I am tall at 6’9” and weigh 235lbs so not even close to your average hiker/backpacker. Most of the industry is geared toward the average person, so hopefully my hiking videos and reviews will be useful to all those who are not average! Join us as we research great hikes to explore, find the hiking equipment that works best for us, and plan our travels to discover where our feet can take us. We have talked about hiking some of the great trails in the United States and beyond and as the next chapter in life gets closer, we plan on spending a lot more time out doors.
Have you measured the length of the tent inner? I finally bought this tent, but while doing a trial pitch in my living room, I realised that the tent inner is actually not 244cm (96 inches) long, but only 237 cm (93 inches). As the walls are sloping, that means I'm basically touching the end with my toes. I don't really get the feeling of ample space that you are getting. I contacted the seller, but while waiting for them to reply, I'd just like to know if your tent is the same length or if mine has an error in production? If you put the tent inner on the ground and attach the poles like you do in this video at 04:15, how much does one of the long sides measure?
I am 6’9 240 and wear a 15 as well, I really like the lone peaks they are comfortable on the first step and I have a pair of the lone peak 9s to just walk around with and love them for that, the rock plate is not great though and had some sore feet after my time on the AT which is why i switched to the brooks cascadia there rock plate is great and the sole is grippy, a viewer suggested trying the topo athletic traverse, they have them in a 15 as well and they are my new hiking shoe, i like them enough I bought a pair of their trail runners to for trail running, depending on the type of hiking you do either the altra loan peak or the topo traverse are solid options, hope that helps
@@Plan2Hike after reading your replies, I ended up getting the Topo Athletic Traverse. Watched some reviews and hopefully they are solid. Any more input on those?
I just moved to colorado back in march and have put about 150 miles on the topos in the mts around the boulder area and O have no complaints, comfortable, good grip even in the colorado mud, sure footed sole, will buy another pair when these wear out, I have some multiday hikes planned once the snow melts and the ground firms back up and have no reservations with them, you will be happy with your choice
@@Plan2Hike this makes me incredibly happy to know. And the fact that we have almost the same exact body type reassures me of the purchase. Thanks soooo much!!
@@Plan2Hike awesome! Good to hear. If you ever get a chance to review the durston x-mid 2 pro I'd be really curious. Your copper spur long review helped me pick that one (working great for me). Durston says the x-mid 2 pro is good for a hiker up to 7 foot, but I find it hard to believe!
I actually had the durston xmid 2 for a while. It is the same tent as the pro just different fabric, I ended up selling it for the copper spur because it was too tight, the setup was great and I could always get a good pitch, light and packed well, however the interior room and the way the offset was i would more often then not have part of my sleep system be in contact with the sides of the tent, can I fit, yes, did it do all the things it said it would yes, but it was too tight for what I wanted, if you are more minimalist than me it may be a good option, I just prefer the extra space the spur gives
I got the windrider 70, and I wish they made a junction in the 70L. The huge back mesh on it is much better for tossing a damp tarp in compared to my kakwa 55, but like you mentioned the side pockets love to snag.
Hello, i don’t think so, it expired after the first of the year i believe, but try and see, they make great stuff, sometimes a google search can turn up and active code too
Hey man! Maybe next time don’t wear a necklace when you have the microphone putted onto your shirt. Cause you can hear the necklace ticking to the microphone the whole time 🙃💪🏼
Thanks I appeciate the feedback, My necklace has a pendant on it from when my son was born 21 years ago and i dont ever take it off, but i will do better with my mic placement next time
Ok thanks for the update on them, I have about 100miles on mine and they are holding up well, one of the guys commented i should try the topo athletic traverse and i got a pair and love them comfortable and grippy, I am moving to colorado in a month and will put them to the test out there soon enough, thanks for the feedback!
I do a lot of hiking and I've tried lots of different shoes and boots over the years. The best, most comfortable I've found are La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II hiking boot. I wear a 12.5 normally and that's what I bought and they fit perfect. I've had them for a year and they're still great. I just checked, they make a size 15 (49EU)
Thanks for the comment, I have never owned a pair of La Sportiva Shoes/Boots but I have heard nothing but good things about them. I looked at the website too and it looks like most of their shoe options come in a size 15 which is great news as it can be hard to find good shoes that big, thanks for the suggestion and I may give them a shot, I tend to like the trail runners over boots especially for long hikes, but my current pair of merrell boots need replacing and I may just buy a pair. Thanks again!
New subscriber here, thank you for the thorough review. I do a ton of winter hiking here in New England and was curious of the ability to attach things to the outside like snow shoes, ice ax, crampons, etc. Thank you and I look forward to watching your channel grow!
Awesome thank you!! The pack has 4 attachment points two on each side that you can use to strap winter stuff too and there is an ice axe loop. The top y strap would be good as well to hold down snow shoes on the top of the pack, there is so much storage with the front and side pockets as well, I think i would suit your needs
Have you considered Topo Athletic? They have a new hiking shoe with wide toe box called the Traverse with 5mm drop. Also the Terraventure 4 with 3mm drop and the Pursuit is a 0 drop shoe. They all have Vibram soles.
I have not, i will check them out, the two things that generally limit shoes for me is the size I wear a 15 and i prefer a shoe with a rockplate as it protects the foot so much better from rocks than ones without. Thanks for the suggestion I just checked them out and they have both a size 15 and a rock plate however they are out of 15s i sent them a message to let me know when they are in stock again
Hey I went and ordered those new topo athletic traverse shoes, they came in today, vibram sole, rock plate, and a size 15, wide toe box, they feel like a great blend of the altras and the brooks, feel good on the feet in the house, I am excited to get them on the trail for a good test, thanks for the suggestion
you would be caring a light gold pan if New York State told you in 1946 that all GOLD and silver found on state land is yours see N.Y. state law PBL 82
if you want to be as smart as this 80 year old get fist full of gold been metal detecting 2 years 30 dollars for xmas Christ Ralph wants you to get fist full of gold I watch his you tube and Ask jeff willams SHOULD get ICMJ prospecting and miningjournal and if it was not for the falcon metal detecto for 300 dollars I would not found a volcano in the adirondacks and my one year of forestry school red pine trees are not native to the U.S.I wanted to learn every thing fast so they pick outSmithsonian hand books Rock and minerials keep an eye out for 20 foot diameter bolders or so many bolders that it could come out a side vent of a volcano bolders@@Plan2Hike
Thank you for this video. Good comparison/contrast. Would like to have known the before and after weights of the gas canister for each stove so as to judge fuel use.
Thanks for watching, the fuel burn is so difficult to quantify because its impacted by so many factors, my best guess is the jet boil is more fuel efficient just based on the design to focus and contain the heat from the flame, but i also think any loss in efficiency is more than made up in the weight savings, if longer mileage hikes are apart of its use, my last big section hike spanned 7 days 170 miles, 3 meals per day plus coffee in the morning and evening and one 100g canister lasted the entire time with the msr stove so its pretty efficient in its own right! Thanks again
Thanks, yes i did not consider them for a couple reasons, the substantial cushioning platform actually makes the foot more unstable on the trail when hiking in my opinion, plus I run in the hoka cliftons and love them, i tried a pair of the speed goats as a trail running shoe and did not like the way they fit and felt on the trail, just my experience of course I know alot of people like them though, I had also heard of durability issues with the upper
Thanks it was definitely an experience. My biggest regret was that i missed all the views that i worked so hard to see because of the conditions. There were several times where i questioned what i was doing, i stopped to eat my lunch and had to lay down next to a rock outcropping just to get out of the wind so i could eat and while i was there starting to get cold because i stopped moving, I was like this is not the scenic spectacular vista and physical challenge I was expecting. Meaning it was supposed to be sunny warm with light wind and i got the opposite. It was an experience i will never forget and sometimes its the most difficult challenges that teach you the most!! Thanks for checking the video out
I live in Pennsylvania but never visited there. I expect it was your first visit if you were heading to New York. I am 4 hours away. I expect that you will say the visit will be worth the drive for me.
Yes this was our first visit and certainly if we lived closer we would go back, I definitely think its worth the drive for you, there was so much we didnt get to explore while we were there and what we did get to see was incredible, if you like hiking and waterfalls and streams its really cool, being able to stand at the base of the big waterfall was worth it just by itself.
Found your video as the Altras and the Cascadias are about the only trail shoes that fit my hobbit shaped feet! I use them for mainly mountain running but often hiking up hills in the UK. Now on my 7th pair of Cascadias (versions 10, 13, 15, 16 and now 17) and I personally get around 500 miles out of them before the cushioning starts to flatten out a bit. The most I've had was 700 miles but I tend to retire them after 550-600. I'm interested to see how many miles you get. The Lone Peaks, I don't trust them in the Wet but when it's dry I love them. The issue I have is durability, I think I've had 300 miles at most but normally have to retire them after around 250. Despite that, I still buy them as they are the most comfortable shoe I've ever had. Finally, just a couple of comments. The elasticated loop on the Cascadia is for tucking in the laces to stop them catching on anything, I guess you could use it for a gaiter attachment but that's not what it's there for 🙂 The drop on the Cascadia is 8mm, not 4mm. Looking forward to more content.
Thanks for the comment, well atleast my wear on the ultras is on par with yours, and you are right they are super comfortable, I have a couple big hikes this fall that should put a couple hundred miles in the cascadias so we will see how they do, I am really happy with them thus far and hope to see your 500 plus miles on mine
@@snowcrash512I dont think the shoes rock plate width changed much at all with the change to the 17 the big difference is how they integrated the plate into the sole which is supposed to make the shoe more stable, so it may be a worthy upgrade to the 17 if your looking at buying this years or last years model, hope that helps
I borrowed this tent from my nephew, a Royal Marine, I always wanted one but they're just so expensive, I eventually bought the MSR Elixr 2, It's a bit bulky and heavy as well. ahh someday maybe ;-)@@Plan2Hike
Totally understand they are definitely an investment to save up for, thank your nephew for his service, my son is in the Airforce here in america and they definitely don’t get enough thanks for what they sacrifice for all of us
This might sound simple but just verify the foot print is the right one for the tent, other wise I would think so, mine has a little bit of slack in the foot print as well when i set it up, to me I believe the slack is actually a good thing because it allows for un even terrain as all tent sites are not flat but also allows for the tent to expand and move slightly once you get yourself and your stuff in it, so i would not worry about it
Gotcha, never hurts to double check, from my perspective you really dont have anything to worry about the foot print is designed to protect the bottom of the tent so if its a little big it really doesnt matter.
I just received my tent, and it also seems to have way too much slack. The footprint itself is smaller than the tent inner, which is by design to avoid water pooling on it and getting under the tent, but the straps from the footprint to the grommets seem to be way too long.
@@Tom_Quixote I can't remember what I did wrong, but in my case, it was user error. I haven't set it up in almost 9 months so I've forgotten what I did to remove the slack. I'll hopefully be setting it up again soon and report back if I remember to.
Hey great question, in the freestanding section i looked at the sea to summit telos and the msr hubba hubba, for trekking pole tents i had the durston xmid and i felt it was to short for me, but others i looked at in that same style were the zpacks duplex and the six moons design lunar solo, all of those are lightweight backpacking tents, for car camping tents there are many more options but for me at my size and use case the copper spur really fit the bill for me, i liked it so much i also purchased a copper spur three person tent for when my wife comes with me on the trail
Great review. I am completely new to hiking. I am hoping to hike on the AT, but not for quite some time. I looked at the backpack you use. Do you think the Hyperlite Southwest would work for a thru hike of the AT? If not, any other backpack suggestions. I am 6'4"
Thanks, the AT is a great trail, I am planning a through hike in the next year or two just depends on how life pulls me, but looking like Spring of 25 or 2026. As it stands now I plan on thru hiking with the southwest pack, its light durable, and has plenty of volume for the longer food carries and space for a bear canister in the areas you have to have one. I am gonna do a review of the pack and how I organize it soon so look for that if you want, you can also look at the outdoor vitals packs, I also have their shadowlight pack and it would be another good through hike pack, i have the older version of the osprey atmos 65ag which is a great pack it is heavier but the suspension system carries so well, you cant go wrong with any of those but I favor the hyperlight just because its laid out so well. Thanks for checking out the channel and have fun out on the trail!
I purchased this tent today through REI for $461 (Tax and shipping included due to a Labor day sale) Im using this tent for family camping as well as In the second week of march 2025, I'm doing a complete thru-hike of the AT. I just hope the bottom doesn't pool with water during the rain like every tent I had does.
Nice, I might see you out there, I am planning towards 2025 as well to do the through hike in early march! The two rain storms I have been in with it i have had zero water issues, so hopefully you will have the same experience!
@@Plan2Hike I debunk fake hiking channels and I get a lot of hate for it which means I'm obviously hitting nerves. One of the videos I'm working on at the present time is the reality of water pooling in your tent during the rain. Videos always show the tent after hours of rain dry as a bone with nothing but the rain fly and footprint which is totally false. Without a tarp or trash bag type material as the tent floor, all tents will pool with water it's 100% unavoidable. To see one of those videos take a look at my survival correction videos
Well all tents have their limitations for sure, a lot of water issues inside tents have to do with two things first the setup, ie user error, if there is not adequate air gaps between the rain fly and the inner portion of a double wall tent then you can have rain seep through the fly especially if the dwr coating on the nylon is wearing away as nylon absorbs water and then stretches touching the inner portion of the tent, the contact with the rain fly can also occur because of folks pushing items inside the tent against the wall again letting water transfer into the tent, the second way and often overlooked is condensation build up due to lack of ventilation, you combine high humidity during rain and the amount of water vapor expelled by breathing, especially if you are sheltering for long periods, without proper ventilation, you will not only have damp things but you will find water pooling in the floor of the tent. Thats been my experience
@@Plan2Hike what you said has nothing to do with anything I'm talking about. Water will always be pooled in the tent floor after or during rain because the ground gets saturated and forms puddles and puddles of water which can't drain anywhere so it pools and pools and within an hour will start pushing up through the tent floor. It happens to any tent without a tarp or trash bag type material which is the only waterproof material.
I cant say that have have experienced what you are talking about where somehow the ground under the tent became so saturated that water came up from the tent floor, your higher priced modern tents today have a silicon treated nylon with and additional polyurethane coating which is hydrophobic as is the case with the copper spur plus I always use a footprint for every ground tent I have ever purchased which is also treated with a dwr coating, mainly for tent material protection from the ground surface rather than for additional water proofing. Like I said I hope your experience with this tent is different than with the ones you have had in the past
Thank you so much! Thanks for checking out the channel, so much of the mainstream hiking and backpacking really does not cover those of us who are tall but love the outdoors and being in it
Congrats on the thru hike. I got my Copper Spur HV UL2 in the winter and still haven't used it. I'm waiting for it to cool down some outside. We went from full winter to full summer here in New York (no Spring really). I'm not really a hot weather camper. Thanks for the set-up demonstration Dan.
Tom, yes I used this on my section hike on the Appalachian trail i did earlier this year. I covered 170 miles in 7 days and camped 6 nights on the trail with the tent and it worked great. I had two nights where there were storms and the rest were just a normal mix of wind and hot sticky east coast summer weather
I know there is bad weather everywhere there is altitude in north America whether it be on the east coast, west coast or along the Canadian rockies, as i researched the weather along the presidential range specifically Mt Washington, what makes that area different is that it is a funnel for three weather highways that converge on that Mt. and when troughs dip into that region because of the elevation differences of the surounding peaks Thats why the winds are so extreme and the conditions so variable and unpredictable and in winter the temperatures so low. That Mt. has the highest recorded surface wind speed at 231 mph and this past winter broke the wind chill record at -108 degrees. With those values and the consistency of the bad weather conditions is I guess thats why it had the designation of having the worst weather in America and in some respects the world. Its winter conditions rival that of mount Everest so say the experts.
I’d be interested in seeing you try out a pair of Xero Shoe’s “Mesa Trail II” trail shoes. I have already tried the Lone Peaks 6, & Cascadias, and I prefer the Mesa Trail over both. The New Balance wouldn’t work for me, for the reason you mentioned already, the toe box being way too narrow. Enjoying your content, happy trails! 🤜🏼🤛🏼
Thanks ill check them out, i just did the presidential traverse in new hampshire this past weekend in my new cascadia 17 and was super happy with them, but i have two pair of the xero shoe sandles and like them, so ill give them a look. Thanks for the suggestion
I carried 2 liters of water with me, two one liter smart water bottles and that was enough for start to finish, its just shy of 9 miles start to finish and on those hikes where we are not pushing the hiking tempo to hard and its not crazy hot a liter of water every 4 miles or so is a good rule of thumb in my experience
You can use Nalgene bottles for sure, they are just heavy and if you are taking a day pack they often dont fit in the water bottle side pouches. I use Smart Water bottles, its the bottled water you can buy at most gas stations and grocery stores. The bottle is tall but super durable and fits in back packs side pockets nicely. Just google smart water bottle and they should pop up for you
Well I am actually 6’9 and a half so sometimes I say 6’9 sometimes I say 6’10, so I apologize if that confused you to the point that you believed that sarcasm was an appropriate way to respond to a video intended to help others
Thank you, great job on the video. I've searched RU-vid for tall gear reviews a lot and very little available from actual tall people! I'm only 6'7" and aspiring backpacker so please review other equipment for how it works for tall guys. Subscribed.
Thanks and will do, the markets are all geared toward the 6 foot hiker especially with the ultra light trends and I hope to provide some real perspective for those of us who have a bit more height and weight than the mainstream, I have some good reviews planned on the stuff i have found that works for me, so please stay tuned! Hiking and backpacking is such a great way to get outside and for me atleast a way to clear my head and take a break from the rat race of life!
I was looking at the X-mid Pro 2 you had used in earlier videos because of weight and some reviews said it was longer than most. Would you say the copper spur long is a lot bigger? I'm probably going with the Zen Light Bed and mattress XL 30x80 but wow is it expensive $637 for quilt, sheet, and mattress. Worth it?
@@damonlinkous I ended up selling that tent, it was super easy to set up and the vestibule apace was great but either my head or my feet would hit the wall of the tent vrs the copper spur where i have plenty of room, to me the extra ounces and costs of the copper spur are worth it, and yes the zenbivy system is expensive but i think its worth it, i have ten nights camping with it and over 300 miles carrying it in my pack and i have zero complaints
@@Plan2Hike Thank you. One more question please, about your footware. I have a terrible time with shoes in general since I wear 16 Narrow (16AA in New Balance 990's and 16B in the few other shoes and boots available in that size.) I haven't found any trail runners in 16 narrow, only Dunham boots, which are comfortable but heavy.
Finally a review by a hiker exactly my height! You got a subscriber. I am trying to get into hiking and camping but it's a pain to find stuff big enough. Will keep an eye on your videos, because if it's big enough for you, it's big enough for me. About this tent, only thing I don't like is the colour, but beggars can't be choosers...
Thanks, your definitely right about the options for tall guys, its not easy to find stuff that fits, definitely alot of trial and error! Thanks for checking out the channel more gear reviews to come that will cover the options i have found that fit and work for me
@@Plan2Hike How do you find the Zenbivy sleep system? I'm currently using a sleeping bag (which I managed to find long enough) but Zenbivy seems on the short side for 6'9"?
@@Tom_Quixote I love the zenbivy system, I have the zenbivy light in xl and its plenty long for me, i am a side sleeper so traditional sleeping bags rectangle or mummy are not comfortable, the zenbivy quilt is almost like a bed at home and it is super comfortable for me, I just got a new sleeping pad that hopefully is quiter than the nemo tensor i had, it was comfortable but crinkly and since i toss it was forever waking me up with the noise, for some reason no one ever talks about those realities
@@Plan2Hike Alright, side sleeping of course is a great advantage when you're tall... I sleep on both side and back, but often I just need to stretch out. I used to sleep on a too-short air mattress but I'd extend it by placing my backpack at the foot end and fill it with clothes to put my feet on. Now I found a 220cm air mattress (incl. pillow) which I'm looking forward to trying out.
@@Tom_Quixote yes side sleeping as a tall guy makes things easier for sure to fit, but i can also lay on my back and fully stretch out in the quilt and have plenty of room and not feel tight in the quilt bed system, now with that being said my feet do hang off the end of the pad a little but its not a huge deal for me. i got the rab ionosphere 5.5 pad in long wide, i have laid on it but not camped with it, i have an overnight trip planned in a couple weeks so ill see how it does its 196cm long
There are definitely bears at Dolly Sods. I’ve hiked thousands of miles and my only on-trail bear experience was in the northern Sods. Mama bear took off when she saw me and left the cubs behind to chase after her! I’m heading back this weekend; my annual favorite place to backpack
Thanks for the comment, I have only seen them on the AT and out west in Colorado, but I can definitely see where they would take advantage of the terrain for food and shelter of the sods, good luck this weekend, enjoy!
Какой Ваш рост в метрической системе, а то я высокий и вот не пойму подойдет ли мне эта палатка, я так понимаю производитель указывает длину по внешним размерам, а не внутреннюю
Thanks for the question, I am 206 centimeters tall and the internal length of the tent is 254 centimeters so even if your taller than me you will still have plenty of room. Hope that helps and thanks for checking out the video, its a great tent and i highly recommend it!
