Maxxlite Tent

I bought this tent and was pleasantly suprised. I tried it out the first night in 20 degree weather and 20 to 25 mph winds. It held up fine and kept the wind out. I will say that in extreme cold weather like this you need two people to keep it comfortable inside the tent. One person inside keeps it around 25 degrees warmer than the outside air temp. It stayed around 46 degrees when I was out of my sleeping bag. When I got in my sleeping bag the temperature plummeted and I lost the battle and just totally covered up inside my bag. It stayed maybe 7 degrees warmer than the outside air. It was very windy though so it may do better in calmer winds. With two people out of their bags its quite comfortable inside. I mean very comfortable. It warms up nicely and holds the warmth. I was very suprised. The tent is designed so that it also will vent well in the summer as well. It has two huge doors on either end and two triangle shaped vents on top. The tent is well made and very light weight. It is about 6.5 lbs and packs up very compact. The fly encloses two large vestibules, big enough for a pack and boots on each end and still be able to enter and exit without moving gear around. The tent stakes are strong metal that go in the ground easy and hold well, they include two extra stakes. The bottom has taped seams and it is a tub design the material i think will hold up well over time. The tent has two pockets on each side about six inches by four inches. There is a square net that attaches in the top for miscellaneous items and you can hang various items from each of the four attachments if you like. The poles are aluminum and fit together very precisely and they are quite strong. The zippers are of a good quality. Setup was a snap, it takes just about 5 minutes to set up from start to finish. The fly is a bright green and the tent is light grey. The attachments vary in type. The ones that come in contact with the ground are metal. The ones that attach to the poles are plastic clips. There is a tie in the center top of course because a snap cant be used there. The fly attaches to the metal rings with plastic clips so there are no annoying ties. It has two strong stabilizers one on each side that are adjustable.Overall this tent is a well thought out design. Its light weight and compact size are a plus for backpacking. It holds heat much better with two people than one. Its large vents truely make it a four season design. It is constructed well and is so easy to setup. The price is far less than most other four season tents. I can only think of one con for this tent and that is the color of the fly, I wanted something a little more toned down maybe a light grey are darker green, But thats all a matter of taste. So I gave this tent 5 stars for the light weight, quality construction, ease of use, true four season design, and a very low price.

Used for Scout camping and Backpacking. Wanted a tent for my Son which could be used all year round but that was inexpensive enough that if something catastrophic happened to it he wouldn't need to turn over his pocket money until he was 18 to cover the cost. A tough call to find such an item. I narrowed it down to one other Eureka tent and this one. I chose this tent because the inner is not all mesh so had a better chance of getting close to 4 season but also the panels can be zipped down in the summer for just a mesh door on either end along with the mesh roof which allows some airflow through the tent. The other deciding factor was that the tent has a full fly. You can't possibly have a 4 season tent without a full fly and while not all the way to the ground it offers good protection to the inner tent and has excellent storage space in the vestibules. When backpacking in bad weather one vestibule can be used for boots etc. and the other for cooking in. Just remember to roll up the fly door when cooking!Pros:InexpensiveLightweight (for the money)Full fly with great vestibule setupMesh or full panel flexibility on inner tent for seasonsGroundsheet is solid and reasonably thick.Easy to setup (caveat under cons)Waterproof (a year of boy scout camping in all weather with no issues)Poles are lightweight and sturdy.Enough height to sit up easilyFits 2 big adults at a squeeze but possible. ( a little on length later)ConsThe tent has to be tied onto the poles at the top. So does the fly. This is a real pain and significantly increases setup time. Why no Velcro loops instead? There are just two little fabric ties that you have to manipulate. Not fun in temps below freezing. This is the caveat on the easy setup and my one big peave that is basic oversight in the tent design.Same comment for tying back the doors. A small loop and toggle would not increase weight and I'd pay the extra few dollars for some decent hook and loops.Stakes are typically useless after a couple of trips and too heavy for backpacking. Replaced with high quality lightweight MSR stakes.If you are 6feet or under the length is ideal. I'm 6"1 and have to lay just a little across the tent to fit comfortably lengthwise. Head and feet will be right up against the inner tent but the full fly does not touch the tent so this isn't a big issue and the tent has a lot more room in general than most tents that are suitable for backpacking.Carry bag although you can actually fir the tent in it which is good, just ripped on me last weekend. I was in a hurry packing the car to head to the camp and picked the tent up by only one of the handles on the carry bag. It ripped the bag right down from the handle. Some duct tape will take care of it but just FYI, don't pick it up with one handle!Overall this tent is excellent value for the money with the pros far outweighing the cons. 1 year on have not found a better tent for the money. If you are looking for a cheap tent for Boy Scouts, occasional backpacking and general purpose lighter weight use you won't go wrong with this tent. Hopefully they have fixed the annoying tie situation and added some Velcro by now.....

I didn't purchase this tent but used a brand new one owned by my project for a few weeks of fieldwork in Malawi last summer. First the pros: Yes, this tent is incredibly light and packs down very small. It takes a little extra thought to set up well if you're used to freestanding tents with tension poles (like a dome tent) but it is stable in the wind if you stake it out intelligently. Now the cons: This thing is almost comically tiny. I am 5 ft 8 in, not super tall by any means, and I barely fit inside along with a sleeping bag and small day pack. Because this is an A frame design you will almost certainly end up touching one of the walls while you sleep. The main reason that is a problem is that the tent collected a ton of condensation so if you brush the wall you start your own mini-rainstorm inside the tent in the middle of the night. Also, again because it's an A frame with poles on the inside, getting in and out the tent without knocking the poles over is super irritating. Nothing like having a clammy wet tent collapse on you when you try to get up to go to work at 530 in the morning.Best uses: Dry weather weekend camping trips with kids. This tent is a great size for someone under the age of ~14 and is light enough that it would be easy for a kid to carry in his/her pack all day.Don't even think about: Use in humid or wet weather, use by anyone over 5 ft 10 in, use by anyone who gets claustrophobic from the feeling of wet tent walls touching them in the middle of the night.Photo: Multiple tents of this model in the background behind the dome tent.