Borderline Outdoor

A two-person double-wall backpacking tent at 1.44 kg: aluminum poles, ripstop nylon, a mesh inner and a vestibule for packs. The tent for people who carry it, not drive it.

Key facts

• 1.44 kg tent, fly and poles; about 1.85 kg packed with stakes and bag
• Packs Ø13 × 40 cm, fits inside a 40 L pack
• Two regular pads side by side; 110 cm peak, sit up but not stand
• Ripstop nylon: 2,000 mm fly, 3,000 mm floor, taped seams
• 3-season

Why this one

• Half the weight and a third of the pack size of an entry-level tent.
• Aluminum poles, not fibreglass.
• Mesh inner and vents keep condensation down on cold nights.

Good to know

Pitch it taut so the fly never touches the inner, and leave a vent open. If the tent rides in a car, a heavier tent will serve you as well for less.

The Star X2 is an integrated cooking system: burner and heat-exchanger pot as one unit. It boils 0.5 L in 1 minute 42 seconds, which is the number that matters when you're making coffee at 6 a.m. in the cold.

Where the speed comes from

• The heat exchanger on the pot base captures heat that an ordinary pot lets escape around the sides — that's what cuts boil time and fuel use.
• Piezo ignition: no lighter to lose or fail in wind.

Packing

• 630 g, packing to Ø13.3 × 20.5 cm — burner, pot and a small canister nest together.

Care

• Never run a canister stove in an enclosed tent without ventilation.
• Let the unit cool fully before packing it away.

A freestanding geodesic dome for base camps you drive to. Six equal-length aluminum poles cross in Dyneema-reinforced sleeves to make a hexagonal dome 380 × 330 cm across and 185 cm high in the centre. The fly is 70D 230T nylon, silicone-coated outside and PU-coated inside, with a snow skirt outside and a mud guard inside. It stands on its own before it is staked, so you can lift it and move it to the right spot.

What you get, and what is extra: the fly, a detachable hexagonal floor, the six poles, 20 triangular aluminum stakes, nine reflective guy ropes and the carry, pole and stake bags: about 11.4 kg in a 62 × 27 × 27 cm bag. The inner tent (a closed sleeping room with its own floor), the front vestibule and the roof tarp are sold separately; add the ones you want under Made for this tent.

• Item no.: NX22661009 (Mobi Garden Commander 185)
• Pitched: 380 × 330 cm hexagon, 185 cm peak
• Weight: about 11.4 kg including stakes, the same for every colour (Mobi Garden)
• Packed: 62 × 27 × 27 cm
• Fly: 70D 230T nylon, silicone outside, PU inside; snow skirt and inner mud guard
• Floor: detachable, 150D polyester oxford, PU 4,000 mm
• Frame: 6 equal-length aluminum poles in sleeves; G-hooks and adjustable buckles
• In the box: fly, floor, 6 poles, 20 stakes, 9 guy ropes, carry bag, pole bag, stake bag
• Sold separately: inner tent, 300 × 260 × 170 cm, about 2.1 kg; front vestibule, 130 × 170 × 135 cm, about 1.6 kg; roof tarp, 310 × 310 cm, 0.88 kg (listed here as the Ceiling)

Safety: no stove or heater inside this tent. Mobi Garden's photos show a stove pipe, but it publishes no stove-jack size, heat rating or clearances for the Commander 185, and any fire or gas heater in a tent makes carbon monoxide. In wind, stake all 20 points and set all nine guy ropes; dry the fly and floor before you pack them away.