Is it okay to keep the fly drawn with mesh roof on clear night?

[New Daddy]

I have a REI Kingdom 6 tent, which has half of its roof made of mesh and an interior divider. So I thought it would be fun to draw the fly over the mesh-side of the roof to watch the stars as we go to sleep on a clear night. If it becomes too cold, we can just move to the other half of the tent.

Is this a good idea? Is there a reason to keep the fly on even on a clear summer night?

[GlitterHiker]

Re: Is it okay to keep the fly drawn with mesh roof on clear night?

That sounds wonderful! As far as I know, technically there's no need to keep the fly on. I'm a bit south of you. In the mid-Atlantic, it can rain anytime (and has). It's rained during the night even when there's 0% chance of rain, so I always have the fly on.

[GlitterHiker]

Re: Is it okay to keep the fly drawn with mesh roof on clear night?

You post got me interested in the tent, so I went looking for more info. Related to your question - read the reviews on the REI site, linked here. The first one includes a pic of the fly rolled back.
Apparently, the fly can be put on and also rolled up the sides.

By the way - Does the "enclosed" room have mesh sides or just a mesh door? The pic shows the fly rolled up on the side of the "enclosed" room.

http://www.rei.com/product/829184/re...om-4-tent-2012

[New Daddy]

Re: Is it okay to keep the fly drawn with mesh roof on clear night?

You post got me interested in the tent, so I went looking for more info. Related to your question - read the reviews on the REI site, linked here. The first one includes a pic of the fly rolled back.
Apparently, the fly can be put on and also rolled up the sides.

By the way - Does the "enclosed" room have mesh sides or just a mesh door? The pic shows the fly rolled up on the side of the "enclosed" room.

http://www.rei.com/product/829184/re...om-4-tent-2012

The "enclosed" room has solid sides and a dual-layer door (a mesh layer and a solid layer), so you can choose to keep only the mesh door to increase ventilation or both layers to enhance privacy.

Yes, I also saw the picture with the fly rolled back on the "mesh" room. I just wasn't sure if it was meant to be for just daytime use or can withstand nighttime too. I think I'll give it a try next time on a warm night with 0% chance of precipitation.

[Mike]

Re: Is it okay to keep the fly drawn with mesh roof on clear night?

Can you keep the fly off your tent at night? The good news is that you no longer need permission for that.

Because bad weather can sneak up on you at night, however, I suggest you try something even better: Have the tent set up "in-reserve" and sleep outside with no tent under the full open sky. Sounds crazy, but that is what the cowboys did and it is what soldiers did just a generation or so ago, but with no tent back-up.

It is wonderful. If you need glasses, you will need them to see the stars, but be sure to put them inside your boots when you sleep so that you can find them when you need them AND it keeps you from stepping or rolling onto them.