We spend a lot of time in the desert and we sleep in a Kelty Mantra 5. It has been a good tent, light weight, easy to set up, perfect for camping in the woods, and even though it is only a 3 season, we have used in the winter multiple times. Its strong and low profile design really holds up to the desert winds while we watch our friends tents fold in half.
The complaint I have is that no matter how well we stake the fly, if there is any kind of wind it always fills up with sand. I think a lot of it gets in through the mesh vents near the floor, but I have also watched it come in through the large meshed areas on the doors and ceiling. I have thought about sewing in some flaps to try and seal it better, but it has had a lot of use, the zippers are getting tired, so thinking about retiring it.
I know one solution would be to get off the ground in a RTT, but we usually take our kids and need the rack space, and then we often find ourselves on off camber stuff and not sure about the extra weight up there.
I have searched on line but haven’t found anything that doesn’t have a lot of mesh, even 4 season tents. I am coveting the Campmor Safari Bow offered by Equipt but it is pretty heavy in more ways than one (77lbs and over $1k).
Any suggestions?
Note: I have posted this query on other web forums. My apologies for the redundancy.
The complaint I have is that no matter how well we stake the fly, if there is any kind of wind it always fills up with sand. I think a lot of it gets in through the mesh vents near the floor, but I have also watched it come in through the large meshed areas on the doors and ceiling. I have thought about sewing in some flaps to try and seal it better, but it has had a lot of use, the zippers are getting tired, so thinking about retiring it.
I know one solution would be to get off the ground in a RTT, but we usually take our kids and need the rack space, and then we often find ourselves on off camber stuff and not sure about the extra weight up there.
I have searched on line but haven’t found anything that doesn’t have a lot of mesh, even 4 season tents. I am coveting the Campmor Safari Bow offered by Equipt but it is pretty heavy in more ways than one (77lbs and over $1k).
Any suggestions?
Note: I have posted this query on other web forums. My apologies for the redundancy.
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