User Review: MSR Trekker Tent

MSR Trekker Tent
Above: The current Trekker Tent, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed May 1, 2006 by Nadja Saralam

Rating: rated 5 of 5 stars
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Dead easy. Leave the inner and outter attached for super fast set up.
Price Paid: n/a

For under 2kg this tent is so roomy yet so light that I use it instead of my bivvy bag when hiking alone. It's especially good for extended hikes where you begin to appreciate the space at night, and for bad weather. (You can drag your pack into the tent with you and hang your wet clothes from the poles under the vestibule.)

I've weathered some nasty storms in this tent and stayed bone dry. I've even weathered storms with a dog staying in one of the two large vestibules, and we've both been comfortable. :) The inner is mesh, so it breathes well and cooking inside in bad weather isn't a stress (although you do this at your own risk).

You can leave the inner and outer attached to each other (via a clip), and roll it or stuff it into the tent bag. The ability to stuff the tent makes packing much faster. If the inner and outer are clipped together, simply adjust your trekking poles to 1.25m, peg the inner at the four corners and prop it up. 6 more pegs for the fly and you're done. You can have the tent up in very little time. Even after a full day of walking (and I sometimes do 50km days) I can still face setting up camp before sitting down for a rest.

There are plenty of extra tie-down points for bad weather, and the MSR pegs are super light.

There are also many combinations for the fly -- you can have a giant awning across the front to allow two people to sit side-by-side and cook under cover, keep the vestibule flaps open, or close the whole tent for a little more protection while still having great air flow. The full width zip door along the side makes getting in and out dead easy.

The tent and fly are designed to allow a wide gap -- great for bad weather -- and the fly and bathtub tent floor stop any mud spraying back into the tent when things get really hairy.

Mesh pockets on the inside are handy for storing things you don't want to lose at night.

The mesh inner is perfect for hot summer nights in Australia as we have a fair few bugs but really clear, starry skies, and I can imagine the tarp would be perfect for places with fewer biting insects, or in place of a bivvy bag.

I can't say enough good things about this tent. It's a shame people haven't discovered it yet.

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