Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent review 10 year review 2010 - 2020
PART 1
2020 tent review - a decade of use, a complicated story of 2 Black Diamond Ahwahnee tents, one amazing, the other a failure.
(NB: the Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent used in this review is the same tent as the current model 2020 version - the only difference is the colour).
While going through my photos of this tent I realised that I have used it for over 200 nights in 25 different countries; so there is a good chance I have used the Black Diamond Ahwahnee more than anyone else on the planet!
Buying 6 tents to find our favourite for a one year world cycle tour
In 2010 we purchased a Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent and 5 other tents to figure which tent we like most to take on a round the world cycle trip. We used all five tents and studied the deisn of each tent, and decided we liked the Ahwahnee the most.
(NB: the Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent used in this review is the same tent as the current model 2020 version - the only difference is the colour).
While going through my photos of this tent I realised that I have used it for over 200 nights in 25 different countries; so there is a good chance I have used the Black Diamond Ahwahnee more than anyone else on the planet!
Buying 6 tents to find our favourite for a one year world cycle tour
In 2010 we purchased a Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent and 5 other tents to figure which tent we like most to take on a round the world cycle trip. We used all five tents and studied the deisn of each tent, and decided we liked the Ahwahnee the most.
We didn't really like the MSR tents so...
We sold two of the tents we bought (both MSR brand), and kept our Black Diamond Hilight (see our review), Black Diamond Ahwahnee, Black Diamond Skylight and Nemo Tenshi mountaineering tent.
Below: testing out the Black Diamond Hillight and the Nemo Tenshi during winter in Victoria (my preference was the Hilight, except in extreme alpine conditions)
We sold two of the tents we bought (both MSR brand), and kept our Black Diamond Hilight (see our review), Black Diamond Ahwahnee, Black Diamond Skylight and Nemo Tenshi mountaineering tent.
Below: testing out the Black Diamond Hillight and the Nemo Tenshi during winter in Victoria (my preference was the Hilight, except in extreme alpine conditions)
What we liked about the Ahwahnee
Size: the size was perfect for the two of us at 32 square feet. We liked that the tent was a single wall, had really good ventilation for Summer, looked good, felt durable
What we loved about the Ahwahnee
We LOVED, and still love, that the Ahwahnee has two separate openings on each side, letting us get out to pee without disturbing each other in slightest! There is no need to bump, rub against or climb over each other to get in and out.
Leaving on our cycle tour we thought we had the perfect tent...
About 2 months into our trip the eylet holes began to break. They had always been very tight, making it very difficult to get the awning pole in, but we helped each other which made it manageable. Because of the extra tension, the eyelets, essential to the functioning of the tent, gave way.
Size: the size was perfect for the two of us at 32 square feet. We liked that the tent was a single wall, had really good ventilation for Summer, looked good, felt durable
What we loved about the Ahwahnee
We LOVED, and still love, that the Ahwahnee has two separate openings on each side, letting us get out to pee without disturbing each other in slightest! There is no need to bump, rub against or climb over each other to get in and out.
Leaving on our cycle tour we thought we had the perfect tent...
About 2 months into our trip the eylet holes began to break. They had always been very tight, making it very difficult to get the awning pole in, but we helped each other which made it manageable. Because of the extra tension, the eyelets, essential to the functioning of the tent, gave way.
Electrical tape saves the day
Several times we used electrical tape to repair them, and we made do with that until several months later in Southern Ireland the fabric became almost completely non-waterproof. We went to America to continue our trip and Black Diamond sent us a replacement tent.
Getting a replacement tent from Black Diamond
The replacement tent did not have the same problem with the eyelets and after using it on and off for 10 years now the tent is still in excellent condition.
We have now owned this tent for 10 years. Since last updating this review we have used this tent many times and slept in it for approximately 80 nights in a range of conditions; on mountains, on beaches, on rocks next to rivers and in snow.
The replacement Ahwahnee has been faultless
It has been an excellent tent and I can't fault it. The tent we we originally purchased before this one (the one in the image belwow), must have been a fault in production, as the replacement tent we were sent on warranty has been faultless.
(Below, camping in the Black Diamond Ahwahnee on the beach in Greece).
2012 replacement Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent review
Part 2
First review update: Aug 30 2012
The new tent has gone really well so far (although we haven't used it as much as the last one). LIke I mentioned in the reviews I wrote this is a great tent that we love for it's versatility, style, design, ventilation, ease of getting in and out of, ability to set up from inside when it's raining and 4 season all year round use.
I guess that the first Ahwahneee we had just didn't come off the production line quite right.
(Below: camping in the Black Diamond Ahwahnee on the south island of New Zealand)
Anyway, despite our issues with the first one this second tent is great, we love it! In fact, I recently (after getting back from our cycling trip) bought some new carbon poles for the tent from fibraplex.
We used them when hiking to Mt Kosciuszko in winter, Australia's highest mountain (see photo below), and found that whilst they lighten the tent by almost half a kilo, they feel quite tight and were a bit more difficult to get into place than the standard aluminium poles, so I'm not overly confident about them but I will keep you updated on how they go.
Black Diamond Ahwanee review summary in 2012
To summarise our experience with the new tent we still have to help each other to get the awning pole in but we've had no trouble whatsoever with the eyelets or anything else so we're back to loving this tent. One thing we absolutely love is it's ability to somehow not retain any condensation, very amazing for a single skin mountaineering tent.
2012 awning pole update
Either my strength has improve or the tent fabric has loosed up a little bit. I no longer need help gettig the awning pole in and put the tent up last month myself without even thinking about it!
PART 3
2010 pre replacement Black Diamond Ahwahnee tent review
Before heading off on a year-long cycle trip around the world, I purchased and tested a number of tents – the Black Diamond Hilight - see our review here, Black Diamond Skylight and Black Diamond Ahwahnee, Nemo Tenshi, MSR Elbow Room and MSR Hubba Hubba. Some of these we tested in the backyard, others we tested at places like Wilsons Promontory and Phillip Island (both places in Australia).
Decisions, decisions - deciding which tent to take on a world cycle tour was not easy...
I sold both of the MSR tents as I preferred the Black Diamond tents and the Nemo Tenshi (Which I have used the least).
We decided to take the Black Diamond Bibler Ahwahnee, which we found to be well designed, and we thought (and still think) possibly the only true four season tent (useable in Summer) on the market.
The size of the Black Diamond Bibler Ahwahnee
We took it out in the snow and loved sitting inside it. The interior is 33 square foot, perfect for two people. We really liked the size
For the sake of compaison the MSR Hubba Hubba was 29 square feet, the Black DIamond Hilight was 27 square feet, the Nemo Tenshi was 28 square feet and the Black Diamond Skylight was around 34 square feet - very luxurious!
Unfortunately for us the quality of workmanship did not match up to its fantastic design.
About two weeks ago, whilst cycling across Ireland, our Black Diamond Bibler Ahwahnee tent began to let in water through the fabric. Now, even under light rain, water enters directly through all external surfaces of the Todd Tex fabric. All seams were sealed correctly and no water is penetrating these areas.
(Below: Camping near a glacier in New Zealand in the Black Diamond Ahwahnee - it was a cold night!)
A little research leads us to realise...
After a little research, I found that the problem with this tent has occurred for other people. Here is an example.
Prior to the leaking, we also had a major recurring problem with the state of the eyelets either side of the tent that the awning pole is meant to sit in. The first time I set the tent up in the lounge room the pole was extremely difficult to get in, but I figured that it might have been intentionally made that way so that when the fabric stretched with use, the pole would fit perfectly. Well this never happened and it is still a constant struggle to put the pole in.
Electrical tape is holding things together, for now...
Now I have to use electrical tape on a recurring basis to hold in the eyelets to prevent them from completely falling out of the tabs (this has happened a few times). I tried a few different ways of making a permanent fix, like using glue, squashing the eyelets down tighter against the fabric and taking the tent to a number of different repair shops to see if they could permanently fix it, all to no avail.
We had not taken the tent to Black Diamond to see if it can be fixed before now because I haven’t been able to. We’ve been cycling around the world for the last eight months, so we usually need it. It is also difficult to provide an address, particularly one for long enough to have the tent sent overseas.
When we arrived in the US (which luckily came just after it started leaking badly– which we can’t live with) we posted it with the receipt of purchase (it is still in warranty) to the Salt Lake headquarters.
The day it arrived we had an email confirming that the broken eyelets were reason enough to replace the tent (although the leaking wasn't mentioned) and a brand new tent was sent express post that day. You can read more about what happened in our world cycling travel blog here.
(Below: Camping with my two boys, Jack and Cal, in the Black Diamond Ahwahnee in Victoria Australia)
When the tent arrived we excitedly took it out of the bag and began to set it up. Pushing in the awning pole the same problem was immediately evident, I couldn't get it in, even with extreme force. Finally getting the pole in with a little help from Jenny, I began seam sealing it again.
It appears that due to the difficulty of putting the new awning pole into the eyelets it may not take all that long for the problem we experience with the last tent to happen again with this new one.
Black Diamond Bibler Ahwanee PRO'S-
- Excellent, market leading design, only true four season (usable in Summer and winter snow) tent available in the world.
- Condensation almost non-existent
- Single wall great for quick drying and simplicity
- 2 and a half pole design great for stability in winds
- Waterproof
- Freestanding- guy ropes not necessary
Black Diamond Bibler Ahwanee CONS-
- Cost- not cheap (if you are buying in Australia you'd be crazy not to buy it from an online US store like REI that give a money back guarantee)
- Durability- Eyelets gave way quickly, fabric doesn't seem washable
- Size- Can be cramped for two people with gear (unless you get the ridiculous and bulky vestibule.)
- Black Diamonds reluctance to accept that defaults in the fabric are possible.
PART 4
Would I buy this tent again?
If you had asked me this question after I had owned the first tent for 1 - 5 monhts I would definitley say now. After receiving the second tent I am condfident that the issues have been sorted out.
While I think this is a great tent I would not buy it as my first or only tent. If I only had the money to buy a single tent for backpacking and hiking use I would get the new Black Diamond Higlight. Then when I had enough money I would buy this as my second tent.
Carbon tent poles for the Black Diamond Bibler Ahwahnee
A new video showing how to put the tent up, and showing my carbon poles for this tent that I custom ordered online will be up soon. The carbon poles are much lighter than the alloy ones, and seeing this is not a particularly lightweight tent I decided it was worth the money to reduce the weight.
I have now used the carbon poles on several trips and had no issues with them, other than them being a tight fit.
Get updated by me when I do another gear review
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Read next: See my review of the Black Diamond Hilight tent.
Cycle touring in the Black Diamond Ahwahnee in France, the United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, Montenegro, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, China, Singapore and Malaysia.