User Review: Kelty Gunnison 2

This was my first ever tent. I bought it in the late 2004 at a price that is too good to pass. I love the roominess and the large double vestibules. Simply spacious for 2 people under 6 ft and around 180 lbs and great for solo. I was able to cram in 3 people in there with the average height of 5'7" and 160 lbs. We were shoulder to shoulder but still comfy.

The large vestibules are great. My buddies often stashed their empty packs there. Pitching was a breeze, I can easily put it up alone in under 2 minutes. I loved the color coding straps for easy pitching, and the reflective poles are really useful during nighttime pitching. The twin windows on the vestibules are also handy. It kept me dry in many rainy nights. And it did exceptionally well on a particular windy trip. In this trip, one of the pole segment actually bowed, but I ain't complaining because there were like 6 or 7 other tents with more popular brand names and cost twice as much that night whose poles snapped. Simply the best tent for its price.

My gripes, the flysheet sets up too high above the ground, easily allows cold drafts in but not a problem with rain splashes though. After a little over two years of use, the tape seam seal of one of the fly's windows started to peel. So I had to rip it out and reseal it on my own. The end-closure of the fly is a bit too far, I usually need to crawl half-way out of the tent just to completely seal the the fly. And at 5 lbs 11 oz, this tent is a tad heavy.