Weight is low for a tent of this versatility, which is a huge plus if you're going to be sharing it with two or three other people. Excellent cross-seasonal ventilation; spacious enough for my 6-foot frame and those of two 6-foot buddies. Cons: In wet conditions, a nylon fly may droop and need frequent tightening to prevent low places from forming where water can collect. Getting to the fly zipper in the vestibule requires reaching over the wet floor. The floor is not as watertight as that of competing brands. Overall, the tent performs worse in damp conditions, making it better suited for the winter. Sierra-designs reduces the PU coatings on the floors and uses lighter material (nylon) to reduce the overall weight. Their ability to repel water was compromised as a result of this. This tent may not be able to withstand the harshest of winters, but it has a beautiful, sturdy construction that I feel comfortable using. geometry dash

Weight is low for a tent of this versatility

Just got the tent...all seems well, but I mainly wanted to comment on SD's customer service......(below)

Customer Service

I just purchased this tent and don't have much to say yet, but I wanted to comment on Sierra Designs customer service since some people here seem disappointed in it. I have a Beduin Family tent by SD and I had to send it in for repairs once. I was shocked at how fast they returned my tent! 10 later and my tent was on my doorstep. That is mostly why I bought an SD again. I once had to send a Bora 80 in for repairs and it tooks MONTHS....like 2.5 or 3 months...so much for that backpacking season. Sierra Designs has AWESOME customer service according to my experince.

Pros: Light for such a versatile tent, especially if split between 2 or 3 people. Great ventilation for summer and winter use, and plenty of room for me(6') and two budies(6' each). Cons: Nylon fly sags when wet and requires constant tightening in wet weather, otherwise lowspots where water can accumulate start to form on the fly. Vestibule zipper hard to reach without touchin fly and getting soaked. Floor not as waterproof as many other companies. All in all a better winter tent than summer due to the poor performance in wet weather. Sierra-designs use lighter material(nylon) and lower PU coatings on the floors to get the weight down. This cost them in water resistance. However the overall design of this tent is nice and solid which is why I would trust it even the worst fo winter conditions

Customer Service

None yet

I have had this tent out in the bald prairies where the wind was howling at over 110 km/h and it was absolutely solid. The guylines help out a lot due to the fact that they are connected directly to the tent frame so the fly fabric is not the one being pulled on. I have had it out in the winter when it was -20C and ice formation was not a problem due to the large roll back ceiling panel. Unfortunatly, I find that the vesitbule is not larger enough for three large packs. The stash door is great, not having any water soaking it. I am 6'7'' and I find this tent to have able head room. This tent will fit three people, I have gone with two of my buddies, but they are 5'10".

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This is a great tent if you don't mind carring an extra 2-3 lbs. and 5 minutes extra in set-up time. Extremly durable and able to withstand rain and wind while keeping you nice and dry. Two big guys and back packs works well in this tent. My son is 6'3" and I am 6'+ . We have sat out rainstorms in both coastal areas and Arkansas that have crushed other tents around us. One day we sat out a storm w/60+ winds and over 8" of rain in 24 hrs. It was enough wind to move our kayaks, luckely I had tied them off. I have a 2000' model w/o the screen door pocket, a small inconvience for the quality at the price. Breates well also. Mark

Great small family tent. Me, my daughter, and our gear fit fine in this tent. When the wife comes with, the gear goes in the vestibule just fine. I also got the attic and the footprint, well worth the money. The instructions are not very good. The tent is a little heavy to lug around, but should be fine for canoeing.

Customer Service

Have not dealt with Sierra Design customer service. I must say, however, that the instructions were bad.

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40 year old heavy cloth tarp tent that smelled like mothballs and must have weighed about 150 pounds.

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I recently emailed Sierra Designs and requested a catalog and told them I was mainly interested in their tents. They sent me out one (the Fall 2001). Not one tent in it. I wrote them back and asking why no tents and that I was disappointed. The "answer lady @ sierra designes" wrote me back, she only told me that she would pass it along to their "marketing department".

Customer Service

Really POOR, I doubt that I would take the time to look into one of their products again.

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Eureka tents, was looking for a better tent for my cycle touring.

THIS WAS MY FIRST TRIP OUT WITH THE ALPHA CD IN THE MOUNTAINS OF MONTANA. THE WEATHER WAS TYPICAL MONTANA WEATHER COOL AND LOTS OF RAIN AND HAIL. THIS IS NOT A EVALUATION ON MONTHS OF USE WITH THIS TENT ALTHOUGH MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE USUALLY RIGHT ON THE MONEY. THE TENT HAS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR TWO AND OUR PACKS INSIDE. WHILE THE VESTIBULE IS ROOMY IT IS NOT AS LARGE AS THE SERRIA DESIGN STRECH PRELUDE AND I WOULD LIKE IT LARGER OR WITH A HOOP FOR MORE HEAD ROOM. THE ONLY REAL COMPLAINT WAS THE DOORS AS YOU NEED TO ZIP AND UNZIP BOTH THE SCREEN AND DOOR INDIVIDUALLY ALL THE TIME. WITH THE SERRIA DESIGN STRECH PRELUDE BOTH THE SCREEN AND THE MATERIAL DOOR CAN BE ZIPPED OR UNZIPPED TOGETHER. THE VESTIBULE ON THE STRECH PRELUDE IS ALSO MUCH BIGGER. BUT HAD I NOT USED THE STRECH PRELUDE FOR MANY YEARS OF BACKPACKING I REALLY WOULD NOT HAVE ANY COMPLAINTS. THE TENT HANDLED THE ROUGH WEATHER WITHOUT A LEAK OR FLAPPING OF THE RAINFLY. VENTILATION WAS EXCELLENT BUT WEATHER IN MONTANA NEVER GETS THAT HOT IN THE MOUNTAINS TO FULLY APPRECIATE THE OPEN CEILING AND NO FLY. THE TENT IS A LITTLE HEAVY BUT WHEN YOU TAKE TWO OR THREE PEOPLE THEY CAN SHARE SOME OF THE WEIGHT.

Customer Service

I HAVE NEVER NEEDED ANY CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH MY OTHER SERRIA DESIGN TENT AND I HAVE HAD IT FOR 1O YEARS. I DON'T EXPECT TO NEED CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THIS TENT EITHER AS SERRIA DESIGN MAKES A QUALITY TENT.

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A roomy 2 (big)person tent or 1 adult and 2 kids. My night out with the tent we set it up in the dark with out a problem on top of a bald. An 8 hour storm came up and we got blasted with 5o mph gusts and tons of rain. The tent was fantastic. I have used it on several other trips. It has performed well in ice and snow @ single digit temps. The ventilation is excellent. The window is nice. Quick set up and take down times. I highly recomend this tent. It is on the heavy side, but i think that is the price you pay for versatility. I bought the ground cloth and gear loft made for the tent at the same time I bought the tent.

It is the best tent I have ever camped in.

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OK, conscience dictates an update on this tent, given the lukewarm opinion of my earlier entry.

1. Size. I still think it's a bit tight for three, but the tent is plenty big for two wide-loads when you stake it properly and use the four-season brow pole extensions. And it can fit three more normally sized types adequately (tried it out with three teenagers, who all asked me what my problem was with the space), but they'd have to be good friends. As far as the issue of having to stake it well to get max floor yield, my (smarter) brother pointed out to me that a) it takes about five minutes extra to get it right, b) I'm in the middle of nowhere with the tent, so it ain't like there's a mtg to be late for, and c) I should stop thinking like a Type-A timeclock slave and enjoy the fresh air (while staking the tent).

2. Quality. We took it out for another few days before I made a final decision on the tent. It rained a while one of the nights out, not really hard, just enough to give 'er a good waterproofing test. Not one -- NOT ONE -- drop of moisture showed up inside, other than the beer I spilled. No seam leakage, no wicking from the stake loops, nada. The design keeps the fly well off the canopy at all points, there are no obvious sag points (aka, water wells) on the fly, and it breathes well even with the fly fully deployed (I *hate* condensation).

And the more you examine this tent, the better it gets. Dense stitch count, absolutely crispy tautness, nice big front door, stash pocket for the door. The nifty features keep adding up.

Example: the tent uses these elastic cords(called Clip Loc's) to strengthen the pole intersections. It's a blazingly simple idea, you can fasten them with one hand if necessary, and it works great. Very cool.

Another example: the linen-crisp tautness all around, just beatiful. And wet conditions don't appear to affect canopy or fly.

3. Versatility. Haven't had it out in the cold yet, but knowing there is such a wide range of mesh/solid surface ratios that can be afforded by the adjustable panels, is a control freak's paradise. So, you have an almost entirely mesh canopy in summer, a solid canopy in winter, and lots of in-between settings when you can't make up your mind. Nice.

Also, the basic pitch can be done in under two minutes, by one, profoundly dexterity-challenged, person (me). To get it wrong, you'd have to be trying to mess up.l

So much for hasty assessments. Mea culpa. Great tent, intelligent design, primo construction. Overall rating stays at 4 (I still maintain it's tight for three adults), but Value goes to 5 (abundant and useful features; topnotch construction quality; the BMW of tents).

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