Black Diamond Lighthouse Review

"This is a very good, lightweight tent. It sheds water well, sturdy, and is very compact. There is plenty of room for two 6 footers. I like the internal pole system as you can hang a light from it at night; although it is a bit tricky to set-up at first. My only complait is the door/fly zip system: You have to open the [inner] fly door to close the [outer] door. It would have been nice to have an intergrated door system to avoid this. Overall great tent!"

"l love tents and I have a lot of them. I suspect, though, that this will be the last one I buy because it fits all of my needs so well.

This is a free-standing, single-wall tent, weighs 3 pounds, 3 ounces and it costs about $300. The vestibule adds about another pound and costs $100.00. So far, I have been in the wind and rain and it has performed flawlessly. The tent poles set up from inside and the set up does take a little getting use to, but once you have it mastered, it goes up easily. I especially like the internal set-up because it always seems that I am just arriving at my destination as the rain starts. With this tent me and my gear stay dry while I am finishing setting up the tent.

Most of my trips only involve the tent for me and the dog. If I know bad weather is coming I will add the vestibule.

Condensation has been nearly non-existent. The only night that the interior tent walls got damp was when I was camped next to a lake in a cirque, the temperature dropped to the high 30s, there was absolutely no wind, and I totally zipped up the tent door and window. When I realized that the tent walls were damp, I opened the top of the window and door zippers about 10". The moisture inside the tent was gone in about an hour.

The only two complaints I have are minor. The first nitpick concerns the door which has the solid Nextec outer panel and a mosquito netting interior panel. It would be nice if the mosquitor webbing were on the outside so I could zip and unzip the Nextec fabric panels without letting in bugs.

The second issue is that this tent is very prone to taking off in the wind. While the tent is free standing, I would suggest that if there is the slightest breeze that you stake it out first before putting in the poles.

Overall, this is shaping up as the perfect tent for my style of backpacking."

"I have used this tent thru the summer and fall and have found it to be an outstanding lightweight tent.While you have a lot of seam sealing to do using the plastic syringe provided makes it an easy task.
The big front door and screen allows for comfortable sleeping on all but the hottest nights.
The only time I had condensation in the tent was during a 2 day steady rain,drizzle with temps in the low 40s with the tent set up the whole time. The condensation was caused by moist air cooling on the poles. I always carry a 6x8 sil tarp and useing this as a roof-vestibule for rainy weather it is perfect with this tent and solved the condensation problem. The only other complaint is the internal pockets which are sewn at the floor wall seam in the middle of seam. They are useless as your gear or sleeping pad cover them.
I love the sil nylon floor as it provides bomb proof water protection that cannot fail unless you puncture the floor. A much better solution than the coated nylon floor where the coating wears out after a couple of seasons.
I would like to see a 2 door model as this tent can be used comfortable by 2 people.
If you like free standing light weight tents check this one out.
One other thing to know.Some states do not allow stores to sell this tent as it is not flame retardant coated and doesn't meet state code. No worries mate,as you can still mail order it."

"I took it to Tasmania on a 5 day walking trail. The tent performed beautifully on first 2 nights under perfect conditions. When the temperature drops below 3 deg Cel (with no rain), the entire inner EPIC layer of the tent somehow got damp, and water seems to permeate through. It's only when I start shaking the tent during packing, water starts driping inside. I am not entirely sure whether it was condensation as I 3/4 zipped up the front door at night and left the other small window opened. In the morning when packing, I could see ice forming on other tents, not BD FL, which was strange for onlooker and myself. I conjured, maybe my body heat has kept the single-wall tent warm enough to prevent freezing condition, and somehow, the water seeped through the fabric after a long time.

The last 2 days, FL was really tested as it was pouring and howling. The tent was able to hold up the freaky Tasmania weather - sunshine, rain, snow, you name it. EPIC fabric is not 100% waterproof and would be damp when exposed to extended downpour, I estimate it around 40mins of exposure. I rate EPIC to be 90% waterproof - subjective opinion, with wear and tear. With occassional shudder of wind, drips of water would "rain" inside the tent and I used a towel to dry the tent internally. I was prepared after researching on other's review before buying. I am prepared for a little risk, as long as it doesnt pour cats and dogs on me, occassional "mini-showers" is still acceptable, given other plus point for the tent.

The tent SiLKNON ground sheet is very smooth and slippery, even with thermal rest prolite 3, you can slip around on a gentle slope, especially when you are turning at night. But not a big problem for me. Also, try to get a water resitant, if not waterproof sleeping bag, in case it do get wet. (I use Western Mountaineering highlite and is happy with it.)

Good thing is EPIC seems to dry up within 10 min under good sunshine. My friends had problem drying their 2 layer tents under similar conditions. MIne is simple, just pitch it up in 2~3 minutes - REALLY EASY PITCHING AND FAST! After pitching tents for 20 years, this one is really idiot-proof
!

Another thing I discovered after reading the instructions sewn within the tent, the EPIC material under strong UV rays would be deteriorated. Disadvantage if you are constantly under the sun.

I love the internal frame where I could hang my torch, some clothing at night. I am a bloke around 1.69metre, 65kg and nearly fill half of the tent widthwise, and 90% lengthwise. With sleeping bag, I almost touch the end lengthwise with 5 cm to spare. If you are taller than 1.8m, in my opinion, you should buy other tents unless you want to sleep diagionally or stick out your foot outside. It can fill 2 people of my size cosily there wouldn't be no place for the gear. The vestibule is a little small for 2 very large 70l packs and you may need to stack them up if you want to leave an opening in case you want go out for a pee at night. You need to crawl out of the vestibule carefully, as the D-door opening is not too big. I think BD should just put a straight vertical zip, rather than the small D-door opening, as my pal tripped over the 4cm bottom clearance at night when he's still half awake.

YOu need to do a little homework in form of seam-sealing the tent before using it and in my opinion, this tent is for people who take care of their equipment for prolong usage and know the limits of it to apply them. I think BD designed it for rockclimbers, who in my opinion are careful with the equipment above the average joe.

Overall, I am still happy because it handled the tough weather well and the dimension is just right for my size with my pack. My advice is if you want a fully waterproof, bombproof, then go look another tent. After using this tent, I can't see myself going back to 2 layer tent as FL is really easy to pitch, light and doesn't take up much space in my pack. (Sorry, but I died laughing when I see the packsize of other tent.)I rate this tent 3.5 stars considering the value and price that can buy me 2 one-man conventional tents that could last 2 lifetime of this tent. Then again, FL's weight is still lighter than any one of those."

"I bought this tent after reading numerous favourable reviews on the web and in magazine such as Outside. All swore blind the tent was waterproof for all practical purposes. They were wrong. I agree with the reveiws on this site that the Lighthouse leaks like a sieve, even after seam sealing. Trekking at around 5,000m meters in the Tibet Himalaya during the monsoon, I found the tent began leaking within minutes of the nightly rain. Oddly, the leaking appeared to get worse the longer I used it. Water came in not just through the seams but also through the fabric of the tent itself. Even regular wiping of water from tent walls through the night left enough dripping to soak my dryloft bag by the morning. This tent is miraculaously light and seems quite strong in the wond. However, it is effectively unusable in the rain."