Big Agnes Gore Pass 3 Tent: 3-Person 3-Season - 2009 BCS

We have had this tent a little over a year now and have had a chance to test it out in all sorts of conditions. Its a very high quality tent (thats what you get with any Big Agnes product so its no surprise). It held up in some high winds in Utah while other tents in our group had snapped poles. Its held up in some pretty heavy mountain downpours in Colorado with no leaks or drips. You do have to make sure you have the fly on correctly and the guy lines taught so the fly isnt touching the tent body which would create some drips (thats just common sense though).

As far as size, it fits myself and my husband plus our 40 pound dog. On a few car camping trips we have had 2 twin sized air mattresses in the tent as well and while they fit, you dont have room for anything else in the tent with you. The vestibules are a decent size, nothing too big though. My husband and his friends have taken it on a couple of weekend backpacking trips and the weight was decent if you split it up. On warm nights with no rain in the forecast we love sleeping in it with the fly off. The star gazing is amazing. With the fly on there is still great airflow due to the vents at each corner on the fly and you can roll up the vestibules on each side.

The only negative is that the zippers on the fly are difficult to get open sometimes from the inside.

Overall a great versatile tent for 2 people (plus a medium sized dog) and with Big Agnes' warranty plus Backcountry's great service, you cant go wrong if you are looking for a tent of this size and this versatility.

I just got this tent and I love it! There was no rain where we camped this weekend so I didn't get to try the rain cover yet. It was very warm and the open top made it nice and breezy. It was light and easy to put together. We only got stumped once and that was because we didn't do a dry run. I would consider it a 2 person tent, but my fiance is 6'5 so he takes up a lot of room :)The zippers worked very well and didn't pull on the tent at all when using. It even fit back in the bag when it was all packed up. I am very happy with this tent.

We bought the Gore Pass 3 to use as our traveling tent to use on the motorcycle and in the car. We took it on a 2 week trip around the west and used it in everything from pouring rain to hot as hell high desert. This tent delivers.

First and foremost, it is big inside. Genuinely a three person tent with lots of internal space. We had enough room inside for two people and all our motorcycle gear.

The big thing we really love though is the thoughtful design. All sorts of awesome little touches. It's hard to see in the picture but each of the four corners has a mesh vent with a little prop that holds it open. Those vents are an epic win. We had great airflow and minimal condensation for the conditions. The two vestibules are great and they each have a full sized door. When we were cooking in the sun near Durango we discovered that the rollup side has extra stake loops and shock cords on the corner sections and the rollup door, so that you can either use the big center as your door or one of the smaller corners as a door. Roll back both corners and you get superior air flow without much sun hitting the inside.

Setup is a little funky the first time so don't neglect the all-important "set it up once in the yard" step of new tent ownership. Big Agnes has some very clever clips and hooks and so forth that work extremely well but are mysterious at first if you've only ever had clips and sleeves. The new generation of aluminum hub poles this tent has are WTF light and go together very slickly and smoothly. It's basically a bit four-footed primary structure with two crosspoles that pop into little plastic claws and help create the big internal space.

Only downside I might see would be repair. This tent has 4, count them, 4 kinds of fastener doohickies. It is unabashedly over designed but extremely solid and the most livable, comfortable, enjoyable tent I've ever traveled with and lived in.