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“This tent is a bunker” – Winterfjell.de review of the Quadratic™ Tent System

Winterfjell.de is a German website specializing in Scandanavian winter hiking and skiiing. Malte from Winterfjell, with help from Markus, recently checked out the Quadratic Tent System, judging it based on their extensive experience of extreme conditions.

The “expedition oriented” tent configuration that Winterfjell tested included the Quadratic Snow Outer, Winter Inner, Expedition main poles, 9.7 and 11 mm side poles, and a top pole.

In the test, Malte pointed out that standard two metre long guy cords are too short for winter expedition use. In severe conditions, longer cords make it much easier to really secure the tent, especially when using snow anchors and items like skis as pegs. We agree with this – and we now offer the Expedition Guy Cord 8 pack, which has eight three-metre long guy cords. Thanks for the feedback Malte!

You can find the review on the Winterfjell website (in German). Below are some of their comments translated into English:

Inner Tent

I particularly like the inner tent. First of all, it is big enough for two people up to 1.90 m with winter sleeping bags… …With the Quadratic, two 60 cm wide mats fit side by side, making it large enough as a winter tent. The sitting height is sufficiently high at the entrances, in the middle you have enough headroom even with a thick sleeping pad.

What I like very much: The open door does not hang down, as with many other tents, but stashes in a large pocket right next to the entrance. There is also the classic loop for rolling up the door, but the pocket makes it so much easier.

There are enough small pockets inside the tent to store everything from glasses to watches to headlamps. There are also plenty of loops for clotheslines or an optionally available ceiling net. This makes it easier to keep things tidy and the inner tent looks very well thought out.

Outer Tent

Regardless of the length, the guy lines look robust and the Lineloc clamps are simply the best. The two guy points on each side of each pole are also securely sewn to the pole tunnel. In addition, there are two guy points on the right and left above the entrance, so you have 16 guy points for cords.

The 40 denier ripstop nylon material siliconized on both sides is winterproof and the seams are well processed.

Side Poles

So far, the test tent would have been a good tunnel. But now the big difference comes into play. The Theory Works’ Quadratic tent has a tunnel for a side pole on each side. With these side poles, the tent can be stiffened significantly, making it less prone to cross winds. In principle, you get an almost completely free-standing tunnel and can worry less about finding the right campground in wind and storm.

Thanks to the side poles, the inner tent can stand completely tensioned without pegs, with only the two vestibules sagging. You could make it through a night between rocks on a mountain tour. Or you can just be more relaxed when your snow pegs don’t want to hold in the powder snow.

Other Insights

The weight of my configuration would weigh 3807 g according to the specifications. Then the surprise on the scales: It’s true! With which manufacturer do you still experience that?

In this configuration, the weight is of course not light for a 2-person tent, but it is certainly very storm-proof and absolutely suitable for winter!

Conclusions

This tent is a bunker. I would even count it in the same league as The North Face VE25 or Mountain Hardwear EV3 (now called ACI3).

The Quadratic beats the VE25 with its integrated pitching and lighter weight. Compared to the Quadratic, the EV3 has no vestibule for cooking, and no inner tent. The Quadratic tent is very fairly priced.

Right there I see a good niche for The Theory Works Quadratic expedition tent and would consider it as a mountain tent right away.

Quadratic™ Tent System receives “Buying Tip” from “Outdoor Magazin”

Quadratic Tent, with Outdoor Magazin Kauf-Tipp Logo

“Outdoor”, a leading German magazine has awarded the Quadratic™ Tent their “Buying Tip” in their February 2019 Issue. Some of their comments (translated) include:

Already without both side poles (300 g) it looks good, with them – like a rock in the surf. Continuous rain and wind have no chance.

Very spacious inner tent for two with generous length and sitting area. Very easy to ventilate, many storage compartments. Sufficiently large vestibules with, two entrances.

Easy to set up with a little practice (inner / outer tent are coupled). To open the zips you have to reach into the vestibules, otherwise top handling.

Durable materials, outer tent seams must be sealed.

Outdoor Magazin summarises:

With the Quadratic, The Theory Works offers an innovative, individually configurable all-rounder with terrific value for money.

Rating: VERY GOOD

See the full score card (in German)

Review of the Quadratic™ Tent on freiluft-blog.de

Sven at freiluft-blog.de has been testing the Quadratic tent system. He tested the Quadratic Light Outer and Quadratic Winter Inner, together with Quadratic Expedition poles. Sven comments on the components, setup and practicalities of the tent. Here are some of his comments (translated):

Overall, the Quadratic tent system left a very good impression. The processing of the individual components is excellent and the system generally well thought out.

No matter which combination you choose, the price is quite fair for the offered quality and the unique modularity. If you travel a lot in different regions and / or in all seasons, such a flexible tent system could certainly be worthwhile.

To find out more about Sven’s test, you can read his review (in German) here.

(image copyright Freiluft Blog)

Modular Shelters made easy

Modular Shelter System 6:R Shelter

Modular Shelters are extremely flexible, but how do know which components you need to make the shelter you want?

We have made it as simple as possible with our new shop section “Configured Shelters”. Here’s how it works:

  1. Go to the shop section “Configured Shelters”
  2. Open the specification table to find out which shelter you need
  3. Click on the appropriate Configured Shelter in the list
  4. Add any accessories you want to add by clicking on “Change”
  5. When everything is right, add the selection to the basket

All the essential components are already selected, and can’t be changed. All the essential and optional components are added in one click to the basket. If you want additional components that are not listed, just add the configured shelter to the basket first, and browse for the additional components you need.

So far, we have made a configured shelter page for all the regular shelters. The irregular shelters will be coming soon.

We hope this new feature makes it much easier to configure your shelter – but if you have any questions, we are always happy to help.

Away from the office again!

Between Saturday 7th November and Sunday 6th December 2015 we won’t be shipping any orders. If you place an order during this time, it should ship in the following week. During this time you can still contact us by email, so if you have any questions or comments please drop us a line.

The Theory Works® takes a break

The Theory Works® is taking a break for about a week. Between Friday 15th May and Sunday 24th May 2015 we won’t be shipping any orders. If you place an order during this time, it should ship in the following week. If you have an urgent enquiry, best send us an email – and we will try to get back to you. Have a great week!

New “How to” section, starting with how to pitch a closed modular shelter

Modular shelter pitched on snow, with open sidewall.

We have added a new section on our website called “How to”. In this area, you will find slide shows with instructions on how to assemble and use our products. Simply use the arrows, keyboard, or the buttons under the show to step through the instructions at your own pace.

First up is a step-by-step overview of how to pitch a closed modular shelter, perfect for anyone new to the system. More detailed guides about specific situations and products are underway. Send us an email if you have any comments!

Modular Shelter System Review – Outdoor Magazin

Outdoor Magazin Review - Oct 2014

German outdoor guru Frank Wacker and his colleagues tested the modular shelter system during the summer – their results are in the November issue of the Outdoor Magazin. On test was the 6:R Shelter, which consists of three double elements and is suitable for four persons and gear.

In his review, Frank introduces the different components of the system, and how they can be combined to make a variety of shelters.

From a subset of the test shelter, Frank built an on open tarp-like shelter, which he says “protects much better against nasty weather than a classic tarp, because it consists of vertical side walls that can be folded inside for further protection”. He also notes that the 2.4kg Shelter can be reduced in weight if the vent props are left behind, and a tarp suitable for 4-5 people can be reduced to a weight of about 900g.

Verdict: [adventurous outdoor users] get a versatile, high quality, thoroughly thought through single-walled shelter for a reasonable price.

Julian M comments:

I am thrilled by the concept and implementation of the shelter. It’s fun to try out so many different configurations. I was looking forward to trying it out and already ordered additional components.
The yellow fabric did not attract insects and I tell you, there were lots around at the weekend. The colour is really pleasing when you are inside the shelter.
– Julian M.