Sierra Designs Meteor Light

For the 3 Seasons, this is the best backpacking tent. From looking at the stars in the summer to having the rain fly on when the weather is bad, this shelter rocks. I have owned two of them. Sierra Designs customer service second to NONE.

While I really like the side door design, two vestibules, and tremendous amount of space it offers this tent has always been a pain to set up. The maneuvering necessary to cross the poles and then get them into the end pieces is really difficult, especially for one person to do alone.

At first I thought it was me but I have had others follow the directions and encounter the same difficulty.

Eventually I ended up bending two of the poles to get it to work but I went ahead and used this tent quite a bit anyway including several snowy below freezing campouts here in Maryland. Last summer I returned the two bent poles to Sierra Designs who sent me brand new ones, no questions asked.

While I enjoy the design of this tent it is a nuisance to set up (at least for me!). Now that my Sierra Designs Orion has finally died this tent will be my main tent so I'll see how the new poles hold up!

I've owned my Meteor Light since the summer of 1990. That July, I took my boyfriend camping in Tuolumne Meadows. I rented the tent from Marmot Mountain Works in Kentfield, Ca. I seem to have bad luck when it comes to introducing friends or relatives to camping. We always experience some really intense weather. On this trip the thunderstorms were so severe, Tuolumne Meadows campground flooded and was evacuated. We happened to be on a high spot so we cowered in the tent during the storms, which lasted all afternoon. The tent held up to very heavy hail, wind and rain. The area under the tent was flooded with water, but we had no leaks. Mud splashed all over the fly sheet, but we stayed completely dry during several days of storms. After the fourth consecutive day of spending most of the time in the tent, we'd had enough and drove home during that day's storm. I was impressed enough by the tent's performance that I purchased a new one when I returned the rental.

Over the last twenty years, I've had to replace the tent door zipper once, and now it's due for a second replacement. This old tent has no vent on the fly sheet, so it's not suitable for use when it's snowing. It has a single, half-moon-shaped door. The newer models look like they have two doors. The inside is roomy and I enjoy using the tent without the fly sheet on calm, dry summer nights. The no-seeum netting ceiling panels allow stargazing from inside the tent. I have never had any problems with condensation when using it in the rain. While moisture may build up on the inner part of the fly sheet, it runs off to the ground. The ventilation in this tent is fantastic.

I have found the Meteor Light to be very easy to set up. It could be considered heavy by today's standards, but it's bomb-proof. Whenever I find a job I will probably purchase a lighter tent for backpacking trips and use this one for car camping trips. The tent is so old I'm beginning to worry about the fabric's integrity, though it still seems ok. I like this tent so much I'll use it until it disintegrates.