UOG Review - Mountain Hardwear SuperMega UL
Posted by Mark Richardson on Jul 04, 2016
| I was prepared not to like Mountain Hardwear’s SuperMega UL tents because the name’s a bit naff, but after using the 2 person version I’ve included it as one of our top recommendations! – if you don’t really want to read much further then I can tell you why, it’s because of the wishbone pole structure at the back, which is good for wind resistance, and an impressive attention to detail that has (among other things) the inner tent clipped to the flysheet to keep the inner tent volume at the max. I took the two person SuperMega UL on a two day trip along the Cleveland Way in North East England, at 1030grams it’s among the lightest two skin, free standing tents available, and that includes the poleset – lighter tents using trekking poles are a good option but if you don’t use trekking poles you need a tent with its own structure. The pole design looks similar to a lot of other tents but notice the poles are split at the back as well as the front – a lot of tents like this simply terminate the pole to a single point in the middle – they are not truly freestanding – the Super Mega UL's are, and it’s a design that resists the wind much better than the alternative. Note also that there’s a kink in the pole towards the rear – this gives just a little bit more internal volume and head height. The tent is pitched inner first then you throw the flysheet over the structure, securing it at each corner with a toggle, (unusual, but it works), and linking it to the inner tent with loop and clip. I experienced a gusty night with quite heavy rain and was really impressed by it’s performance - at the end of the day it’s not magic, with a strong gust the tent billows inward thus restricting the volume inside – but compared to other tents in this category the Super Mega UL is pretty sturdy. It kept me perfectly dry. Unside the space is roomy for one person, it will be tight for two. There are a couple of large pockets inside to keep things organised. The inner tent is completely mesh, which will be cool in summer when you want it to be, but also cold in winter when you don’t want it to be! Also a mesh inner means that wind whistles through the tent when it blows. Overall the Super Mega UL 2 is easily light enough for solo backpacking but would also make an ideal mountain marathon tent for teams of two people. If you’re not fussed about having lots of space then you’ll find the single person tent more than adequate for backpacking and its even lighter than the 2 person tent. |  | |
 | ||
 |  |  |