Marmot

Fortress UL Tent: 3-Person 3-Season

Great tent for bad weather

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Are you looking for a tent that will keep you out of the elements? Something that will withstand sustained rain? This is it. I have a 2012 limelight and it continues to serve me well. However, in a heavy rain under some trees, the droplets started to get under the fly and make it past the tub. So I looked for a tent that had more coverage. Here comes the Fortress UL 3P. The tent is very well made and the materials are really light. I was surprised at how light the tent is. I plan to use it for car camping, but it's nice to have it light and take up little space. I used this tent in clear weather with lows in the high 20's, low 30's. The fly got icy, but the tent stayed dry outside. Minimal condensation builds up with just me in it, so no in tent shower. The vents worked great to dry out the tent the next day, and ready for another night. The shape is fantastic. It is similar to my old Limelight, but the new design that creates more liveable space REALLY makes things much bigger. I am 6' and my old tent my toes would hit the tent sometimes when shifting in my sleeping bag. My feet don't hit the end of the tent any more in this tent, its great. My old Limelight was bullet proof in any wind when you stake it down and guy it out. Since this has a similar shape, I imagine it will do just as good. With a high tub and solid walls, the rain can come and I feel confident in my equipment. With all that being said, I do have some wish list items. The tent is still 5*, but with a few things it can be that much better. 1 - The foot print does not have clips to clip to the tent like my old Limelight does. I understand the foot print is extra, but I would love some clips so that the whole tent system can be connected. 2 - I am not a huge fan of the stakes. And this is really a personal preference. But, I like the hook to feel confident that the tent will not pop off the stake. The stakes did just fine, and they are well constructed, but I just like the hook type personally. Things that surprised me. 1 - The tent is stupid light. I was concerned that I received the wrong item due to the lack of weight. Great job! 2 - The living space created with the bend at the base of tent poles is exponentially in creating usable living space. Again great job! 3 - The lack of condensation build up in the tent when fully sealed up on a cold night was awesome. I am curious what it would be like at capacity with three people. Great product and exactly what I was looking for. A cold and rain tent for California winter camping. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have.

As advertised ! Mind blown w quality

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] First I thought pieces were missing as I couldn’t believe how light this was ! I upgraded to this tent from my storm breaker 2 and couldn’t be happier. I took this tent on a 22 day through hike in the Adirondack high peaks . I hit 17 summits with this tent strapped to my pack(10 others w day pack) the material is very strong, multiple storms beat down on this tent and I stayed dry. Set it up on about 5 mins the first time and got that down to 1 min 49 secs by the time I was done- I am 6’4” 210 pounds , so the room inside was more for 2 comfortable person;however, during a colder season it would be nice and cozy w 3 - I plan on attempting this tent through winter as well using my Marmot -5 bag and a thermal insulated sleeps pad . Will update after this season to let you know how this awesome tent holds up. I also climbed 400’ free climb up tongue mtn range lake George to a cozy spot I really wanted to camp and my water weighed more than the tent- defiantly the smartest upgrade I’ve made in a while!

Great 3-4 season option

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

3p

Height:

6' 2"

Weight:

200

Bought it this past Jan and have used it 4 times. It has done very well, including in wet snow. The full 2 layer doors are nice and make it almost functional into summer. The zippered lower vent is great to try to get air flow at the level you are at when sleeping. The top vent on the inner roof is curious that it has no mesh but somewhat understandable in a UL tent (what side would you put the mesh on?). It does vent condensation well in late fall/winter/early spring cold weather where bugs are not a concern, but limits use in hot/humid summer weather where high venting is still needed. However, I guess Marmot figures that is where a tent like the Tungsten 3, with its high mesh ratio, would be better to use. Since any one tent is rarely useful in all conditions, I do not count this against the Fortress. I actually consider it a great 3 season tent- Fall, Winter (into medium level snow) and Spring. I bought the heavier Fortress footprint since the UL version was not available when I bought it. I actually like this combination since it provides better floor protection where I worry about a UL tent the most. If I want to go lighter I just bring my Tyvek homemade version, but most of the time if its going to be rocky I want the extra protection against the ground. The storage is decent in this tent though a big mesh panel at the foot could be great, as in many newer UL tents now. But I did attach lines to the upper attachment points and that lets me hang wet clothing. The vestibules are pretty good sized and my wife likes the smaller back one for her since it eliminates the awkward long reach to grab the zipper in the middle of the night! Overall, this tent is a little baffling to me at this point. Why is it not getting much internet attention? The regular version seems popular enough but since cold weather gear is so much heavier I would think a UL version would be even more valuable. This version is well built and feels like it will be durable and as I said above did pretty well in some wet snow. I did work to keep the snow from accumulating too much on top but that would seem prudent to do even in a heavier tent and the material never seemed stressed. Hope this can last as I like the weight, size, layout and even the bright color for shoulder season and cold weather camping.