SlingFin WindSaber Tent Review
The SlingFin WindSaber is an ultra sturdy, true 4-season storm-worthy tent with the best strength-to-weight ratio we’ve ever seen and is far lighter than alternative options in its strength-class. This is our tent of choice for mountaineering and camping on the preposterously windy Southern Patagonia Ice Field.
- Price: $875
- Weight: 5 lbs
- Material: 15-20D Sil-Nylon Ripstop, DAC 10.65mm poles
- Interior: 28 ft² | Vestibule: 10 ft² | Area/Pound: 7.6 ft²
- Peak Height: 40″
- Pros: Extremely sturdy in very high wind. Excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Good livability. Vents. Pockets. Smart engineering.
- Cons: Too heavy-duty for mild conditions, not an all-purpose tent. Footprint recommended.
Features
What makes this tent so exceptionally sturdy in high winds are the thick, 10.65mm DAC PL poles criss-crossing the tent body in conjunction with the WebTruss patented pole sleeves. These sleeves reinforce the poles, and create a stronger connection to the tent body than clips. They also allow for the poles to be set up before the tent itself, which makes things significantly easier when pitching in strong wind.
The SlingFin design team flexed their engineering background with a series of reinforcements. This includes the internal guy line system for lateral stability, as well as grosgrain reinforced seams along the fly. There is even an outrigger attachment which converts trekking poles into additional wind and snow loading reinforcement. And they even added extra zippers
Inside the tent are an array of livability features. This includes extra elbow room and an array of pockets surrounding the head end, double walled doors (1 mesh, 1 rip stop nylon), and a double walled vent hole. Speaking of vents, the vestibules also have them by way of the removable “Kick Stop” to keep air flowing even when snow builds up and blocks airflow around the base of the fly.
It’s the little touches, and one thing we’re really fond of is how they’ve added a pair of spare sliders on all of WindSaber’s zippers. This tent ain’t cheap, but you don’t have to worry about one busted zipper ruining the whole thing.
Verdict
We can’t stress enough just how strong, sturdy, and bomber this tent is, and how well it holds up in high winds relative to only weighing 5 lbs. Alan has used the SlingFin WindSaber to great success in exceptionally stormy, gusty conditions, and it is our number one recommendation to mountaineers and those traveling to Patagonia. Worth noting that this tent is a wind specialist, not a daily driver, and we do not recommend it as an all-purpose 3 season tent for which it would be too heavy and expensive.
SlingFin WindSaber Tent Review
The SlingFin WindSaber is an ultra sturdy, true 4-season storm-worthy tent with the best strength-to-weight ratio we’ve ever seen and is far lighter than alternative options in its strength-class. This is our tent of choice for mountaineering and camping on the preposterously windy Southern Patagonia Ice Field.
- Price: $875
- Weight: 5 lbs
- Material: 15-20D Sil-Nylon Ripstop, DAC 10.65mm poles
- Interior: 28 ft² | Vestibule: 10 ft² | Area/Pound: 7.6 ft²
- Peak Height: 40″
- Pros: Extremely sturdy in very high wind. Excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Good livability. Vents. Pockets. Smart engineering.
- Cons: Too heavy-duty for mild conditions, not an all-purpose tent. Footprint recommended.
Features
What makes this tent so exceptionally sturdy in high winds are the thick, 10.65mm DAC PL poles criss-crossing the tent body in conjunction with the WebTruss patented pole sleeves. These sleeves reinforce the poles, and create a stronger connection to the tent body than clips. They also allow for the poles to be set up before the tent itself, which makes things significantly easier when pitching in strong wind.
The SlingFin design team flexed their engineering background with a series of reinforcements. This includes the internal guy line system for lateral stability, as well as grosgrain reinforced seams along the fly. There is even an outrigger attachment which converts trekking poles into additional wind and snow loading reinforcement. And they even added extra zippers
Inside the tent are an array of livability features. This includes extra elbow room and an array of pockets surrounding the head end, double walled doors (1 mesh, 1 rip stop nylon), and a double walled vent hole. Speaking of vents, the vestibules also have them by way of the removable “Kick Stop” to keep air flowing even when snow builds up and blocks airflow around the base of the fly.
It’s the little touches, and one thing we’re really fond of is how they’ve added a pair of spare sliders on all of WindSaber’s zippers. This tent ain’t cheap, but you don’t have to worry about one busted zipper ruining the whole thing.
Verdict
We can’t stress enough just how strong, sturdy, and bomber this tent is, and how well it holds up in high winds relative to only weighing 5 lbs. Alan has used the SlingFin WindSaber to great success in exceptionally stormy, gusty conditions, and it is our number one recommendation to mountaineers and those traveling to Patagonia. Worth noting that this tent is a wind specialist, not a daily driver, and we do not recommend it as an all-purpose 3 season tent for which it would be too heavy and expensive.
See more great tents in our backpacking tent guide.
