"Outdoor Research Nighthaven 08 version" - Review of Outdoor Research NightHaven Light Shelter 2-Person

This tent is awesome. The weight-to-area ratio is killer- 2.3 lbs without the floor, 56.4 sq.ft. of floor space. The walls do slope in a bit, but the higher you pitch it, the greater the shoulder room. Condensation can be an issue, depending on where you put it and how`you vent it. The 2008 version has the mesh-backed door, in addition to the mesh at the eaves and a mesh panel at the back wall that can be adjusted via tensioning a guyline. There is an adjustable vent at the front with a stiff wire brim to keep out rain, but here is one of the drawbacks to the Nighthaven- the vent can only be unzipped from the outside, a hassle if it is raining. Another feature that is flawed is the conglomeration of zipper pulls at the door. The mesh door and the fabric door open in the same direction, and both have dual zips, to facilitate further high/low venting. But when both doors sre closed, you end up with a confusing tangle of 4 zippers, with identical pulls, all in the same area. I somewhat fixed this by replacing the cord for the outside zipper pulls with a cord of a different color, so I know which zipper is for the mesh door, and which is for the exterior door. My next step is to put some of those plastic or rubber glow-in-the-dark pulls on the interior zips, so I can exit the tent in the dark more easily. I have not had the opportunity to use this tent in some less favorable conditions yet, but with the available loops for guylines, and extra staking, I think this tent would be bomber in windy circumstances. And in the snow, you can leave the floor at home, dig a pit, form some benches, and have an awesome snow house. The poles in the middle of the tent can be a bummer if you want to get closer to your tentmate, but this tent is light enough to carry solo, as I have done the majority of the time, and then I just sleep angled between the poles, with my gear on the side away from the door, and the tent becomes a virtual palace for one. With the floor, the tent weighs in at 3.29 lbs, still light for a tent of this size with total weather- and insect-proofing. I highly recommend this tent, even with the issues it has, for lightweight shelter in all seasons.
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