Three-Season Tents

Reviewed by Sean Van Cleve

The Hilleberg Helags 3 is a three-season tent designed for groups looking for excellent protection in a lightweight package. Although a bit tight for three people and their gear, this tent has superb livability for two people (a Helags 2 is also available). Excellent ventilation combats condensation well in such a large tent. Two doors/two vestibules allow for plenty of gear, and a 35-inch/89cm center height works well for most hikers.

As outdoor recreation is coming to an all-time high, a need for versatility can really come into play. Hilleberg has introduced a new line to its tents, and the Helags is quite the mobile home. Hilleberg proclaims: "Backpackers, paddlers, and bicycle tourers will all love its lightweight roominess, and since the Helags 3 weighs just 7oz (200g) more than the Helags 2, sizing up is an easy choice for those wanting even more comfort." Those who are familiar with Hilleberg products tend to unanimously agree on at least one word—quality.

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Reviewed by Sheila Bergin Goss

The Blacktail 3 Hotel is part of the Big Agnes company’s longest-running tent series. It is a well-made, comfortable, and roomy three-person, free-standing tent with many useful features, perfect for weekend backpacking, car camping, and canoe camping. The Blacktail Hotel 3 has a huge extended side-entry vestibule, attached to the fly, which provides a safe and weather resistant place to stash your extra gear or your wet dogs! It has been easy to acclimate myself to its setup procedures, and I have successfully used it in various weather conditions while canoe camping. My husband and I will continue to use it this fall on additional canoe camping trips, as well as an occasional campground outing.

INTRODUCTION: The Big Agnes Blacktail 3 Hotel is the newest incarnation of the long-running Blacktail series of Big Agnes tents. This three-season tent is designed as a backpacking tent, but I have found that it is an excellent choice for canoe camping. I am testing the three-person tent, though it is also available in a two-person version. Our canoe camping season had a delayed start due to pandemic restrictions and closures, but since mid-June I have been able to utilize the tent on seven solo canoe camping trips, which included camping in heat, wind, showers, frost (28 f.) and torrential rain.

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Reviewed by LoneStranger

The Serenity UL NetTent from Six Moon Designs works great as part of a primary shelter system, but is light enough to carry as a secondary option. So many ways to set up in shelters, under tarps, or open to the sky makes it great for distance hiking.

  Just add six stakes and a hiking pole Since I was going to be testing the Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape I figured I would try out their Serenity UL NetTent along with it. The two are designed to work together well and they do, but I used the tent on its own much more. SMD offers them bundled together or individually. Six stakes and a support pole are needed for best standalone erection and are not included. Let's take a good look at the tent and its features, then I will get into how I used it with tarps and in shelters.

Read more: Six Moon Designs Serenity Ultralight NetTent review (1)

Featured review by Wade In The Water

The Copper Spur HV UL2 and UL2... A Tale of Two Tents.

Big Agnes has been around for about twenty years. Should you require it, their outstanding customer service could not possibly be improved upon. Their stated goal is to produce the best gear possible to help folks get outside and chase their dreams. I think they stand true to that goal. You can learn more about them here: https://www.bigagnes.com/our-story. Copper Spur is the name of this product line. UL stands for ultralight [weight] and 2 is for the number of persons it's designed to fit; provided you don't mind touching.

Read more: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 reviews (5)

Featured review by Pixie Poo

Cheap, light, resilient; a quality clone of the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2.

IMPORTANT MODEL NOTE: I have an older, out-of-production version. The new (current) is about 150 grams heavier, has more pole structure at the rear, a ventilation flap, and mid-fin side guys. Setup: Very easy, though a little thought is required for a taut pitch. The basic pitch is inner first: an aluminium pole structure (all-in-one, on a hub) overlaid on the inner, the inner clips to the poles, then a fly is put over. With a pitch or two of experience it is second nature. There is very little one can do wrong, no ambiguous poles for example, but one should remember to attach the bathtub sides to the rain fly.

Read more: Naturehike Cloud UP 2 reviews (3)

Featured review by Hans Erdman

My third Timberline in progression, 2 to 4 to 6 person. Only one tent in the world I like better and it costs 3x more. This is the tent I have always wanted.

  Camping with the Timberline SQ   Interior shot, solo camping Bought my first Timberline, a two-person, in 1983 at LL Bean when a Maine Nor'easter smashed our dome tent. Used it for 19 years, including 4 years of volunteer tail patrol in the Adirondacks  and an epic bikepacking trip across NW Russia (my granddaughters still borrow it on occasion). So to upgrade to a 4-person in 2002 was a no-brainer. My wife and I still use the 4 on solo trips and canoe camping. All along I've drooled over the Outfitter 6, and in 2021 my wife gave me one for Father's Day.

Read more: Eureka! Timberline SQ Outfitter 6 reviews (12)

Featured review by Smartydog904

What a GREAT tent... My first concern when I purchased this tent was the color, Citrus green?? I saw the blue tent offered by Mountainsmith, it stuck out like a turd in a punch bowl! The Citrus green actually does blend well with a green environment. The most impressive feature to me, is the ability for one person to put this tent up in 2 minutes the first try!! The aluminum poles are sturdy and of nice quality. The tent stakes are a perfect design, small, light weight and shaped into a "V" shape with hooks at the top to catch your guy lines or tie down straps.

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Featured review by Will Weston

Robust yet lightweight three-season solo tent. Space inside and especially in the porch is excellent. Headroom OK for those up to 6 feet.

  Enan next to Angle Tarn, Cumbria   These are my initial thoughts on the Hilleberg Enan, something which I see as a "Mark 2" to the popular Akto. For those wanting to skip to the executive summary—after 20 nights it seems to be great tent for my needs (This initial review is based on my first two nights, but nothing I've learned since contradicts my initial thoughts). Lightweight (albeit not ultralight) – 1200 g Robust  / Weatherproof Flysheet first pitching Good size inside, and it has just enough headroom.

Read more: Hilleberg Enan reviews (3)

Featured review by 1kdude

Handled 50 mph wind gusts during winter trip in the Sierras. Rugged / somewhat light /inexpensive/ simple enough for most backpacking trips. And it has windows. Glad I have it and would buy it again, even as a backup/loaner.

I am an intermediate backpacker who was looking for a 'lighter' 1-person backpacking tent for my "collection," saw this and couldn't pass it up for the price (see pros above for list of what I was looking for). I figured I could reduce weight with titanium stakes, fewer/thinner guy out lines, no footprint or stuff sacks, remove the hanging storage pocket and maybe carbon fiber pole replacements. Of course the cost/weight tradeoff is always there, but this is not far from the best package available IMHO if the priorities are 1-price 2-durability, 3-weight.

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Featured review by Jayson Merryfield

An amazing, spacious, classic camping tent. It's not for backpackers and ultralight hikers, but for anyone else who isn't super weight-conscious but wants a great sleep and a place to stay dry in inclement weather, it's almost unbeatable.

Growing up in Scouts, I always envied the other groups who showed up to camp with a whole matching set of Eureka Timberlines, their sweet, tall A-frames and distinctive green color. A few years ago, I was in the market for a tent that was big enough for myself and my two boys, and now that I'm an adult, I was able to get the tent of my dreams—the Eureka Timberline Sequoia 4 Outfitter Edition. The long and short of this review is: it's an amazing tent, not particularly light, but if you can divide up the weight (or don't particularly care about the weight) you will be hard pressed to find a better three-season tent.  Setup The tent goes up easy as pie.

Read more: Eureka! Timberline SQ 4XT reviews (3)