User Review: Kelty Gunnison 4

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

Reviewed March 3, 2006 by D williams

Rating:
Design: three-season freestanding dome
Sleeps: 4
Ease of Setup: Easy as can be, 1 person 10 minutes.
Weight: 8 pounds
Price Paid: $180

Good tent, I'm happy to have it. It's affordable, large enough for my family (me, wife, and two kids), and at 8 pounds, it's light enough to backpack or portage.

Inside feels roomy, it's bright and has great ventilation. The doors are big and it's easy to get in and out. The gear loft is great. We haven't used the tent in inclement weather (lucky us), but if I was expecting bad weather I'd take this tent without reservation.

One thing about this tent that doesn't quite work for me (and there haven't been that many) is that the vestibules don't hold more. If the vestibules had their own poles they'd hold a ton of stuff, but of course, it wouldn't be an 8 pound tent then either. The vestibules stretch tight from the apex of the tent, and they swoop very low against the ground, offering minimal room for your pack. I imagine a 30 pound dog wouldn't be able to turn in a circle before laying down.

With regard to fragility, like so many other tents on the market, the large amount of mosquito netting saves weight and improves ventilation, but I'm forever worried that my 3-year-old son will bounce right through it, or rip the netting along one of the zipper seams. We've made it through one summer's use, I'm hopeful we can continue without incident. Buying such a lightweight tent with small kids was a calculated risk, but I just try to keep the kids out of it when they're not sleeping.

That's pretty much where my worries of ruggedness end. When the tent is pitched and fully staked, it's very rigid, I wouldn't worry a bit about wind. Rain would have to be nearly horizontal to enter the tent through the side vents, though someone with a Gunnison 2 mentioned in his review that rain had splashed inside during a big storm when puddles formed around the tent, I imagine our tent would be vulnerable to this too. Regarding snow, I bet the tent could hold an inch or two of snow without difficulty, though as a three season tent, it would be a pretty cold place to weather a snow storm.

There is one thing Kelty needs to fix: that's the buckles that holds the rain-fly in position. You buckle it like a Fastex buckle and cinch the fly tight by pulling a piece of webbing and you're done. But as soon as you zip or unzip the vestibule, the webbing that holds the rain-fly tight wiggles side to side in the buckle, goes slack, so you lose tension around the side vents. This could be the difference between staying dry and getting wet in a storm, and should be redesigned. I guess I can solve this problem with a safety pin, though I shouldn't have to.

Overall, I'm happy to live with this tent's shortcomings, because Kelty has delivered so much tent for the paltry weight and low price.

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