User Review: MEC Tarn 3

Reviewed March 23, 2006 by clyder1010

Rating: rated 5 of 5 stars
Design: three-season
Sleeps: 3
Ease of Setup: Fast and simple. Yay clips!
Weight: ~7lbs, but less if we ditch the inner tent!
Price Paid: 240 CAD

* Oh My God! * I love this tent! Mine's now nine years old.

Read below for the big AHA!!

I have an earlier model with the door that is attached on the bottom, and if you investigate, the door or screen or both velcro into the leading edge of the floor. Cool! I don't like the new doors, but the new Tarn 3 windows, wow!

This tent is huge! Sleeps 2+ easily, 3 with some footroom too. Inside, the high point, 4' makes it feel like a dream. We sleep with heads at the back and gaze up to the apex at the front, about 8' away, no fabric in your face claustrofobes here.

The colour is super, yellow/gold. Cheery on the darkest of days. I wake up smiling from the colour, even in unplanned hail/slush storms (at least 3). Watch out, Tarn 2 was green, too, but is now orange.

Usually just use 2 pegs for the vestibule. Great gear pockets/gear lopps.

I'm intending to do more backpacking, and with a todller too, this tent may be a bit heavy. Am looking into tarptent.com or adventure racer hennessy hammocks. But...

** A-HA ** On one of my monthly set up the tent for 2year old play-time, while weighing other gear for the summer excursions. I had a moment, rather an hour. I cried I was so happy: This tent will pitch with just the fly. I hadn't every conceived of this before. It cuts out nearly 3 pounds. (note the poles fit directly into my half pound siltarp1 for a floor, loop the siltarp pull-outs through the tarp pull then around the pole before attaching pole into grommet.)

So this tarn3 is going to stay and come with me on 2-3 day backpacking trips. Keep in mind I have 1 pack for family of 3. If it ends up being too heavy, we'll check out the tarptent or hammocks mentioned above.

The quibbles:
Zipper on fly hard to reach as you have to stretch out in the dirt/grass to reach it on the ground. Attach a 12" pull or two looped zipties.

Sometimes could use more ventilation, but unzipping the door from the top down augments the vent. Occasionally pull out the 3 fly pulls at back and sides for ventilation. And a window somewhere?--hard to see out, except peering through the screen/vent. Ther is a window in the new tarn3.

It could be lighter, lighter fabric, poles, smaller zippers, less webbing, fewer seams...

Waterproof floor?

(actually, replacing the inner tent with my siltarp eliminates all quibles above!! I'm still elated)

There is horizontal flat part, almost, in the middle, upper fly. I got about 5 drops in an absolute downpour one night.

Pitch Tips: 2 straight poles make an x. Clip in the pole that goes with the clip at the centre of the x first. Put two poles into back gromets, stand on front gromets/webbing loops and push both poles erecting tent. Fully piece together long arch pole and flex it under X-poles. (Manual says to put arch pole on outside of X-poles, but I never do this, not sure why) 2 pegs for vestibule.

Cleaning: Pick up, door over your head, and shake. It won't fall apart.

There are now lighter tents, as described above, tarptent.com variety. Since I have this, I'll keep it. I made the switch to lightweight everything, so I wouldn't buy it again due to weight. At $226 CAD, you can't go wrong. Enjoy!

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