Kelty Canyon Ridge 4

Unfortunately, Kelty no longer sells this tent. Campmor bought out all the stock a few years ago and I believe that they've sold all of them, too, so this is a review for folks who may be buying used.

I love this tent. It is what the Eureka Timberline should have been if Eureka put more thought into the design. The frame consists of three pieces total: two shockcorded "A" frames and a connecting pole, all Easton aluminum. The front and rear "A" frames have 18" and 12" center sections to give the interior more with at the top. Set up takes all of 4 minutes, including staking. I initally bought this tent because of the center height (60") and the large footprint (55 sq.ft.), but would buy it again for the ease of setup and the bombproof design.

Although the Canyon ridge is of better construction and materials than Eurekas and others costing $100 more, I believe it didn't sell well because of the rear window, which doesn't have a flap - it's protected by a long fly that stakes out to ground level about 3' behind the tent. The long fly can be used as a vestibule for gear, but you can't zip a flap closed when it's windy.

When backpacking in November '97 in Harriman State Park in N.Y. with a Scout troop, we slept three 200 lb. scoutmasters in this tent at 20 degree temps at night - I just took the "tail" of the fly and tucked it under the tent. The interior was at least 20 degrees warmer than the outside with almost no condensation.

Too bad it's no longer sold - for the $139 price that Campmor was selling it for, it was the best buy in the bunch