Sil Hex Peak V4A

Having just received the V4a I am unable to give a long term review, however, it performed admirably in a recent wild camp in the Cheviots. In my haste to get out I had not seam sealed it or added guys to mid panel tie-outs, the shelter coped admirably with high winds and driving rain straight out of the box. The internal space was fantastic, especially now that the nights have lengthened and extended the "tent time" , I can fit my Helinox Ground Chair in the vestibule area - luxury on a cold night! Just like to thank the guys at backpackinglight for their outstanding service. The hand written note was a really nice touch!

I have only just recieved this but have taken it out to practice puttingit up in high winds. The forecast was for 46mph winds and I put it up on the edge of a ridge so the gusts felt higher than that. Putting a tent up for first time in those winds is never going to be easy but it went up fine fisrt time. I put it up then sat in it for about an hour. first of all the tent stayed up with just the main pegs which amazed me put it did move quite a lot, then I added the mid panel pegs and it steadied and was quite and did not lose its form even in big gusts it did not need the extra guys which are half way up the tent. More importantly I never felt as ifthe tent was at its limits or even close to them. I did use longer pegs and would have a selection of different types at home to pack according to the expected conditions as in wet ground it might struggle with any of the standard ones. I did think the half tennis ball idea was great for the top of the pole as it did look at bit pokey and stressed before I put the half tennis ball on. The Inner went in ok but was a bit saggy however I think i probably wont use the inner in the winter and in the summer with a bit of practice I will get bettter at pitching it. The spaceinside was just right I would not say it was huge as some reviews have said but it is big enough. Getting it down in the wind was easy. It did rain whilst i was getting it down so I just got back under the flattened fly sheet and zipped it up and in an emergency i would definitely use it like that again if the pegs would not hold when it was up as normal. when it flattened with the pegs in it was very quite,no flapping just pinned to the ground by the wind and virtually no strain on the pegs, so a great emergency shelter for up to four as well. this is obviously a very early review but the conditions were fairly extreme and I have had many tents in many conditions over the years and this felt like a good one.

What a fantastic tent, high performance tent from what I think a high performance company. I used the HEX PEAK V4A on a permission woodland camp, I chose the coyote brown Hex Peak and this colour really blends in with the woodland. backpacking light a big thank you for your help.

Bought this tent on recommendation to walk the Pennine Way and other trips.
Pros: fly pitches quickly and easily even in bad weather. No probs in wet and windy weather. Groundsheet performed well even when pitched on bog, just some dampness where I kneeled on it.
Load of space, even the dog slept in the inner with me, can safely cook in the porch and leave all wet gear in the porch while all dry stuff can be left in the inner. I really enjoyed having a brew with the door open looking at the view or stars.

Cons: the inner is a bit of a faff (especially after a long walk and/or when its cold and windy etc) to pitch. I replaced the guy lines with shockcord which made it a little easier. I also put some guyline on the outer zip puller so I could open/close the door without having to stretch out fully.
I found the silnylon sagged a fair bit in wet weather whereas my other tent (also 40D silnylon) doesn't (but is a simpler shape).

After quite a few trips I sold it on, I'm not a youngster any more and wanted something a little less fussy to pitch. But this is a really nice tent and once pitched performs very well.

Great service and super fast delivery.
Tried tent for the first time this weekend.
Tent is stunning loads of room inside, porch with one person inner is cavernous .
Pegged out at main flysheet points with pegs supplied, supplementary mid-panel points with Alpkit tri-beam pegs.
A little windy overnight 16-18mph according to the weather forecast, tent itself stood up to the wind very well.
Next morning while packing found two of the supplied pegs on the windward side had bent, poor quality compared to the Alpkit pegs. Going to purchase Alpkit pegs to replace those supplied with the tent.

Spent two wet and windy nights on the Mullardoch Round in early May with two of us in this tent using the v4a footprint (no inner). Pitching was speedily achieved by one person - glad I practised and removed the black guide cords (clipping the door clip to the guy point on the adjacent seam provides the required distance across the middle of the tent (hexagonal geometry), then unclip and peg out the two guys on each side of the ‘long side’ simultaneously – in my experience it's easier to get right than using the guides. I think it helps if the guys are set to a similar length and the clipping is performed before it’s put away). Room enough for two to simultaneously organise wet kit (using a small piece of thin groundsheet near the door), get into dry clothes, and then cook in the (well ventilated) tent. Seam-sealed and with the extra guys added it stood up to some strong gusts and remained dry inside other than a little condensation from cooking. A well-made, lightweight tent.

After much research and deliberation I chose this tent for use when cycle-touring.

It's lightweight and for it's pack weight, it has a large and comfortable internal plan area - I'm 5'10" - easily swallowing all 4 of my panniers and handlebar bag.

I seam-sealed mine and it was leak free during a 10 day tour on the Outer Hebrides. It also remained taut in some pretty blustery and exposed conditions.

The pitching is a little fiddly until you've understood the parameters of the rig but I consider this as no disincentive to this tent.

I did adopt a small modification - as variously described on You Tube - that better allow the inner floor walls to remain upright when pitched.

As I'm cycling I opted for the extendable tarp pole that I use with the tent and this works well. I carry mine - ends protected with old inner tube - in with the tent.

The only issue I did have was resolved quickly by the team at Backpackinglight so I can also testify to the excellent service I received.

Overall an excellent tent and service - I'd recommend both.

Relatively light, well made, extremely spacious and for less than £200 you couldn't get any better. Bit of a struggle to erect it first (and second!) time but after that...a piece of cake. Would I recommend it...you bet your life I would. And the service from BPL was, as always, exemplary. Many thanks.

Fantastic tent, would highly recommend this!

Ordered Thursday afternoon and the tent was with me on Friday. Great service from a small company and even a little hand written note to go along with the order. Not had the tent up yet but very happy with the purchase.