Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 Tent

Long Term Report

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, South Carolina, United States

Date: November 10, 2004

Backpacking Background:

I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking for the past ten years. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20-30 lbs (9-14 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 km/hr). I am a one man tent camper for now until something I like better comes along. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.

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 (255 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.

            *Other dimensions for the tent will be given below for further clarification.

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

Previous Reports:

Initial Report

Field Report

Long Term Report:

            Over this test period of six months I have really enjoyed this tent. Since my Field Report I have taken it on four more occasions.

Three of the four trips were to Lake Keowee where my family and I camped for the weekend. The temperatures at night were a nice 60 F to 70 F (16 C to 21 C) with a slight breeze coming off the lake. This tent fit us perfectly in size. When it came to sleeping arrangements, my wife and I were on the sides and my two boys were in the middle. When we had to change clothes inside the inside tent, the maneuverability was a little tight for all of us to do it at the same time. During these trips we never experienced any rain during the night. On a few occasions we had afternoon thunder showers and would come back from a boat ride and find the campsite completely wet. I would always put the rain fly on the tent before we went anywhere for privacy and if a rain shower should happen to come along. I inspected the tent each time and found that it made it through the rain shower with no leaks and absolutely no water inside the tent.

The other trip was a weekend trip to Pisgah National Forest. The temperatures were a very cold 25 F (-3 C) at night with continuous 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km/hr) winds. The campsites were at an elevation of 6100 ft (1900 m) to 6400 ft (1900 m). At first I wasn’t going to take this heavy of a tent but I knew I would be experiencing some cold temperatures and high wind. This would be a great last test for this tent. Every night I had to have the rain fly on because of the wind. The Seedhouse 3 work great in the high winds. It’s not quite as aerodynamic as a one or two person tent but the design of the tent held its own during these high winds. The rain fly kept the cold, windy air out. While inside, I really didn’t feel the wind. I even struck a match and it burned with no wind trying to blow it out. Although the wind shook the tent, it never showed any signs of weakness.

During this test I was able to answer some of the questions that I had about the BA Seedhouse 3 Tent. The questions that I had are as follows:

Set up:

Question: How quick can I set the tent up, fly on and be in the tent in case of a heavy rain?

Answer: I never had the opportunity to experience having to put the tent up in a heavy downpour. However, I did time myself on several occasions to see what the fastest time would be for me to employ the tent from stuff sack to fully covered from the rain. My fastest time is 2 minutes and 18 seconds.

Question: Can one person set up this size tent?

Answer: Yes, Since the Seehouse 3 is a free standing tent. It’s very easy for one person to set this tent up.

Question:  Is it possible to set the fly up separately and then set the tent up under the fly?

Answer: I tried this one time and was not very successful doing it. When it came to clipping the tent onto the frame, it was very hard to do without stepping all over the tent body. If I would have had muddy boots on, this would not have been a good thing.

Question: Are the poles easy and quick to assemble?

Answer: Yes, All of the poles for the body of the tent are connected together by shockcord except for the vestibule pole that goes with the rain fly. I just take them out of the bag and let them spring into place. I couldn’t be much simpler.

Question: Do the hubs come separate from the poles or are they attached to one of the poles?

Answer: They are attached to the main ridge pole, one at each end.

Question: How easy is it to unpack and pack back up?

Answer: Very easy. Once I undo the clips from the frame and fold up the poles, everything just stuffs right back into the stuff sack.

The Tent:

Question: For the floor area to be 39 sq ft (3 sq m), this seems to be a good size for my family. Do we have enough room to change clothes while we are together or do we have to do it separately?

Answer: This is a great family tent. Me, my wife and my two sons, ages 7 and 3, fit nicely in this tent. We were all able to change clothes at the same time and have plenty of maneuverability.

Question: Would we have enough room for all of us?

Answer: Yes, my wife and I sleep on the ends with our two sons in the middle. The sleeping arrangement is pretty tight but we always sleep well.

Question: Is the D shaped mesh door easy to get in and out of?

Answer: With over 8 sq ft (.7 sq m) of opening space, this door has plenty of room to get in and out of.

Question: Does the 40D nylon mesh keep out ALL the bugs or just the big ones?

Answer: I spent several nights in this tent when all the bugs, big and small, were out. If any bug got in this tent it was because of my 3 year old leaving the door open. Other than that, the bugs stayed on the outside of the mesh peeping in.

Question: Is the mesh strong enough to prevent accidental punctures?

Answer: With a three year old, any accident can happen, especially in a tent. Fortunately, throughout this test, there were no accidents that would cause the mesh to be punctured. However, my son thought it would be fun to lean on every once in a while but the tent took the pushing and pulling and never showed any signs of damage.

The Fly:

Question: Is the fly quick and easy to attach and set up?

Answer: Yes, I simply throw the fly over the erected frame (with or without the tent body) and snap into place at the base of the frame.

Question: Can it be vented enough to prevent condensation?

Answer: The condensation inside the tent has been very little to none at all. The fly allows the tent to be well ventilated. If there was any condensation it was very little.

Question: Does the fly come down far enough over the top of the tent wall to keep blowing rain from entering?

Answer: I can certainly say that the fly comes down well past the end of the tent wall. It kept very high winds from blowing into the tent therefore I don’t think that rain would have a chance of being blown in.

Question: Does the fly dry quickly after being in the rain?

Answer: Yes, on the occasions that I experienced rain I shook off the rain from the fly and it dried within 10 minutes. Long enough to get the tent body down, poles put up, and stakes cleaned and everything stuffed back in the bag.

I thoroughly enjoyed testing this tent. All of the seams and zippers are still in good working order. The tent has shown to be very durable so far, and I hope to continue using this tent as my family tent. Although this tent is quite heavy I will still use it on short backpacking trips and car camping. The Seedhouse 3 tent has truly made my family camping and outdoor adventures comfortable ones.

Thank you Big Agnes and BGT for the opportunity to test this tent. It was a pleasure being a part of this test and I hope that the reports that were filed will be helpful.