Mountain Hardwear Muir Trail Review

"This was my initial trip with this tent. I got to test in in snow. 4 - 5 inches had fallen by the time I broke camp in the morning. Not much in the way of winds (5 mph with 10-15 mph gusts at most). It is plenty large for one person 6' 2". It held me and every piece of gear I had with me, including pack. Plenty of room in the vestibule for boots and cooking (there are handy little elastic bands for holding the door back while cooking in vestibule). It would work easily for me and my wife with some gear space in the tent. The vestibule would be full with packs and boots for two(maybe to the point of entry and exit be partially blocked). For this reason, alternative pack storage method would be needed (tarp or hang from tree with rain cover on). It shed the snow fairly well but not completely. I laid in my bag and listen to the snow sliding off it for quite sometime before day break. When I went out to get my food bag, there was some snow on the top that hadn't been sliding off. I adjusted the fly tension and it slid off. Laying back in my sleeping bag and warming water, I could once again hear the snow sliding off. after I was packed and ready to break down my tent I climbed out to see a little snow had accumulated on the top again (you can see it as it covers the window in the roof). I once again tightened up the fly sheet and it slid off. Pretty good tent, no condensation build up in the tent with the roof panel zipped 1/3 open at the top and about 4 inches at the bottom and the top of the door left open about an inch. some condensation did gather inside the fly on the top. The vestibule is good sized. Tensioning the fly is made easy because of the clips and buckles. I used two guylines as well as stakes on every spot provided on tent base.
Even with snow accumulated on the tent, there was no apparent sagging from the inside. The fly sheet never appeared to be getting closer to the tent body (there is about 2 inches of space between them) and internal space in the tent never seemed to be diminishing. It seems to be VERY strong. After one use, I like it alot. I wouldn't call it a full blown 4 season mountaineering tent by any means, but it could handle most any situation I see around here (Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia). Even heavy snow if properly guyed and you don't mind getting out and adjusting fly tension."

"I purchased the 3.5 season Muir Trail (MT) to replace a Kelty Zen, which BTW is a pretty good little tent. The reason I bought the MT was I was tired of trying to stake out the Zen in the Sierras (rocks and more rocks) and the Zen has a bit too much mesh for my tastes. I used the MT on the ten day 2001 Llama Rama trip. This was a late July trip and we didn't experience the rough weather that we had had in 1999 and 2000. The weather was almost balmy so I can't attest to the tent's storm and wind resistance. It is certainly looks like it's built to take bad weather though. Stitching, poles, zippers, and materials all look top knotch. The tent can be set up in various ways depending on the weight you wish to carry or the weather you might encounter. As an example, if you buy the the ground cloth you can set this tent up without the tent so in affect you have a tarp and ground cloth. You can use the fourth pole or leave it at home. You can zip out the overhead panel to reduce weight. The full weight of the JT with ground cloth, all four poles and panels is close to 8 lb. In today's world of lightest possible weight this may be a terminal fault to some but to me it's a virtue. I like the ruggedness of this tent. If I'm three days away from shelter I want to know my tent will stand up to what may come it's way.

This is how I would rate the tent on a scale of 1 to 5.
Price - 4.0
Construction quality - 5.0
Ventilation capability - 5.0
Weight - 3.5
Roominess for one & gear - 5.0
Roominess for two & gear - 4.0

Average score - 4.42"

"I have way too many tents!! But last summer I added this to my collection as I liked the sturdy look and ease of setup. It is now my favorite. Quite solid and of course Mountain Hardware quality. Kept me warm down in the 20's with a 30' bag. Temp in tent was about 10' warmer inside than outside and no moisture problems.Fly system adjusts great and keeps taught,no flapping in the wind to keep you awake. Would rate it a 5 except for the weight factor. But I will trade the extra security over saving a pound or two,as any other tent the same size would weigh close. Since the are discontinued you can find them at great prices."