Sierra Designs Electron RC 2-Person Three-Season Tent

by Sierra Designs

Product Features

• Two-person, three-season tent with two doors and two vestibules for easy entry/exit
• Reverse Combi Technology creates steeper walls and nearly 50 percent more space
• Free accessory package with coffee sling, fast-pack footprint, and portable attic
• 33 square feet of interior space; vestibule area measures 14 + 10 square feet
• Measures 121 x 40 x 87 inches (W x H x D) with fly; trail weight of 5 pounds 7 ounces

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Sierra married two of its favorite tents--the Electron and the Reverse Combi--to produce the Electron RC two-person, three-season tent. Reverse Combi's award-winning, variable-diameter pole system uses thicker diameter pole sections in the center, where strength and stability are needed most, and thinner diameter, pre-bent pole sections on the ends. This creates steeper walls and close to 50 percent more functional space than a typical X-tent. The tent's two doors and two vestibules (measuring 14 and 10 square feet) also give gear-loaded backpackers room to spare. Other details include a free accessory package with a coffee sling, a fast-pack footprint, and a portable attic; a sturdy 70-denier nylon taffeta floor that keeps water out; and sew-free windows for peaking outside.

The Electron RC 2-person tent with rainfly and vestibules.

Features:

• Clip-Locs: These patented clips dynamically lock the poles at their intersection, making the tent 60 percent stronger.
• Color-coded webbing and poles: The color-coded webbing guides the pole placement for a quick, easy setup. Made of durable, lightweight nylon, the webbing also assists with quick rainfly setup.
• DAC Featherlite NSL poles: These thick-diameter, thin-walled poles offer more strength and less weight than many other poles, with the best strength-to-weight ratio of any pole available today. The pole's unique joining insert, meanwhile, allows for a cleaner, smoother transition in Reverse Combi Technology (RCT).
• Dye-free optic white canopy: The canopy transmits light more effectively to produce a brighter, more pleasant environment when spending long hours inside the tent. Sierra Designs produces the optic white canopy without using chemical dyes.
• Locking pole tips: A Sierra Designs innovation, these pole tips stay locked in the grommet for a faster, easier setup.
• Reverse Combi Technology: This award-winning, variable-diameter pole system creates close to 50 percent more livable space. The tent uses thicker diameter pole sections in the center, where strength and stability are needed most, and thinner diameter, pre-bent pole sections on the ends. This creates steeper walls and more functional space than in a typical X-tent.
• Sew-free windows: These windows employ bonded tape to create a stronger, lighter window than traditional sewn-and-sealed versions. This allows Sierra to place the windows in the most optimal location on a tent fly.
• S-Stopper with H-Clip: An innovative way to tension the ridgepole and body while keeping the pole safely out of the way.
• SuperSeal floor: Combining the benefits of catenary and bathtub floors, the SuperSeal floor offers a raised, taped perimeter seam that's guaranteed waterproof. The floor also maintains a tighter pitch with a better wind line to prevent flapping.
• Tent Guard with Ultra Fresh: Applied as part of the PU coating on Sierra's rain flies, floors, and footprints, Tent Guard extends the life of a tent by thwarting mold, mildew, and fungus. The Tent Guard is particularly valuable on extended trips or in damp climates, as it protects a tent if it's packed or stored temporarily while wet.
• Other details: Coffee sling, fast-pack footprint, gear pockets, large vestibule, portable attach, PVC-free tape, RCT swift clips, reflective guy outs and zipper pulls, spider hub, and stash door.

Specifications:

• Trail weight: 5 pounds 7 ounces
• Fast-pack weight: 3 pounds 10 ounces
• Packed weight: 7 pounds 4 ounces (includes free accessories)
• Number of doors: 2
• Interior area: 33 square feet
• Vestibule area: 14 + 10 square feet
• Peak height: 40 inches
• Floor material: 70-denier nylon taffeta, 3000 mm
• Body material: 70-denier nylon ripstop
• Fly material: 70-denier nylon taffeta, 1500 mm
• Number of poles: 2 + 1 ridge pole
• Poles: DAC Featherlite NSL, 9.6 mm / 9.0 mm

Product Description

We married two of our favorite tents, the Electron and the Reverse Combi. The Electron RC 2 upgrades with our Spider Hub that keeps all poles (main and ridge) locked in place. Reverse Combi Technology steepens the walls and expands usable interior volume. Two doors and two vestibules (14 and 10 square feet) house gear-loaded backpackers with room to spare. The Electron RC also comes with a free Accessory Package ($60 value).

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 7.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0017TFF7Q
• Item model number: 0014200A00
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #147,014 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Backpacking Tent, June 4, 2009

By	K. Brown - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sierra Designs Electron RC 2-Person Three-Season Tent (Sports)

I bought this tent two years ago and it remains one of my favorite pieces of gear. I've taken it on two 6 day trips through the wind rivers in Wyoming. One six day trip through slot canyons in Southern Utah and several weekend trips all over Utah. I don't have a single negative thing to say about this tent, but here are some things that I have loved that have made my backpacking buddies jealous.

-Doors on both sides of the tent is a must for a two man tent.
-Vestibules are large enough to fit the gear of two backpackers.
-overhead storage space and hanging cup holders (perfect for your nalgene)
-Extremely sturdy when everything is staked in
-For clear warm weather you can ditch the fly and get the "under the stars view" without the bugs
-the foot print is light weight and a perfect fit.
-Two years and lots of use and not a single defect, no tares, no rips, not zipper failures
-I've used it in heavy rain with no leakage
-Extremely easy to pitch,(on one occasion I was caught in heavy rain before getting set up. I was able to throw myself and my gear and the rest of the tent under the fly. From that position I was easily able to set up the tent in the rain while keeping dry.

I've been extremely impressed with this tent. A good pad and sleeping bag should resolve any temperature complaints.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware - not a 3-season tent without adjustments - but has good points, August 12, 2006

By	J. S. Radford (Woodside, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Sahara" Designs is what should be the label on this tent, though in that environment, it would be a disaster in a sandstorm since the netting cannot be closed up at all, as is very normal for almost any other tent. The tent is 85% net and no tent wall fabric to zip over this netting if needed. The rainfly shelters but does not come close to sealing the netting in case of significant wind (whether dusty-warm or frigid).

This is a cute, easy-to-pitch, warm weather tent. Period.

It is much like sleeping under the stars ... the Electron is NOT a 3-season Mountain tent unless you take care to take a warmer sleeping bag in summer. It is TOO well ventilated, even with the fly attached. It is COLD in a typical Sierra night in mid-August (!) at altitude (main forest areas and higher). I just about froze in my summer bag in this tent at 9400 feet in a lodgepole forest with the fly attached and gentle breezes at night. I carefully chose a dry spot away from wetness and reasonably sheltered. I wished I'd brought my heavy sleeping bag. I had to put on most of my clothes and only one pair of wool socks wasn't enough, eventually.

The tent afforded almost no increase in temperature and let the breezes flow all night (it got down to 38 degrees, which is fairly typical in Sierras in the height of summer). There were very light breezes but not even enough to make any sound of wind. Just down-mountain flow.

BUT, the tent can be adjusted if you snug down the rainfly on all sides. That makes it pitch sloppier and it doesn't look as neat. Plus, of course, you lose the vestibules entirely. But that does pretty well solve the coolness problem.

GOOD POINTS:
- as close to sleeping under the stars as a tent can be short of being just a net tent.
- super well ventilated (ideal hot-weather-only tent)
- fast to pitch (something I really appreciate)
- tent alone about 3 pounds without fly (great if can leave fly home)
- lots of extras (nice ground cloth, cup holders and all sorts of light weight equipment holders for inside organization)
- lots of head room
- small footprint
- spacious vestibules

BAD POINTS:
- not even a 1-season tent in Mtns
- like sleeping under the stars, even with fly attached! - so take a much warmer bag than normal tent would require
- too short (I'm 5'9" and I barely fit - is OK but taller person would bump head and foot)
- too many zippers (main zippers will soon fail especially since they have to make an arc in order to open enough for entry). I've had MANY zippers fail in recent years, on pack, clothes, tents. I think zippers are too flimsy nowadays. This tent has LOTS of zippers and I fear they will fail in maybe 2-4 years and make the tent impossible to use (hard to fix). After only 4 days of use, I'm already having the rain fly zippers snag on adjacent fabric. These are the straight-line zippers and more robust than the main entry zippers. But the flap covering the zipper run too easily snags on the zipper.
- the main zippers are very light and are already starting to snag on the adjacent fabric and are already giving signs of difficulty in the curviest part of the zipper track. Most tents have curved zipper tracks but the Electron zipper track makes a more acute bend than most. Bad news, I think.

SO ... this thoughtfully made and clever tent has its specific use but beware that it is NOT at all a 3-season or even true 1-season Sierra tent unless you carry extra weight in sleeping bag and clothing. And take care with the zippers.

As for me, I think this will prove a useful tent but not as is. I'll add some velcro flaps to allow rapid tie-down of the vestiblues. I often need no fly (warm Big Sur trips). So it is great for that.

As for the zippers, maybe I can live with that. The tent basically has 4 different entry points. As one zipper fails, I can sew it off and use the next and the next. I don't need 4 entries, though as a 2-person tent, it would be nice to have at least 2 sides available. We'll see.

I'd still buy it again (got a good deal) but only because I can adapt it as noted. I think I'll get a lot of use out of it, but less adaptable people might find the problems unacceptable.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only one left... and then miraculously 3 hours later - again, only one left. This is deceptive., June 11, 2010

By	T. Wade - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sierra Designs Electron RC 2-Person Three-Season Tent (Sports)

Only one left... and then miraculously 3 hours later - again, only one left. This is deceptive. I expected more from Amazon.