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Black Diamond Tents |
Black Diamond makes some seriously bombproof tents, bivys, and shelters for light and fast backpacking and mountaineering. Basically, Black Diamond tents break down into four categories: Doublelight tents, Superlight tents, tarp shelters, and bivy bags. Let me tell you about them. First off, there's the Doublelight Series tents. The name Doublelight comes from the fact that these tents incorporate a double-walled mesh/nylon architecture that stand up to all-weather conditions. I figured that Doublelight thing out all by myself, and I'm pretty proud of it. Anyway, the Doublelight Series also uses a fast-pitch hub that integrates the entire frame into one unit, making the shelter solid and secure. Check out 4-season tents in the series, like the Black Diamond Stormtrack Tent, or 3-season tents, like the Black Diamond Oasis Tent or Black Diamond Vista Shelter. Next in line is the Superlight Series tents. Black Diamond Superlight Series tents are made with their proprietary single-layer breathable fabric, NanoShield™. NanoShield is incredibly water-resistant. We're taking the highest water column rating of any breathable single-layer, single-wall fabric. That's a pretty big deal. It's so water-resistant thanks to its Silicone Nanocell coating, which allows the fabric to remain soft, packable and super light. Silicone Nanocell is also impressively strong and tear resistant, making it awesome for high winds and abrasion resistance. The Superlight Series tents are all 4-season, so they're ideal for alpine use when you've gotta pack super light. Hence the name. Check out the Black Diamond Skylight Tent if you want everyone to like you. My boss told me I have to write about Black Diamond tarp shelters, now. They're pretty much the minimalist tents. We're talking tents that weigh no more than 3 lbs. 6 oz. Black Diamond shelters use your trekking poles or ski poles as tent poles, so there's even less weight to carry. I guess the way it's supposed to work is you pick a shelter, like the Mega Light, Beta Light, or Betamid. I'd suggest eeny-meeny-miney-moe. After that, you can get extras for your shelter. Pick up the Mega Bug or Beta Bug, and you'll have a bathtub floor and bug netting. Or you can pick up the bathtub floor by itself for your tent. It's all very complicated. For the ultimate lightweight backpacking tent, you're gonna want to check out a Black Diamond Bivy. These single-person shelters provide 4-season protection and are pretty much going to fit wherever you fit. The Black Diamond Twilight Bivy is the most minimal, and features NanoShield fabric construction. The Spotlight Bivy as NanoShield, too, but also a single pole for headroom. The Black Diamond Hooped Bivy is made with ToddTex fabric, and features a hooped design (duh). Black Diamond's roomiest and most stable bivy is, hands down, the Tripod Bivy. Three poles create room above your head and feet in the Tripod, and it's made with ToddTex, too. I've never really understood what "hands down" means. |
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