Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 > Rami Benhameda > Long Term Report

Big Agnes

Seedhouse 3

Long Term Report

www.bigagnes.com

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND: (back to top)

I've been hiking and backpacking in and around Central and Southern Indiana for the past 20+ years either solo or with my wife and daughters. Within the last 5 years, I've become an avid long distance hiker with sections of the AT in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia under my belt, as well as other long distance hiking.

PRODUCT INFORMATION: (back to top)

TESTING RESULTS: (back to top)

In my Field testing report, I indicated that I had not yet tested the Seedhouse 3 in the 'fast fly' configuration (footprint, pole, and fly only), and that I had not yet tested the tent with my wife due to surgical recovery on her part.  I am happy to say that she is doing well and I have had the opportunity to complete both aspects of testing that I was lacking.

Fast Fly:

Aside from the obvious weight reduction resulting from leaving the tent body out of my pack, I discovered that my two concerns (bugs and condensation) were much less of an issue than I had expected.  The fast fly set up option brings the carry weight for this shelter down to just over 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) and makes pitching a much quicker operation.  The condensation concern I had was not nearly the issue I expected, and I only noticed a couple of creepy crawlies.  All in all, fast fly is far superior to my expectations.

Two Adults:

Susan's recovery progressed as expected and we were finally able to go camping.  We used the Seedhouse 3 in both its standard configuration and in the Fast Fly mode.  Susan was less than thrilled about the Fast Fly configuration, but was very pleasantly surprised that nothing icky crawled into her sleeping bag with her over night.  In addition, Susan took the Seedhouse 3 with her on a week-long trip to Ontario Canada in August.

I have found the Seedhouse 3 to be exceptionally durable, easy to set up and break down, and highly versatile.  The tent is big enough to use in all sorts of configurations, and is very weather resistant.  I believe that Big Agnes has made a fantastic tent with very high quality materials and workmanship.  I have not found anything to complain about in regards to the Seedhouse 3. 

Throughout the course of this test, I have used the Seedhouse 3 exclusively.  It has gone with me to Western Michigan, Southern Indiana, Central Indiana, and in my back yard.  The conditions were primarily warm and dry as is typical in the Midwest.  Temperature ranges were highs between the mid 60's and mid 80's Fahrenheit (high teens to mid 20's Centigrade) and lows between the low 40's and high 70's Fahrenheit (less than 10 to low 20's Centigrade).  On several of the trips I took with the Seedhouse 3, I was lucky enough to experience respectable amounts of rain.

The Seedhouse has survived the test series with barely a sign of wear.  The ground sheet has some minor discoloration from mud and pine pitch, and there is a spot or two on the screen from inadvertently squashed bugs, but no damage and no appreciable wear to any of the important parts of the tent (stitching, seams, zippers, etc.)

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 > Rami Benhameda > Long Term Report