Tent reviews

[Bustercluck]

I own a few tents and I’ve been comparing some of the ones my buddies are using and thought I’d start a thread with the positives and negatives around each one and maybe some discussion for those who don’t agree. This might be a good opportunity to put a poll up on the best hot tent. I own a 3 man msr elixir, 2 man msr hubba, Cimarron and a luxe megahorn. I’ll probably edit a few of these posts as I think about things a bit more. I’m shooting from the hip here, it’s not scripted

I stayed in my buddys cabelas bighorn last week. It’s more of a freestanding design, but still needs a few stakes. The two guy lines on each end are crucial for the tent structure, but the side stakes are to help keep the walls out. I didn’t see it with the side stakes out to compare what it looks like. I think this tent is comfortable for three guys with cots and a wood stove, maybe 4 guys without. Obviously subtract sleeping space for the more gear you plan on bringing.

What I liked. Stove capable. Fairly compact package compared to a traditional canvas outfitter tent. Fairly easy for one guy to setup. Full sealed floor with bug screen.

Didn’t like. It has a lot of vents. There’s two big vents on each side and two more at the top of the tent. None of the vents have zippers to seal up and there was a constant draft beside my bed all night. You had to keep the stove going pretty good to keep it warm. Last winter when it was cold we stuffed shirts into all of the vents to keep the heat in a bit better. I understand the stove needs some fresh air so we don’t die in our sleep, but I think it’s excessive. There’s also some fold down cup holders and stuff that I find redundant. I also don’t see the need for fancy roll down windows. That just makes it seem more like a family tent you’d bring to a fancy campground than a backwoods hunting tent, but maybe that my minimalist nature.

https://images2.imgbox.com/14/24/X49wFkw7_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/X49wFkw7) https://images2.imgbox.com/05/15/hUeyRXLc_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/hUeyRXLc)

[Bustercluck]

https://images2.imgbox.com/d8/9b/my5LRrBu_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/my5LRrBu) https://images2.imgbox.com/98/28/TJrDB6os_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/TJrDB6os)

[Bustercluck]

Im heading out in a couple days and I think we’re going to stay in my brothers alaknak. It’s definitely not freestanding and needs 24 stakes and 12 poles for the wall as well as a centre pole like a tipi. Probably not the best setup if you live in bc and want to pitch this thing in a gravel pit on the side of a logging road somewhere.

I’ll try and video the setup and take some pics.

[Bustercluck]

Seek outside Cimarron

This is by far my favourite tent at the moment. I use the footprint from my 3 man elixir as a ground sheet and roll it up in that to tie it down to my bag. They call it a four man tent, but it’s perfect for two guys and gear. We slept two adults and my twelve year old in temps below -20 last winter in this tent comfortably with the stove going. There was a lot of ice on the walls, but it wasn’t bad at all.

Pros. Ultra lightweight and simple design. Lots of room for when the weather gets shitty. Any of the older guys can relate to trying to change your pants in a conventional 2 man tent with someone beside you and your legs barely move because you’ve been giving er for so many days. I don’t cook any food in my other tents, but I don’t worry about that with this one as I just keep my food off of the ground sheet over the dirt. Wood stove ready.

Cons. More moisture unless you pitch the tent with a good gap at the bottom and then you might as well be sleeping under a fancy tarp. I find this tent colder than any other tent using the same sleeping gear and similar weather. That’s just how I feel, I can’t back that up with any scientific evidence. Definitely not freestanding, you’ll need soft ground to stake this out and preferably a few trees to guy the walls out too for more room. I pack around a variety of different stakes for different ground. Does not keep bugs out.

https://images2.imgbox.com/73/06/6CIyVFfo_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/6CIyVFfo) https://images2.imgbox.com/a3/38/Ywje4D24_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/Ywje4D24)

[Bustercluck]

More of the Cimarron. I wish I had a good pic of the bed setup with groundsheet. I’ll look a bit further and see what I can find.

https://images2.imgbox.com/ca/68/I0fuGacM_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/I0fuGacM) https://images2.imgbox.com/69/f3/Db3tMqqp_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/Db3tMqqp)

[Bustercluck]

Msr 2 man hubba.

If you’re going to own one tent that does everything than this would probably be it, unless of course you need something bigger or smaller. I find msr tents pretty good value for what you get, you can find them on sale and they have a canadian centre for customer service which stands behind the product. I’ve had this tent in some pretty extreme weather where I woke up several times in the middle of the night because the tent pole was beating against my head. I should say this is the older version with the aluminum poles, from what I understand the newer version went through some problems but I think they’ve overcome that.

Pros. Fairly lightweight. Can be pitched without the inner tent to lighten the load. All of the buckles are colour coded for ease of setup. Sets up in a few minutes. Very waterproof and breathes very well. Freestanding, the only thing that needs to be staked out is the vestibule. This can be pretty important in the mountains if there’s limited places to pitch a tent and it’s getting dark, don’t ask how I know this. I do find this tent fairly cozy, but maybe it’s just because you’re sleeping so close to someone else. Keeps bugs out

Cons. Very tight quarters for two guys and your bags are out the vestibule. It’s pretty hard to do anything in there if it’s raining outside.

https://images2.imgbox.com/f8/14/ks0yM23j_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/ks0yM23j) https://images2.imgbox.com/d2/b3/sJhtOb63_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/sJhtOb63)

[Bustercluck]

3 man msr elixir on the left, Seek outside Cimarron to the right and the 2 man hubba in the back.

https://images2.imgbox.com/95/78/v5PzOM4e_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/v5PzOM4e)

[Bustercluck]

Msr 3 man elixir

This is probably about as heavy as you’d want to go for a backpacking tent, but it does the trick and is friendly on the wallet. I’ve packed this guy all over the west coast, jasper park and many others. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. It’ll keep you dry and stand up to just about any weather you may throw at it. I spent 3-4 nights in this tent during a tornado warning and would do it again. When I got back from that trip I had a crack where one of the poles inserted into another, but msr warrantied it free of charge.

https://images2.imgbox.com/d6/d8/b5O4eglT_o.jpeg (https://imgbox.com/b5O4eglT)

[RiverOtter]

I'll add a couple of my tents in.

MSR Hubble NX pros:

All the great features of the Hubba Hubba, but in a 1 person format. The smaller footprint allows for more useable tent sites in the mountains, where flat level'ish ground is hard to find at times. Arguably more resilient than the 2 person version due to less surface area for wind. Quite fast and easy to set up and free standing, save for the vestibule. Equipped with guy lines for use in exposed areas. Plenty of room for me and some gear inside, though my pack is still best left in the vestibule. Offers more internal space than what 1/2 of the 2 person version offers. Good ventilation and adequate fly coverage for a 3 season tent. Light weight at 2lbs 7 ozs.

Cons:
Really can't think of many, save for possibly having the vestibule closer to the ground for wind and rain. A bit of a weight penalty over sharing a 2 person tent with a partner, but not bad if you factor in the extra space and privacy. Ideally need a ground sheet, as floor material is quite light; a black hefty bag works great and doubles as a pack liner or meat container for hike outs.
https://i.postimg.cc/kGShMWpT/20170805-111949.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/zDHQk1GT/20170809-080347.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[waserwolf]

Cimmaron
Yes Condensation can be an issue. Seek Outside does have Liners available for their Tipis.
Wind Flap during high Winds.
We recently experienced rain fall that wouldn't soak into the ground, resulting in rain water running into the Tent under out Tyvek Ground Sheets. Had to get out and excavate a Trench to get rid of and keep water out of the Tipi.
Larger Footprint req'd.
Lotsa space for 2 and Gear, even with the Stove. I have the SXL Stove and I feel that it's a bit too large for Backpacking.
If I ordered one again I think I'd go with the Cimmaron Lite. 1 Door allows Stove Jack to be centered in Tent.

Seek Outside Gaurdian has me curious.

Durston Gear
No experience with these but they look interesting.

[RiverOtter]

Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT.

Pros:
Bombproof 4 season shelter with gobs of space and under 6lbs all up. It's an exo skeleton of sorts with the poles sleeves being attached to the outside of the fly. The tent itself clips to the inside of the fly and can remain attached all the time if you so choose. You can literally set it up in the rain and the inner tent will never see a rain drop. The vestibule is huge, basically a second tent worth of covered space. A few options to open up the front for airflow and/or view while still being well protected from weather. Inner tent can be unclipped for roughly a 5'x13' enclosed space. The Kerlon fabric is another level of tough and even if you puncture it, it is near impossible to tear. Hilleberg actually sends out fabric samples with a cut in them to allow you to figure that out for yourself. Lol. Though Ive never tried, it would be possible to rig up a small wood stove in the vestibule if you so desired. I've seen YouTube videos of guys doing just that.

Cons:
Requires a large footprint to set up, although you can sacrifice the vestibule area somewhat as long as the tent area is flat/level'ish. It's not a free standing tent, so requires guy lines, but that is the tradeoff for keeping the weight under 6lbs. Their freestanding models are much heavier.
https://i.postimg.cc/tCMwdChd/IMG-20160911-115354.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/L8g7xKTc/IMG-20170129-203824-959.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Redthies]

I have the Luxe Minipeak XL. They call it a 3 person tent, but unless you are having a ménage a trois, or are midgets, I’d say it’s tight 2, or 1 with stove. I have the liner for it which is half the pyramid, leaving the other half free for stove and gear. It’s super compact, and with a single pole in the peak, and a stake or rock in each corner, it’s super easy to set up. I bought it for backpack hunts, and don’t have a stove for it yet. It’s fantastic value for money though, at $195 USD. I have a Northface mountain tent if it gets crazy, but I used it on a surf trip in Central America and “that effing piss dog” as the local mutt became known, made it smell funny… :?

Pics of the Luxe. I didn’t take any in “the wild” so you’ll have to make do with some in my barn:

https://i.postimg.cc/3wrYk9t9/D109-C549-373-E-44-FF-B2-D1-EE9-F838-B72-BC.png (https://postimg.cc/jD1G960J)

https://i.postimg.cc/5yVPtK32/263-EA43-A-9362-42-FD-8-A41-72-A3-FDA5384-B.png (https://postimg.cc/ygLhQPtM)

https://i.postimg.cc/mr9NFNhz/AB4-D2905-DB62-4-A3-E-ACA9-53930-F53-C195.png (https://postimg.cc/rd8tB41M)

[Bustercluck]

Cimmaron
Yes Condensation can be an issue. Seek Outside does have Liners available for their Tipis.
Wind Flap during high Winds.
We recently experienced rain fall that wouldn't soak into the ground, resulting in rain water running into the Tent under out Tyvek Ground Sheets. Had to get out and excavate a Trench to get rid of and keep water out of the Tipi.
Larger Footprint req'd.
Lotsa space for 2 and Gear, even with the Stove. I have the SXL Stove and I feel that it's a bit too large for Backpacking.
If I ordered one again I think I'd go with the Cimmaron Lite. 1 Door allows Stove Jack to be centered in Tent.

Seek Outside Gaurdian has me curious.

Durston Gear
No experience with these but they look interesting.

I own the lite model with no bug screens. I definitely like sleeping in the Cimarron the most, but it’s definitely not a tent you can just setup anywhere and not worry about anything like using an msr or similar


That’s one thing about using an msr tent with ground sheet, I’ve never had any water come in the bottom of the tent.