Exped Venus II Tent

Exped Venus II - features unexpected
The tent has so many features that when you read about them and then see them for what they actually are you become engrossed in the tent's philosophy. For instance, the color coded poles quickly tell you what poles go where but this is not really necessary because there are only 3 poles, 2 long and 1 short. No way could you use the long poles in the short sleeve. The tent did not come with an owners manual so it does take time to figure out how it goes up. My wife is 6'-1" and she immediately realized that the tent was plenty long for her (a major concern). The mesh pockets in the inside corners open from the top and not from the side thus articles don't fall out (a small but welcome feature) and they are large. The mesh gear loft is so large that it has a support strap sewn in the top of the tent to keep it from sagging from stored items (who would of thought of something like that except someone who has bumped their head against it - another small but welcome feature). The repair kit and the tent pegs have their own separate zippered compartments which are part of the pole bag. Clever storage feature. All the peg straps are extra sturdy and well secured to the tent with extra sewing reinforcement. The fly has adjustable straps in the corners to make it tight to the tent - every tent has this nowadays but this attachment is well thought out with it's own special buckle. The tent pegs are color coded - one can only wonder why until you realize that there are the those pegs which are used for the basic installation and the others are for extra support for windy conditions. Makes counting pegs easier when disassembling. Another unnecessary feature but nice to have all the same. This is almost a free standing tent, but not quite. Six anchor points are mandatory, four corners plus two vestibules. You could sort of get by without putting the corner pegs in but then if a wind came up during the night there would be noise from the walls flapping. A tent like this begs to be use where the weather is a factor. It's strong and well thought out design would furnish a valuable shelter for the adventurous tripper. However, when one is at higher elevations, 12,000 to 16,000 feet, where the ground tends to be rocky the tent pegs would have to be exchanged for boulders to secure the tent. Because the tent is not self standing, I see this as its only drawback. The tent with its foot print is over 7 lbs. For some people this would be considered too heavy. However, the weight is there because the materials are as strong as they can be without their being overly strong. It is my personal experience that I will invariably encounter a strong wind (30 mph+) or heavy rain on every outing. I want a tent that will give me a good night's sleep and shelter. This tent can do the job. I estimate this tent could last ten years. Do the math - it's worth it.

Great tent!!
I love this tent, easy and fast to set up, so many great designs, and seems very durable. I just spent a few nights out in NH white mountain range and this tent stood up really well. Also when it gets dark I appreciated the ease of set up. One thing I didn't like was the choice of color for inside, they are yellow and I just didn't like that (I prefer more earthy colors to match the outershell which is green) anyways this is a great tent and you will be happy.

It's an amazing tent!
This is an amazing tent. I and my kids have owed many tents (MSR, Marmot, Eureka, Sierra Designs, etc.) and this is my favorite. Its so versatile youll be wowed by the design. Just a few high points: (1) left and right walls of the inner tent stand straight-up vertical, creating huge inner space for no extra weight, (2) two very large vestibules allow gear stowage for two hikers with room to spare (really!) (3) tent can pack down with the rainfly attached, allowing for totally dry setup in torrential rain in less than 90 seconds (really!); (4) if you pack the poles separately, the tent & fly cinch down to about two-thirds the size of a two-liter bottle; (5) great ventilation with no condensation even in the rain; (6) Im 64 and fit with a little room to spare both sitting and lying down, even using a Big Agnes or Exped inflatable pad in the snow; (7) green and amber colors easy on the eyes, (8) has about a thousand tie-down points (maybe not a thousand, but a bunch) so its not going to lie down in the wind, even on the beach. This is the ultimate kayaking tent and its great for hiking too. Stands up to the snow and has convertible doors. Issue: Its not really fully free-standing, you need to stake the doors to support the tent body, but thats only a total of two stakes, and youre going to stake them anyway if you use a fly. Nothing compares except maybe the Marmot Swallow, but the Swallow takes up double the packsize volume, weighs many pounds more and doesn't have two full vestibules.