Tent for Frey/Chalten. MegaLight enough?

I'm heading to Argentina for the first time this season. I'll be in Frey for two weeks, and then moving down to El Chalten. I'll be camping in Frey and maybe will need to camp in Chalten for a bit as well.

Anybody who has camped in Frey/Chalten, will a BD MegaLight be enough tent to withstand winds and rain?

I would sew on a bug-net skirt, to keep out the lovely horse-flies I hear so much about.

There is a lot of appeal for such a light, cheap, and spacious tent, but I don't want to end up chasing down my shelter in the middle of the night.

Haven't camped in Frey or El Chalten, but I've used a MegaLight. Have you?

I've used the original Chouinard Pyramid, the BD Megamid, and the BD MegaLite over the years. I love the light weight and the relatively low cost, but the drawbacks to the floorless pyramid design finally outweighed the benefits, and I went for a Hilleberg Soulo (freestanding one person tent w/ vestibule).

The non-freestanding, floors design means you have to get all four corner pegs on very close to the same level or the tent will be lopsided, reducing interior space and making the tent more vulnerable to wind on the long side. Some people anchor the sides with rocks to keep the wind out, but this reduces interior space. I would definitely consider the bathtub floor that BD sells to go with the tent, unless you're positive that you can find a site to pitch it on that has good drainage. The BD mesh liner might be a more effective option than a home made netting skirt, depending on your sewing skills.

The MegaLight and its predecessors are great for spring ski tours where you can stamp out a platform to put the tent on and build a snow wall to break the wind.There also good for fair weather three season back country travel. But if wind, rain and bugs are big issues I would go for a free standing conventional tent.

Spent 7 days in Frey this past February. Strong & sustained winds that lasted 4-5 of those days...I would not go the light (& esp. cheap) route tent-wise. Got a short "conditions" video up on our blog if you want a taste.

NO. Bring a real tent, not a SilNylon or lightweight Firstlight tent, or suffer the consequences. For real.

Hah. Thanks for all the opinions! Looks like I'm going heavy.

rpc, couldn't find your video but I do want to see it...

I have camped at both Frey and around Fitz Roy. The dust that the wind blows is the real problem. I wished at times that I had a 4 season tent so I could zip the windows shut with how much dust would end up in our sleeping bags. Have fun it's an amazing place!!

I currently have the Nemo Dagger and it was awesome on my trip to the Bugaboos and canadian rockies this summer, HIGHLY Recommend this ultra light. It is only 3-4lbs packed and is very roomy. Rained for three days straight near Golden, BC and we stayed dry the whole time.

Goodhue, check your email. Cheers.

Concur. A conventional tent is where it's at. I was camped at the base of Cerro San Lorenzo for days in high winds and sleet/graupel/snow and was psyched to have the bombproofness of an I-tent, even if it was a heavy haul to get it in there.