26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than Ever, May 27, 2008
Let's face it - buying a tent is like buying a house; unless you build it yourself, you are never going to get exactly what you want. That having been said, the Kelty Gunnison 4.1 4-person tent is pretty close to exactly what I wanted, and a great tent.
Packed up: The G-4.1 is at the large end of what you want for backpacking. Packed up, it measures approximately 8"x28" and weighs about 8.5 pounds, so it's going to take up a lot of room either in your pack or (more likely) strapped on the outside of your pack. But if you can hack it, that's really a pretty light weight for a tent this size. On the otherhand, it's a perfect size/wieght for car camping, if not on the small end of that spectrum.
Included in the package are (1) the tent; (2) two super lightweight aluminum poles; (3) rain fly; and (10) lightweight tent stakes with tie down lines.
Set up: This is where the G-4.1 is truly spectacular. When I got the tent, I quickly glanced at the directions for set up and decided to do a test run in my living room. If you want to do this too, make sure you have a BIG living room and lots of room to manuever the poles, cause they are REALLY long and I was constantly knocking over books and pictures. Anyway, I unrolled the tent and put it on the floor. I then put the poles together -- each pole breaks down into several smaller segments that are permanently linked together so you can't lose them. As you can see from the photos of this tent, the poles criss-cross at the apex of the tent, forming a big X from which the tent is suspended. Kelty uses a "clip" system in which the poles simply click into plastic brackets, rather than you having to thread them through anything. Each end of the pole is then fit into an anchor at the bottom corners of the tent. The rain fly was also extremly easy to put on, with the anchors for the poles also doubling as the anchors for the rain fly. The bottom line, folks, is that I think this tent took me all of about three minutes to set up. I was truly amazed at how easy it was. The best way I can describe it is that the G-4.1 is totally intuitive in the set up -- you look at the parts and you can just see how they fit together. Really an awesome design job.
I just took this tent camping for the first time last weekend and set it up in very quickly fading light conditions. I had the whole thing set up and staked down -- footprint, tent, rain fly -- in a little over 10 minutes.
One thing I would recommend is that you grab six (6) little caribiners to attach the rain fly lines to the tent. They don't come with clips and you have to tie them on otherwise. Also, make sure the fly is in as little contact with the tent as possible to prevent moisture buildup from condensation. If you have the fly on properly, this is not a problem because the design of the fly and tent take care of that for you. Also, get the foot print or a tarp for underneath.
Tent Features: The G-4.1 has a lot of really great features. First, it has a circular zip door on each side. This may not sound like a great innovation at first, but think back to your camping experiences and having to climb over people to get into the tent. Second, the G-4.1 is extremely well ventilated. There are large mesh sections of the walls, in the doors, on the top of the tent so that air flows freely through. Third, the G-4 has great visibility if you don't need to have the fly on. The afore-mentioned mesh sections let you see the stars. Fourth, the floor design keeps the bottom seams off of the floor, which will keep you dry. Fifth, there are little "gear" bags on two sides of the tent, to stash your glasses or a flashlight. Sixth, there are clips on the ceiling from which one may hang extra gear bags and the tent comes with a "shelf" that you can tie up there -- very handy for a light or for other stuff. Seventh, the rain fly creates dual vestibules in which your extra gear can be stored and, since you have two doors, both vestibules are easily accessible.
Tent Construction: Along with the "bathtub" seams, this tent is very well put together. Tape stiching at important junctures, double stiching all around, and a good, taut, solid feel to the tent. The floor material is good for soft ground, but I'd recommend the foot print just to be on the safe side. The fly fits on like a glove and provides for some ventilation as well. This is a solid tent, and once you get it set up (and assuming you put the stakes in the ground), it's not going anywhere.
Size: I think we all know that "4-person" in tent-speak really means "4 people no larger than 5'8" and 160 pounds, maximum." The G-4.1 holds true to this convention. I'm 6'2" and I barely fit in this tent the way people are suggested to lie in it (head to toe across the short side), and I don't fit in with a sleeping bag. I had my wife (5'6") and my 6-year old and 2-year old also get in the tent at the same time. Thinking to the future, the G-4.1 will be comfortable for three of us but too tight for all four of us. If we all four go camping, I'd bring a 2-man tent for the kids and keep all the gear in the G-4.1 with the adults. But if you have three or less people, this thing is spacious and feels that way.
I love this tent. Buy it!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So far, so good..., June 4, 2008
I have been pleased with this tent so far. I have a couple of children that I am introducing to the wonderful world of backpacking and was looking for a tent large enough to accommodate us comfortably.
I searched all of the major tent brands and made several trips to REI and other sporting goods stores before I made my decision. The reasons that I chose this tent are:
- It is large. 100"x82" is a healthy size. Throw on the two vestibules and you have a TON of space.
- Full rain fly. The full rain fly is especially helpful in adverse weather, as long as you have it installed correctly (not touching the sides of the tent).
- Light weight. This tent weighs in at eight pounds even (I have not confirmed this, but the specs show the 4.1 at an even eight pounds). This was one of the biggest factors for me. I needed a tent that I could carry as I ascend the 3000 feet from trailhead to our destination at 10,000 feet above sea level. Most of the competitors' four-man tents weigh over 10 pounds. If you in a resource rich environment, you can shave weight by ditching the tent stakes and using sticks that you find on the ground as tent stakes.
- Modest price. This tent was within my price range. MSR makes an exceptionally light three person tent but the weight of the price tag was too much for me to carry. I would have lost too much sleep worrying about what the wind was doing to my $450 tent.
There are some areas that I am still a little skeptical about:
- I don't like the plastic snaps that hold the poles in the corners. They feel sturdy enough, but I am still afraid that this will break under the demands of young children learning to use a tent.
-The bottom of the tent is quite thin. I didn't notice this at the store, but it was very noticeable to me once I set it up for the first time in my living room. This is one of the few sacrifices that are made to keep the tent light; we will see how it holds up to my children...
My first camp out with the tent was successful; good ventilation, lots of room, and easy set-up. All in all I am pleased with this tent. I can't wait to get out on the trail and give it a full backcountry test.
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