Field Report: Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 Tent

 

Biographical Information:

Name: Chuck Carnes

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Height: 6’0” (1.83 m)

Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)

 

Email address: ctcarnes1@yahoo.com

 

City, State, Country: Taylors, S.C. United States

 

Date: July 6, 2004

 

Backpacking Background:

I have been influenced to go camping and backpacking all my life. Every summer for the first 5 years of my life, my parents took me camping. I was in the Boy Scouts at the age of 12 and have been backpacking, on and off, ever since. Needless to say, I love the outdoors. I enjoy taking a lot of STUFF in my pack and can’t seem to get my total pack weight down - I wonder why. I usually hike around Pisgah National Forest and The Great Smoky Mountains. I go at any time of the year and try to hit the trails when there is no rain. If it does rain, it’s okay. Trail terrain, such as rocky trails or muddy trails, is not that big of an issue with me. I just like getting out and enjoying nature.

 

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Big Agnes, Inc.

Number of Persons: 3

Number of Seasons: 3

Year of Manufacture: 2003

URL: www.bigagnes.com

MSRP: $239.00 (tent, poles, stakes and rain fly)

            $40.00 (footprint)

 

Weights and Measurements: (Scale: Pelouze model K-5)

Listed weight:

            Trail weight – 5 lb 14 oz (2.66 kg)

            Packed weight – 6 lb 8 oz (2.95 kg)

            Fast Fly weight – 4 lb 8 oz (2.04 kg)

 

Weight as delivered:

            Trail weight – 5 lb 7 oz (2.47 kg)

            Packed weight – 6 lb 7 oz (2.92 g )

            Fast Fly weight – 4 lb 7 oz (2.72 kg)

 

Dimensions:

Tent:

Floor dimensions are 84 in (213 cm) long, 60 in (152 cm) wide at the foot and

72 in (183 cm) wide at the head. These dimensions are measured from the inside

of the tent.

 

Height dimensions are 44 in (112 cm) at highest point in the middle,

23 in (58 cm) at the foot and 40 in (102 cm) at the head. These dimensions are the

highest point in that area.

           

Footprint: Same size as tent footprint but dimensions are about .5 in (1.27 cm) shorter on all sides.

 

See my Initial Report for more information on dimensions.

 

Taken from the web site:

“The Seedhouse Series is comprised of three strong, lightweight backpacking tents that set up quickly using a hub pole design. With enough floor and storage space for even a cowboy to stay comfortable and organized, these tents represent a great weight-to-price value. Based on our original two-person Seedhouse, the 3.5lb Seedhouse 1 is for solo types while the Seedhouse 3 is meant to house couples with a dog or three good friends and features a spacious vestibule. Purchase our separate foot print that attaches to the fly and eliminates the tent body for the fast and light minded. Fast Fly footprint optional on all models and highly recommended.”

 

Field Information and Terrain:

            The BA Seedhouse 3 Tent has been used several times over the past month, a few nights out in the woods of our property to get away from all the hustle and bustle but still be close to home and a weekend at Jones Gap for a weekend getaway with some friends.

           

            The several times that I pitched this tent on my property the weather was very nice. The temperatures were high 70s F (20s C) in the day low to mid 50s F (10s C) at night. The tiny campsite that I am able to walk to is within 500 ft (152 m) of my house. The area is not plush as one would think being that close to a house but it was picked out for the purpose of having the feel of not having the luxuries of home. The ground is very hard in this area and has several roots and rocks to make me use my imagination to locate stakes that will make the tent stable. I am able to test gear on a worst case scenario that I might not get on some of the long hikes that are in the mountains and along the banks of rivers. When I am out on a long trip, I like to find the best site there is for an enjoyable time. 

 

            The away trip was to Jones Gap near Caesars Head in South Carolina. This was a weekend trip for two nights where the temperatures were a hot 85 to 90 F (30 to 32 C) during the day and a warm 60 to 70 F (15 to 21 C) at night near the rivers edge. The first night the campsite was a nice low lying grass that canvassed the floor of wilderness. The second night the campsite was not as nice as the first night. The only place that would work with my tent was an area with roots that flooded the whole campsite. This made for some interesting placement of the stakes.

 

Field use of the Tent:

             Around the house where we are staying is quite a bit of land that I am able to wander on and get away from the house but still be close by for emergencies. My son and I will go out sometimes on the weekend to enjoy this time together without the long hike to a camp site. In this situation the tent was easily carried under my arm in the stuff sack that is provided. This is almost like car camping which in my opinion is usually the time that I would take a three man tent unless there are extra people to split the load of this size tent on a backpacking trip. I set up the tent over the roughest part of the site to truly test the many configurations of the tie downs and placement of the stakes. I still find this tent very easy to set up and can usually do it under two minutes. Since the weather was so nice I did not put the rain fly on. At my first impression of the tent I was concerned about how much room there was for three people. Now that my son and I have slept in the tent I have changed my mind. The tent really has more space than it looks. I was very pleased at how much room we had between us and how much room we had from the side walls. The mesh construction of 90% of the top does not resist heavy dew. Several mornings we woke up with our bags very damp from the dew that came through the mesh. I was truly not expecting to wake up and not find dew on the bag. The mesh is there for star gazing and enjoying the fresh air and breeze without the annoyance of bugs. And for that, we did enjoy the evenings.

 

            On the trip to Jones Gap I had to pack the tent in the stuff sack and strap it to my pack. After a few miles of hiking, I had to distribute some of the load to another friend. On this trip I carried the tent, rain fly and footprint. My friend carried the poles and stakes. This tent is really not a weight conscious tent for backpacking. It is a light tent for it to be a three man tent but not light enough for one person to carry the whole setup and be within a reasonable pack weight. After setting up the tent I continued to attach the rain fly. Although the weather was not predicting rain, I wanted to see if I experienced any condensation in the tent overnight. My friend and I stayed in the tent that night and again the tent felt very roomy for two people. We were able to leave our packs outside the tent door in the vestibule area. The vestibule area was a little tight for two packs but they stayed covered if it were to rain. The next morning we experienced a very small amount of condensation on our bags but nothing out of the ordinary. It’s almost impossible to keep condensation out if there is mesh between the rain fly and the tent. As I broke down the tent I shook off the moisture on the rain fly and laid it out in the sun to dry. After packing the tent body away the rain fly was already dry enough to pack away.

 

            We got to our next campsite and I immediately set up the tent. As I said before, this tent is so easy to set up. I cannot believe I have waited this long to use this type of set up. The hook-to-the-frame style set up makes setting up quick and easy. This time I did not use the rain fly so that I could experience the clear night skies. In my initial report I mentioned two side zippers that run along the seam at top of the tent wall. BA informed the testers that these are to be used for placing gear outside of the tent through these zippers. I thought I would try this so I slipped my boots through the zipper on one side of the tent. This was okay but it was no different than setting them in the vestibule. I still have not found the perfect use for these zippers.

 

            Overall I am very pleased with this tent and the way it functions as a three man tent. I have yet to experience a rain storm or cold weather in this tent. All of the zippers, poles, stakes and guy lines are still in good working order. I have not noticed any tears or frays in the material.          

 

Future Test Plan:

I plan to continue to test the BA Seedhouse 3 tent as my family tent. I will note weather conditions as they occur during the remaining of this test period. I suspect I will experience cold weather and rain storms at some point in this test period. I will check things during the test period like leakage, how taut the guy lines need to be to prevent any shaking of the tent during heavy winds, how well the zippers continue to work in various weather conditions, if I will ever use the side zippers at the tent wall and other various tests.

I plan on taking several weekend trips throughout the summer, fall and early winter. During the summer the temperatures will rise to the 90s F (30s C) and during the winter the temperatures will dip in the lower 20s F (-10s C). I look forward to spending many exciting nights in the BA Seedhouse 3 Tent. Other tests will be conducted and noted for the LongTerm Report.

 

Likes and Dislikes So Far:

Likes:

Very roomy for two and gear

The full mesh view of the roof

Very easy to set up

 

Dislikes:

            To heavy for backpacking (unless the load is split)

            Other than that, none at the moment

           

Thank you Big Agnes and BGT for the opportunity to test this tent.