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REI Quarter Dome 1

rated 5.0 of 5 stars
photo: REI Quarter Dome 1 three-season tent

I purchased the REI Quarter Dome tent for my Triple Crown quest. Planning over 35,000 km in backpacking and 25,000k m in cycling. This will be my go-to tent.

Pros

  • Free standing
  • Tall headroom
  • Can see the stars without the fly
  • Only 2 lbs 7oz
  • Ample storage and large and small vestibule
  • Pockets and loops on the inside

Cons

  • Light material, so have to be careful
  • Poles are very awkward

I purchased this tent after two previous tent, before finding the REI QuarterDome. This is a triple detailed review sorry, but these two previous tents led me to the final tent.

First tent was the NatureHike UL 2 tent. Standalone. Not expensive.

  • Easy to set up
  • Very stable
  • Best weather resistance based on its class
  • Ventilation was superb
  • Tons of room and storage
  • Easy to pack
  • Everything worked as intended
  • Features: x 8 durable and x5 rain resistance then same tents in its class.

Used this tent on the IAT New Brunswick trail, Fundy Footpath, and Chignecto Park. A total of 21 nights in this great tent. Rain and heavy wind conditions.

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Second tent was the MSR Carbon Refiex 2 tent. Not standalone. Very expensive.

  • Very difficult to set up
  • Seem to be stable enough when staked down.
  • Average stats for weather, but seemed to be very fragile material
  • Lots of room for storage
  • Easy to pack
  • Difficult to set up and material seemed to be not durable
  • Ultralight tent at less than 2 pounds
  • Very light material and was durable enough

Used this for one night on the Fundy Footpath and found out I was too tall for this tent and the fly turnouts tended to become easily knotted.

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Now with the Quarter Dome 1. Standalone. Affordable.

  • Very easy and very fast to set up, colour-coded to make setup even easier. What a joy this was.
  • Very stable with bathtub arrangement, staking 4 corners to secure base. Then with the standard lines, tent is secure. There are also three extra lines to reinforce in heavy storms.
  • Standard NA weather and durability stats.
  • Plenty of room in vestibule x2 and has storage pockets and loops for hanging gear.
  • Ventilation is great with top part being mesh and there are side mesh areas as well.
  • Best tent in its class for headroom, which is a concern for tall hikers. Ample internal and external storage as stated above.

Without the poles it could pack down small, but the poles are a very backward size so I am still figuring out placement of this on my pack. Currently everything is stored upright, on top of light gear at the bottom.

Setup was fast and very simple and the best I have seen yet. I could have this tent setup within two minutes. Still need practice to set fly first then tent.

Inside the tent there are loops to easily hang gear to dry, some nice ample sized pockets, and a large vestibule and a tiny vestibule. Not the lightest but definitely very close.

Sleep in it once on my last trip on the Fundy Footpath. And it preformed flawlessly.  

A tough little tent for tall hikers (6' 2") with ample space and storage and will protect you against the elements. It will not hurt your pocketbook either.

I do hope you found my review interesting eh.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $205 USD

Great tent at a reasonable price.

Pros

  • Light
  • Spacious
  • Functional

Cons

  • Condensation prone
  • Not as durable as a heavier tent

This tent is everything I was looking for in a shelter, plus it was REI's spring 20% off so it was the perfect time to get a new shelter. I had a 1-man tent and in an effort to cut weight went to a tarp. With the tarp, stakes, tie outs and but netting I wasn't saving much weight and it was a pain to set up.

This tent has it all—light weight and spacious. It is wider at one end than at the feet, but at 6'4" I had plenty of room for me and my 50lb dog. Rain fly is cool and has a decent size vestibule. I did not buy the expensive footprint but made one out out 2 mil painters plastic. (I would recommend some sort of ground protection).

With tent, fly, new stakes and ground cover I weighed my setup at 2 lbs 6 oz. I did have a fair amount of condensation on the tent in the morning but it dried very quickly and didn't cause problems. Because the material is lightweight and thiner I imagine it will not wear as well as a heavier tent made of thicker material but it stood the test of my dog so far.

Overall I could not be happier with this tent and can't wait to spend more night out in the woods.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $190

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Price Historic Range: $113.93-$299.00
Reviewers Paid: $190.00-$205.00
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