User Review: Sierra Designs Electron

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

Reviewed March 3, 2006 by Yerby Ray

Rating:
Design: Three-Season Freestanding Tent
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Easy
Weight: 5 pounds 10 ounces
Price Paid: $157.95

I tested the Sierra Designs Electron 3 on a recent trip to the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area recently and feel that this is one of the best buys that you could make.

The Electron excels in every category that it can be judged in. It is lightweight, easy to set up, stable in wind, roomy, and user friendly.

The trail weight for the tent with poles, stakes, footprint, and fly weighed in at 5 lbs 10 oz. It packed very small too, 6” x 24”. The tent can be left out and you can use just the poles, fly, and the footprint for an ultralight shelter if needed.

I had only practiced setting up the tent once, and had it up and ready to inhabit in five minutes out in the woods. The poles and the fly are color coded and will allow you to set it up in low light conditions. You do not have to use the stakes but I felt that a tent is always better if you stake it out. Taking it down was just as easy. One nice touch is that you don’t have to fight the carry sack, it is just roomy enough to put the tent in and not be too big.

I tested the Electron 3 in moderate temperatures (low 45/high 60) but in very windy conditions (gusts over 40 mph) and felt that the tent retained warmth and resisted the wind very well. The tent was not staked down with the optional guy ropes but just four tent stakes in the corners and it hardly rustled in the strongest winds.

The Electron is roomy, I am 6’1" and weigh 260 pounds and felt that I had plenty of room. Two of us used the tent and we had plenty of room between us. The light color of the tent walls did make it feel “roomier”. The tent has two doors and two vestibules, each with 10 sq. feet of very usable space. In my vestibule I stored my pack (Lowe Alpine Contour IV), boots, a dog pack, some other gear and still had plenty of room to get in and out of the tent.

The interior offered a free gear loft with several pockets that are very user friendly. It also offers two clothes lines to allow your damp clothes to dry overnight. There are four stash pockets (my girlfriend found them) in the corners that allow you to store the mesh doors or other items that you might need during your interior stay.

The exterior has some unique features too. Reflective tie out loops will help you find your tent at night and miss any guys that are staked and tied out. The zipper pulls are reflective as well.

Overall I could not find a complaint about the tent. It is very easy to set up, roomy and user friendly, and appears to handle the weather. I highly recommend this tent for any three-season event.