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Thanks! I have been using it alot during my 2 month Alaska National Park adventure! In addition to video, it also takes great photos on the 10ft stick that look like drone shots! Thanks for watching! 🫡

YES! It was amazing!! I just managed to get my pix and videos posted after sorting thru 1,200 I took during the trip. I also posted a "play by play" of the 8 days in the same post. Check it out on my public facebook page! 👉 facebook.com/share/p/PZNNYPQ1TMSjAScf/?mibextid=qi2Omg

YES! I'm not sure if you would like it or not... Zero trails. Slogging through poor footing and spongy tundra. Wet feet 100% of the time! Hiking in the rain. Setting up and taking down camp in the rain. Eating in the rain. Going number 2 in the rain! And....the....WIND. Soo many places to explore, but I am already thinking about how great it would be to go back for 11 days and explore more of the higher elevation valleys. It is an incredible place and I only explored ~65miles of the 12,000+ square miles!! Gates of the Arctic!!!! 💙🏞️

@@MountainsCallingMe can’t wait for the video footage! I think I would like to be where it is more dry! Lol

You're welcome! Thanks for watching 🫡

LOL. Pretty much! 😃 thanks for watching 🫡

The floor dimensions are 85" x 51" (head) / 42" (foot) (216cm x 129cm / 107cm). The head-end is slightly wider than the foot end. It is not a rectangle, more of a trapezoid... Two "wide" sized inflatable sleeping pads will fit! Thanks for watching! 🫡

Thanks for watching! 🫡

For this I was using a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 mounted on a full size tripod. The Osmo Pocket has a 1" PTZ lens and a face tracking feature. It works great! The picture quality is better than what my phone gets and it automatically pairs with the wireless mic I was wearing. I would love to take that into the backcountry but it seems a little fragile. When I go to Lake Clark + Katmai I am gonna for sure bring the Insta360 Flow smartphone stablizer so I can get good video of the bears at Brooks Camp! 🐻 😃

Man, you really have ALL the tech toys. I’d be lost with all that gadgetry! Lol. It really is amazing that you’re able to juggle the demands of traveling & backpacking all while working and still managing to put out quality content.

Thanks!!

Thanks Sam! I would like that! I will be busy with this trip and then wisconsin n back after, but I am open October and beyond! 🤩 🚐 🏞️

I got the gen 2 in august 2022 before my CA to Maine and back roadie. It was worked well so far. Knowing that I would need to rely on Starlink more heavily on this trip and my worry that might not perform or stop working during some critical juncture lead me to get the gen 3 and get it mounted up there within the weeks leading up to this trip. I have a roadie to Wisconsin after this trip which I will keep both active for, but after that I will be pausing the service on the gen 2 - while leaving it in place for future use and the ability to reactivate service. It is definitely expensive to keep both active every month in perpetuity. My wife and I also talk about moving into the van fulltime and if we did that I'd probably just keep both active all the time. My bandwidth needs are HIGH! :D I dont keep them both powered on all the time - because in areas with cellular my setup usually is fast enough and consumes way less power. The gen 3 does perform better with slightly more field of view and more power it gets better upload speed. Driving through Canada there were some places where the single gen 2 starlink would be "flaky" (because of satellites moving or whatever) so I turn on the gen 3 and the router bonds those together to keep my zoom sessions from dropping. And other times where I am doing large 19GB uploads I turn both on. It all depends on the location and situation of what I am doing at the moment. Thanks for the question and for watching! 🙏

Great!! I used it most recently to obtain 3 consecutive nights at the Brooks Camp campground in Katamai in mid-July, peak bear watching season! It has a lottery which I missed and so I used this and got my 3 nites via 3 seperate notifications in early may! Enjoy Yosemite! Its my favorite national park! 💙🏞

@@MountainsCallingMe Thank you so much, I can't wait! We're also going to Kings Canyon and Sequoia

Awesome! Thanks for watching! 🫡😃

Some people do that. I believe that is unsafe. The only thing holding it into the post is a chinsy metal clip. Since I made this vid in Feb 2023, in June 23 I cut the back off the starlink and mounted it flat within the Starmount enclosure. I also added a 2nd gen3 starlink and flat mounted it too. I have 2 flat mounted starlinks! I am currently in the Yukon Territory and its working great up here. I am on my way to Alaska and will be posting an updated van tour with all my changes I have made to the van in the last 1.5yrs. Thanks for watching! 😃

Glad it was helpful! I went to Iceland in 2019 and used a different tent. (Big Agnes Copper Spur Expedition). The stories of wind are true. The Portal 2 will stand up well in the winds! Take a peak at my channel at "the guyline video" for additional tips on how I rig my guylines on the Portal 2. Happy trails ⛺️ 🫡

Cool. Thanks for watching! 🫡

Cool! Yes, I posted pix from this trip on Yosemite Trailz. Thanks for watching! 😃 🫡

@alyssaborowski thanks for watching! 🥶🤠

Thanks, will do!

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it 😀

It was. I only had cold feelings in my hands a few times when they were wet. Making hot coffee and holding the nalgene in my hands really helps!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching!

I wish it was easier! I am pretty sure Roamly will drop me on January 1 2025 when my van is over 5 years old. Seems silly to only insure rvs up to 5 years old! I dread having to do this process again with a different provider. Roamly made it soo easy to cover my diy build.

Thanks for watching and subbing! 1K! 🏆🎖️🎫 The pack is still solid with 18 months of use. I will be using it for 28 days backpacking in Alaska this summer. My favorite feature is how the arc keeps the pack off my back so I stay cooler and sweat less.

@@MountainsCallingMe the arc is the main thing I want, but my base weight is close to 20 lbs, so with a liter of water and 4 days food, I'm worried about the carrying capacity.

If you end up getting the Arc I would encourage adding the belt pouches and top side pouches. This gives lots of extra space. I keep gloves and snacks in the belt pouches and stuff I need easy access to in the top side pouches like puffy or solar panel so I can quickly set it up and charge any time I stop for a break and not need to dig inside the pack. I also clip my pad on the outside and tent on the top using the V strap. With all of that I am able to use the full size Bearikade Expedition bear can inside the pack vertical along with my quilt, airpad, clothes, stove, etc. When I needed more room I have also clipped my cookset on the outside of the pack in a mesh sack. I have always been able to get all my stuff inside or attached to it in some form. The size has worked well for me.

@@MountainsCallingMe thanks for the info! I probably would just get the FUPA instead of the belt pouches, as I like everything right in front of me. But the top mesh pockets are a definite.

No. This is the only tent I ever had a problem with from SlingFin. The fly had a zipper issue and then the body had a weird issue with it that caused water to condense on the body and drip down. They replaced the fly and body. No issues with them after replacement. My other 2 SlingFin tents have not had any issues. Thanks for watching!

@@MountainsCallingMe I'm sure in another video you told the story of a zipper not working first time you set one of theirs up and the guy came round with a replacement. Which seems either really unlucky on your part, or there's some quality control issues there

Yea...That story in the other video was about this tent. Just to share what my experience was like and should be the same if someone else buys their product. For smaller manufacturers it can be a worry about returns and issues - the point of telling that story in the other video was just to say "SlingFin stood behind their product and corrected the issue without any hassle".

Hi. I would love to help you out, but I need to hang on to the old pack so visitors can use it. Last July my step-son used it on a trip we did in Yosemite. Thanks for watching! 👋

Thanks for watching! 🫡

Awesome!! I am in Aptos/Santa Cruz, and have actually been to their warehouse in Berkeley. They are a great company and great people, and of corse also make great tents. You won't regret owning this tent! ⛺️ Have a great day. 🫡

Hi, thanks for watching! You and me sound a lot alike! The Promaster is a big "upgrade" from a tent on the ground. My needs a minimal and I mainly care about being in the wild places, having views from my van, being reasonably comfortable (airflow/temp) and staying connected (cellular/starlink). I love my PM! I have two big trips coming up soon... I will be driving to Alaska for 2 months in June-July working remotely for a portion of that but then taking 4 weeks off to visit all 8 National Parks and backpacking. Then shortly after driving back from Alaska I will drive to Wisconsin for a family party. Along the way back I plan to route through CO/UT and visit some of the National Parks. Doing this type of travel is "easy" with the van and my setup. I can never go back to not having a van!! I hope your build out goes well and you get the use out of it that you are wanting. Have a great day!

@@MountainsCallingMe Alaska is beautiful. I got to go to Fairbanks when my brother that lived there was still alive. He gave us a tour that was beyond anything you could buy. We went to his cabin up the Good Pasture River and to his son's cabin on the way to Anchorage and lots of other places. I so greatly enjoyed the fire weed and have learned they are a valuable herb. I hope you enjoy it at least as much as I did. When you are in CO if you are close to Durango, consider getting together with me, I'm only 35 miles from Durango. I'd love to share some amazing places with you if you want.

Hi. Thanks for watching! I am out of town right now visiting family so I cannot throw the whole kit on my scale and get you an exact weight of my setup. I will be back home on the 19th and can get an exact weight that weekend and follow up...In any case, I recall weighing all of my SlingFin tents on the scale and all being almost exactly what the MFG website states. In addition to the standard Portal 2 kit, I do have the "upgraded poles", I also have lots of guylines which might add a few OZ, then I also use the SlingFin groundsheet. I am 5'10" and this is very comfortable for me. The tent floor is 85" long (7.08ft)... I would think that someone who is 6ft-something could use this ok. Being a mesh inner, if your brushing up against that you wont pickup any condensation like a single wall tent, fwiw... I will checkback once I am back home and weigh the tent. Have a great day!

My tent body + fly + 2 stuff sacks + heavy duty poles is 3lbs 10oz. With groundsheet it is 4lbs exactly. My stakes in their bag adds 5.3oz.

Does the 4lbs include the stakes?

@@apleparulo3958 4lbs was without stakes.

Hi. Thanks for watching! I am only about 5'10" so I fit pretty well in these tents. Out towards the end of the tent there is only a moderate improvement in headroom compared to a trekking pole tent like the Zpacks Duplex. In my "6 hacks" Zpacks Duplex tent mod video I show how I dramatically improve headroom in that tent. In any case the headroom of these freestanding tents is still better. The main difference seems to be the amount (volume) of headroom closer to the center of the tent. More room to move back and forth near the middle and not graze your head on the roof. The WindSaber tent has an additional pre-bent 3rd pole on the head end so there is no issues at all with grazing the body with my head every time I sit up and down. Has the most headroom of the SlingFin tents I have. Of corse that is a heavier, more winter-specific option compared to the Portal 2. What tent are you using now?

​@@MountainsCallingMe - Am using Durston Pro now, but have used DuplexL, Notch-dcf and various dcf tarps in the past. Hoping Durston perfects his X-Dome (by bending the last 20" of poles).

Hello. Thanks for watching! I do not have the Indus 2 and dont plan to get it. Here are my thoughts and relative comparison with the Crossbow 2 which is is "based off of". Indus 2 Pro's - Price - a bit cheaper than the CB2. Thicker fabric - might be more durable. However this might not matter if you take care of your gear. Makes it heavier so this could be a con depending on how you look at it! Door mesh for entire door. One thing I wish the CB2 had was mesh that went across the entire door instead of a half-circle. This will allow more ventilation thru the doors. Different zippers. Not exactly sure what the difference is. But slingfin says theyre better. However the CB2 and all their tents already have backup zipper pulls on all the zipper runs. I cannot say for certain how much of a benefit the #8 zipper gives. CrossBow 2 Pro's - WebTruss - stronger tent. more rigidity. I am sure CB2 performs better in wind and snow loading. Thru-vent - the circle vent in the side wall. More ventilation aside from the doors. The Indus has more mesh in the doors so this might be offset / neutral in terms of ventilation. The vent is above the head side so it probably results in less condensation. Also kinda nice to have a way to look out and that direction. Weight - its lighter. Customizability - you can remove the webtruss if thats not needed. You can also get a mesh-inner body and use the same fly, poles and webtruss in summer months when the full wall is not needed. If I didnt own any SlingFin tents and I was considering getting the Portal 2 for summer and a winter tent - the Crossbow 2 plus mesh inner could end up being a single system for all seasons. Still costs a fair amount of money for both but it would be a savings of $150. And might end up being a more robust summer setup using the CB2+meshbody versus the Portal 2. I already own the Portal 2 with upgraded poles so this isnt something I plan to buy. Everything else is very similar or same. I would be happy to answer any additional questions you might have. You can also email SlingFin, they are very responsive to customers!

Go for it! Thanks for watching. 🫡

@@MountainsCallingMe if you had to choose between the Portal, Crossbow, WindSaber, which would you choose? I really loved all of your reviews, you did a great job on giving me a feel of these three tents, unfortunately I still can’t decide which of these I want.

@fredspompinato8123 It kinda depends on conditions you plan to use them in. While its technically possible to use the Portal 2 in winter, I wouldnt want to. And the Windsaber could be overkill during mild summer conditions or in very hot climate it might be uncomfortable. The WindSaber is definitely the cream of the crop for winter. If you plan to go out in the worst of worst winter conditions - the WindSaber is better than the CB2. The additional pole gives more headroom and the shape of the tent is a bit more conducive to mountaineering (smaller vestibules = less area needed to pitch but also catch less wind). That said if you only want to buy one - I would strongly consider buying the Crossbow 2 and also the inner mesh body add-on they offer. This combination would only be $65 more expensive than the Windsaber alone. And it would give you a single "system" which you could use across all 4 seasons in any conditions. The CB2 w/ mesh inner would be stronger than the Portal 2 due to the WebTruss. The trade off compared with the Portal 2 would be slightly heavier setup and slightly more bulk due to the fly material not packing down as much. I hope this helps! Let me know if I can answer any other questions. ⛺️

Thank you very much! Your explanation is super helpful, I had thought about your solution, but kept getting distracted by other options. One of the big pluses of the Wind Saber was that extra pole at the head, it seemed like the “livability” would be greatly increased, but then I also thought about wanting a mesh tent for summer. Obviously I couldn’t have the extra headroom and the mesh, but having a bomber tent and mesh tent is really what I am wanting. Again thanks for your advice.

I prefer to face down/out when going to enjoy the view. I dont have any trouble hanging on facing that way going down. Thanks for watching! 🫡

Best of luck! Odds are high as your date gets close people cancel. Just gotta watch for the notifications and jump on them right away!

Thanks for watching! If you go with this tent you wont be disappointed! 😃⛺️ I used a 1 person copper spur for 1 season. Its was only marginally lighter than this, only had 1 door, and made keeping all my stuff inside difficult and was problematic when it rained. In 2016 I spent 4 days of rainy backpacking across Isle Royale. The 1P tent did work, but was not comfortable when it was raining - which was most of the time!

@MountainsCallingMe I saw your photo from Isle Royale. I went there on a freezing early spring day. I had not planned on camping and really wish that I had visited later in my year long trip to the 62/63 national parks. I'm really thinking this is the tent for me. Thanks again.

@user-oo1no6sb1u - That year I went to Isle Royale twice. The first was early spring before the ferry started running. I only saw 3 other people over 4 days hiking from Windigo to Rock Harbor. I am closing in on completing all 63 National Parks! This summer I will be spending 2 months in Alaska - hitting all 8 national parks - which will put me at 62 of 63. Only American Samoa will remain for me which I plan to visit later this year or early next. During my time in Alaska I will be spending 29 days backpacking and plan to use THIS tent. I will be driving my campervan to Alaska and have enough space to bring along a backup tent just in case something catastrophic happens to the Portal at one of the parks. Of course I hope to not need the backup. :)

@@MountainsCallingMe What a treat!

Thanks! Glad to have you! 🫡 The tent is good in rain and wind. Site selection is key to ensuring that you dont get splash back. Because the inner tent is fully mesh - if you setup on hard surface you can get 'some' splashback. Not unmanageable, but if you can setup on grass or softer surfaces that wont happen at all. Also, if you really want to have the most rock solid pitch you should always set the guylines. I recommend attaching to both of the attachment points along the 4 polls of the fly/upper. In this video I share a hack for how I attach both of those points using a single line out to the ground. czcams.com/video/E1BVgVn4cPw/video.html -- also if you use/carry trekking poles you can use the outrigger attachments and then run a guy line from above the pole which would make it even more strong. After 1 year of using this tent I purchased the upgraded pole set from SlingFin which further increased the strength of the tent. That isnt really required if you use guylines and the outrigger+trekking poles, but it only adds a few ounces to the overall weight of the tent. In summer of 2023 during one trip to Yosemite I had both high wind one day - the tent didnt budge and I slept like a baby and then multiple waves of hard rain the following day - and stayed dry inside. During this trip czcams.com/video/VLv_iSIybPU/video.html I got hailed on and some people on reddit were acting like it was apocalypse - and I was fine in my tent! ... I have 29 days of backpacking in Alaska scheduled this summer in June-July and THIS is the tent I will be using! LMK if I can help with any other Q's.

@@MountainsCallingMe Bro thanks so much for the detailed response. Being in the UK we have to pay even more to buy it so it's eye watering here. I'm going to have this as my do all tent apart from heavy winter conditions as I have a nortent for that. Going to catch up on your other vids. Good luck with the channel you deserve a lot more subs 👍🏻

One hour means something is wrong. Does the link light on your router or POE injector light up? In this configuration I normally get a 192.168.x.x IP address within 1-2min. Then it can take few more minutes to obtain a real world IP from starlink and be able to access the internet. The additional time can depend on obstructions/line of sight and how long it has been since the last time I powered on the dish. Is your dish cable plugged into the starlink router or are you using 12V DC POE? If you cut the cable and put an ethernet jack on it, I would cut that off and recrimpt it with a fresh ethernet jack. And doublecheck that you have all the wires in the correct pinout for starlink.

​@@MountainsCallingMe I'm not PoEing... I did the conversion to 12v in the dish board (search for Oleg article on Starlink 12v). Does your Ethernet lights go off during the boot process? I receive a 192.168.100.100 IP and I'm able to access the 192.168.100.1 page for a couple of seconds. Then the Ethernet lights go off. Then it comes lit again and I'm able to access the page. This cycle happens for 4-5 times. Then it stabilizes but no IP is assigned and I can't access the status page again. I suspect the wires I used are too thin and can't keep up with the boot process. Thanks for the reply.

@@MountainsCallingMe it was the wiring!

Awesome! That is a relief that it wasnt a broken dish! Glad you sorted it out. 👍

The Portal 2 rolls up easily, and the body, fly, and add-on ground sheet all fit in the included stuff sack with room to spare. I hate it when the tent is hard to put back into the vendor included stuff sack. Some of my other tents are like that... Fortunately, this tent does not suffer from that issue at all. It's a great tent! Thanks for watching! 🫡 👍

lol 😶‍🌫️

Thanks! Yes, I had it rigged up to my tripod (for weight) into the water bottle pocket on the side of my pack. The pole then extended up the side of the pack thru some cordage, which also kept it pulled in tight to the pack. 😀🏞

I definitely like the lighter color. I often end up camped in exposed places, and believe that the lighter color soaks up less heat from the sun. If you are camped in shady areas mostly that might not matter as much, but also the darker color would probably then also make the inside feel darker blocking more light in those shady areas. It might feel smaller inside also being darker, but that is pure speculation. I also am fond of the SlingFin orange color for the floor. Thanks for watching. Enjoy your new tent. Either color cant go wrong. 👍🫡

@@MountainsCallingMe , thanks for the quick reply!