Re: LiteOutdoors Plateau 5 Man
Haven't brought it into the mountains yet, I did pull the trigger on it at the end of this fall though. Like I said haven't had a chance to field test it yet but here are some first impressions I had posted on rokslide.
Very roomy. No I wouldn't squeeze 3 guys plus all their gear in there with the stove but I don't intend to. I often just store me and my son's packs under some tree canopy anyway but this will have plenty of room for the two of us plus gear and a helinox chair. As far as room for a wood pile and to dry gear I feel like there would be plenty even with 3 dudes as long as you're not too insecure in your manhood and don't mind being within a foot or so of another male. There are loops inside for a clothesline and there's a video on youtube where they had 3 guys sleeping in there with some gear and wood plus a big rack they had made to dry out clothes. Packs were outside though obviously, if you're going in with 3 dudes I think one can sack up and carry a sheep tarp or something for the gear if the forecast looks ugly...dry bags work too. I would definitely prefer the extra room with two people as opposed to a cramped shelter stepping over each other and dancing around a hot stove to get out and take a piss.
Stove jack is behind the center pole. Definitely handy for coming and going.
Entrance zipper is in the middle, I think it's a much more convenient layout that the TUT.
Good amount of standing room. Finally I can stand up all the way inside my tent! My shoulders do touch the sides a bit when I do so make sure you put that microfiber towel to use in the morning before you start changing...will be nice to not have to layer up standing like Quasimodo though.
Generous snow/sod skirt. Think it was advertised as 9", goes down past the stake points plenty low enough to seal out drafts/spindrift, can just jack up the center pole if you want to set it up with more ventilation. The vents in the top don't close but they do provide good airflow and keep the tent from smoking up too bad when you're trying to get a draft going at the beginning of your fire, not too worried about water getting in. The door also zips both ways so you can vent it at the top if you need more ventilation. Curious to see how it does with condensation but I had asked about a liner when I bought it and Brennen said they're working on one that should be out this year and will be compatible with old models.
Only real complaint so far is that it is a bit bulky when packed up, that's the penalty paid for extra room though I guess. I probably wouldn't notice that at all if I came from a floored shelter of any sort but I generally just use a small tarp for my son and I so probably any hot tent would seem bulky to me right now. May experiment with putting it in the compression sack with my sleeping bag and see how that works.
Edit: I did run this experiment and was pleased with the results, this is the shelter and my -7° north face bag packed as small if not smaller than the kifaru sawtooth.
I plan on putting together a more in depth review after I've spent some more time in it this spring but so far with my limited experience I'm quite happy with it. I also talked to everyone I could that's purchased one and couldn't find anyone that had any complaints, seemed like much less catch and release going on than with other hot tents.
Also, regarding the redcliff. I was curious myself how the specs compare vs the price difference. The redcliffe is not really much bigger if at all, it's 2 ft narrower, 2.5ft longer and a few inches shorter. The advertised weight for the redcliff is also with a carbon pole, the plateau paired with a similar carbon pole would probably actually be 8-10oz lighter. Yes, different fabric types though, we'll see how that pans out, as I mentioned Brennen did confirm they're working on an LO liner and I think he said it should be coming out this year.
Last edited by 45freezer; 01-07-2020 at 09:34 AM.
"You can learn more about hunting with a bow in a week than you could in a lifetime of gun hunting" - Fred Bear