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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Marmot Nutshell tent > Owner Review by DeanneDate: March, 2002 Product: Marmot Nutshell TentTent stats:
Tester:
Field test locations and my impressions:
This tent was chosen and purchased partway through an "El Nino" year, after getting drenched on 3 consecutive trips, because the tent is supposed to be virtually bombproof. It has lived up to that reputation nicely. The nutshell has a tapered shape with a relatively low profile. The footprint is wider at the front and tapers toward the foot. The peak height of the tent is also towards the front section, lower near the foot. The 3-poles are fixed at non-orthogonal angles and give the assembly a slightly asymmetric look from the outside. The poles have a narrower section near the ends allowing them to effectively lock into the grommet tabs outside the tent floor. The main pole rides in a sleeve and the other 2 poles cross through slits in the main pole sleeve. A few plastic hook-shaped clips keep the tent body taut on the cross poles. The fly attaches to the tent by means of locking clips on the pole tabs and on the edges of the fly. For additional fly stability, there are some Velcro tabs sewn to the fly along the pole-lines that can be wrapped around the poles. The fly covers the tent almost to ground level. The ends of the pole tabs have large loops that can be used to anchor the tent with pegs, rocks or even skis. The aluminum poles are lightweight, and slightly pre-curved for easy assembly. But, the poles are not easy to identify as to which one fits in which location. Three poles, 2 colors. Poles are not color coded by length. The longest pole is easy to identify because it has more segments, but the two cross poles are similar lengths and come one in black and one in red. The tent isn't marked to help you choose which goes where. You have to become familiar with the lengths needed for each pole position and expand the poles completely before deciding and assembling. The shockcord on one of my poles was a bit too tight on my original purchase. It caused to pole to snap itself into it's expanded position and nicked the corner of the tube on that section. The pole still functioned, but was difficult to expand and collapse. One phone call to Marmot customer service and my problem was resolved. I shipped the damaged pole to them and I had a replacement pole within a week so that I could still use the tent on my next scheduled trip. No hassle and no shipping fees to me. The Tent body has a bathtub floor and a mesh top that extends down most of the side of the tent. The door is D-shaped to keep it from dragging on the ground when opened. There is a loop and toggle sewn on to hold the door open if desired. All tent zippers have small rope loops as pulls; these are quite, easy to grab and keep weight down. The fly has a zip-shut front vestibule that isn’t very useful, even for gear storage. It’s listed as 6.3 sqft, but because of the steep decent from tent door to single point on the ground, you’d have to unzip the fly totally and still crawl on all your gear to exit or enter the tent. It would work for shoes, but not much more. My model is a few years old and Marmot has added a viewing window in the fly since my purchase. This is something I _really_ wish I had since the solid fly is great for keeping out the elements, but makes it darn near impossible to tell when the weather has broken without unzipping the vestibule. The fly is made of polyester instead of nylon so that it doesn't stretch when wet. This allows it to have minimal clearance from the tent body and prevents flapping, while keeping occupants dry and ventilation consistent. The full coverage fly has made itself useful in a sudden storm by acting as my cover whilst I setup the tent underneath it’s shelter. The fly has reflective guy-line tabs on the outside that makes the tent easy to spot at night with a flashlight. This has been important, as I often set up back into the trees and have to search a bit for my tent on those moonless nights. The tent does sleep two adults shoulder to shoulder without too much bumping. And, if you are short like me, there’s even room for shoes, your gear, and your dog at your head or feet. Some of the tent features have been less than useful. The tiny loop on the inside of the tent ceiling isn't very useful as a gear hook and it doesn't seem to have any other purpose. The "burrito sack" stuff sack is supposed to double as a pocket inside the tent, but there isn't any place to actually attach it for this purpose. There isn't a very good way of rolling open the fly; Marmot provided a loop and toggle, but it allow the rolled back fly to sag right into the door path. The tent shape has been met with mixed reviews from friends that have used the tent with me. The low peak height is OK for an average size woman to sit up, but definitely would be a low ceiling for a taller man. And, because of the taper towards the back, it's virtually impossible to have 2 people sitting up in the tent without one having to duck their head. This has been an issue when I've been rain bound--it's difficult to play cards if you both can't sit-up comfortably. But, that same low profile has been a blessing in high wind. One night in early winter in the Mojave Desert, several friends and I had trouble even setting up our tents due to the high winds. Gear and 10 lb. rocks were insufficient to hold most of the tents in place, and the sand was too soft for tent pegs to be of use. But, a few rocks and my gear DID hold my Nutshell in place. I spent time helping others catch their flyaway tents instead of having to worry about my tent. I've never needed the guy lines that were provided; I'd hate to see the wind that would require these to be used! It snowed that same night, and the tent didn't have any trouble weathering the storm. I stayed dry and warm. On the warm weather side, the mesh top has been wonderful for stargazing and ventilation. I've used the tent without the fly in weather up to 92deg F. The mesh allowed for plenty of air circulation and kept all the bugs and ants at bay. One feature that I don't own is the footprint ground cover. It has grommet tabs that allow you to assemble the fly alone with the footprint. Giving a tarp-like option for times when the tent body isn't needed. If you need bombproof weather
capabilities, are willing to spend the money, and you aren't concerned
about head-height inside the tent then this is a nice tent to own.
Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Marmot Nutshell tent > Owner Review by Deanne | |||