User Review: Sierra Designs Electron

Sierra Designs Electron
Above: The current Electron, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed September 27, 2007 by pjw

Rating:
Design: three-season freestanding dome
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: It's a cinch!
Price Paid: $200

I bought this tent in April 2006 and promptly spent a month with it out in the middle of Utah between mid-May and mid-June without a spit of rain. It performed well and despite the fly being faded from the sun, I didn't see any wear and tear.

This past summer I took it out to Idaho for two weeks. On the way out there we stayed in the Badlands National Park for a night. It started raining early in the evening and poured all night. I jumped in my tent to find, much to my surprise, a small puddle on the floor and a wet spot on my bag. [Let me side note something here about how the tent reacts to temperature changes. When the temperatures cool at night the fly fabric relaxes and sags a fair amount, sometimes enough to touch the tent body (Note: This isn't really an issue unless you have a really heavy dew and is typical of most tents). During the day, the fly fabric gets taut as the temperatures increase and it dries out.]

That being said, the two hard black plastic sleeves that the cross pole sits in have effectively worn away the coating on the underside of the fly due to the rubbing from the changing tautness of the fly. The worn spots are right above the mesh doors and drip water straight down into the tent. I haven't figured out a way to stop this and I find it to be a huge problem, however I believe this only happened due to the harsh conditions and extended use of the tent.

That being said, for short trips it is great; packs up small and is very light. I'll definitely consider Sierra Designs for my next tent, however I'm going to check to see if there are any potential "rub" points that could compromise the fly. I hope the above doesn't discourage people from buying the tent, just be aware that there is a flaw in the design and take extra care to prevent rubbing (maybe sand the plastic pieces smooth).

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