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We continued persisting in the one methods we knew: studying, consuming chocolate butter, and dreaming about when the rain would cease so we may end establishing our superior basecamp larger up on the glacier.
We had been deep within the Kishtwar Valley of the Indian Himalayas to climb a brand new technical route on a 6,000m peak close to the tip of the valley. Of the over 400 kilos of drugs we introduced, the SlingFin HotBox was a cornerstone for making our month-long journey as nice as potential.
On the finish of our climb, my solely thought when packing the HotBox away for the ultimate time was, “Lastly, somebody made a bivy tent that doesn’t suck!”
In brief: The SlingFin HotBox is an entire redesign of the classically unchanged freestanding bivy tents presently available on the market. Sustaining a small footprint whereas rising performance, the HotBox has a double-wall design to fight condensation, a plethora of inside pockets for group, and a novel gear storage system that saves area within the inside. SlingFin lastly achieved what no different firm has at a aggressive weight — a useful and habitable bivy tent!
Slingfin HotBox Predominant Options
It’s clear when SlingFin designed the Hotbox, they began from the bottom up. Conventional bivy tents for alpine climbing are virtually at all times the identical — a easy freestanding cross-pole design, a entrance door with no vestibule, and a single-wall design that’s at all times synonymous with condensation points. Oh, and so they typically suck to stay in and have minimal-to-no pockets for group inside.
Alternatively, the HotBox maintains the important thing options of earlier bivy tents whereas dramatically enhancing upon the remaining. Let’s begin with the crucial design components of bivy tents that it retains.
Freestanding Cross-Pole Design
This confirmed tent pole orientation affords essentially the most resistance to excessive winds whereas being extremely easy to arrange. Whereas some bivy tents have poles inside or exterior to the single-wall construction, the HotBox makes use of a WebTruss sleeve system that sits between the double partitions.
It clips to the primary tent physique and the fly. The poles lock into opposing corners of the tent for a basic freestanding design with a small footprint. That is important for alpine climbing tents that usually should be pitched on steep slopes or small ledges.
Entrance Entry
Like different bivy tents, the HotBox retains the single-door entrance entry system, usually one of the best design for getting into the tent when pitched in precarious areas. This frequent design generally is a nuisance because of the lack of a vestibule. Nonetheless, SlingFin remedied the vestibule drawback in different methods.
Distinctive SlingFin HotBox Designs
As talked about earlier, the SlingFin HotBox has a number of options not seen in another bivy tent designs. In my expertise, every dramatically improved usability and livability. The biggest of those is the ultralight double-wall design of the tent.
Double-Wall Design
If in case you have used single-wall bivy tents earlier than, you understand the nuisance of the design. Condensation builds up on the inside of the tent partitions because of the temperature distinction between the edges of the material. You get up to dew-covered partitions, a moist tent ground, or sheets of frozen frost that inevitably soften contained in the tent. Whereas tolerable for an evening or two, it’s troublesome for longer journeys and infrequently ends in damp garments and sleeping luggage. As you possibly can think about, this generally is a enormous legal responsibility.
With the return to a double-wall design, the HotBox solves the condensation difficulty with minimal weight penalty. With over 15 nights spent within the tent above 14,000 toes, we waited out a number of 48-hour stints of snow and rain at our excessive camps on the glacier. The tent’s lack of condensation was tremendous spectacular.
After one 48-hour rain storm, my companion’s single-wall tent had become a kiddie pool. He picked up the tent to dump out pooled water and squeezed out moist garments on the ground. The SlingFin Hotbox, however, remained well-ventilated and virtually completely freed from condensation. Solely on a couple of of the coldest nights once I closed all vents did I’ve small quantities of condensation on the inside partitions — an enormous win for the HotBox!
Facet Vestibules
The opposite vital enchancment within the HotBox design is the novel facet vestibules for gear storage. Two giant drawstring port holes on the inside tent give every individual entry to a facet vestibule fashioned by the outer fly.
This space was spacious sufficient to stash empty packs, mountain boots, helmets, range, and different gadgets not wanted contained in the tent. The tent’s inside felt way more spacious whereas retaining all our gear accessible and shut at hand. It was a minor nuisance to take boots off on the entrance of the tent and cross them by way of the inside and port holes, however the improved residing area was properly price it.
The facet vestibules on the HotBox can be utilized in two methods. If area or staking is a matter, the underside of the vestibule flap might be clipped again to the tent physique. This creates a unfastened pocket to stash gear that sits shielded from the weather.
As a result of we at all times had ample area on the glacier, we opted to stake out the facet vestibule to create a spacious room to stash our gear. Whereas lots protected, one warning we took away was to convey our boots contained in the tent throughout windy storms. The snow would inevitably drift up into the facet vestibule and coat our belongings. This was a minor nuisance, and if I had buried the snow flaps, it might probably not been a difficulty.
Plentiful Inside Pockets
The ultimate main difficulty the SlingFin HotBox improves upon is inside group. Whereas contenders just like the Black Diamond Firstlight host zero inside pockets, the HotBox integrates eight inside pockets that dramatically improved the tent’s livability.
My climbing companion and I by no means struggled for area as we existed within the tent for weeks. We used the 4 nook pockets for odds and ends, the big again pocket for electronics and further layers, and the 2 ceiling pockets for fragile gadgets like sun shades.
Add to that the eight inside ceiling O-rings for hanging inside traces, and we not often misplaced extraneous gadgets on the tent’s ground. I would like plentiful pockets in all tents, particularly smaller ones that is likely to be the one livable shelter for days on finish.
Extra SlingFin HotBox Options
A number of different options integrated within the SlingFin HotBox are price honorable mentions. The inside door hosts a small mesh zipper opening to assist with cross-ventilation, together with an opposing small air flow port close to the again. The rear air flow port might be totally opened to permit for an anchor tether to be threaded into the tent if sleeping whereas harnessed in.
For added wind resistance in excessive circumstances, there are 14 exterior guy-out factors and a set of preinstalled inside tensioning guylines to provide added stability to the poles. There are additionally preinstalled substitute double zippers on all zippers to keep up performance in case of a failure within the subject. All are welcome options that enhance general usability.
Weight
Certainly, one of the important elements of a bivy tent is weight. The lightest bivy tents available on the market, such because the MSR Advance Professional 2 and Black Diamond Firstlight, weigh in at round 2 kilos, 14 ounces every, whereas the minimal pitch weight of the Hotbox is 3 kilos, 7.2 ounces. That distinction clocks in at solely 250 g, about half a pound or the burden of some protein bars.
Half a pound is undoubtedly a measurable distinction, however for the dramatically improved residing expertise, it was price it, in my view. Solely on the very lightest of technical ascents would I contemplate this distinction earlier than selecting a unique tent.
Worth
Bivy tents are available in many value ranges, with the Black Diamond Firstlight being the “least expensive” at round $500, the MSR Advance Professional 2 at $800. Newer Dyneema constructed ultralight bivy tents just like the Samaya Assaut2 are available in at over $1,700. The HotBox sits on the decrease finish of this value vary at $650, fairly a deal contemplating its usability each out and in of the excessive alpine!
Makes use of
The HotBox is actually a specialist tent, however I feel it’s the most livable bivy tent available on the market. The HotBox excels on lengthy journeys and expeditions with numerous climate circumstances, resembling rain decrease on the glacier and snow larger up. A double wall design to treatment condensation and usable inside and exterior storage made it a snug residing expertise regardless of being a small-footprint bivy tent.
SlingFin HotBox Tent: Conclusion
At solely a half-pound weight penalty for the entire added usability, I feel the SlingFin HotBox is the bivy tent to decide on for all however essentially the most weight-conscious ascents. I offered my earlier bivy tent as a result of I used to be so pleased with the HotBox — the added usable storage, air flow and lack of condensation culminated in an unforgettable and optimistic expertise. The tent simply works.
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