LIghtwave G20 Ultra vs G20 Trek vs Terra Nova Voyager

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 Slarti B 03 Sep 2016
I am looking for a 34 season 2 man tent, that is not too heavy, to stand up to windy cold and wet UK weather . I currently have a 2 man MH tent that is fine for summer but, like many US tents has lots of mesh and a high fly sheet which means it can get very drafty. It is also a few years old and groundsheet doesn't deal with very wet ground.

I would like a self standing, geodisicsemi-geodisic weighing around 2.5 kg (certainly under 3.0 kg) up to about £450.
I have pretty much narrowed it down to Lightwave G20 and TN Voyager. G20 is heavier (particularly Trek version) but is a bit larger and, from reviews, seems to use slightly better materials.

- Does anyone have experience of G20 or specifically G20 vs Voyager?
- Is it worth paying extra for the G20 Ultra version ?
- Any other tents I should look at?

No recommendations for Hilleberg or other tunnels please!!
 Dr.S at work 03 Sep 2016
In reply to Slarti B:

I would consider some of the vaude tents - the Taurus SUL is robust and fits the bill.
 angry pirate 03 Sep 2016
In reply to Slarti B:

I can't help much with a comparison but I had a Wild Country Voyager (I.e. before they rebranded as Terra Nova) which I used extensively for 20+ years. I found the hydrostatic head on the groundsheet to be poor but I broached this with Terra Nova far too late as it was likely a fabric fault but by the time I'd mentioned it we were into wear and tear territory. I just used a footprint.
That aside, I've used the tent in all kinds of awful weather: it was last man standing on a campsite by Tryfan, it survived multiple nights of torrential rain on the Pennine Way, it's seen blizzards, gale force winds and the semi geodesic structure has always held. It was reassuringly strong in really poor weather.
The roof is a bit too flat for winter as snow tends to sit on the roof and after wild camping in a blizzard on Lochnagar the fly had frozen to the inner where the weight of snow had forced them together (to be fair, there were 70mph winds and we had to dig the tent out of drifts every few hours) but I did trust it. The mesh panels did make it a touch chilly for full on winter camping too.
I didn't replace it with the same model as the price has skyrocketed since I bought mine and it is heavy for the use I tend to give a tent nowadays but it was a solid bit of kit.
Hope this helps!
 ScraggyGoat 03 Sep 2016
In reply to angry pirate:

I had an old voyager, when it wore out replaced it with a new one.

The new (current?) version is not nearly as good, ground sheet is even flimsier, sides have been raised and crucially the pole sleeves are now very tight. This means that threading the poles is a real pain and can't reliably be done with gloves on. No longer a 3/4 season tent, now a 2/3 season one.
 angry pirate 03 Sep 2016
In reply to ScraggyGoat:

I did wonder. A mate bought an ultralight version recently and I've yet to see it but he reckons it's not a patch on the older model.
A shame as it was a really decent tent back in the day!
OP Slarti B 04 Sep 2016
In reply to Slarti B:

Thanks for the comments and I will check out the Vaude.

Anyone with comments on the Lightwave G20 ?
 CharlieMack 04 Sep 2016
In reply to Slarti B:

I've got the G20 xt with the porch. Definitely worth the extra 200g. Really good build quality and waterproofness. The sponge features that keep the inner and outer separate are very good aswell. Highly recommended.
 HimTiggins 04 Sep 2016
In reply to Slarti B:

Worth considering this:

http://www.force-ten.co.uk/gb/lightweight-tents/6-argon-2.html#.V8wlPZgrLIU

Very light, fairly strong and while not huge a decent size.
 MG 04 Sep 2016
In reply to Slarti B:

I have light wave (tunnel but same fabric etc.). No complaints. Not been at all impressed with TN post about 2004.

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...