Nearly perfect?

By tmwiese Ranked #1020 - 3-Season Tents July 30, 2010

This tent had every feature that I wanted with the exception of a sub 4lb weight (it weighs 5lb 6oz): two doors, two vestibules large enough for a pack, tight rain fly with vents and windows to visualize weather. I wanted an all-in-one tent that I could take with me anywhere.

So far, I took it on a three day trip into the Grand Tetons. We camped on packed dirt surronded by rock at 9000 feet. Each night it dropped into the 30's. The first night there was rain off-and-on, yet there was never any wind.

I set up the tent by myself in about two minutes. The walls are near verticle which creates plenty of head room. We sat cross legged and played cards no problem. There was a foot of open space at the head of the bed and a foot at the end of the bed when I was all laid out (I'm 5'11"), and my dad and I were just about shoulder to shoulder. There was space on the floor for some extras and there are five hooks around the top of the tent where you could hang gear or a gear loft.

The rainfly is anchored to the tent at multiple points along the top-most pole, on both sides of each of the end-pole configurations, and clips in to each corner of the tent. At each of those four points you can cinch it tigher as well as where the vestibules are staked into the ground. My guess is that it will hold nicely in the wind. Possible downside: there is a two and a half inch gap between the rain fly and the ground on every side. Will that improve circulation (and decrease condensation) or cool things off too much? That being said, the mesh in the tent construction really cuts down on breezes (they are felt much stronger when zipped down), so who knows.

Each morning, we had enough condensation on the undrside of the fly that was noticible to the touch, yet not enough to bead up and drop when the tent was shaken.

Even though the nights got down to the 30's, we closed up the vestibules early enough that I spent most of the night on top of my bag. It retains heat very well.

Nitty gritty: the stuff sack is too large, the mesh gear holders inside the tent are on opposite ends, when one side of the vestibule is rolled up it doesn't cover the mesh door (would that make it hard to get in and out when it's raining?), and the floor of the tent feels like it could easily be punctured (maybe a footprint is in order?).

Bottom line: for the weight, it has all of the right features and is very spacious. Great for your typical late-summer trip. On the down side, it may not be ideal under constant rain. Also, expect the fly to be wet when you roll it up each morning. I'm happy enough that I am going to keep it, but I may have to get something more suited to rain before tackling anything like Olympic National Park or Torres del Paine.

View Details: Marmot Abode Tent 2-Person 3-Season

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes