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3 person 3 season tent

mickv

14-Nov-2008
9:53:53 AM

Hi all,

wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a 3 season, 3 person tent. Am planning some summer camping and walking in the Pyrenees followed by Eastern Europe next year. When I'm back home in Aus I'll be back to my all conditions/all weather walking ways.

Have looked at what is available for aroun $700 and it seems to be a photo finish between the North Face Roadrunner 33 and Macpac Citadel with the Macpac having a whisker in front because of the huge vestibule. Anyone had any experience with either of these or anything comporable?

Not really keen on the traditional tunnel like the MP Olympus/ WE First Arrow because 2 of us will be living in it for 5 months and the low head room and tapering foot could end up with us ripping each other to shreds due to claustrophobia after 2.

ZERO

14-Nov-2008
12:49:31 PM

Citadels are heavy. Huge vestibules come at a cost.
have you considered a largish budget car based tent (assuming car travel) and something smaller and lighter while out hiking?

allroundgoodguy

14-Nov-2008
1:30:59 PM

Used a Citadel for 4 months of cycle touring.

For
- Huge vestibule.
- Quick & easy to erect.
- No problems in rain or wind.

Against
-Heavy as a walking tent.
-As with all Macpac tent they are not overly generous on space, for 2 of us it was luxurious living, 3 people will be OK for a few days but not for an extended stay
- Zip on the fly sheet can be a bit fiddly
- Poor Ventilation, there was many a morning getting out & having condensation run off the fly & down my neck.

In two words, great tent, I would happily buy one again, only major gripe is the condensation but this can happens on all tents

Robb

14-Nov-2008
2:12:53 PM

when you arrive in europe go to the nearest decathlon store and buy a Quechua 2 second tent for about 50 Euros. i bought mine in the UK for 30 pounds so not sure what they are in europe. but they are awesome. up in 2 seconds packed in less than a minute. available in 1 , 2 ,big 2 , 3 or 4 person sizes.
my 2c

nmonteith

14-Nov-2008
2:48:46 PM

On 14/11/2008 beefy wrote:
>when you arrive in europe go to the nearest decathlon store and buy a Quechua
>2 second tent for about 50 Euros. i bought mine in the UK for 30 pounds
>so not sure what they are in europe. but they are awesome. up in 2 seconds
>packed in less than a minute. available in 1 , 2 ,big 2 , 3 or 4 person
>sizes.
>my 2c

I agree. 9 of out 10 French climbers can't be wrong! (as I saw in Gorge de Tarn campsite)

Robb

14-Nov-2008
3:08:55 PM

ill have mine at araps this weekend. if you want a look.

mickv

14-Nov-2008
4:03:31 PM

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions so far.

I just read that decathalon have gone belly up so the 2 second may not be an option. will defintely check it out when I get over there though.

I'm not too concerned about weight as there will be 2 of us. Most important is that the tent can ride out a storm or two and that we will have space to chill out if we have to sit out bad weather.

mickv

14-Nov-2008
4:06:50 PM

Hi Steve,

I have a large tent for car camping (it's bloody huge and bloody heavy) puls a light weight 2 person tent for 2 season walking trips but am looking for something in between.

If my past experiences are anything to go by, the weight is a small sacrifice for a huge payback in terms of how well you get on with the other person after a few days tent-bound because of the weather.

I'm considering anything up to 3.5 kg at the moment.

Mick

mickv

14-Nov-2008
4:10:33 PM

Thanks for the review of the citadel allroundgoodguy. Have had condensation problems with previous tents but also have been impressed by those tents ability to ride out storms. Sounds like the citadel will be the same.

I think there is a MacPac shop opening near me soon so I might head in there and ask them to set it up so I can sheck out the zips and vestibule. anything else I should look for? did you have to seam seal it yourself or did it come pre-done?

Mick

allroundgoodguy

14-Nov-2008
4:30:43 PM

No I had to seam seal it myself but it was supplied with 2 bottle of sealant.

As Beefy said, we also saw a lot of Quechua tents in our travels, the Europeans love them, they unfold like those cheap beach shelters with fixed internal hoop poles ( if that makes sense ) no idea how storm proof they are, but the quantity of them we saw indicated they must be at least OK

dougal

14-Nov-2008
5:56:17 PM

IMO consider a tent with twin vestibules. The vestibules will be smaller but you have twin entry (less weight - more useful). When tent bound I've found this to be a blessing. You can keep out of others way - like having two tents. My first tent was a Bergen (norwegian - they know how to sit out shite weather). Recent purchase was an MSR hubba. The mother hubba is the three person at ~ 3kg with twin vest. The 23 yr old bergen still vents better than the new ones. If you're not keeping it for at least 5 yrs it doesn't matter.

james

15-Nov-2008
4:25:19 AM

some friends of mine rave about the MSR Hubba. in a freak summer alpine snow storms in the Bugaboos last year a couple Hubbas faired better than some other 4 season tents. They are quick & easy to put up also - the poles are all connected as one so it make them strong.

Teeds

17-Nov-2008
7:42:19 AM

I'm thinking of getting the "Exped Sirius II Extreme". Anyone have experience, recommend or stay away from?

Bivouac Web
Exped Website

Paulie

17-Nov-2008
3:02:07 PM

We got a decent 3-4 person Vango tent: new model here: http://www.vango.co.uk/products/tentsinfo.aspx?productid=29&modelid=25 when we travelled around Europe, cost 2 tenths of f* all and saw out some serious galeforce weather, gave it to some happy friends when we left. Easy!

Robb

17-Nov-2008
3:07:46 PM

2 second tent video

There are 15 messages in this topic.