After many years of having similar designs and color schemes in their tent lines, MSR has come out with a number of new tents with new designs and a new color set.  I’ve been testing out the MSR Holler over the past few months to see if the tent lived up to all of MSR’s hype.  Since MSR has such a great following in their tent line with tents like the Hubba Hubba, they had to be very careful with any changes they made to their existing tent line.  Since the Hubba tent is has been so true and tried and a staple in many backpackers gear list, I thought it would be good to check out the MSR Holler which is a 3-person tent that is great for backpacking and car camping.  Since I have 2 large dogs in addition to one other person camping with me most of the time, a 3-person tent is my preference.  And while there are only two people, a 60lb and 80lb dog take up plenty of room.

I’ve tested the MSR Holler 3 out in a number of different conditions and environments.  First, I tested this tent in Colorado where the temperatures dropped to 25-30 degrees fahrenheit.  There was no rain and the air was fairly dry, true to typical Colorado weather.  Next, I decided to test out the tent on my adventure style honeymoon in California.  I tested the tent in Big Sur car camping, backpacked with it in Point Reyes National Seashore, and another night of car camping in the Redwood Forest.  With the main tent frame pole system, there is one pole that connects all four corners and is connected by the backbone of the tent pole system.  For added structure, there is a separate tent pole that crosses over the middle of the tent.  After the tent poles were set up(which was extremely easy and fast) all you had to do was clip in the tent to the poles (again, super easy and fast).  The fly is easy to through over the main body and is secured by buckles from either the main body of the tent or the footprint.

The inside of the MSR Holler 3 is convenient and well thought out.  There are plenty of pockets to stash anything that you want separated from your normal gear bag.  I typically put my keys, cell phones, headlamps, small camera’s, contact cases, or anything else you want to keep separate.  There are two spaces on the ceiling and pockets on each side of the tent.  Since having 3 people in a tent or 2 people and two dogs and can crowded at times, it’s nice to have to vestibules (doors) that you can enter or exit from.  This is nice if you don’t want to wake up your camp mate and need to go to the bathroom.  It also allows for a good draft to go through the tent if the tent heats up during the summer months.  In total, the MSR Holler 3 weighs 6 pounds and 9 ounces including the tent body, fly, poles, stakes, and stuff sack.  This is pretty light for a 3-person tent and is very manageable if you divide up the tent parts while backpacking.

While camping in the Redwood Forest in Northern CA, we ended up getting rained on all day and night.  The fog and clouds came in and only wanted to keep our campsite wet, seriously!  (the campsite next to us stayed dry the whole time…)  Luckily for me, I thought that it was a great opportunity to test out how waterproof the tent was.  The tent fly was completely waterproof and didn’t allow any water to enter.  The fly itself was waterproof, but often water comes in through the seems in many rain fly’s.  Since the seems were taped in the MSR Holler 3, we stayed completely dry.  And while the fly kept water out, in extremely humid conditions, I noticed condensation start to form on the inside of the tent floor.  To my knowledge, there was no way to prevent this.  I also found condensation to form overnight after a good nights sleep.  Again, this was probably due to the high humidity.  There are two velcrowed vents in the fly, but they didn’t seem to keep all the moisture out, but they helped a little.

Overall, I have been pretty satisfied with the MSR Holler 3  and on a scale of 0-5 with 0 being awful and 5 being amazing, I give this tent a 4.5.  The MSR Holler 3 retails for $399 and can be found online and in most specialty outdoor stores.  For more information, please visit CascadeDesigns.com/msr

First off I love the way the tent is packed. The folding bag design means you no longer have to roll up the tent and stuff it into the stuff sack. Instead two large pockets hold the tent and fly, a center pouch holds the poles, a small clear pocket holds the stakes and the whole thing folds in half and clips together using buckles. It is an incredibly simple design and while it’s not the smallest packaging, I don’t mind it at all for car camping. It proved incredibly easy while breaking down the tent. Rather than stuffing the tent and fly into a stuff sack you simply tuck them into the side pockets. The Big House 4 uses 1500 mm waterproof polyurethane in the fly, floor and tent doors. The tent body is made from a rip-stop polyester and mesh. All the seams are taped to make them 100% waterproof.

The packaging for the Big House 4 is simple.

Putting the tent together couldn’t be easier. With three identical  poles you don’t have to search for color coded tabs or sleeves. Just grab a pole, run it through a sleeve to the end point and your done. Two poles cross making a big X while the third crosses in front of the tent for extra support.  The fly attaches using color coded male/female buckles. Unlike most other tents, the fly on the Big House 4 doesn’t cover the doors. Instead it uses two smaller poles to arch out the front and rear door creating a small visor for protection. I liked this feature since it kept the tent feeling open even with the fly on. The Big House 4 can be set up by two people in less than ten minutes easily.

The Big House 4 has plenty of room for people and gear.

The Big House 4 has a lot of nice details inside and in it’s design that come in handy. The front of the tent has a cool little roll out welcome mat for shoes, handy when you don’t want to get wet shoes inside the tent. The entrance has the usual two panels, one that is is the exterior of the tent, the other a mesh panel to allow light and air into the tent while keeping bugs out. A nice double zipper makes this easy to operate.  The Big House 4 also has a big sky light, not obstructed with the rain fly on, which really lets a lot of light into the tent. This helps make the tent feel even bigger than it is. The inside of the tent is lined with 12 mesh pockets for items like headlamps, car keys, phone, etc. The height of the tent, 68 inches, is tallest at the center, and I was easily able to stand up inside the tent. The trapezoid gear loft was handy for hanging a light at night and can hold more small items.

The double zipper lets in air and light while keeping bugs out.

Size wise it’s a good fit for those that either like to camp with friends or have a lot of gear. With just two of us for this outing we put all our bags and extra gear in the tent, reducing the amount of trips back and forth to the car. The vestibule, available as an accessory, will provide you with even more room for gear, including bikes. Bigger tents like this are susceptible to windy conditions, but guy lines and plenty of stake points are in place to keep the tent down.

A small ledge on the fly adds protection.

The Big House 4 is a great tent for those trips when minimalism isn’t required. The packing for the tent was probably my favorite feature. It was so simple and hassle-free that it made the process much quicker.There is certainly plenty of room for four people and some gear or two to three people and a lot of gear. The details like the sky light, roll out mat and pockets make your time in the tent more appealing. At 299.95 the Big House 4 is reasonably priced and a tent to check out if you’re in the market.

The Coleman Northstar X4 Tent is a hardcore tent that makes you feel like you are at the Marriott.  Although Coleman has been known for their family camping/entry level camping and backpacking tents, the Exponent line of products takes them to a whole new level.

This tent is in the 4-person category, but we found it easy to fit 6 people in the tent, so with 4 people, you can spread out plenty.  We were able to fit two adults and two 65lbs dogs in one section of the tent to give you the size of one half of the tent.  On another trip, we took the Northstar X4 tent camping with 3 people and two dogs and the tent fit everyone and once again, no problem fitting everyone.

For the Northstar X4,Coleman pulled out all the stops and didn’t slack too much when it came to features.  One nice feature that we liked was the middle divided, which you could put up just a screen or if you wanted complete privacy, you could zip up another layer that keeps the other side from seeing you (not the shadows though).  The tent has plenty of zip up and down windows, which was nice when it was hot during the morning and later in the day, but when it got cold, we just zipped them back up.  We mention this, but it is pretty standard on most tents.  If you need to escape during the night when nature calls, no need to worry about waking up others, there are 4 doors!  This is a little excessive, but for those who don’t like roughing it, 4 doors might be necessary!

Now on to discussing the set up: it took us between 30-50 minutes to set up, but it shouldn’t take you 50 minutes that often, we were in 60 mph winds during that setup.  The poles are heavy duty poles that are not lightweight, but do set up pretty easy.   Coleman suggest that you use two people to set up, and we would have to agree with them.  We were able to get it set up with one person as we wanted to test our skills, but it was much easier with two people. To give you a comparison with regards to normal setup time, it typically takes us 5-10 minutes to set up most other tents.

The Northstar X4 is fairly tall, so one might imagine that it would get blown around in the rain and wind.  We had the joy of experiencing 80 mph winds while attempting to sleep and had no worries about the tents durability and structural soundness.

So who would we suggest this tent for?  We think that it is an excellent choice for family of 4 (or more with kids)  or a group of friends doing a little car camping.  The tent, because of its size, does not pack down all that well but comes with a handy carry bag that has dividers to keep the poles, stakes, fly, and body of the tent organized. For the more tech and gear oriented people who like a lightweight and compact tent, you may want to check out other tents we have reviewed on our site and out on the market.

Details

• Four person basecamp tent
• Uses materials commonly found in backpacking tent
• Offers spaciousness, ventilation, and shelter usually found in a backpacking tent
• Four large doors with panels for increased ventilation
• Two large dry-entry vestibules prevent water from dripping inside tent when opened for ventilation
• Cabin style tent
• Sleeps four people
• Weights 31 pounds, average packed weight
• Floor dimensions are 12 ft x 7 ft
• Peak height is 6 ft (72 in)
• Screen room is 7 ft x 6 ft
• Four doors
• Two vestibules
• Two awning poles
• Floor area is 84 sq in
• Vestibule is 18 + 18 sq ft
• Mesh roof with zip panels for ventilation control
• Fly vestibule design allows various openings for multiple ventilation configurations
• Taped, full coverage poly ripstop fly maintains a tight pitch even in wet conditions
• Non-yellowing, non-clouding, clear TPI film windows for great sunlight and views
• Color coded, lightweight aluminum poles set up quickly
• Simple to use, removable pole clips snap quickly into place for ventilation between tent and fly
• Easily adjust tension between the tent and frame with tension straps
• Two additional poles create convenient side awning for covered entry
• Fly fabric is 75D 210T polyester ripstop• Fly coating is 3000 mm PU/WR/FR
• Inner fabric is 70D nylon ripstop (FR/WR)• Floor fabric is 210D nylon oxford
• Floor coating is 3000 mm PU/WR/FR
• Poles are 6061 T6 aluminum, 16mm diameter (1.15mm wall)
• Mesh is 50D polyester (no-see-um)
• Stakes are aluminum, 6mm diameter by 19cm length

Tis the season for camping!  The Sierra Designs Zolo 3 tent is a great option for those of you that are looking for a 3-person tent for car camping and backpacking.  The tent’s travel weight is 6 lbs 5 oz, which puts it in the middle of the road for weight as far as high end tents go.  The interior of this tent boast 48 square feet, making it plenty roomy for 3 people, two people and a dog or two, or two people and lots of gear.  We tested the tent with two people, one 6’0 and one 5’9. Along with the humans, there were two 60lbs dogs that can somehow take up a queen size bed each.  There was also plenty of room for a few medium sized bags, not having to put your gear outside your tent.  Although we prefer to keep our gear inside our tent, there are two large vestibules that allow for a covered space in case you have some muddy shoes, wet towels, or a bike that you want to be covered from the elements.

This tent sits lower to the ground and gains its’ square footage with its’ width versus a narrow and taller tent, which came in handy while we camped in the Colorado National Monument, where the winds picked up neighboring tents. We found the Sierra Designs Zolo 3 fairly easy to set up with only one person.  The tent poles are connected by a rotating piece of plastic that gives it added stability during set up, while also making it easier and quicker to set up with only one person (no fumbling with three separate poles).  There are clips along the body of the tent that quickly snap onto the tent poles. The first set up took about 5 minutes, meaning with repeated set ups, not in the dark, are bound to be a cinch with a little practice. The fly has two peak through windows and attaches to the body of the tent via plastic clips; which make the system lighter weight, but may break with continuous wear and tear. For some reason our dogs love to get outside the tent and look for animals, so it’s nice to be able to check the window before letting them loose. We liked the two-way zipper design on not only the fly, but also the body of the tent, which makes entering and exiting, while keeping the dogs in the tent, a tad more convenient. With two openings in the tent, you don’t have to worry about your camp mate climbing over you while taking care of business in the middle of the night.  Since it seems that sleep is rare to come by while camping, the less you get woken up the better.Although we didn’t puncher the floor of the tent, it seemed as if it would be good to splurge and get the footprint to prevent rips and tears.  With two openings in the tent, you don’t have to worry about your camp mate climbing over you while taking care of business in the middle of the night.  Since it seems that sleep is hard to come by while camping, the less you get woken up the better.

With Sierra Designs dedication to outdoor adventure and quality products, it will give you some reassurance when in the checkout line with your Zolo 3.

Specs

• Trail Weight 6 lb 5 oz

• Fast Pack Weight n/a

• Packed Weight 6 lb 14 oz

• Number of Doors 2

• Interior Area 48 ft²

• Vestibule Area 11 + 11 ft2

• Peak Height 45″

• Floor Material 70D Nylon, 3000mm

• Body Material 68D Polyester, Dye-Free White

• Fly Material 75D Polyester, 1500mm

• Poles DAC Featherlite NSL

MSRP $289

Sierra Designs Zolo 3 in action

The Grand Manan 9 Recreation Tent is very well constructed, durable, lightweight and easy to use. We were able to comfortably fit 3 people, dog and our gear in the tent with room to spare. We could easily sleep two more if needed. One of the nice features is the tent had great ventilation and allowed maximum air flow. The zippers were easy to use and the add-ons like the large vestibule for the front and the interior pockets are convenient and helpful. The tent and poles come in a nice expandable bag for easy transport. Condensation was non-existent and the indoor space is maximized by the pole design, allowing for easy storage and hanging of items.

Overall I would recommend the Grand Manan 9 Recreation tent if you are camping with the family or just need extra room. It’s big enough for comfort and easy enough for one person to put up themselves.  For more information, please visit Eurekatent.com

FEATURES

2 pole dome tent with durable, shockcorded fiberglass frame

Straight wall design provides 21% more headroom than a standard 2 pole dome tent and 16% more volume to accommodate an air bed

Side-opening doors allow for easy entry

Eight interior pockets keep essentials close at hand

Bathtub floor wraps up sides of tent, protecting against splashing and standing water

Large, double point vestibules allow room for extra gear

Zippered access to the fly vent, through the vent in the tent body ceiling, provides extra ventilation options

Removable window flap can be stored inside the built-in pocket when not in use

Full coverage fly rolls up, providing 4-way ventilation for maximum cool air flow to the interior via low mesh vents