Golite Shangri-La 5

[Walker6]

I used a SL-5 (fly sheet only) solo on an August archery hunt in Colorado this year and really liked it. I used it with the nest this past weekend in Texas with my 6 year old and 4 year old and really liked it. It's turning out to be a really cool tent (I was skeptical because of the price) and I'm thinking about sewing in a stove pipe jack so I use it with a Kifaru stove.

My question, for those that have experience with them, is how tough are they? Are they waterproof (for days of rain on end)? How much wind can they take if guyed out and staked properly?

Are they as good as they seem, or do I need one of the high dollar models?

 

[fillthefreezer]

more people will chime in on this i know but weve had 2 instances of high sustained winds, 40mph+ and shes held. i applied seam sealer when i got it and we havent had any leaks other than occasional blow in through the roof vents. (rain 60 out of 72 hours)
so far so good with ours and i think ill be adding a stove jack as well so i can use snowshoeing and late season

 

[a3dhunter]

I had mine get rained on three days on one hunt without a problem, and it held in 50-60 mph winds....as long as it is staked out well.

 

[drthornton]

For a 2 man set it is fantastic! WV Hunter and I used it in NV this year and I can't tell you how pleased I am with it. We had a very strong thunderstorm with heavy winds come thru one night and it didn't blink. I have not experience with the high end Tipis but if I were you I would look no further. I know there are several place on the web that will trick it out for you with a stove hole or sewn in floor. Good luck...I think you've got a winner.

 

[stephen b]

Staked out properly and guyed out, they will handle a lot of wind. And they are really good at repelling the water. They should do as well as the "high dollar models" if used properly. They have a good track record. If the wind is high enough, any tent can have problems. There was a thread over on Kifaru where a 8 man Kifaru tipi totally imploded in an unusual high wind gust in Alaska. Of course that wind was also strong enough to lay down about 150 spruce trees in the same gust according to the author of the thread.

 

[fillthefreezer]

if you havent upgraded from the factory stakes you might want to, they kinda suck. msr groundhogs and the pro pegs and vipers from hilleberg are what im using with good results

 

[swat8888]

Just be careful if you stake out the door too tightly. The fabric blew out right next to my zipper as I was zipping up my tent in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Luckily my buddy had some tyvek tape to repair his raft he bought and I ended up using most of my duct tape to patch it up. Otherwise it holds up great in rain/wind, etc. I had mine out this last weekend in snow, wind and rain....no issues, love the tent.

 

[Walker6]

Yep, pitching takes a little practice with these tents. There seems to be a lot of ways you can do it.

The factory stakes are nice to look at, but I replaced them right away as well.

Thanks for all the feedback about wind and rain - that's what I was hoping to hear.

Has anyone here installed a stove jack on one? I've seen a few threads on the subject, but I'd like to know your thoughts on where to place it. I'm thinking on the panel to the right of the door, but placement on the rear panel might allow the vent flap to provide some drip protection. Thoughts?

 

[thru-hunter]

I don't ever unzip the SL5 from the bottom to avoid stressing the zipper. I just unzip it from the top down far enough to climb out. Perhaps I am just pitching it wrong but doing it this way I can get a really tight pitch and still have reasonable ingresss/egress to the tent. I purchased additional guy lines and the glow in the dark hilleberg style adjusters from bear paw wilderness designs to use on the upper guy out points which are great for keeping things tight and adding some extra shoulder room in the tent.
.

 

[swat8888]

Yep, I also never unzip from the bottom anymore, and adding guy outs to all the anchors is essential to getting the most out of the tent. I've also looked at the stove jack option but haven't decided if I want that extra weight when sheep hunting when I won't have a stove. Might pick up another one for cold weather and throw a jack in.

 

[fillthefreezer]

i picked up a couple burn holes this year in my sl-5 when a wind gust blew half my fire over my tent. anyone have experienced patching small burns?

 

[Foldem]

The only think I don't like about this location for the jack is that the person at the back of the tent has to step over the person at the front to get in/out.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

i picked up a couple burn holes this year in my sl-5 when a wind gust blew half my fire over my tent. anyone have experienced patching small burns?

Are they pin holes or bigger? A dab of silicone is what is recommended by other companies.

 

[fillthefreezer]

they are more like pencil sized holes, largest covered by a dime but not by much. maybe 4 or 5 of em

 

[stephen b]

Use mcnett sil tape if silicone does not cover.

 

[Walker6]

Foldem, if you could do it over, would you move it to the left side?

 

[luke moffat]

If you pitch the SL5 with the door zipped shut its a non-issue to use the bottom zipper. Its when you further tighten the tipi with door open when you have problems. Squeezing in and out of the door with a pack with just the top zipper down sounds like a PITA to do every day. Don't be afraid to use the bottom zip fellas just don't guy it out tight with the door in the open position.

As far as wind, there is no way my SL-5 would stand up to long term 60+ mph winds.

Here is a video I took on Kodiak last fall with measured (not just guessing cause it was blowing really hard) 50-60mph wind and can tell you that the SL-5 would have been haggered after 3 days of this type of wind, whereas the Sawtooth was just fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNzPkXSoixo

I've spent over 80 nights now in the SL-5 and it is my favorite lightweight shelter still, but it is in no way a 4 season tent that will stand up to sustained 60+ mph winds or any length of time.

 

[fillthefreezer]

love your vids luke...

 

[thru-hunter]

I pitch mine door closed but crank down on the tensioners probably more than necessary. I am to dang big to do anything in a tent with a pack on so I just pitch my junk through the door prior to final assembly.

An average morning looking for sheep from the tent.

 

[luke moffat]

HAHA I don't climb in with a pack on either, but it is nice to be able to open from the bottom of the tent door and toss the pack in whole without having to reach in and drop it or unload and load the whole pack outside in the rain either.