Technology Page - Lightwave Tents
Aug 14, 2017
Technology Page - Lightwave Tents
There are two basic Lightwave tent designs, Tunnel and Geodesic ('t' and 'g' tents). Tunnel tents are lighter than Geodesic but are not as stable in high winds.
Each tent is made in two fabrics; Ultra and Hyper tents are made from the lightest fabrics, similar high strength as Trek and Trail tents but more expensive. The choice between the two fabrics is about price and weight, not strength.
Tents with the XT extension to the name have an extended porch.
Ultra and Trek tents can only be pitched inner first whereas Hyper and Trail tents can be pitched either inner or outer first.
| ARCHitekture Pole Structure | |||
| ARCHitekture is our name for a pole configuration that uses pre-bent angles to reduce the curvature of the individual pole sections. It gives an appearance similar to a Gothic arch. Compared to a traditional hooped pole, ARCHitekture reduces pole stress, increases tent stability in high winds and improves water and snow shedding. | |||
| ARCHitekture increases pole reliability by reducing stress in the pole curvature. | |||
| ARCHitekture improves resistance against side-winds as the shape stiffens the pole structure. | |||
| ARCHitekture improves water and snow-shedding capability by creating a defined ridgeline. | |||
| The only solution is to remove water vapour before it condenses, which for our Lightwave chemical engineer-cum-tent designer (Carol McDermott) means a ventilation system based on three years’ not entirely wasted study of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. For air to move through a channel without stalling (and consequently condensing on the fabrics around it), frictional drag must be kept to an absolute minimum. In other words, the passage followed by the air must be kept short and straight. In Lightwave tents, this is achieved by aligning scooped vents at the front and back of the flysheet with cut-outs in the mesh of the pole sleeves, creating unobstructed air channels between the inner and the fly. It is another fact of life, however, that even the best-aligned vents can only work if there is a mechanism to move the air – and the only one available is our erratic friend, the wind. Lightwave vents work in anything from a gentle breeze upwards and in fact we’ve rarely closed them even in storms. (In clouds of Scottish midges, on the other hand, you’ll be glad of the Velcro seal.) It is a bitter irony of tent design, nevertheless, that features such as low-cut flysheets and impermeable silicone-coated fabrics only contribute to the problem of condensation – by trapping humidity inside the tent, and keeping out the very weather that could carry it away. | |||