Terra Nova Laser

Ideal for the ultra-lightweight backpacker the new Laser gives superb 3-season protection for trekking or racing. Features include:- Tough waterproof nylon flysheet Easy pitching single-pole design Tough and durable alloy pole Spacious porch for gear storage and cooking Streamlined profile for wind stability. Please note, this page also covers the new Terra Nova Laser Photon.

Site	Price	Postage	Total
	£239.95	£5.75	£245.7
	£255.00	£4.50	£259.5
	£263.50	£4.50	£268

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   User Reviews

General comments: Having used this excellent tent for several international mountain marathons and other more general camping excursions, I have been delighted with its performance. Used in 2005 on the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (LAMM), Saunders Lakeland Marathon, Mourne Mountain Marathon and Karrimor International Marathon (KIMM), it has proved light, easy to pitch when tired and withstood poor weather conditions. The Fly sheet fabric is siliconed which means it absorbs no water and rain and snow beads off it very well, this seems to be a durable coating and so far has not been affected by over 20 nights rough camping. However, the Flysheet can be hard to hold onto wearing gloves, due to its slick surface. The tent can be pitched outer only, and would be an ultra-lightweight option for those not scared of midges or water from below! More usually the inner and outer can be pitched together, and once practiced this takes about 5 minutes. The tent I have has carbon fibre pegs which have proved prone to splintering, the current model has addressed this problem, replacing the carbon pegs with titanium skewers and this should be a useful upgrade. The inner is well ventilated for such a light tent but is not as breathable as full mesh tents, having only a part mesh door and two small end vents. The trade off is that it remains warm in windy, cold weather. There is adequate space for 2 big blokes and all their equipment!…….all in all a winner of a lightweight tent.

Pros: Lightweight, spacious for the weight, superb material quality

Cons: Poor ventilation in warm weather, instructions included are pathetic! Try at home before you go out on the hill!

General comments: I'm a big fan of Terra Nova tents, but this one's not the best. Build quality is nowhere near as good as on other TN tents, I could see needle holes in the inner next to the stitching. Not easy to pitch - and I've found it impossible to keep the fly fom touching the inner in any kind of breeze, which eventually lets condensation in. In wet & windy weather, rain found it's way under the detachable seam cover and dripped onto the inner. The carbon fibre pegs supplied with mine were quickly replaced with a set of titanium pins. I know folk have been out in poor weather in Lasers, but I wouldn't make a habit of it unless you want to sleep with a flat, damp tent! Everything has been sacrificed for light weight, which is great for one night on a marathon event, but for regular or long term use there are better tents about for only slightly more weight (ultra Voyager for instance)

Pros: Very, very light

Cons: A fair weather tent only (in my opinion), fly touches inner, build quality nowhere near as good as other Terra Nova tents

General comments: Well designed very lightweight tent. Generous for one, a squeeze for two. Surprisingly weather resistant. Single pole tents move around a lot in the wind and condensation a problem.

Pros: Just used it for a 300 miles Scottish backpack. Strips down to 1.28kg without the bag and packs very small. Very spacious when rained in for a whole day and fine for over six footers. Quick to pitch and fully waterproof, with the inner going up at the same time meaning it can go up dry in rain. Stood up to a gale in Glen Nevis that destroyed some other tents. The carbon fibre tent pegs were really good to use. I had 16 nights and didn't break one. The flysheet is a strong silicone fabric that the water shakes off well (do this before taking out the centre pole if you're on your own). Easy to reduce the number of pegs needed to 8 which reduces the weight somewhat. Good unobtrusive colour in the hills and still a friend after living in it for 16 nights!

Cons: Moves around a lot in wind, don't expect to sleep during that gale. Condensation fine on windy nights, but cold still nights it gets a lot of condensation that will let some water through the inner. The new model has external vents that are much needed.

General comments: The Laser sets out to provide a lightweight shelter for 1 or 2 people in a light weight package. I'm not huge but I reckon at 6 foot and 13 stone me in my down bag take up 70 per cent of the floor plan. I suppose two could sleep in it but one person would need to be tiny or a contortionist and I reckon both would be in a lot of contact with the inner wall fabric. Pitching is fairly straight forward, some care is needed to ensure the optimimum separation between the fly and the inner, obviously if there are two of you in it this is more critical. These niggles about size should be seen in context of the low weight, pack size and stability. The stability is suprisingly good for a one hoop tent although it is quite noisy in higher winds, I've woken up several times in it convinced it's about to blow away, only to discover that it's quite happy really, just showing off a bit.

Pros: good cooking/storage area. reasonable stability, excellent weight/pack size. uber-sexy titanium pegs, natty vents that you can open/close by pulling strings inside the tent.

Cons: I reckon its a roomy one person tent not a two person one really, but maybe I'm just fatter than I think.

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