User Review: Marmot Sanctum

Marmot Sanctum
Above: The current Sanctum, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed March 12, 2002 by Aaron

Rating:
Design: Free standing 4 season tent.
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Very easy. One person can setup tent with no assistance in under 10 minutes without fly.
Weight: 9lbs 4oz total
Price Paid: $329

My favorite tent ever owned, except for one thing. The weight. Although at 9lbs 4oz this is by no means the heaviest 2 man, 4-season tent, it just certainly isn’t backpacker friendly. I find I use this tent for short jaunts into the winter backcountry now almost exclusively (as well as higher elevation car camping) due to the weight. Don’t get me wrong, this tent is born and bred to be used in extreme conditions, and if the conditions are extreme, the level of protection this tent provides far outweigh the weight concerns when loading your pack. Bottom line, this tent is a tank. It will withstand a snow load like no other. It is also very windproof, a must for winter tents. The seam taping on this tent is impervious. Never once has this tent leaked. If you camp in the late fall/winter/early spring in high elevations, this tent is for you. If you can find a good condition used one for sale, snag it. They are being phased out of the Marmot line this year.

Just don’t expect to be able to use this tent all 4 seasons, as its designation would suggest. You will find it too hot and poorly ventilated in the warmer months. (Although I did make due with it in Moab in August last year since I loaned my solo tent to a friend. Hell, he isn’t going to thrash this baby, no way!) The tent is a 10/10 as far as winter tents go. As for a year round tent though, I would have to drop that 10 rating to a 7 just for the fact that it is too much tent in anything but chilly to extreme cold conditions. I still highly recommend you snag one if you can though, a true bomb shelter.