New Macpac Minaret??

[Moondog55]

I just noticed that Macpac have a "V2" version of the Minaret available. It is a little wider than the original.
Ditto a "V2" version of the Olympus
I've always considered the Minaret a solo tent in winter, perhaps the small extra width would make it almost a 2-P tent but personally it's still a 1+

[stry]

Strangely the specs say that it is no heavier.

Always been a big fan as a comfy 1P. Simple and easy to use. Plenty strong enough and well ventilated.

Unfortunately a bit too heavy and bulky as I got older, so mine was sold.

Likely to be reduced prices for V1s to clear them out ??? Used with a fly or tarp another one would be a very appealing option for me for car or base camping.

MD the enabler

[Moondog55]

I wish it came with an extended vestibule, I like the extra space in white season and another pole would make it so much stronger. Unfortunately Macpac do not listen to customer feedback

[JamesMc]

I wish it came with an extended vestibule, I like the extra space in white season and another pole would make it so much stronger. Unfortunately Macpac do not listen to customer feedback

If it had a bigger vestibule and a third pole, it would be an Olympus.

The fact that you can pull the corner of the inner back means you can have plenty of vestibule space for cooking.

JamesMc

[Moondog55]

I'd personally say that the Olympus while OK would be much better going back to the original design with dual entrances and even better as a 4-pole tent with an extended vestibule too.
As-is the vestibule really is too small for me, OK for somebody smaller but I'm a tad larger than average.

[Biggles]

Two people can sleep comfortably in the current (prior to new release) Minaret. I've done that frequently enough to know. Packs are stored in vestibule, not inside as many people tent to do and then carp about the lack of room. Making a tent bigger adds more fabric = more weight. The Minaret is big and heavy enough (compared to other similar 2P tents in the Macpac range) as it is without delusions of adding extra roominess = no change in weight or size! I have never found cause or gripe to consider nor ask for improvements to the tent.

Haven't used an Olympus since the mid-1980s. It was a heavy and bulky tent then, and remains so today.

[Moondog55]

Well maybe two average sized people can, I know from experience [ I'm on my third Minaret] that I can't in winter above the snowline
It's a lot to do with mattress thickness and me being an XXL to XXXL in clothing.
It isn't UL but it is the lightest tent I personally trust in and around the High plains in winter, naturally YMMD

[Moondog55]

I really liked the Helsport I had a while ago but it was far too much tent for solo use, if I was a bit more cashed up I'd be buying the Mont tunnel tent that has the extended vestibule.
The Supercell EX looks reasonable in that regard, although it has no valances

[Biggles]

I really liked the Helsport I had a while ago but it was far too much tent for solo use, if I was a bit more cashed up I'd be buying the Mont tunnel tent that has the extended vestibule.
The Supercell EX looks reasonable in that regard, although it has no valances

The Supercell EX is not that fundamentally revolutionary nor different to the Minaret, but it is bigger, and the design is visually a bit irksome. The vestibule sides of the Minaret can be unclipped to allow side entry; the front part can be rolled up to provide open-air cooking while the sides provide some protection from cross-wind. The vestibule is fine as it is (I have fitted my own and companion's overnight packs in there with room to spare). Significantly the EX is 3.130kg — a lot more in my books than the Minaret's 2.34kg (I swapped out the OEM pegs for TOAKS Ti pegs). Weight does matter, but in the end, there has to be a sensible balance of what the most important attribute is; it's not often size, shape, colour or height; for me, it's weight. I became very averse to any tent over 2.5kg many years ago in my bicycle touring days. Fast forward and that is the same thinking that applies to so many present bicycle tourists, bushwalkers and bikepackers.

[Moondog55]

Weight is important but strength more so. Sitting out a 3day alpine blow in a Minaret was painful and that was solo. When I want to go as lite as possible I take [ or used to take] my Megalite. My priority for white season is strength.
As next winter is very probably my last on touring skis I may just continue to use my Fairydown Plateau at 4.6 kilos, almost 6 kilos with extra snow pegs and the third layer fly; compared to that either of those tents is lightweight. I am primarily a winter camper, fair seasons I used to get away with either my bivvysack or a tarp, sometimes both

[stu_m]

Strange. Lighter but wider. Are the poles therefore smaller. How have they saved weight?

[Moondog55]

We could ask Macpac for a breakdown but it may be a copywriters error.
It wouldn't be the first time that Macpac made a simple error and transposed a digit or two. It happens with all descriptions of product, that sometimes mistakes happen. Go back a decade or so with the old but heavier fly fabric and Macpac used to call the Minaret an Alpine tent, so perhaps the new version does use smaller diameter poles and a lighter fabric somewhere. I can't remember but perhaps somebody here does; did the original tapered Minaret have the ability to double pole the main wand?

[JamesMc]

Strange. Lighter but wider. Are the poles therefore smaller. How have they saved weight?

I've just bought a Duolite V2. It was next to old V1s in the shop. V2 is lighter. As far as I could tell, the geometry was the same but the fly fabric was different. I suspect that's where they saved weight.