Mini Peak II

...how flexible are you?
It's a lovely shelter. Being a sensible fellow and having enjoyed the spectator sport of watching people pitch their new tent for the first time on a festival site. I did the wise thing and took it to the park for a practice set up (I Don't have a garden).

It's a piece of piss to set up and I bought the Adjustable tarp pole.to go with it, as I'd probably want my walking pole to go walking with in the day time & leave my tent set up on site. If you're doing a trail, where you get up and carry on along the trail. use your trekking pole.

The problem I had was the inner tent. The zip only covers half the tent. It's easy to dive in head first round the central pole.Then a bugger to get out of feet first for a wee in the middle of the night.

The 2nd time I used it I got a cheapy ground sheet from the pound shop and didn't use the inner.

It's massive. It's luxurious. For a 1 person tent it's a palace. All Aluxe have to do is add a longer zip to the inner as I'd not like to use it in a midgy environment without the inner tent.

My first lightweight tent.
So far pros:
-the space and room, enough for storing gears and/or carefully cooking inside if it's pouring rain and you're wildcamping in the middle of nowhere.

-versatility. It gives you a choice of weight. The out fly is a good shelter for a sleeping out night bikepacking, but I've never used it for more than one night wildcamping.


So far cons:
-still struggling in getting this tent nicely pitched. Probably, I'm doing something wrong but can't get the out fly in tension. It's always loose and flies around which is a trouble in strong wind (Any advice is welcome)

-Stitches around the pole have started to loosen up.

In bad weather:
- Three days of constantly pouring rain in The Lakes: in terms of waterproof the out fly was very good and no water leaking through. Anyway, can't get the tent well pitched and water came through the space between the tent and the ground....got wet inside.

-wind. Ok in moderate wind.

Product arrived on time well packaged. Only gripe i had was i was contacted after order and asked to pay more for delivery because i live in inverness scotland, this is the fault of the courier however and not backpackinglight so not really a gripe.

thanks for such a great service,and arrived next day which was great as was close to christmas. my son loved the tent. wanted to pitch it up christmas day night !

Firstly ,excellent customer service as always. Buy with confidence from this company. Ok, on with the review.

A little about myself: 7 Years in Armed forces, former owner of a Survival Company and Instructor, Mountaineer and outdoor enthusiast for 25 years.

I only mention my past because I feel one has some experience and is well placed to make an 'initial review'.

I bought this tent to fill a gap between my ultralight shelters namley a six moon lunar solo and a tarp and a high end 5 season expedition tent. I wanted a tent that offered good usable space for one for overnight/two night trips when a little extra weight is no real issue. That said the tent is not exactly heavy and when placed into two separate dry bags does not take up too much space. I bought the pole for this tent and glad I did. It provides more stability and also means I dont have to faff around with my walking poles instead leaving them setup. I also wanted to be able to leave this tent setup whilst I went off walking with my poles.

The tent is easy to setup with a little practice but does have a large floor plan
so its not a tent for cramped pitches. However the space inside this tent is truly remarkable. The inner tent is comfrotable and easy to install. A little tip I found was to ignore the two front clips and instead use two very short pegs to pull out the front of the inner compartment which makes for a much less saggy setup. This also means the inner floor is taught and much nicer to lay out on.

I have pithed and slept in this tent twice now. The last occasion the wind was light however thunder,lightening and heavy rain battered the tent all night. Like all new tents the outer fabric beaded rain droplets like a Teflon frying pan. What is of note however is there was NO water ingress at all. I wont be sealing this tent.

I feel the velcro tabs on the vent 'stalks' at the top could be a little stronger/substantial as they are very fiddly.
They do work but need a little tweeking.

Pegs. The pegs supplied with this tent are not compatable with the design in my opinion. To pitch this tent you need normal hook end pegs that will hook over the adjustable straps at each corner of the tent. The pegs supplied are straight without any hook at the end or notch and dont work well enough. They slip off.

Even the box the tent comes in shows the traditional style hook tent peg.

The outer tent is actually a 68D Polyester Ripstop PU 1500mm fabric. Not Nylon.

Polyester is commonly used in low cost tents Nylon being more expensive. I might be mistaken but when I bought the tent I thought the descripton said Nylon. It makes no difference at all for me, the fabric stayed ridged and taut all night despite heavy heavy rain..my Six Moons Silnylon would have sagged and this is another reason I wanted this tent.

The inner is very clever, the half pannel stopped all drafts but the mesh allowed great ventilation. The half mesh/pannel design will allow me to use this in colder months whenI find 100 percent mesh way to cold brrr....

A tiny little tab/loop on the inside of the inner to hang a little torch for reading etc would be nice, nothing fancy just a loop of 2mm cord would do. I have sewn my own in.

I shut the doors to test the tents breathability despite a warm night. Due point was 17 deg c and low was 16. There was minimal condensation.

The inner tent was as dry as a bone!! Like you say bob in the single skin tents you get a free shower in the morning..not with this tent.

To sum up, a cracking 3 season solo tent with stacks of room to cook, store kit, dog whatever! In the porch.

I would personally lose the 2nd zip door as I think it is extra weight and a potential point of ingress for rain to close to the sleeping compartment however this did NOT happen and maybe Im just worrying ..

A fantastic low cost roomy stable tent. A few picky points I made above should not put you off buying this tent.

Time will tell, but right now my new 'Go To' tent.

Hi, I received my Mini Peak II very fast and pitched it for for a first look in the garden at once: It is very easy to erect, no description necessary. Looks very huge, after unpacking a small package. Stands fast and firm. The nest is a little small, maybe I won't even use it, but sleep with my dog beside just under the fly. Good ventilation! Just have to look how it does under rainy conditions ... and how material acts with low temperatures. Generally: I am happy with the tent that seems good price and I am looking forward to my first autumn experiences "at high peak".
Special thanks to backpackinglight: Ordered on Tuesday very morning - received on Thursday ... in Vienna! Guys, you are great!

Good Tent, Great Service

Excellent service and great product. Thanks

Bought a mini peak ii and walking pole extender. Used two nights this past weekend but the weather was pretty good so I can't comment too much on the tent itself other than to say it is very roomy, easy to put up and I didn't need the pole extender that I bought. Certainly the tent seems to have decent build quality and I don't anticipate any problems for 3 season use.
I've repacked the tent and inner into two separate 4l dry bags. This allows me to fit them under the expanding lid of my 38l rucksack without popping out either side and enables me to fit tent, clothes, sleeping bag, mat and food for a week into that pack.
I can't say much about the service offered by this company, since the product arrived very quickly and was as described and I had no other need to deal with them. However the bag of skittles was very much enjoyed and a nice touch.
I used this company and this tent as it was recommended as an alternative to the claustrophobic lightweight tents sold elsewhere, for the same weight and lower price - and the company has plenty of good press on the backpacking sites. They didn't disappoint.

Firstly I must say that what fantastic service from Bob and the team at Backpackinglight!
I have recieved exactly as Ordered a Lux Hex Mini Peak 2 and Pole!
Pitched once in my garden to give it the once over and it is a great addition to my arsenal! Very easy to pitch, fairly light weight, very roomy and looking forward to getting out into the hills.
If I had to make a criticism it would be the pegs, but that is only a minor issue in my opinion.
More than worth the small price tag!