Ahwahnee

I'd have a hard time finding much to complain about with this tent... I've had mine for seven years to date so some refinements have likely been made to it... My tent is the earlier version with the full door on one side and smaller window on the back side and I can appreciate the value of the two doors for egress issues when sharing the tent. I agree that the ventilation is excellent if managed properly... this implies that you should leave the window flap and/or door slightly open at the top in cold winter conditions or risk getting frost build up as happened to me once on a winter trip. This poses no problems because the awnings really work to keep precipitation out. I've been only mildly enthusiastic about the plastic clips that keep the poles in place but they do work quickly and easily and must have been a huge improvement over the velcro strips they replaced (that my grey vestibule features). The clips work fairly well but I often find I have to re-twist a couple of them to get them to hold properly... The previous reviewer's comments about setup and the importance of getting the pole ends into the little metal pockets in the corners is important... although I've never torn a hole through my tent I try to be vigilant when setting up. These points said, I have been truly impressed with the simplicity, strength and integrity of the shelter this tent has provided me in some very nasty storms... I've endured 80 mph+ winds with blowing snow and slept comfortably without any real concern of losing the tent... I did find a snapped off 70' Engleman Spruce less than 100 feet from my tent one morning that might have rescripted my opinon but the tent was bombproof. The build quality is what you would expect for the money you'll spend and the roominess is all I could ask for in a four season mountaineering tent and I'm 6'5" so my opinion counts... I can't fit into smaller tents like the I-tent... they're just not an option for me. This is an ideal tent although I sometimes long for a more stylish, tolerable color than the signal yellow I have or the optional bright green, I guess it's really a small complaint. I still give this tent 5 stars for all the important things it does right.