Testing: Stone Glacier Skyscraper 2P tent

[Josh Boyd]

As a lot of you may know, Stone Glacier has a tent on the market for 2018. I was lucky enough to get one of the first production tents in my hands for review. This will be put through the paces this summer and fall in various terrain, weather, and stressors. I'll update the thread throughout the process and answer questions so people can get an idea what I think about the Skyscraper.

Here's a link to the tent on SG's website: Skyscraper 2P Tent – Stone Glacier

Here are a few images of the inaugural set up.

fire away with thoughts and questions.
-Josh Boyd

 

[unclericco]

I’m very interested in hearing about this tent. I’m going to buy one for back country hunts soon. How easy is it to set up vs like an MSR Hubba 2 person? Also how is the condensation? Durability?

 

[robby denning]

Josh, you lucky dog, mine isn't here yet. I'll post on here with you as I get some time in it. Glad SG stepped into tents. We'll see how they do now.

 

[Josh Boyd]

I’m very interested in hearing about this tent. I’m going to buy one for back country hunts soon. How easy is it to set up vs like an MSR Hubba 2 person? Also how is the condensation? Durability?

I'm spending three days out in the field next week with the tent for its inaugural run. I'll give some up-to-date reports after each trip out so folks can make a decision on the shelter this summer and have some time to use it before hunting season. So stand by for a few answers to your questions.

 

[sneaky]

Let us know how condensation is with that solid inner tent with no vents up high.

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[Josh Boyd]

Let us know how condensation is with that solid inner tent with no vents up high.

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I spent three days out last week in the Skyscraper. Overnight temps ranged from the mid-40's to 38 one night. The humidity recovery was high every night with decent dew covering the ground. The fly was on the whole time and I slept with both doors completely closed. I checked the ceiling of the inner tent in the morning and found it to be clammy but not wet. The fly had condensation in the peak but was gone in a few hours of warming. It seems the inner shelter breathes well when fully zipped.

There wasn't any wind to test the stability and quietness of the shelter, but there are many more trips to come. I'll be using this in a variety of conditions and climates so the review should be useful for a wide range of hunters.

-Josh

 

[unclericco]

Thanks for the info. SG is a fantastic company and I'm hoping this tent is everything I need it to be cause I really want to buy it. Keep us updated.

 

[Steve O]

Sounds very promising.

 

[Sverimerica]

If I was in the market for a tent, this would probably be the one. If you run the numbers of volume/pound, this thing slashes the competition. And the guy who designed it (cant remember his name) is no slouch either.

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[wind gypsy]

If you run the numbers of volume/pound, this thing slashes the competition.

Seems the big sky revolution or Kuiu 2P would beat it there. Maybe with a little less vestibule space.

Maybe that isn't apples to apples though.. 3 season vs 4 season.

 

[sneaky]

I keep coming back to my biggest hang up on this tent. The separate fly. If it were linked it would be on my radar. There's no merit to the argument that if they were linked your inner would get wet if you packed it up after the outer was wet. You can disconnect the inner on a Hille and pack it separately, and keep it dry. I'm not a fan of tents with a separate fly. If it's raining, your inner is going to get wet during setup. I guess it reaffirms the fact that there's no perfect tent on the market.... yet.

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[Sverimerica]

Seems the big sky revolution or Kuiu 2P would beat it there. Maybe with a little less vestibule space.

Maybe that isn't apples to apples though.. 3 season vs 4 season.

You might be on to something though. I didnt think about what you mentioned. The fly doesnt go to the ground

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[Sverimerica]

I keep coming back to my biggest hang up on this tent. The separate fly. If it were linked it would be on my radar. There's no merit to the argument that if they were linked your inner would get wet if you packed it up after the outer was wet. You can disconnect the inner on a Hille and pack it separately, and keep it dry. I'm not a fan of tents with a separate fly. If it's raining, your inner is going to get wet during setup. I guess it reaffirms the fact that there's no perfect tent on the market.... yet.

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I agree 100%. Yet, for volume per weight this thing is impressive. I doubt I will own one, but cool that SG is selling it nonetheless

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[MT_Wyatt]

I keep coming back to my biggest hang up on this tent. The separate fly. If it were linked it would be on my radar. There's no merit to the argument that if they were linked your inner would get wet if you packed it up after the outer was wet. You can disconnect the inner on a Hille and pack it separately, and keep it dry. I'm not a fan of tents with a separate fly. If it's raining, your inner is going to get wet during setup. I guess it reaffirms the fact that there's no perfect tent on the market.... yet.

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I have/had the same concern. I’ve sat inside a hilleberg and taken down the whole inner tent while it was pouring outside. I packed up the inner, as well as my entire backpack under the fly. You can get into rain gear, then get out and pack the wet fly/poles and be off. I think that’s a nice feature.

But it isn’t black and white - you can, and I have practiced to test it, set up the skyscraper by raising the web truss and then quickly throwing and attaching the fly over the structure & inner. Then you can raise the inner from under the tent fly. I will say it isn’t as easy, but it’s certainly a work around. The solid inner is then only exposed for however long it takes you to feed poles into the web truss - I’d consider that sigh the solid inner, you aren’t going to soak the tent floor. I don’t think that negates the advantage the linked inner system has - but the structural advantages are something to consider as well:

I asked about the merits to the exterior fly over structure because I really like how hilleberg does it, and even with the poles + fly setup I describe about I was still concerned - I was told the skyscraper distributes load across the fly fabric more and does not transfer wind/snow load strictly the support seams. When I set up the web truss, after hearing this I could better understand why it’s such a bomber system and why the way the fly takes load lends to that over an exterior pole system. That is a huge reason to consider.

Is one better? Hard to say, but they aren’t kidding when they talk about the strength of the skyscraper structure. I think the exterior pole setup with linked inner and strength of the webtruss and exterior fly are two ways of doing it - one prioritizes dry setup while the other prioritizes absolute strength. I think which is more important depends on ultimate end use and personal preference.

 

[Sverimerica]

I just saw a short video where Kurt talks about the evo 40/56 or whatever and this tent.

Stone Glacier Skyscraper 2P Tent - YouTube

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[Steve O]

I have/had the same concern. I’ve sat inside a hilleberg and taken down the whole inner tent while it was pouring outside. I packed up the inner, as well as my entire backpack under the fly. You can get into rain gear, then get out and pack the wet fly/poles and be off. I think that’s a nice feature.

But it isn’t black and white - you can, and I have practiced to test it, set up the skyscraper by raising the web truss and then quickly throwing and attaching the fly over the structure & inner. Then you can raise the inner from under the tent fly. I will say it isn’t as easy, but it’s certainly a work around. The solid inner is then only exposed for however long it takes you to feed poles into the web truss - I’d consider that sigh the solid inner, you aren’t going to soak the tent floor. I don’t think that negates the advantage the linked inner system has - but the structural advantages are something to consider as well:

I asked about the merits to the exterior fly over structure because I really like how hilleberg does it, and even with the poles + fly setup I describe about I was still concerned - I was told the skyscraper distributes load across the fly fabric more and does not transfer wind/snow load strictly the support seams. When I set up the web truss, after hearing this I could better understand why it’s such a bomber system and why the way the fly takes load lends to that over an exterior pole system. That is a huge reason to consider.

Is one better? Hard to say, but they aren’t kidding when they talk about the strength of the skyscraper structure. I think the exterior pole setup with linked inner and strength of the webtruss and exterior fly are two ways of doing it - one prioritizes dry setup while the other prioritizes absolute strength. I think which is more important depends on ultimate end use and personal preference.

MT-Wyatt, I am picturing you can do the setup of the inner tent with the fly already pitched by unzipping the door of the inner tent and doing 1/2 from inside of each door. Am I picturing correctly?

 

[MT_Wyatt]

MT-Wyatt, I am picturing you can do the setup of the inner tent with the fly already pitched by unzipping the door of the inner tent and doing 1/2 from inside of each door. Am I picturing correctly?

Yes - I actually did it all from inside one door the other day - that takes a bit of gymnastics but doable.


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[Steve O]

Perfect, thank you. I need something for above timberline when I can’t use my Sawtooth and I trust the guys at SG to bring out something I can count on.

 

[Sverimerica]

Will be interesting to see how this holds up. By next year, hopefully there are enough users and this tent will have proved its mettle.

For the Hilleberg Soulo, which Kurt said on another thread he used for 10 years, if you assume a constant width all the way up (which its not) you get roughly 87 cubic feet for 5.29 lbs. The skyscraper, which is for 2 people gives 108 cubic feet for 4.8 lbs

Time will tell how the materials will hold up, and I know this is not an Apples to Apples comparison, but gives some idea of the volume per weight, which is impressive. Price is also better than hilleberg. One thing that might prove a disadvantage for me with the skyscraper is the footprint. It is damn difficult to find open spaces where I am, to even fit a sleeping bag. I see all these pictures of you guys in N. America with what look like ideal camp sites deep in the wild. Would be cool to see what they might come up with in the future if they did a one-man tent.

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[AK Shane]

For the guys wondering about durability, condensation or looking for reviews, there should be more info out there on the internet. This tent has been on the market for 3+ years. As others have mentioned in other posts, it's made by SlingFin and sold as the CrossBow. It wasn't until recently that Stone Glacier hooked up with the company to throw their SG logo on it and market it to the hunting crowd. If you're up here in Anchorage, AK you can check one out over at Barney's Sports Chalet. They have one set up in their store. Looks like a legit tent.