User Review: Sierra Designs Divine Lightning

Reviewed March 19, 2000 by Damian

Rating: rated 5 of 5 stars
Design: 4 season
Sleeps: 1
Ease of Setup: easy if you do it right
Weight: 2# 6 oz
Price Paid: $180

I recently purchased a Sierra Designs Divine Lightning tent that is on sale for $180. Its original price was $350. I would like to pass on my impressions of this tent after a thorough examination of it. I have not used it in the field as of yet and would be interested to hear any comments from those who have, particularly in severe weather.

Much has been made of the apparent difficulty of installing the larger of the two poles inside the tent. If the pole is inserted through the already wrapped velcro fasteners, rather than inserting the pole followed by wrapping the velcro fasteners around the pole, then the process of assembly is really quite trivial and no difficult than any other tent.

The weight of the tent and the two poles for the one that I have is 2# 6oz and 2# 8oz with the stuff sack, weighed on a kitchen scale that was checked for accuracy with a number of digital scales. The tent floor has five sides (pentagram?) and has an actual area of about 17.5 square feet. I am 6' 1" and weigh 180 and use a long sleeping bag. I can sit up in the tent but the tent ceiling forces my chin down. This is tolerable for a short time but I wouldn't want to try to sit up in this position for an extended period. There is adequate room to perform other inside-tent functions such as changing clothes. A long, 0-degree, down bag pretty much fills up the floor space leaving almost no room for extra gear. Furthermore, the bag is a little too long so that the foot vent is at least partially blocked. Although there is adequate room for me to lie down in the tent (there is approximately 84 inches of length that can accomodate a person), a "long" bag is longer than the floor by several inches. Despite this, I am perfectly comfortable lying in the above bag in the tent.

Whether all of this is a problem or not is probably an individual thing. One could, for example, put his pack under his feet and lower legs and stuff everything else in the tent without compromising comfort too much. Whether covering the foot vent is a problem or not depends on the weather. Regardless, the DL tent is a heck of a lot more comfortable for me than a bivy sack.

The DL tent is single-wall which has the great advantage of not having to attach a fly on a double-wall tent under windy conditions (and also lighter weight than an equivalent double-wall tent). The water-proof tent wall material is nearly as breathable as 3L GTX and has a fuzzy layer on the inside which acts to disperse condensed water. Whether condensation in this tent is a problem or not depends on the ambient weather conditions and each person's own expectations. A little moisture or dampness could be tolerated without compromising comfort very much. There seems to be a perception that even a drop or two of water in a tent is going to be a disaster. The tent is not designed for hot weather or humid conditions.

I have one concern about the tent, and I would have the same concern about any tent, and that is how well it handles wind. The DL was designed to be a four-season tent. The DL is a hoop tent (of sorts) and hoop tents are supposed to handle wind well. Another concern is how it handles snow. Hoop tents are not known for accomodating heavy snow loads. The tent does not have a vestibule so that rain will get inside when the door is opened. A tarp could be used to obviate this and for all tents without vestibules in rain, a tarp probably should be used.

In summary, the DL tent appears to be an outstanding solo tent for use in all but humid and hot conditions where lots of mesh in the tent is an advantage. Where weight is a concern this tent is unbeatable. It is a very interesting and unusual tent and the manufacturer should be congratulated for having the courage to come out with it.

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