I’ve put together a review and first field trial report on the Laser Competition in the Gear & Tech / Equipment subsection of the main site.
I think the performance of this tent goes beyond its spec and it should be capable of exceeding its intended usage, and of course the weight is terrific. There are some things left to mull over and investigate, and that pole hood will really need sorting out, but basically I’m quite pleased with the concept if not every aspect of the execution.
27 Comments
Interesting report Geoff, particularly like the comparisons with the Akto as the latter is certainly a market leader for backpackers but the LaserComp looks very similar, though with less weight.
I’ve has a TN Laserlarge for a few years that I only really use for car camping. That has the carbon fibre pegs - a nice idea but horrible in practice. Easy to lose and the tops keep popping off every so often and need super gluing back on. That also has a pair of pole covers, but they are tied on and can stay so permanently. Can’t you do that on the LaserComp?
Hi Geoff,
When you mention that the porch is plenty big enough, do you mean for storage or cooking too?
I think if I do get one, I’ll seal the seam…
cheers
Phil,
Perhaps the hood could be left attached, it would eliminate that twice-daily fiddling. I will investigate it as a possibility and see if it affects the threading of the pole in any way.
vorlich,
The space for storage and cooking would certainly be big enough for me (if I cooked, which I don’t!). I did take the stove and pan to boil up water for a hot drink on this trip and there was plenty of space. The porch sizes of the LaserComp and Akto can’t be that much different or I would have noticed.
Some people do seem to desire oodles of space though and I never really understood why, I’m quite happy with very little.
Hi Geoff,
We have a laser large 2 which can be a real pig to pitch, we leave the pole hoods attached and this does cause the poles
to snag when threading them through the sleeves but this tent gives us plenty of space with two collies in tow.
John,
So it’s not just the LaserComp that is reputedly tricky to pitch, it’s all the Laser family. I’ll see how I fare with leaving the hood attached.
Hi Geoff,
I have a standard Laser, and I have never removed the pole hood. The ties do make threading the pole a bit more difficult, but it is not too bad.
I always take the inner and outer diagonal guys to the same peg, and find this OK. I have adjusted the lengths a bit.
What a superb review. Thank you. So often folk praise every aspect of the kit they buy; the fact that you can be critical when necessary makes your opinions all the more credible.
John,
I’ll try leaving the hood attached and do a trial re-pitch at home and see how it goes. I’m wondering why TN don’t suggest a single peg for inner and outer diagonal guys, but it does seem to work.
Jerry,
Thanks very much. I know what you mean: reading some reviews it sounds like they are trying to convince themselves that they made a good buy, while deep down they are having doubts and second thoughts.
A lot depends on personal preference and mindset, the best we can do is relate our experiences and thoughts in the hope that it will help people make their decisions.
Just got back from the Backpackers Club meet in the Peak District where there were loads of Terra Nova Tents on display.Had a good look at the Laser Competition which now comes with titanium pegs weighing 2g each(Later saw some Terra Nova pegs in a shop weighing only 1g each!)The pegs look like pins and I will be sticking with my 6g titanium pegs.Spoke to the Terra Nova Rep who confirms it would be OK to dispense with the Pole Cover,seal the seam and then attach guylines to the side of the tent but suggested that the guys were attached to BOTH loops either side of the pole sleeve instead of just the one(Hope this makes sense)This seems a logical idea but guess what,when I got home and looked at my TNLC tent,I had only attached the guy lines to one loop!The rep also suggested to leave the tension straps inside the outer a little loose when pitching and then tighten them up when the tent has been pitched.My TNLC still awaiting its first outing this year.
Hi Geoff. I’ve only recently bought a Laser Comp and have managed to get out in it on a few occaasions so far.
After the first outing, I thought I would try and leave the pole sleeve on. Re-pitching on the second outing proved to be fine. I have since seam-sealed the tent and was out in the Roaches yesterday morning in prolonged, hard rain. It worked fine. The only thing I had a problem with was the outer sagging onto the inner as time went by but no leaks from the seam.
I too have the 2g titanium pags and use these but with four larger (from the Voyager - about 6g I think) titanium pegs for the guylines.
I’d also agree about not tensioning the tape between the inner and outer ends - makes for a much tauter final pitch.
If you want to use one peg for the inner and outer then you probaly need to play around and shorten the elastic cord attached to the inner.
Great site!
Jeff,
1g pegs - really!. Are they made by the Predator with alien technology (if you saw the movie)?. Totally useless on many of our pitches, in fact on a few of them the 6g ones were almost useless as well, we always pack a few longer 14g ones.
Attaching each guyline to a pair of loops does sound a safer bet. I’m still deciding whether to seal the seam or leave the hood fastened.
I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to come to Ashford this weekend!.
Alun,
Such an expanse of basically unsupported flysheet is bound to sag onto the inner a bit in some conditions, it remains to be seen whether it causes any difficulty. It happened to a certain extent in Galloway, which may have contributed to the condensation.
That’s a good point about the lengths of the fly and inner elastic cords, that will play a part in the final pitch I’m sure - even more experimentation.
The Roaches: another local jaunt, we haven’t been there for ages.
Hi, I’ve a laser comp too and 2 grs pegs.
But I love the 6 grs pegs for my superlite solar 2.2.
The pole cover must be in place for a good or bad weather.
The weight of this tent is just under the kilo (980 grs)
After the original LaserLite, I think that attacking the weight of the pegs was the only way TN had left to reduce the total any further, the material is mighty thin!. Anyway it’s a superbly light package and will be my solo choice for most trips.
Geoff, following a tense night in the Cairngorms listening to my TN Solar 1 flapping in the wind, I’ve just splashed out on a TN Laser Photon, complete with ludicrously light (and tiny) 1g titanium pegs and all. No problem putting it up in the back garden, but will report back when I’ve successfully pitched it in sterner conditions.
Michael.
Geoff (all),
I desperately want the idea of the 790 photon - but can’t bring myself to buy a tent that doesn’t actually keep the water out. Are the seams really that bad in normal/light rain? Because after all, if you’re stuck in a tempest (likely in the highlands) the pole cover isn’t going to stop frain bouncing up and in either. Has anybody reported surprisingly excellent performance, or horrifyingly bad experiences? Can anyone tell me that it’s all right after all, and a lot of fuss about nothing, which is really really really what I want to hear…
Jo.
Jo,
Several people have reported that the flysheet remained waterproof without the pole cover, but I suppose it depends on how long and how heavy the rain comes down. The bottom line is that TN don’t guarantee waterproofness without the cover, so you takes your chances!.
There shouldn’t be a problem with rain bouncing upwards into the cover. It doesn’t sit astride the seam like an umbrella, it folds down fairly tightly well below the line of the seam (I’m assuming the Photon is the same as the LaserComp).
Most of the weight saving of the Photon over the LaserComp comes from those ridiculous pegs.
I am considering this tent for light to moderate alpine conditions.
I climb in the pacific northwest, I wonder about two things, can
this tent squeeze in a bivy spot if needed? Of course I know it won’t
really fit but could it be made to work in a emergency?(I imagine it could work even if one end of the middle pole was higher than the other.) Also can the tent handle some snow fall without collapsing?(I can handle sagging). I want and need the light weight, is there some thing better in the sub 2lb range?
Thanks
Dan
Dan,
I’ve never tried pitching in a really awkward spot like that, but thinking about it, the very minimalist design of the Lasercomp with its lack of solid framework and considerable leeway with the pegging should be a distinct advantage over more structured designs. I do wonder about the cross-strap that goes horizontally below the tent: this joins the pole ends in tension and maintains the pole in an arch. If one end was higher than the other it would slope upwards. I suppose if you are lying on one half and flattening it it would sort itself out… maybe!.
The sides are sloping all around with no flat areas and the material is very slippery, so it ought to shed most of the snow quite well and avoid accumulations. The outer will sag and touch the inner, but that happens even in merely wet conditions and is inevitable.
Hi everyone.
I’ve just bought the Laser Competition and have it dominating the living room as I speak. Just a quick question if I may, how does one attach the pole cover? Obviously you have to put the cords through the tiny, tiny eyelets, but does one then bring them over the top in any way? Just tying them to the eyelets either side doesn’t seem to keep everything tight enough to prevent the cover from moving away from the seam. Besides which, I wouldn’t like to try and thread little bits of cord through eyelets that small on a windswept and wet Welsh hillside.
Thanks for any advice,
Mark.
Mark,
I don’t bring the cords over the top anywhere, I just thread each one through and tie it in a simple knot, with the first loop of the knot fairly tight, but the second loop a bit slacker so I can undo it easily. With short cords it’s too fiddly to tie the second loop in a bow like a shoelace, especially with cold hands. Then I just smooth it down over the pole seam like the guy does in the TN video, and it seems to sit well enough in a good inverted V shape.
It isn’t meant to be really taut like a guyline, it just adds a little stability in windy weather. I always tie the middle cords first and the end ones nearest the ground last, otherwise I end up using too much cord on the first end and the other end won’t reach.
Thanks for your reply Geoff. I hope to use the beast this weekend, and I’ll report back on it’s performance next week. Cheers.
Mark, Geoff
Why would you wan’t to take the pole cover off? I don’t think I have ever taken it off my Laser. I certainly would not want to be threading the cords through those little loops with cold hands.
My first thought was to do away with the hood entirely, mainly because as you say fiddly loops and cold hands don’t mix, but after much reflection I’ll leave it attached using the method Robin describes in his LaserComp mods article. If I leave the line-loks really slack it shouldn’t make the pole significantly harder to thread through the sleeve.
Hi Geoff,
Just thought i’d let you know about my experience this week-end with my LaserComp. I went
for a wild camp in the lakes and when it was time to pitch the wind was blowing quite
strongly.
I inserted the pole (i leave the pole hood attached BTW)and pegged one end as normal as i
went to peg the other end a gust of wind pulled out the peg and when i went back to
re- peg, the little pole that holds up the end of the tent had gone. It had been flicked
down the hill a little way and luckily i found it and the peg the following morning.
It made for a very noisy night but it was dry so i didn’t have the problem of dampness
where the fly was touching the inner.Something to look out for if pitching when windy
Cheers,
Karl
I have a laserlarge 1 tent where the little pole at the end has become detached. Can someone tell me how to rethread it. Thanks.
Hi,
I’m going on a 12 months trip around Asia (Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, China, Japan, Singapore etc.) and am thinking about replacing my heavy 13g pegs with 2g ones. Are they any good and should I rather use 5.5g pegs just to be safe?
Thx, David
Those 2g pegs are a joke (TN even have 1g pegs which is double the joke). Anything less than perfect pitching ground and they are totally useless.
On many of our pitches the 5.5g pegs are far from good enough for any tent that relies on the pegging for structural integrity. For my LaserComp I usually take 6 x 14g + 4 x 5.5g, the longer heavier ones being for the main support points.