TL;DR - I'm a little worried we got the wrong tent. We couldn't pass up the price (at 50% off), but it's not entirely freestanding, so may be harder to use on impermeable surfaces, like slickrock.
Hopefully this tent works out.
As with the ULA Ultra Circuit backpack, Western Mountaineering Alder MF sleeping bag, and Exped Dura 3R sleeping pad, the weight of the tent was initially the most important factor for us. We also wanted to get something that was freestanding, so we didn't need to rely on guywires for setup. In the end, we compromised on that last point when we found the Marmot Superalloy 3P on sale - for less than half price - in the REI outlet. Backpacking tents are expensive, so hopefully this will work out for us!
We may have let a good deal get the better of us.
At 2lbs 14.2oz, and large enough to squeeze three people in a pinch, it ticked the right boxes for extended carry. The downside is that it is semi-freestanding. This means that one side of the tent has a single pole in the center, and the corners need to be staked out. This can make setting up the tent on slickrock more difficult if there are no good-sized rocks around, and can result in a tent that is less stable in stronger winds
Not knowing if we'd really enjoy the whole backpacking scene, we figured that saving more than 50% on the overall cost was a worthwhile risk.
Take a load off your shoulders without downsizing with the Superalloy 3-Person Tent. Ultralight yet durable materials and a unique semi-freestanding design help this pop-up camping tent lighten the load of your pack so you can hoof it into the mountains with ease. It’s plenty roomy once you pitch it in just a few minutes with easy-pitch clips.
- Vertical walls for roomier sleeping area and greater head room
- Two doors plus two vestibules for gear storage; Semi-freestanding design
- Lampshade pocket securely holds your headlamp to provide ambient light
- Strategic clip placement provides more interior space
- Seam-taped, full-coverage fly with vents and seam-taped bathtub floor to keep water out
- Reflective printing on fly for extra visibility
Specifications
- Floor Fabric: 100% Polyester, Ripstop
- Fly Fabric: 100% Nylon, Ripstop
- Packed Size: 19.7 x 4.9 in
- Peak Height: 42.9 in
- Floor Area: 37.7 sqft
- Minimum Weight: 2 lbs 14.2 oz, 1,310 g
- Number of Doors: 2
- Number of Poles: 2
- Pole Material: DAC NFL Aluminum
- Vestibule Area: 12.92 sqft
Marmot
Other tents considered:
- Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 - this is a freestanding tent with essentially the same specs as the Marmot, but with double the price tag of the deal we got. I would see us ending up with this tent should backpacking become a regular occurrence for us.
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