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MEC TGV Tent

I've got my eye on that one as well....don't know if you get their paper catalogue, but there is a bit of info in an article about the guy who helped to develop and test it.
 
It's interesting how tents like boats seem to often be products of cross-pollenation. I've been looking on campmor's site and the variety available is baffling.
My current tent is a tarn3 and as much as I like it I'm wishing I had a tent with 2 doors and 2 vestibules,[for better venting]. I only use it for 3 season camping so good ventilation is a priority. I really like the MSR line but either way you'll probably end up with something made by political prisoners in china.

good luck
 
hi guys,

the best tent i ever had (i owned 10 in total) was a tent from www.vaude.com . the mark 2. i used this tent on a 10 month bicycle trip in snow, heavy rain,winds up to 90 km/h, and lots of uv. the big benefit of this baby is, that the inner tent is attached to the fly and it can't get wet when you have to set it up . freestanding, lots of room and the quality is out standing! http://www.vaude.de/hps/client/vaude/pu ... outdoor/en

i'm not shure who is selling it around here...... but i could show you mine :wink:
 
the TGV looks A LOT like our Asolo Raptor. except different canopy(theirs is all nylon, our's is partially nylon with lots of mesh. and the raptor doesn't have a window( which would be nice to have to see what the hell the crows are doing with our garbage or what is that animal wandering around the camp,without unzipping the fly)
I honestly think the ventilation will suck ass and it will condensate a lot because of the canopy being almost all nylon except for the mesh door. should be a warm tent though. warmth and ventilation almost always a tradeoff, unless made variable by design.
 
The TGV is a three pole, lighter version of the Lightfield (it uses the same fabric as the lightfield but lacks the extra vestible and has slightly lighter poles).

There's actually a mesh roof panel as well as the front door so I think ventilation will be adequate (it's difficult to see in the catalogue photo but you can see a small piece of netting at the back -- similar to the mesh vent on the top of the Lightfield).

Either way, I'm sure to find out if ventilation is adequate very soon as I ordered one today. I ended up having to get one shipped from the Ottawa store (it was their last one in stock) to Vancouver and will pick it up at the end of next week. They won't have any more in stock until the middle of December -- it seems that this new tent has been quite popular.

After I've had a chance to try it out a few times, I'll give a report of what I think of it.

*****
 
good for ya. fingers crossed you'll have better luck ordering from mec than me.
my story ordering a kayak from them went like this :
order kayak, made by Ocean Kayak in washington just by Abby. they said its 2 weeks and its coming from abby, i said fine.
2 weeks later, no news, no kayak, i started calling some people, from about 4 people i got 2 stories, one saying its coming from Abby warehouse, one saying its stuck at the border. Called Ocean Kayak, they said they have that model/color in stock at warehouse, they do have an abby warehouse, and even if coming from the states, they never get stuck at the border.
One more week goes by, no kayak still, i kill the order and take back deposit.
2.5 weeks later , i get a call from MEC, they tell me my boat arrived at the store and ready for me to come pick it up.
i'll never order anything from them again but would still buy stuff off-the-shelf because mec is just cool to go to.
 
Woohoo! I got a call from MEC yesterday and picked up the tent this morning. I've set it up in my backyard and it looks pretty good. The quality appears very good and I think the venting will be adequate. I'll be trying it out this coming weekend, but the forecast is for sunny skies -- hopefully, we'll have some rain the next weekend. :D

tgv-tent.jpg


*****
 
Dan_Millsip said:
hopefully, we'll have some rain the next weekend. :D

Bah, humbug!

I'll tell you what - let's wish for good weather and I'll dump a bucket of water on your tent. :p :?

I could make a different offer that involves drinking a lot of tea, but this is a family site after all. 8O
 
The shed is about 8 x 10 and has wood siding (and a fairly new roof). The house has vinyl siding.

The tent is 75-denier taffeta polyester, polyurethane-coated for waterproofness to 2000mm.

*****
 
Dan_Millsip said:
The shed ... has wood siding. The house has vinyl siding.

Damn I'm good. 8) :p

The tent is 75-denier taffeta polyester, polyurethane-coated for waterproofness to 2000mm.

So, if we get more than 7 feet of rain overnight, your tent might leak? :roll: j/k - I know what the ratings mean.

Sounds impressive! Between the 2000mm waterproofing on the tent and the new roof on the shed, I think you've got your rainstorm accomodations covered!
 
Break out the Visa card. :p

A few things that I've observed about the tent:

It's really easy and quick for one person to set up.

I left it out in the backyard overnight to get rid of that "new tent" smell -- this morning, although completely covered in dew, the tent was just as taut as it was the night before. And the new tent smell is gone. :D

For two people, I'd say this tent is not cramped but it's not roomy either. I'll mostly be using this tent solo, so space shouldn't be a problem -- for one person this tent has lots of room. And the height is good too -- no problem sitting up.

The windows in the vestible are very, very cool. It's nice to be able to peek outside when the fly is on.

One niggly little thing that I've noticed is that there is a triangular flap over the junction of the two zippers at the bottom of the main door. From inside the tent, you have to pull the flap back to get the zippers all the way closed. Not a big deal, but it will take a little getting used to.

I"m taking my youngest daughter camping tomorrow night and will give the tent it's first field test.

Did I mention that I really like new gear?

*****
 
I just did as well as my old MEC Pingo was simply taking up too much space (that is how I am explaining it to myself anyway, the real reason is that I was on the internet and bored :) ).
 
Sorry to hear about your ordering woes, Rider. I live in Edmonton and our MEC stock on hand is absolutely pathetic! Never have anything in stock, so ordering it is. There are alternatives, though. I ordered some fleece for the wife. Real short notice for a river trip. Got an E-Mail back saying: Back Ordered; 8 to 10 weeks delay (!) Called the various MEC Stores, found the fleece in the new North Van store. Asked to transfer to Edmonton store; they said 10 to 14 days (!) Told them my predicament (gotta keep wifey warm; NEED the fleece!) so they charged it to my card, and couriered it here in a day and a half. Awesome, and they really went out of their way to accomodate me. So keep the faith, baby; we gotta keep supporting the MEC or we'll be stuck with Sport Check's and their ilk. :D
Later Dude!

"Feathercraft" Andrew Klinzmann
 
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