own the MSR Elixir 1 and its a fantastic tent 👍
Thanks 👍. I found your channel a couple of weeks ago looking at videos on the tent and subscribed. You have put yours to good use by the look of it 🙂
Now, this is a tent review!
You really made me consider getting this tent.
I already got an Olpro Pioneer, but this trsting really made me think of a backup tent.
Thanks for an awesome test! 👍
You are welcome 😊. It is a fabulous tent and is very comfortable to live in. In this video I probably pushed it to its limit, and over what it is designed to do. In order to not ruin it, I have decided to keep it for 3 season use, which it is perfect for.
I hope you enjoy yours, and thank you very much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate your support 👍
Brilliant video John. Great to see the Elixir put through its paces in the wind. Love the calmness despite the amount of movement going on. Great job
Thank you 😊 The tent did a great job considering these were not conditions it was designed for, and the space you get in it is amazing.
Thank you for watching and commenting, and I hope you have a great weekend 👍
Really really Loves the vibes, camping in a windy or raining situation is such a great feeling.
I agree with you. Lying in a tent listening to the rain falling I very relaxing. Thank you very much for watching and commenting 🙂
Cheers mate a Fantastic review of the tent. Just bought one and looking forward to geting out in it👍
Hope you enjoy your tent Pat 😊
Nice video John - very windy out there! I am a big fan of the MSR Access range and have the 1 and 2 person version, absolutely love them especially in winter
Thanks Andy 👍. I have my eye on the Access 2 person tent for when I retire my Vango Torridon 200 tent. I have seen some great reviews of it.
Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment 👍 🙂
Well done John👍👍 - I love the sound of wind and rain when I'm tucked up safely in the tent...another top video - T🙂
Thanks Tony. I always feel safe in my tent once I've zipped it all up. As you say listening to rain fall on your tent is very relaxing (once you know it doesn't leak of course) 🙂
Well Done John lots of Respect to you going out in winter on your own in Tricky Condition’s i also have the same tent but only use in Spring/Summer Keep on doing what you do Good Job Sir 👍👍👍
Thanks for watching John, and taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it 😀 👍
Certainly a good solid looking tent John and like you say livable. It's always so hard sleeping when it's windy.
I think I should get in the habit of taking ear plugs with me, although I generally prefer to be able to hear what is going on around me.
The tent did well though. I am in the process of gradually reducing the bend in the pole, although in reality I think the bend is more of a cosmetic than functional problem.
That was some night John! Quite remarkable how much protection the tent provided, and all seemed very still inside.
It certainly was Brian. Funnily enough Mark I also watched it and thought I was going to be blown of the hill in my tent.
Best Wishes to you and yours this Christmas 🎄 🙂
@@thecampingastronomer8554 Mark I, UFO spotted on South Downs!
Obviously same to you and yours and hope to meet up sometime soon.
Great review of the tent in real world conditions, it's really useful to see. We have a torridon too and it's a brilliant winter tent 👍
Thanks John, much appreciated. I'm looking forward to going out in my Torridon again shortly 🙂
I’m glad you survived the night Jon 👌. That looked like a good test of the MSR. Pebbles and Poppet said that you had ‘bad wind’ on their Facebook page, but intimated it had nothing to do with the weather 😉🙂
🤣🤣🤣
I just thought I'd let you know that Miss Camping Astronomer (who is now at uni) got all excited when she saw your comment. She watches my videos and reads the comments.
She thought I'd created a Facebook page for the cats 🤣🤣
@@thecampingastronomer8554 Oh bless her 😊🤗. I think it’s a great idea 😁… it will help her keep tabs on the P’s if they’re on FB!
Best of luck at uni Miss Camping Astronomer 🤞👌
@@h.bsfaithfulservant4136 I think you could be on to something there 🙂
certainly a good test for the tent John 14hrs is a long time I remember camping on the south downs way through storm Francis didnt get much sleep atb daz
The tent did very well. I am going to pitch it in the garden tomorrow to make sure that the bent pole is only cosmetic damage. It looks like it is just permanently bent to the curvature that it has when installed.
It is surprising how windy it can get on the Downs. I guess that a lot if it is quite exposed though, so if it is windy there is not much shelter.
I use the cloud peak 2 cracking tent for the money . Great vid John 👍
Thanks Gary 👍🙂. From what I have seen, the Cloud Peak 2 is a very popular tent, and deservedly so I think. Thanks very much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it.
Good stuff, I waiting for the green colour to come back in stock. I going to buy it primarily for the WHW. I originally was looking at the much lighter Big agnes copper spur but they look too fragile. Saw a review on the copper spur and guy said its a great tent but it ripped on first camp!
I really like the look of the Elixir porch seems a great design.
Thank you 😊. It is a great tent and quite robust. The porch is fantastic, loads of space. I really like the look of the silver one, but I do a lot if my camping in the South East where you really need a green tent to hide away. Good luck on the WHW 👍
I used mine in 59 mph wind.i was bone dry inside 😁 I also have a double windscreen tarp to live outside when I camp(it was hammering down with rain )
Wow, it sounds like the tent did really well. I think this model is great value for money, and is often overlooked in favour of the more expensive MSR options.
If pole isn't bent too much, don't even try to fix it mate. I've got a Terra Nova quasar that is 20 years old and has had Bent poles for the most of its life following a trip to Glencoe in winter..........its seen loads of abuse since and has been fine. ATB 👍
Thanks for the tip, much appreciated 👍.
That must have quite a trip out to bend the poles on a Quasar.
Nice Vid John.
Looked like the tent held up well.
If your ever up for another winter camp on the downs let me know if you want another partner in crime .
Still looking to do my first winter camp .
Atb Graham 👍
Hi Graham, I'll let you know next time I'm out on the Downs 🙂
Ive got the Elixr 3 ,cracking tent just need to get it out in a bit more ,packs down well for my motorbike camping
Fantastic 👍🙂. I think the Elixir is a great tent. Thanks for watching and commenting Rick, much appreciated.
If you use trekking poles, you can use them to prop up the ends of the short cross pole to strengthen the structure so the tent doesn't fold in on you, I've been doing this for years with my elixir 3 and it makes a massive difference. It appears terra nova has pinched my idea in their new tents lol.
Hey, that's a great idea, thank you. I use poles, so this will be very useful. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment 🙂👍
@@thecampingastronomer8554 you can buy pole end mushrooms with slots in to add Velcro straps to make them fit solid👍🏻
@@trooperwolfie brilliant 😊👍
I also have these early sunset problems of being all fed and ready for bed at 7 🤦🏻♂️ sounds like that MSR struggled a little with the wind, sorry to hear about the bent pole.
The Elixir tent isn't really designed as a winter tent. They have their Access range for that, so in reality the tent did about as well as I could expect. Normally in those conditions I would be in my Torridon 200 tent which has much thicker poles and much less mesh to keep the warmth in.
I'll put the inner up tomorrow to make sure that the bend in the pole doesn't effect the tent at all.
Thanks very much for watching and commenting 👍 😀
Great video and very helpful, thank you.
Glad you found it useful 👍
I'm impressed John how you remained calm as the wind increased! Did you ever start to get nervous if conditions had worsened even further?
Hi Mark. I think it is a matter of knowing what your gear can cope with and having had experience of poor conditions before. Although this tent is not a winter tent (it's too ventilated for that) it should be able to cope with reasonable levels of wind. Had it got to 60 mph winds I think it would fail. If a tent is securely pegged down, then the most likely failure is a broken pole. Here you would have the choice of sitting it out till morning or deciding to bail out and go home.
In this case I was only half an hours walk from the car, so I could have picked either option if the need arose.
On this trip I was more worried that my sleeping bag wouldn't be warm enough. In reality it was fine and I actually got a reasonable night's sleep despite the conditions.
"slightly more interesting night" - now that is one way to put it:) Does the MSR come with an extra pole; or is that something you must purchase as an extra? My winter tent is the Hilleberg Soulo as it has a strong resistance to wind and snow; but it is a tight fit and needs good camp drill in winter. In my place the snow makes the nights much brighter, so it is possible to keep hiking when dark if conditions are good and the terrain is safe. So 14 hours will only happen if the weather is rotten.
This particular tent is not really a winter tent, so it can't take an extra pole. In an ideal world I would like a Hilleberg Soulo, or even better an Allak 2. As you say, the Soulo needs a good camp routine I think. Either tents can cope with any conditions in the UK, perhaps apart from tge 160 km/h winds the north had a couple of weeks ago.
@@thecampingastronomer8554 That is what I love about Hilleberg - there is a spare part to fix a broken pole stitched into the pouch for the poles. A very useful thing. I think the Soulo can deal with really rough weather, but for 160 km/h winds you would need to know your camp drill and not experience a change in the wind direction. I used the Alto when I lived in the benign south; but up here I carry the extra weight for safety:)
Did you sleep?
You need some earplugs.
You have some nice kit, presumably you get a discount from working in-store?
Hi Alan
I did actually get some decent sleep. Once I have closed the doors down of my tent, and shut the inner one I always feel safe and secure, which sounds odd given the battering the tent was taking. Although I didn't have ear plugs, red wine helped 🤣.
Working for an outdoor store is handy as we get a staff discount. Trouble is, I've used my allowance up now and it's not reset until April.
@@thecampingastronomer8554 iam gonna look for part time job in a camping shop🤔
@@alanrobinson2229 fantastic 👍. I am semi retired so I do about 20 hours a week.
This is adventurous! Nice video, stay connected! 🙂
Thank you 😊. I just subscribed to your channel 👍
@@thecampingastronomer8554 thank you so much stay connected friend☺️
Nice tent and good video thanks
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks very much for watching and commenting 👍 🙂
Would the tent survive being stored very tightly in a compression bag (-the poles) while trekking?
I have never tried this, but I don't see why not. People often remove the poles and pegs and put the fabric into a different, smaller, bag.
Nice one John. How did you find the sleeping bag? First bag u ever git that was, had it down to 6 and froze. Resigned to summer months now. 😂👍
I was fine in this bag, but the minimum temperature at my location was still 6 - 7 deg, so not very cold. I slept in merino wool base layer and a pair of socks. I wouldn't like to use it below 4 or 5 deg as I know that it would be too cold for me. The bag has been used as a spring/summer bag with night temperatures of about 12 deg and worked well. In general I would use this at temperatures between say 7 and 12 deg. I'll probably do a review of it in a couple of weeks.
This is really wonderful
Big like. 41
Thank you 😊. I've popped over to your channel and subscribed as it looks like you have some nice content 👍
@@thecampingastronomer8554 Aww. Thank you so much my friend.
I will surely go back for more!
This made me nervous for you even knowing you obviously did fine. I grew up in tornado alley in the US so storms from the safety of my home don't feel safe to me. I tip my hat to you. I think there's something distinctly English about facing what most would consider potentially life threatening without visibly flinching. What did you do about that bent pole?
Hi Franchesca, thank you for watching 🙂.
I think that the typical storms you are used to are on a much higher level than those we usually get.
On the night of this video the gusts were around 40 mph or so. This is a level of wind that makes walking very difficult and makes life difficult for tents, but probably looks and sounds much more severe It makes for a challenging night out but not life threatening. However, we do get the odd night where the wind becomes much stronger, and every winter winds of 60 - 80 mph occur on our mountain tops. In fact, the week prior to this video being filmed saw a storm with 98 mph winds.
My equipment is OK at around 40 mph, but not much more, so I tend to limit my winter trips accordingly.
As you say, there were quite a number of people here who deliberately go out in very bad weather to see if their gear can cope. In general these people are using equipment specifically designed for these sorts of conditions, and have a lot of experience. There is always a bit of debate about this though, as you don't want to get yourself in a position where to need to call out mountain rescue and put their lives at risk.
As far as my tent pole goes, I bent it back a little way and then left it. I think that the damage is more cosmetic than anything else.
As it happens I will be out again tomorrow night. I notice that the general wind speed is meant to be 25 mph with 45 moh gusts. I will be in a stronger tent tomorrow so hope for no bent poles.
Thanks again for watching and commenting, I enjoyed reading and replying to it.
@@thecampingastronomer8554 I hope you film it! And that makes sense. I'll be watching for it!!!
@@franny5295 Hi Franchesca, yes I will be filming it. I am probably going to do a video combining tomorrow's wild camp with a long term review of my sleeping mat from inside my tent My plan is to upload this on Saturday early evening 👍🙂
@@thecampingastronomer8554 Outstanding! Be safe and have fun 😁
The tent took a battering did it John? Did u sleep well ha I've got a compact helm 1 be interesting how that manages in the wind, atb nick 👍
Yes, I think it was a little bit too windy for this tent. However, it stood up to it well. I have got a section of pole that is a bit misshapen, but I think this was from the constant 25 -30 mph winds rather than the stronger gusts. I am trying to reduce the bend a little by bending it back a short way.
The main issue with the tent in these conditions was the amount of cold air that was being blown in through the large mesh sections of the inner.
However, I did get some decent sleep so I can't complain 👍
@@thecampingastronomer8554 well at least u tried it in the winter so you know how well it performed
@@nicholasromans5816 this is true 🙂.
You didn't use all the storm lines mate
I think I pegged out all of the guy lines, but it got dark as I was putting it up, so may have missed one.
thats not what i call winter lol
@@pliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii unfortunately, here in the South East of the UK we haven't had decent snow for several years. Our winters tend to be wet and windy 🙂
@@thecampingastronomer8554 i just came bacj from camping with the MSR elixir 1 that i just bought and i really.liked it. It went down to 4 degrees two nights in a row and it isnt the best for that kind of cold tho. But i still liked it