User Review: Sierra Designs Hyperlight 3

Sierra Designs Hyperlight 3
Above: The current Hyperlight 3, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed January 13, 2006 by JT

Rating:
Design: Modified dome, freestanding. 3+ season
Sleeps: 3
Ease of Setup: Very good: color coded clips, Jake's Corner easy once you get the hang of it.
Weight: 6.2 LBS
Price Paid: $240 @ REI

I really wanted to give this tent a higher rating because I love Sierra Designs products, but in good conscious, I cannot. The design of this tent is a “kite” floor plan. Not only is this tent not a three-person tent, it really doesn’t work well as a two-person tent unless both occupants are 5’10” or under.

On the plus side, this tent is very stable in the wind, and ties down nicely. The top and rear corner have plenty of mesh, so condensation has not been a problem. Materials are all first quality, and well put together. Vestibules are smallish, but each person gets their own assuming 2p usage (see below).

The design of this tent is built around the “Jake's Corner”, an extra pole set which fits into two plastic pole attachments built into the bottom corners of the tent (think of the tail/bottom part of a kite). As a feature, the Jake's Corner works very well to add stability -– BUT –- I feel like Sierra Designs made a tent to feature an innovation, rather than using an innovation to help build a better tent.

The reason? The kite shape just doesn’t work (even as a two-person tent). You end up having to go head to toe because if both users' heads are near the top, there’s no room for a two full length therm-a-rest pads -– the pads overlap each other at the bottom of the tent, even if you place the pads right up against the two tent doors. Even going head to toe, you still end up with no head room for one person, and someone’s feet in your face during the night.

At 6.25 lbs trail weight, the Hyperlight is a middle of the road/heavy two-person tent. There is no way, and I mean NO WAY this is a three-person tent (okay, maybe it’s a 3p for Cub Scouts/kids). As a 2p tent, you’d better be camping with someone you’re not afraid to get up close an personal with -– which you’d expect from a 2p backpacking tent, but not a 3p tent. This tent's funky layout needs another two inches in each direction. I thought I could make it work when I set it up at REI before purchasing, but it just doesn't work.

Save & Share