The Gossamer Gear Whisper is without doubt one of the most impossible-looking tents I’ve ever seen. It’s a veritable palace for one individual that packs as much as the dimensions of an outsized nalgene. There may be additionally one thing unnatural about its look; a number of testers talked about that it appeared extra like a spaceship than a tent.
The Whisper was designed by Gossamer Gear co-founder Glen Van Peski for a particular objective, and solely 500 had been launched as an preliminary restricted run — maybe, at first look, it didn’t appear to be a tent with widespread enchantment. However it flew off the cabinets, and Gossamer Gear ended up making it a everlasting a part of their choices.
Jac “High Shelf” Mitchell
Key Options
-
Max Head Peak:
51 inches -
Measured Weight:
10.1 ounces (0.1 ounces greater than marketed) -
Doorways:
1 -
Supplies:
Dyneema -
Guarantee:
1 12 months - Non-compulsory aluminum poles accessible (5 ounces per set)
Amongst backpacking tents, even ultralight tents, the design of the Gossamer Gear Whisper stands out as uncommon. It’s principally a sheet of DCF with a mesh skirt that makes use of two trekking poles — one brief, one lengthy — and 7 stakes to create a construction. You begin by totally collapsing a Gossamer Gear trekking pole and putting it the other way up in order that the sharp finish is captured by the bolstered pouch on the short-end of the tent. That is vital as a result of, whereas Dyneema is extraordinarily robust for its weight, extreme stress towards the principle tent physique will lead to tears within the cloth.
You then begin staking out the tent, beginning with the three stakes on the foot and shifting across the bottom to the pinnacle of the tent. There are two stakes that pull out at irregular angles on the bottom of the tent — should you’re used to backpacking tents having a sure streamlined aesthetic, you might be disillusioned. On the head of the tent, you’ll insert the second trekking pole, set to 130 cm, and pull the guyline for the second to final stake taut. You then full your circumnavigation to the entrance of the tent, inserting the ultimate stake that pulls the door out.
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With a tent like this, geometry is king, with the precise dimensions of the DCF, the position of the pouches for the trekking pole and the guylines for the stakes making or breaking the tent. The backpacking gear testing crew had checked out a tent with the same design — the Kuiu Summit Star — on a earlier journey, however had been stymied by a tough setup that wasn’t offset by vital weight financial savings.
At a look, the largest distinction between the Gossamer Gear Whisper and the Kuiu Summit Star is that the Whisper is constructed from DCF whereas the Summit Star is constructed from a high-quality ripstop nylon. This materials change is vital for 2 causes. 1: It principally doubles the price of a tent. 2: It makes it dramatically simpler to realize a taut profile.
How We Examined the Gossamer Gear Whisper
Earlier than I even headed out on the backpacking gear testing journey alongside the Pacific Crest Path within the Goat Rocks Wilderness, I took a second to learn Glen’s stream-of-consciousness instructions on the Gossamer Gear web site below the FAQ (which I undoubtedly suggest), it took me lower than 10 minutes to arrange on my first try. I think about with a little bit of observe, I might get this tent up about as shortly as another trekking pole tent.
Different testers had equally optimistic experiences with the setup. Skilled thru-hiker Jac “High Shelf” Mitchell known as it “fast, simple, and self-explanatory,” noting that the DCF makes it simpler to create a taut silhouette than you’ll get with silnylon. Conventional backpacking Diana Helmuth and OL affiliate editor Ashley additionally each obtained the tent up with out an excessive amount of hassle after I offered a recap of the really helpful technique.
Testers’ emotions about really sleeping on this tent different dramatically. “It appears like my first tent,” stated High Shelf. “Simply sufficient of what you want and nothing you don’t.” Thess didn’t have related heat fuzzies, stating that she wouldn’t belief this tent in any form of climate. And Helmuth opted to forgo sleeping in it in any respect, swapping with Regular on the third night time of our take a look at. That turned out to be the windiest night time, with a number of testers arrange in additional uncovered places reporting their tent construction being compromised. So it was notable that Patrice “Regular” La Vigne, arrange with some tree safety, got here away impressed with the structural integrity of this tent, giving it a 4, the very best ranking of our testers.
“I felt the wind blowing in by the mesh backside half, however I wouldn’t have recognized it was windy (possibly 10 mph) as a result of the remainder of the tent physique was as tight as a trampoline,” she stated. “You can bounce a penny off it.”
Once I examined this tent on the ultimate night time of our journey, I had the prospect to expertise this firsthand. The tent appeared prefer it was standing up with pixie mud, which didn’t make me really feel as safe inside it as I needed. However the precise construction was so inflexible and taut that regardless of what number of instances I knocked into the middle pole, it didn’t transfer in any respect.
Gossamer Gear doesn’t opine on how many individuals this tent will match, however our take is that, whereas it simply barely match our two gal testers, it’s actually a roomy match for one. Whereas there’s technically area on either side of the middle pole for 2 sleeping pads, the logistics of cramming in any further gear or, heaven forbid, the particular person on the far aspect needing to make use of the restroom in the midst of the night time, makes this a no-go.
What the Gossamer Gear Whisper Does Greatest
By rights, extra backpackers ought to use tarps than do at present. They’re light-weight and simple to configure to a variety of unlikely tenting places. However between knots and stress, the training curve is steep, and far of it solely comes from expertise. After which there are the bugs.
Which explains the recognition of single-wall trekking tents. They shield you from the bugs; they’re quite a bit simpler (if not precisely simple) to arrange. However they’re heavier, and infrequently fussier about being pitched on a just-so web site to realize a super profile.
The Gossamer Gear Whisper combines the most effective of tarps and the most effective of trekking pole tents into one. It has the weight-savings of the previous, however the setup is nearer to the latter. I’ve by no means thought-about utilizing a tenting tarp, however I’d completely take this out with me.
What the Gossamer Gear Whisper Does Worst
The dearth of a devoted ground is certain to be a turn-off for some folks. Most of my testers used the polycro sheet in order that they weren’t sleeping straight on the bottom, however setting this up was arguably extra time-consuming and aggravating than the precise tent.
A part of that is the character of polycro, which is liable to selecting up dust and sticking to itself. I’d suggest both simply going with out, or selecting up some Tyvek and reducing it to the appropriate form in your wants. It’ll add some weight to the equipment, however you’ll nonetheless be properly below a pound complete and also you’ll pull out much less of your hair in the long term.
The Whisper can be going to wrestle in sure sorts of inclement climate. Whereas our testing confirmed that the tent really does fairly properly in windy situations — as properly or higher than different ultralight tents, the mesh skirt on the backside is uncovered to each sideways wind and rain and backsplash in particularly wet situations. In these situations, you would shorten the poles and pitch the entire tent nearer to the bottom, however that might shortly grow to be very stuffy and will lead to critical condensation if left that manner in a single day.
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The ultimate ding towards the Gossamer Gear Whisper is the value. Like all DCF/Dyneema tents, this tent prices about twice what you suppose it should. Neither the stakes nor the trekking poles are included. In case you have trekking poles available already that you just plan to make use of, test that the poles lengthen to 130cm (not all do), and collapse to round 60cm.
Ultimate Ideas on the Gossamer Gear Whisper
Greater than another tent, belief your intestine on this one. When you’re an outdated hand at trekking pole tents or tarp-curious, this might be simply what you must actually drive that base weight down. But when the thought of forgoing a ground and having the underside 4 inches of your tent be nothing however mesh provides you pause, then go together with one other ultralight tent.
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