kelty typhoon 3/4
simply the best camping /hunting gear i've ever had. bought about 12 yrs ago. been through some really narley weather w/it and it stood strong everytime.
Good job Kelty !!

I own quite a bit of Kelty gear, including the Typhoon-4. It has withstood 35 mph winds with minimal noise from the rainfly and is absolutley waterproof. Another reviewer noted that water entered under the rainfly, but I have never experienced this problem. The roof vents closed if the weather turns cold and the front and rear door windows can be unzipped from a tiny slit for to full open for great venting. I usually leave the roof vents open about an inch or less to keep the condensation down and it works great. This is one of the few tents that I will keep and repair if it's ever necessary. The front vestibule arch pole is a bit difficult to thread into the fabric and that's really the only thing about this tent that I'd like to change. I have a 98 model, so I'm sure the newer design might address this...

Customer Service

Kelty also bends over backwards to help with any problems, just call them and see for yourself. They'll even give you suggestions on setup, care, etc.

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I've only used this tent for one weekend in October at the base of Mount Washington and so far it has proved to be a worthy purchase. The first night it was pouring raining but not a drop entered the tent. The second night was cold and winds were gusting to about 20mph but the tent stayed warm and did not budge. It looks and feels solid and is designed to take a serious wind thrashing. I wouldn't call it a four person tent, however. It is very roomy and comfortably accomodated three of us, all 6 feet plus, and all our gear was piled up in the roomy vestibule in the back. I bought this tent at Campmor at a steal for $300. It listed for about $450. The salesperson demonstrated the strength of the demo tent by literally putting all of his body weight against it. The tent solidly flexed but was going nowhere. The four aluminum poles are very strong as is the fabric. The inside of the tent is lined with gear shelves which, when loaded, serve as additional structural support. There is also ample venting. This tent should be comfortable in all seasons. Set up is rather easy and only takes about one or two times to get used to as all the poles are equal length except the front vestibule pole. My only gripe about the tent so far is the weight and bulk. Even though it fits in my backpack, it's not a light tent at 10 or 12 pounds, I'm not sure. But, if I'm carrying a tent for three people, I can distribute some of my other gear to my two tentmates for the hike up, so this sort of balances things out. It is a very colorful looking tent, also. If my experience with this tent in the future becomes inconsistent with what I've written so far, I will submit a subsequent review noting any changes. For now, I highly recommend this as a solid all season, three- person tent. For what I paid for it, I couldn't be happier.

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Eureka

This tent is definately a bomb proof shelter which can withstand any weather God can throw at you. I have camped in extreme thunderstorms, snow, hail..you name it, and stayed bone dry (gear included). Since this is a 4 season expedition tent, I thought there would be alot of condensation on the inside of the tent (the ouside temp was over 100 degrees) but the walls, roof and floor were all bone dry with no condensation at all. The venting in the tent is fantastic for summer and winter use in all weather conditions no matter how hot, cold, wet or humid it is. There is PLENTY of gear space if you are only sleeping 2 people in the tent and the included gear loft is not needed due to the many pockets along the inside of the tent. The specs on the FLOOR of this tent are wrong on most web pages. The TRUE floor specs are: 3.0 Oz. with multi-coated waterproofing. You can feel the quality of the tent jut by running your hands over the material. The colors are bright and nice to look at both during the day and night. The poles included are Aluminum 7079-T9 and are stronger than any other aluminum tent pole I have ever encountered. The strings inside the pole are thick and very strong aswell. I compared this tent with the Walrus Arc4 at Campmor (they were both set up) and the Kelty Typhoon 4 not only looked nicer, but the exceptional quality of the materials were visible and physical (to the touch). I actually stood in the store and tried pushing and shaking on the exterior of the Typhoon 4 and it would not budge! The strength and sturdy frame of this tent are amazing. The Walrus Arc4 wobbled side to side and back to front with just a minimal push on the sides. ALL of the seams on the Kelty Typhoon 4 are factory seam taped so there is no reason to use seam sealor anywhere on this tent at all. Even the gear pouches on the inside are taped! The only reason a tent like this would leak would be because of lack of knowledge of setting a tent up. The Rain Fly is also factory seam taped and would not budge even if you kicked it. It has front and rear vestabules which keep your gear bone dry (if needed) and it has fast clips to attach it to the frame of the tent quickly. The only drawback to the Rain Fly is that the sleve for the aluminum pole on the front vestabule is rather small and can be a pain to slip the pole thru.

DRAWBACKS:

1) It takes a little practice to set this tent up alone. Once you are used to setting it up then it is very simple.

2) It is rather heavy BUT it does fit nicely on an external frame backpack.

3) Set up and take down takes approx: 5 minutes

4) When removing the tent poles you have to either push the pole from the bottom (rubber stopper end), or use a push then extend the tent fabric, then push the pole again type method. It takes practice and time to get used to it.

5) The zipper on the front of the tent sometimes requires a little nudging to seal the tent up completely at the bottom corner of the tent (not the rain fly).

6) The front vestabule is very low to the ground so entering/exiting the tent requires alot of back bending.

OVERALL:

I would reccomend this tent to anyone who has experience in 4 season expedition camping. It can withstand ANY weather in ANY condition or altitude. This tent is the strongest tent I have ever used or seen anywhere. The tent is very nice to look at both structurally and color wise. The only problem with the structure of the tent was that the front vestabule is low to the ground so you always have to bend down to exit or enter the tent which can be a nusance when putting your gear inside, and the pole for the front vestabule is rather hard to insert at first. It can fit 3 people comfortably with no gear inside,however, if only 2 people sleep inside you could fit all of your gear in the tent with plenty of stretching room. I am 6'1" tall and had plenty of stretch out room and could sleep lengthwise without touching the front OR back of the tent walls (with another person inside.) I LOVE this tent!!!

>Bow

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Tents: TNF Mountain, Marmot Hoot, Garuda Jana, and Integral Designs MK2

Only used one time, so far, but somehow managed to get exposure to all four seasons. Set up was quick and easy. Tent was very stable and seemed unaffected by the wind (it looks like Kenny's head, from Southpark, when assembled). The weather was sunny and 70-72 degrees when we set the tent up. We took off on a mountain bike ride (fortunately we went ahead and put the rain fly on). During the ride, a huge downpour started, as hard a rain as I can remember being out in, that lasted about 1.5 hours. When we got back to the tent, inside was bone dry. After the rain ended, the temperature began to drop. By 1:00 AM, the temperature was near 30 degrees, where it remained until morning. The tent was comfortable throughout it all. They call it a four person tent, but I do not believe that four average sized people could fit in there. I bought it for two people, two dogs and gear, for which it works great.

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I give it a value rating of 3 stars (I got mine at a local sporting goods store that was going out of business for around $150), because of the $400-500 list price. It is a 5 star tent based on function, therefor, my overall rating is 4 stars.

I have recently purchased 4 Kelty Typhoon 4 tents. Honestly for 600 dollars Canadian each they don't add up to much. Even in a mild breeze with a small amount of rain there was water coming threw both sides where the fly doesn't quite reach the ground. I was constantly tripping over the black guy lines and had to change them to a more visible color (Even dogs tripped over these things). And the hole where the pole for the fly goes into is so small and sticky it's almost impossible to get the darn thing in. It does have some nice storage features and seems to be built well all the same.

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