Mountain Hardwear Lightpath 3 Tent 3-Person 3-Season - 2009 BCS

Got this one on SAC for just over $100 shipped. I looked at other tents on BC.com and REI and for the price/weight I could not find anything better. To get a 5lb tent that will sleep 3 people and cost about $100 bucks is impossible. Each guys share is about 1.6 lbs and $33 bucks. Thats nuts!!! I dare you to find a better value...

you may say i have a gearection for mountain hardwear, but it is not unfounded. it has never once failed me in its purpose for each individual item in 15 years of 4 season backpacking and camping. slept out in the backyard in snow and sleet with 25mph wind gusts overnight without guying it out...just to try it out. in the morning it was still standing and bone dry inside (no condensation either). poles are easton aluminum. well constructed and very lightweight. they bend much further than actually needed. as i always pack stakes and poles separate from the tent body and fly, there is additional room in the provided stuff sack for extra gear. it will fit a rain jacket and a beanie (although i would never pack those in with the tent; just gives you and idea of volume). none of the stakes bent in the frozen ground. seams are visibly well sealed. even though the bathtub is not one piece, the perimeter seams remain above ground level. set up is a snap. without guying it out, it takes less than 2 minutes. even though it is not freestanding, in low wind situations all you have to do is stake it out at 4 points and the front of the rain fly and it holds up well. great to see you can set up the fly 1st and snap in the tent in case of heavy rains (havent actually done this in the rain yet, but it is simple enough with some practice, much easier with 2 people). its not the biggest 3man i have slept in, but it is significantly lighter than the MSR MuthaHubba 3 and all the columbia and coleman turds i lugged around in my younger, broke years. advertised on different sites as between 5lbs and 5lbs 5oz. my scale weighs the entire package as 4.9lbs. fits myself, the wife and our 75lbs dog with room for gear inside to spare around the dog. I am 6'3" 215 and it is plenty long! vestibule is adequate size for 3packs and 3pairs of boots with room still to get out without tripping. like every other 3-man tent, unless you plan on lying like a mummy all night without moving, I think massive 2 man is a more fitting description. dual zippers on the front fly are nice and i have had no problems with snagging (fabric pulls out of the zippers easily, and it is nearly impossible to zip the fabric into the teeth, i have tried). staggered top line doesnt bother me, but i dont spend much time in the tent anyway. the major plus is the price. found it on sale for 200 including the footprint! thats less than half the price of the big agnes i was also considering. the side pockets are adequate. they can hold a lot of weight without deforming the tent too much (my dog likes to sleep with his head in the pocket for some reason). bottom line: if you dont have to have a freestanding tent, the Mountain Hardwear Lightpath3 is the way to go.

This tent really surprised me, especially looking at the bargain of a price! Too many 3 person tents mean you can fit 3 people if you're all okay with spooning. When they said 3 person they really meant it. Me and my two brothers fit just fine, even with a little gear inside. This rig is extremely easy to set up and with using the guyouts there wasn't a drop of water than leaked in during a major summer downpour in the Uinta's. There is 1 small addition that would have been cool. I use a BD lantern but there isn't a clip or strap or anything to hang a lantern from. Other than that this tent is great for what it's meant to do.

this is great 3 person tent verses the weight.....3 good size peeps would be way too tight of a fit in my book but...for my use with an 11 yr old and a petite wife it worked just fine and we fit all our packs and boots in the vestibule with enough room to get out to pee in the middle of the night without killing yourself...one thing to know though if its a big deal to you is...this needs stakes...it is not free-standing but i'm not planning on pitching this on granite or ice so its no prob...also a way cool feature is to purchase the footprint so you can go ultra-light and just pack the footprint..2 poles...and the rain-fly and leave the tent body at home...

This tent is a great value. Be cautious of the non-freestanding design - you absolutely must have 4 solid stakes/tie downs for the tent and two more for the fly. Three people is doable, but like most 3 man tents, is a bit tight. Ventilation is pretty good and the vestibule can easily fit 2 50-60 liter packs with room for boots and entry/exit. MHW is still making good tents, although, since Columbia bought them, they seem to have experienced some durability issues.

"Used our lightpath 3 and sojourn 2 last weekwend in some of the worst storms and torrential rainfall for about 20 years. Had a great time and the kids loved it, Needless to say the tents didn't leak. Thanks for the good gear."
-Chris from Australia

Great tent but sloped design can get a little old.