Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Sierra Designs Nightwatch 2 - Room With A View
Tuesday, February 02, 2016

Sierra Designs Nightwatch 2 - Room With A View

Video information here: Sierra Designs Nightwatch 2

When Sierra Designs rebranded and made some major adjustments to their products a couple years ago, they reintroduced themselves back into the spotlight of innovation and smarts for the everyday outdoorsman. For the backpacker who isn't concerned about going ultralight, the Nightwatch 2 person tent is a great addition to the Sierra Design line up of tents. 

Overview:
A room with a view! The Nightwatch tent is new for Spring 2016, allowing the user to roll back the rain fly exposing the stars and creating awesome ventilation, yet keeping you away from the bugs. 
Sierra Designs has made some major adjustments that give them an edge and separate them from the highly competitive field of outdoor recreation. Introducing the awning style rainfly and removing the traditional vestibule is the noticeably major difference in the new Sierra Designs tents, but there's so much more. Ultimately focusing on the end user helps them stand out above the rest of the competition. 

Nightwatch 2 Features:
When Sierra Designs rebranded they made changes to the design that every other company has been doing for years. Removing the traditional vestibule to make the entry to the tent more inviting and less awkward. We've all been in a tent where it's raining, you've zipped shut the vestibule keeping you out of the rain, but you find yourself adjusting your backpack stashed under the vestibule making sure it's not getting wet. 

Sierra Designs has solved the issue with this, creating gear closets accessed from the inside of the tent removing your gear from the door of the tent. The other benefit of removing the vestibule is the ability to slightly zip down the window giving ventilation and being able to look outside and see what's happening. 

The other main feature of the Nightwatch tent is how it gets its name. Being able to roll back the rain fly exposing the night sky and creating excellent ventilation. This feature is important because one might argue how it differs from other tents. Being able to keep the rain fly attached and quickly rolling the fly down in inclement weather, rather than looking for a place to stash the unattached fly and scrambling when weather arrives. 
The Nightwatch 2 also features 2 additional small doors the act as doors when the rain fly is rolled back, or as access to the gear closets when the fly is fully attached and covering the tent body. 

Technical Specs: 
Minimum Weight: 4 lbs, 7 oz
Packed Weight:  5 lbs, 0 oz
Internal Peak Height: 43.5 in
Interior Area: 30.50 ft

Overall this tent is a well designed piece of equipment that any backpacker would be happy with. There are some drawbacks to the design that may not suit a few people too well. A valid concern is dragging muddy, wet boots through the tent to place in the gear closet. The drawbacks around the design are minimal to the overall benefits of how it creates a better outdoor experience for the everyday backpacker. 


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