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Texsport First Gear Cliffhanger

rated 4.0 of 5 stars
photo: Texsport First Gear Cliffhanger three-season tent

One-person, lightweight No-See-um tent with heavy duty full coverage rain-fly. Weighs 3lbs 5ozs. Durable floor, tall ceiling, easy setup.

Pros

  • Lighweight
  • Airy
  • No condensation

Cons

  • Some breeze travels under rainfly

CliffhangerTent.jpg

I love this little tent. I was happy when the tent arrived moments before my trip last weekend. I quickly attached it to my pack and made my way to the trailhead. I never had the chance to seam seal or spray the rain fly before departure so I hoped there would be no rain and no issues.

Several hours later as I got to camp at dusk I threw down my ground sheet and opened the bag the tent came in. Within moments I had the tent erected and the fly pinned down. I was a bit surprised by the size as it appears a little snug and I was hoping there was room for my 80lb Labrador as well.

As it turns out there is a little room for him to snuggle up and sleep inside the tent as well but since it was cool and there was no chance for mosquitos to be out for very long I slept with the no-see-um doors open and set up my dogs 1lb sleeping bag in the vestibule. The vestibule extends in a triangular fashion from the front door and leaves plenty of room for a pack, a dog, your boots or even a place to stretch your legs as you are sitting inside, but not all at the same time.
CliffhangerTent2.jpg CliffhangerTent5.jpg   CliffhangerTent3.jpgCliffhangerTent4.jpg

The floor of the tent does have a heavy duty bathtub floor design and if I didn't know any better I would be tempted to leave a groundsheet behind. Since the body of the tent is made out of no-see-um mesh the temperature inside the tent will be the same as the ambient temps outside. I was camping at 9000' in Colorado in the springtime so it did get cool (25°F) but that is why we also carry a sleeping bag.

I may attempt to improve the design by adding velcro to the areas where the fly reaches the bottom of the side of the tent in order to keep it a bit warmer and keep the breeze from under the fly but this tent is more than adequate if you are solo hiking anywhere within reasonable temps.

I do plan on using this tent in the desert as well and one concern is that the opening under the fly at the bath tub line of the floor would also lend itself for wind and blowing sand so being able to seal it up would be nice. This is NOT an oversized 1-person tent, it is truly 1-person with some room for a dog if you don't mind using him as a heater, otherwise you may want to leave him in the vestibule.

There was NO Condensation in the morning and breaking down the tent was a breeze. I had the tent down and packed within moments and was pleased with how light it actually is. The tent could easily be carried without the stuff sack it comes with (.25lbs) and easily packs down into a corner of your pack. I only had one night in the tent and am looking forward to adding more nights and more to the review.

Overall I tested one night in cool temps and no rain and it is enough for 1 person with a decent sized vestibule.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $55

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Specs

Price Historic Range: $50.00
Reviewers Paid: $55.00
Product Details from Texsport »

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