Deal? Mountainsmith Satellite light solo bivy

I'm seriously thinking about a few of these.
Mountainsmith Satellite solo tent: on sale

It seems to be a fair deal to me for the money.

Anyone used these before?
Opinions please, before I spend my $$$.

It's almost a 4 LB. TENT! Not that great a deal when you factor in the weight to space ratio.

BF <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I'll agree that it's somewhat on the heavy side, however, if that's not a real factor for you, then indeed it's a good deal. Can't get much of a shelter for $60.00 bucks these days and this seems to be one of the better deals I've seen for a new tent. Ed

I like the Al poles. However, in the back of my mind, I would always be wishing for something lighter and taller.

If you like double wall, for $20 more, the Eureka spitfire is 10oz lighter (packaged weight) and 5” taller. eBay has them in the $82 range.
And you’ll save money now instead of buying another tent in a year or two.

Also if you post a WTB here and at BPL, you can get used high quality tents. I got a very nice tarptent virga here recently (or was it BPL?) for <$60. Patience paid off.

-Barry

Eureka Spitfire link
Mountainsmith Satellite 1 Person Tent | Eureka Spitfire Tent
--------------------------------------------------------
CAPACITY: 1 | 1
Min Wt: 2 lbs. 12 oz. | 2 lbs. 12 oz.
Pkg Wt: 3 lbs. 14 oz. | 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Dimensions: 7 ft 8 in x 2ft 11in | 9 ft. x 3 ft. 6 in.
Area (Sq. Ft.): 22 tent + 4 vest | 18 + 4.4 vestibule
Int Height: 2 ft 11 in | 3 ft. 4 in.
Pack Size: 18in x 6in | 22 in. x 5 in.
No. of Poles: 2 | 2
Pole Size: 8.5 mm | 9mm
Pole Material: 7000 Series Aluminum | DAC FeatherLite 7000 Aluminum
No. of Doors: 1 | 1
Hooded Fly: NO | No
No. of Windows: 1 | 1
Gear Loft: n/a | N/A
Floor Material: 1.9 oz. 70D Nylon Taffeta | 1.9 oz. 70D nylon taffeta
5000mm coating. | w/1200mm coating

Fly Material: 1.9 oz. 75D Polyester | 1.9 oz. 75D Stormshield
Taffeta 2000mm coating. | Polyester w/1200mm coating

Wall Material: 1.9 oz. 70D Nylon Taffeta. | 1.9 oz. Nylon taffeta
| w/1200mm coating

Roof Material: 1.9 oz. 70D Nylon Taffeta. | 40D Nylon no-see-um mesh
Netting: 1.4 oz. 40D no-see-um mesh. | 40D Nylon no-see-um mesh
Color: Fly - green, | Fly: Grey,
Body - gray mesh, | Body: Tan/Black,
Floor - black | Floor: Tan

Style: 2 hoop bivy | 2 hoop bivy
Use: 3.5 season | 3 Season
Special Features: Polyester fly, | Aluminum poles,
Aluminum Poles | taped seams,
& taped seams | large side door.

I see an error here:
Dimensions: 7 ft 8 in x 2ft 11in | 9 ft. x 3 ft. 6 in.
Area (Sq. Ft.): 22 tent + 4 vest | 18 + 4.4 vestibule
my calculation: 22 & 31.5 (but something is still wrong in their specs I think)

I don’t think there’s an error. You’re assuming a nice rectangle floor when it is actually a weird six-sided shape in which a few more dimensions are needed to calculate area. However, I’ll trust Eureka’s 18 sqft measurement.

I see, based on your package size, the Spitfire also takes less space in the backpack and has slightly more sturdy poles. Plus it looks like the Spitfire sets up pretty quick with 2 stakes.

It’s also hard to find a review on the Mountainsmith but there sure a lot of good remarks on the Spitfire (not UL).

-Barry

It seems like a good-enough price.

I've had two tents of about that size. One was more similar to the MS, (the old SD Divine Light) and the other was a Mountain Hardwear, of which the Spitfire looks like a knockoff.

The MH was more comfortable, but but heavier. Neither were/are particularly comfortable (I've still got the SD). In fact they both tended to drive me nuts after a few days of continuous use. No fun to hang out in.

.