The Stratospire Li

I'm liking this tent so far. I received it over the weekend and have pitched it every evening since. I'm loving the design, and have found no construction flaws so far. I got to ride out a small rainstorm in it last evening and it felt very storm-worthy.
Anyway, I got a lot of help from some friendly hikers online in making this decision so I wanted to reach out and answer any questions anyone may have. Ill be posting some pics this evening and would be glad to show specific detail on anything anyone wants to see, just let me know!

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Originally Posted by andymc

I'm liking this tent so far. I received it over the weekend and have pitched it every evening since. I'm loving the design, and have found no construction flaws so far. I got to ride out a small rainstorm in it last evening and it felt very storm-worthy.
Anyway, I got a lot of help from some friendly hikers online in making this decision so I wanted to reach out and answer any questions anyone may have. Ill be posting some pics this evening and would be glad to show specific detail on anything anyone wants to see, just let me know!

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I liked mine...mostly. A few construction flaws that were either rectified by TT or something I fixed myself. I actually recently did a "First Impressions" review on it on my blog which might help others too:
https://nomadicpawprints.wordpress.c...t-impressions/

Anyone use this tent with 2 people? In particular, I'm considering the SS Li for a cuddly couple, one thick guy and one petite girl. The sleeping space seems just large enough on paper, which I think might be fine given the double vestibules. I'd definitely be interested to hear about anyone's real-world experience in this regard.

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Originally Posted by DuneElliot

I liked mine...mostly. A few construction flaws that were either rectified by TT or something I fixed myself. I actually recently did a "First Impressions" review on it on my blog which might help others too:
https://nomadicpawprints.wordpress.c...t-impressions/

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DE,
Great review! I too noticed some ridgeline sag on my first pitches. I haven’t been able to get it perfectly taut with 6 stakes yet. Have you? After some practice, with 8 stakes I can get it looking like it should IMO.
Your inner does appear to have some extra sag to it. Mine is the full mesh and seems to sit a little better. Possibly due to the fabric weight? Less wind pressure? I’ll try and get some pics from the same perspective as yours. A big concern for me was feeling claustrophobic from the inner after having the single wall duplex which is also quite a bit longer. Honestly, I’m more comfortable in the SS knowing I have a condensation barrier, which is a pain in good ole’ humid Virginia. I’m 6’ and have size 14 feet, so I was often thinking of my foot box getting soaked in the duplex.
Haven’t seen any sewing issues yet. The seam construction seems much more sturdy to me than the duplex did to me, and no loose tape edges! I did notice some mildly crooked sewing on the floor to mesh seam, but that’s being a little picky and I’m sure those materials are hard to manage on a machine. The fly stitching looks awesome. I haven’t thoroughly checked the Velcro tabs yet, will do so.
Looks like you added some Zpacks guyline? Nice touch. I always liked their line feel and miss the visibility difference as well.
Thanks again!


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Originally Posted by Zalman

Anyone use this tent with 2 people? In particular, I'm considering the SS Li for a cuddly couple, one thick guy and one petite girl. The sleeping space seems just large enough on paper, which I think might be fine given the double vestibules. I'd definitely be interested to hear about anyone's real-world experience in this regard.

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My wife and I are spending a week in it later this month on the AT. I’ll let you know how it goes.
The backyard testing has gone great though. I’m 6’ 230lb and she’s 5’5” 130ish. We feel great in it. Even though the inner is minimal, the vestibules really open up the feel for two people. It seems to be a lot of personal space to me, and I like room. We use a 20 and a 25 inch pad which swallow the inner floor but it seems to function fine in that manner.


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Originally Posted by Zalman

Anyone use this tent with 2 people? In particular, I'm considering the SS Li for a cuddly couple, one thick guy and one petite girl. The sleeping space seems just large enough on paper, which I think might be fine given the double vestibules. I'd definitely be interested to hear about anyone's real-world experience in this regard.

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While it is listed as wide as the Duplex it didn't feel as wide. But it did fit the pads the same. I think it will be tight. For me it's myself (petite lady with two very spread-out dogs)

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Originally Posted by andymc

DE,
Great review! I too noticed some ridgeline sag on my first pitches. I haven’t been able to get it perfectly taut with 6 stakes yet. Have you? After some practice, with 8 stakes I can get it looking like it should IMO.
Your inner does appear to have some extra sag to it. Mine is the full mesh and seems to sit a little better. Possibly due to the fabric weight? Less wind pressure? I’ll try and get some pics from the same perspective as yours. A big concern for me was feeling claustrophobic from the inner after having the single wall duplex which is also quite a bit longer. Honestly, I’m more comfortable in the SS knowing I have a condensation barrier, which is a pain in good ole’ humid Virginia. I’m 6’ and have size 14 feet, so I was often thinking of my foot box getting soaked in the duplex.
Haven’t seen any sewing issues yet. The seam construction seems much more sturdy to me than the duplex did to me, and no loose tape edges! I did notice some mildly crooked sewing on the floor to mesh seam, but that’s being a little picky and I’m sure those materials are hard to manage on a machine. The fly stitching looks awesome. I haven’t thoroughly checked the Velcro tabs yet, will do so.
Looks like you added some Zpacks guyline? Nice touch. I always liked their line feel and miss the visibility difference as well.
Thanks again!


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I only got a taught pitch with 8 stakes...needs to be pulled out on the ridgeline for a tight pitch.

The extra weight of the solid inner should be negligble but I accept that an extra oz of fabric might be an issue. I am experimenting at this point to try and improve it. The Duplex is about 5" longer.

While the double wall is exactly the reason I went with the SS Li I did notice some condensation issues even on the inner in Wales. Ground was dry but we were in the bottom of the valley with a creek next to us. There were two dogs in the tent with me and it did dry out quickly...much quicker than the fly. I still like that I can remove the inner although it isn't easy and I'm wanting to make some mods to that.

I did add the ZPacks guyline...love that stuff and easy to work with. I also modified the pitchloc corners in order to make them adjustable, and usable with groundhog stakes.

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Originally Posted by andymc

My wife and I are spending a week in it later this month on the AT. I’ll let you know how it goes.
The backyard testing has gone great though. I’m 6’ 230lb and she’s 5’5” 130ish. We feel great in it. Even though the inner is minimal, the vestibules really open up the feel for two people. It seems to be a lot of personal space to me, and I like room. We use a 20 and a 25 inch pad which swallow the inner floor but it seems to function fine in that manner.

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Originally Posted by DuneElliot

While it is listed as wide as the Duplex it didn't feel as wide. But it did fit the pads the same. I think it will be tight. For me it's myself (petite lady with two very spread-out dogs)

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Thanks for the responses! My girlfriend might take up less space than a pair of dogs, so I'm still hopeful. And both of us are are a tad smaller than Andy and Andy's wife, so I'm anxious to hear how that month goes.

I did notice some condensation issues even on the inner in Wales. Ground was dry but we were in the bottom of the valley with a creek next to us. There were two dogs in the tent with me...

That's a condensation situation. Was it on grass or vegatation? What were the temps between day and night? Overcast?

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Originally Posted by Dogwood

I did notice some condensation issues even on the inner in Wales. Ground was dry but we were in the bottom of the valley with a creek next to us. There were two dogs in the tent with me...

That's a condensation situation. Was it on grass or vegatation? What were the temps between day and night? Overcast?

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Grass, damp earth. Temps during the day were hot, overnight was pretty cold. Night was clear. Pretty unusual contrast for the UK. I

Condensation central. DE has a blog. Just visited. All my best.

I have the silnylon Notch. Hardly the same thing, but similar styling and smaller, housing 1p with no dogs. Condensation is a very rare thing for me, and site selection has never seemed to be a factor. I break all the "rules", and have zero issues as long as there is adequate ventilation. Grassy meadows, heavy tree cover, above tree line, shores of rivers, feet from the top of a waterfall, it's all the same to me.
It has 100% been a matter of ventilation, or lack thereof, having occurred only when the fly was pitched low and with the vents closed.


Since you're using the solid inner, blocking wind has been addressed by that, so try pitching the fly higher, open the vents on the ends, maybe leave the downwind door open-anything to encourage air flow.
I have neglected to do that at times, which is probably why I had more condensation in windy SW Utah than I've ever had in the humid SE, with the exception of having the fly slammed to the ground in single digit temps. That had it "snowing" inside after heavy condensation became a sheet of ice on the underside of the fly😒

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8da0836512.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...28cff14059.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5ca12a0f7e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4ad2be1206.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...56e6a2683c.jpg

Really enjoyed the SS Li this past week. We had a good variety of campsites to test it in: Balds, cliffs, and river bottoms. Lots of wind but no rain this trip. We were very pleased with it overall. Setup seems easy now after a dozen or so pitches.
We like the feel if the interior. Having 45” of pad width fills the floor but doesn’t affect the tent design at all. We keep the innernet tension webbing straps adjusted fairly loose since we toss and turn a lot and it does great. The inner does feel a little snug, not width wise to me, but for headroom laying down. It’s not uncomfortable, and I’m getting used to it. I don’t notice these things for long cause if I’m laying down, I’m generally sleeping anyway, and I slept great in it.
I love the large vestibules. I think it’s the greatest feature of the tent, especially for 2p use. Each person has a great deal of personal dry space. I find it easy to get in and out of the tent with the offset door design.
We had very minimal condensation issues. One night at high elevation in Grayson highlands we zipped completely up to block a decent ~15mph wind through the night. The vestibule on the downwind side had some light condensation but the main body and windward vestibule had zero. I checked each morning we were out and never felt anymore on our trip. We stayed by Linville River one night and I was sure we would wake up damp, but with a door open on both sides and were bone dry in the morning.
So far for us, it’s a keeper, and I see it in my arsenal for a long time.


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