Nick

And it will be a while before I get a chance, cuz I'm in the desert and don't bother bringing any shelter here... I got this after parting ways with my REI bivy. I had used that maybe 10 times in a variety of conditions and wasn't thrilled with it. I thought this looked like an improvement on some of my issues I had with that bivy, so I scooped it up on sale at another website. Here's what I think of it after a living room test. First off, hopefully this fancy weather balloon Roswell alien UFO fabric will vent well. It looks ridiculous and shiny but I like the color scheme with the green. The bivy has more room in length and width than the REI bivy. It's plenty long enough for me at 5'11" and has extra room for someone taller. The extra width is great. There's more in the toe box as well as more room in the torso to squirm, and also in the head area too. It's actually a three dimensional shape as compared to the two dimensional cut of the REI bivy and others. There are tie downs for staking it, which is great, cuz my old one sometimes blew in heavy wind and I had to put a big rock on it when I wasn't inside. This bivy has one zipper to get in with only one set of pulls. That means there's no extra zipper pulls to open a little at the bottom of the zipper to vent. Then, there is a separate zipper above the first zipper for the mesh panel. You can zip back the cover and roll it up. You have to access it from the outside. The mesh panel is big and well positioned and comes down lower than the mesh on the REI bivy did. This will keep more breath going out the mesh than down into the bivy which causes condensation. That was a big issue I used to have. Overall, laying inside, there is a much nicer mesh area and it is less tight over my face, because of the three dimensional cut. I think this bivy is going to be a lot more comfortable for me and I'm excited to use it when I hit the road for the mountains. Hope this helps!

All right, I've been curious about this tent for a while after being very happy with my TNF Mica 12, so I finally found it on sale and went for it.

Well, I just set it up and since there are so few reviews of it, I thought I'd give everyone the TRUTH. This tent is crazy light and small packed, it feels like a one person tent. But when I set it up... it looked about the size of a one person tent. Length is definitely adequate, but it is very very narrow.

The biggest issue is the far wall is very steep, like 45 degrees. Forget headroom on that side, there isn't even enough room to lie down. The two sleeping pads will be up against each wall and up right against eachother, filling the entire width. The person at the far end will be brushing up against the wall of the tent big time, or will most likely be hogging your side.

I am a minimalist and I say bah to the people who say tents are too small but this is the first time I really wonder how two people will fit in this. I think if ur buying this for just yourself you will have lots of room and it's great, but I have solo tents that I prefer.

Anyways, I am going to keep it. I think it's going to be a good ultralight minimalist tent for me and my girlfriend when we are packing extremely light and will be hiking all day and don't care if we are cramped at night just to sleep. I think the bottom line is this is the kind of tent where you and your partner are debating either bringing this tent or no tent at all.

And yes, the cheezy TNF slogan 10" high is the worst part about it!

Exped makes a Synmat 7.5 which is a baffle-less construction with no pump (I used to have that one it's smaller and lighter but not as comfortable). They also make this, the Synmat 7 pump. This one has a baffled construction for maximum comfort, stability and R value, plus the pump. So not all of that weight is the pump, it's from the baffled construction. This is seriously every single hand out there down the best mat and is worth it's weight in gold sterling jewels. This is not a flimsy mat, it is a little heavier because of the durability. The materials are MUCH MUCH nicer and more durable than that Big Agnes stuff which you slide right off of. The materials here are thick, comfortable and non-slip. The pump is easy to use and those big flat valves make it quick to deflate too, much quicker than a Big Agnes. Exped mats eat Big Agnes mats for breakfast. Believe me, Ive seen it in person and it was a little gross. I use this mat all over the place in fall winter and spring. I can bring this mat in warmer situations and use a lighter sleeping bag because most of your heat escapes through the ground. I stick it easily in my 50L pack or in my tiny Greenland kayak, it keeps me warm and insulated and comfortable. It is true that it will swallow up a beach ball sized bump with ease. I also think it will last forever. When civilization falls, I will still be sleeping comfortable in the woods, on a beach, or on top of the rubble of humanity on this mat. Go Exped!!!

Exped rules Exped rules! I have this sleeping bag, it is crazy crazy light and warm. The materials are amazing, high quality, durable and nice to the touch. They thought of everything here. The regular size has like six inches of extra room at my feet that other sleeping bags don't have. It is a spacious cut, lots of room. One feature I love is the top opening opens up all the way with the cords so you can come out of the bag or bring your arms out without unzipping. Then you pull the cords real tight and your face is sealed in nice and warm. This is warm for a 30 degree bag. OH AND IT COMES WITH IT'S OWN ORANGE DRY BAG. The dry bag has a roll top closure and when you burp the air out of it, you can compress the sleeping bag quite well. Exped saves the day!

Wow I got one of these in the XS-2d size to hold one of my medium format folding cameras and it fits perfect and it's awesome. Definitely some dry bag lust going on over here. There's this padded closed cell foam pouch that protects the contents and then the whole thing has the folding dry closure. I love it. Exped rules! Exped saves the day again!

These straps strap all sorts of different size mats together so you can be right up close to your lover inside your tent with no cold gap that could potentially ruin your relationship or marriage between you. The stuff sack is attached so you can't lose it.

Exped rules!!! Go Exped for making the best stuff ever, ingeniously designed their designers are from planet utopia camping gear. These are "green" anodized and have this awesome orange color, they are tough as nails. The V shape is impossible to bend or break. There are no sharp edges but they grab your tent like glue. My Exped tent came with these. The Medium, orange ones are pretty standard size for tent and rainfly and the Small yellow ones are sort of intended to hold guy lines. They are crazy light and small and all fit right inside eachother. A really really slick product, makes those MSR groundhog stakes look like a joke. Exped!!!!!!!!!!! And it is 5 to a pack.

I think this tent is a great value and stacks well against the competition. I also think the material on the Mica is more substantial than some Big Agnes tents I've seen. I have a REI Chrysalis which I use in the colder months because it has less mesh (I'm not crazy about it), so I wanted something primarily mesh and very light to use in the summer. I was looking at this and maybe the Marmot EOS 1p. As soon as I got in both, the winner was clear. The Mica is better quality materials, better tent stakes, etc and the design is better. You can sit up without touching your head, there are places to hang a light and pockets for little gear. You can lie down without hitting either end. More length than the Chrysalis. I think the design really maximizes space where you need it for such a small package. It looks so tiny set up but it's not bad inside if your just sleeping. So there. Now I haven't used it a lot yet since it's been cold and I've been in my other tent but when I did use it on a few occasions, it performed as expected. I like the big vestibule for my pack and I really prefer the side door to a front door. I like the stuff sack which has three compression straps to make this tiny. I agree with the other reviewers who say the worst part of the tent is the cheezy Never Stop Exploring logo. I like the window but I wish that slogan wasn't there. If I were going to do a long distance hike this is the tent I'd grab. I was in Cape Hatteras NC car camping and saw a guy bicycle touring with this tent and he was going from something like Philly to New Orleans (hey, is that the guy who reviewed below me?).