This tent is awesome! I bought this tent for backpacking with my wife and two kids.When I got it, it took some extra work to seamseal the tent.Be sure to put baby powder on the seamseal when it is dry to keep it from sticking together. The first time I used it it rained 4 inches of rain on us with very high winds. The tent did not leak a bit.I have not taken it out in snow, but the way it handles blowing rain it should be no problem.Buy it, do not hesitate!

Customer Service

Best customer service I,ve had with any backpacking store. Larry is who I dealt with. He is the owner of Mountain Tools. He is very knowledgable about backpackingclimbing.

Similar Products Used:

TNF Mountain 25,Moss Stardome DST, and Hilleberg Staika

I own a Prelude (not stretch) dating back to the mid 80's. What a great tent this has been. I've used it for backpacking and motorcycle camping all over the Western United States and Canada. It has always been a faithful companion and has never let me down, even under the most extreme conditions which includes a lot of rain and hail storms. Being a 4 person tent its great for 3 and ideal for 2. It doesn't weigh that much more when I am carrying it on the motorcycle but is noticable when carrying it on my back. It goes up quickly and consumes my big frame, 6'8" 250lbs., easily with lots of stetching space to spare. It's too warm of a tent for general summer camping and lends itself best to cooler climates.

Customer Service

Sierra Design customer service has been very good. They have replaced tent poles at no charge and will still support this old friend when it needs a new fly, which will be at the end of this season.

Similar Products Used:

I have a new TNF VE-25 that I received for Xmas in '99. Haven't taken it out yet. I hope I like it as well as the Prelude

I used this tent 3000 Ft. up Mt. Marcy and it held out great. Ventilation was not bad, and i stood up to wind like a beast. I would not use this tent as a 4 person tent becuz its not big enough. With all the extra gear for winter camping, i would use it as a three sleeper. The rear door is pretty much useless without a vestibule because then where would you leave your boots, unless you bring them inside the tent. The front vestibule is very large, and big enough for 3packs and boots.

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Eureka, Mec Snowfield, Mountain Hardware Nightview.

SD makes strong, well constructed, ergonomic, and light tents. This tent is extremely strong and light for a four person tent and I think it is a best buy if a lot of people are traveling with you. My friend owned this tent until we realized there was only the two of us going on every trip so he ended up selling it and buying a 2 person tent. I recoomend this tent if you have a lot of people in your party!

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

TNF Expedition, TNF Mountain, SD Draco, SD Meteor Lite, SD Clip 2, Walrus Rapeede

The prelude is the largest of the strech dos and I've found mine tobe pretty good overall. First the pros: 1) This is a huge tent you can easily strech out in it, height is also good; you can kneel in the center even if you are quite tall. 2) Its fairly water proof. I've had a few drops of water in it but I haven't been able to tell where from (ie condensation or a leak) 3)overall construction is good 4)there are actually 2 vestibules. The smaller is just large enough to put a pair of boots in The cons 1) This tent takes a LONG time to set up single handedly. Even with two people this is not a qick to set up tent. 2) The height and shape make attaching the top cliplock difficult unless you unzip the door and step in. 3) the fly takes a while to get taut. 4) At 10 lbs 5 oz, its heavy. But if you s compare it with a North Face VE-25 (which sleeps only 3) at 10 lbs 2 oz its lighter per person slept. 5) The zippers are heavy duty, but catch easily Other notes: 1) I bought mine from campmor and found their pricing to be the lowest they were also quite good about sending the gear quickly. 2) The shape of the doors are inverted ""U""s compare that with the picture the the strech dome.

Customer Service

You should know the years of any tent you review as the manufactures tend to change things slightly without renaming them; my prelude is a 98

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None