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  • Hello, just thought I'd share my thoughts on the TarpTent Cloudburst 3. Overall it's a big, lightweight, expensive, quirky 3 season tent, and I like it.


    http://www.tarptent.com/cloudburst3.html

    It's extraordinarily light (1500g sans third pole) for its size. It's palatial for two and roomy for three. Having two vestibules is great - you can store all your gear at one end and still cook at the other end. Has nice features like being able to roll back both ends for excellent views, it's 100% bug-proof, and the fly can be pulled down about 20mm from the ground if there's a chilly wind blowing (and would go further with a little modification). The stuff sack is long and thin so strapping to a bike is problem-free (I am making a tougher sleeve for mine, and stowing it under the top tube). Had it up in 10-hour driving rain and it was completely dry inside (although the optional liner and seam-sealing were quite necessary).

    It's probably not ideal for exposed pitches - the third pole and side pull-outs help, but it's not a wind-shedding design to begin with. It also has a large footprint. It's a little tricky to set up perfectly (but it really does only take two minutes to get a reasonable "get out of this bastard rain" pitch). I'm making a tyvek footprint for rocky pitches because the floor probably won't resist abrasion very well.

    As an aside, the vestibules are big enough to piss in if the rain is really bad. Just sayin'.

    If I were to be doing more alpine/exposed camping I would get something else, but here in NZ we have a serious problem with camping in alpine areas, so we just stay in huts instead. I'll see how it works in Europe when I get back.

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