User Review: Kelty Gunnison 4

Kelty Gunnison 4
Above: The current Gunnison 4, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed March 24, 2009 by Frazier

Rating:
Design: three-season freestanding dome
Sleeps: 3
Ease of Setup: Very easy
Weight: 8 pounds, 11 ounces
Price Paid: $175

I have owned and camped in an older Gunnison 4 for about 5 years. Last week, I camped 5 days in it in Gulf State Park (Gulf Shores, Alabama) with a companion and 2 small dogs. The trip reminded me of the things I like about the tent and the things I dislike about it.

Overall, it is a very good tent for lightweight camping. It is not too heavy (my tent weighs 8 pounds, 11 ounces but the newer model weighs several ounces less), packs into a reasonably small space, and has lots of room (8.3 feet long by 6.8 feet wide). I am 6'3" tall and we both use 25" wide sleeping mats. Nevertheless, we were able to stretch out and still have ample room for the two dogs.

The two side doors made it easier for each person to enter and exit the tent without bothering the other person. And the tent with its rain fly holds the heat well. The inside of our tent was comfortably warm all night when the temperatures dropped to about 50 degrees. Neither of us had to sleep inside our sleeping bags.

During the trip, we were reminded of three limitations of the tent. First, the tent is not ventilated as well as it should be. As a result, the underside of the fly was soaked on the nights when we zipped the fly closed. The two vents at the top of the tent seem too small to be effective in humid climates. Consequently, we got soaked when we exited the tent. We prefer tents with fly zippers that are curved at the top so that we can adjust the size of the vent as large as needed.

The second limitation was the zippers. Although they did their job, they required hard pulling to close and open. We know that zippers on well-made tents should operate much more smoothly.

The third limitation has to do with the door height. When the rain fly was off or both sides of the vestibule were pulled back, we were able to easily enter and exit the tent. But when one side of the fly was staked out to make half a vestibule, the door height was much lower. Consequently, we had difficulty entering and exiting the tent. I know exercise is good, but contorting my 63 year old, overweight body to get through the door got to be a little aggravating before the trip was over.

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