Update: We are no longer stocking the Sanctuary II RT and instead recommend the Force 10 Strato 2 tunnel tent, which is a 4 season, 2 person tent that weighs 2.26kg.
The Jack Wolfksin Sanctuary II RT is a spacious, 2 person, tunnel tent. With a weight of 2.65 kg it is light enough for backpacking, yet strong enough to withstand the weather conditions of 4 season camping.
The Jack Wolfskin Real Tunnel design provides stability and more usable space than other tunnel tents. It also has a large vestibule providing plenty of storage and cooking space. The Sanctuary II RT is ideal for expeditions where you could find yourself spending lots of time in your tent.
Pitching
The Sanctuary II RT can be pitched either fly first or all in one. In either case, pitching is fairly straight forward. The main thing to bear in mind is that the poles must be inserted from the right hand side of the tent and that they should be inserted with the correct end first, as indicated on the poles themselves. Once the poles have been inserted into the flysheet the tent can be pegged out, ensuring that fly sheet is taught between each section of the tunnel.
Whilst pitching was easy, we found that packing up the tent was a little tricky, although it probably gets easier with practice. The stuff sack is large enough to accommodate the tent even when it has not been folded precisely.
Materials and Construction
The flysheet is made from silicone coated 40D ripstop nylon, which feels both light and strong. The silicone coating is particularly suited to camping in winter conditions, and with a hydrostatic head of 3000 mm it will keep the rain out. The ground sheet felt fairly thick, giving confidence that it will survive being used on rough ground. The groundsheet is made from hydrofilm 70D nylon with a hydrostatic head of 10,000 mm. The Sanctuary II RT has a high build quality which could be observed from the small regular stitching of the seams. The thread used consists of cotton with a polyester core. In damp conditions the cotton swells to fill the stitching hole, whilst the polyester prevents moisture from wicking.
The DAC Featherlite NSL poles are made from sturdy, lightweight aluminium alloy with varied diameters for greater stability. There a 14 V-shaped pegs, each weighing 11 g. This is enough to peg out 8 pegging points and the 6 glow-in-dark guylines. A handy emergency repair kit is also supplied.
Expedition Comfort
One of the key features of Jack Wolskin tunnel tents is their Real Tunnel (RT) Technology. Consisting of a series of short poles around the edge of the tent and optimally arched main poles, RT provides extra usable space within the tent and extra stability against strong winds. Take a look at our review of Jack Wolfskin’s Time Tunnel III RT for a photo showing the tent standing up to 80 km/h side winds.
The Sanctuary II RT has plenty of usable space. There is enough room to sit up in most of the inner tent and there is enough length for 6’2″ Gareth to lie down comfortably. Width wise, there is plenty of space for two and you could even squeeze in three small people at a push.
There is plenty of room in the vestibule for your rucksacks and for doing your cooking. The doors open on both sides of the vestibule, allowing you to shelter from sidewinds on either side of the tent or for giving plenty of ventilation in hot weather.
Attention to Details
There are vents at both ends of the tent and plenty of space between the inner and outer which help to reduce condensation. At ground level at the rear of Sanctuary II RT is a small zippered door in both the inner and fly sheet. This was designed to provide additional ventilation. In the case of being confined inside the tent during periods of prolonged bad weather, this door could also be used for retrieving snow or putting bodily fluids outside the tent. This small door could benefit from having a little toggles so that it can be rolled away when it is open.
The inner door is two ply, consisting of a material door and a mesh door. It has two zips but would benefit from a third zip to give more opening options. The door is connected along the bottom, as opposed to the side. Personally I prefer this arrangement, as mentioned in our review of the Vango Mirage 200. Gareth prefers the door to be connected at the side, so this is a case of personal preference.
Keeping your gear organised is easy since is there is a plentiful supply of hanging loops around the inner and three pockets on each side. The zips have handy tassels for ease of opening.
Sanctuary II RT Summary
The Jack Wolfskin Sanctuary II RT is lightweight and tough. Its 4 season rating and silicone coated flysheet means that it is suitable for camping in winter conditions. It has plenty of internal space, making it ideal for longer expeditions where extra comfort is required. In the Sanctuary 2 RT, Jack Wolfskin have produced a tent with high build quality and attention to detail, which is reflected in the RRP of £395 (April 2013).
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