Kelty Clark

Lightweight, roomy for one (plus medium dog), very good rain protection, good ventilation with fly removed for hot weather, simple and fast to set up.

Bought this tent ~'98 or '99, and it was my primary backpack tent for ~5 years until I switched to a lighter, larger single-wall tent. It's quick and easy to pitch, was roomy enough for me and one medium dog, kept me dry through many rainstorms and one snowfall, sturdy construction with no stitching failures. 

For hot weather, with the fly removed the uncoated walls and mesh are cooler/better ventilated than my other tents. Always wished the view out the door was better—it's mostly fabric, not bug mesh.

Wish I could find a replacement fly—might make one myself—so I could still use this for rainy conditions.

Background

This was my primary backpack tent for ~5 yrs, initially in the Appalachians but mostly in the Rockies. I have and use ~7 different tents for different types of travel (backpacking, bike camping, canoeing, car camping) and weather.

The tent shaped like a long funnel, it only requires 2 pegs to support the body and another for the vestibule hold out. There are only 2 short poles that slip nicely into their sleeves. The fly clips on and is nicely form fitted to the contour of the tent.

I have been shopping for a long time before I found this bivy. It has the tallest head clearance @40" as opposed to most bivy clearances of 24". At 107" long inside it will fit most anyone.

The ventilation is poor, I leave the fly door open, but the poor circulation helps warm the tent faster in cooler weather. I found there is some condensation where my sleeping bag hits the walls.

Getting in and out of this tent is tricky. I couldn't help not getting any dirt in my tent. It was raining last time I used it and this one time I missed my dome tent just for the ease of entry.

I love the way this tent packs into my backpack, it that small. I stuff it into the top fap pocket of my pack and the poles ride verticle inside the main compartment.

The tent is very water tight

This is a well-designed tent. Completely dry in wet weather. Warm in cool weather. Ventillation is poor unless you leave the fly door open.

I have the '99 version with a mesh strip in the ceiling and solid side walls. Setup is fairly easy, but wider pole sleeves would ease the process. I leave the fly and tent body attached together. Then errect by inserting poles and staking. This keeps the tent body dry when erecting in rainy weather. However, taking down by this method wets the tent body when there is condensation under the fly.

Entry is easy: just sit down inside the door and tuck your feet in. Barely high enough for me to sit under the front pole (I'm 5'6"). Tent seems claustrophobic the first 3-4 nights, but after that I always declare it palatial (how perceptions change!).

Footprint is so narrow that the tent fits easily in small spaces in the woods.