User Review: Bibler Ahwahnee

Bibler Ahwahnee
Above: The current Ahwahnee, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed November 16, 2007 by Bruce Kentner

Rating:
Design: 4 season
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: awful
Weight: not an issue

Ive just read the other reviews and agree with most everything said but I must say I have a serious love/hate relationship with this tent. I don't mind paying big bucks for quality and longevity but I do have some big issues with it. Love includes the quality of materials, bomb proof construction/wind capability, versatility of doors/screens for different weather and the yellow interior is very soothing when confined by bad weather.

When I think of all the good things about it I cant bring myself to get rid of it, However... The set up procedure is awful. Ive tried every way I can think of to make it faster/easier. I was told all the stories of easy rain setup etc and I don't see it. The necessity of cutting the material so tight to make it quiet makes pole insertion/positioning a large pain in the butt. Fear of missing the metal pole inserts; ripping the material and fitting the poles in a position where they wont eventually tear the plastic pole stays off is a big concern. I bent the top flap pole to shorten its length so I could easily fit it into the metal grommets.

Actually that works well now. If I have a friend assist it's easy but I am often out by myself and have exhausted all the colorful language I can remember. The other thing is that even in light rain it's like trying to sleep inside of a snare drum. Love it or leave it. Oh well!