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Review - REI Quarter Dome UL
Andrew Buskov
July 18, 2006
Tester Biography:
| Name: |
Andrew Buskov |
| Age: |
31 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: |
215 lb (98 kg) |
| Email: |
Rescue@corridor9.net |
| Location: |
Madisonville, Kentucky USA |
Backpacking Background:
I
started backpacking when I was about 8 and
quickly became hooked on the outdoors. My initial experience was with
summer
weekend trips, but grew longer as I realized that I enjoy being out
more in the
winter. I also prefer longer, more difficult trips as opposed to easy
overnighters. I have hiked a variety of environments ranging from
Maine's Mt.
Katahdin in late fall to the Rocky Mountains in
the summer. As an Emergency Medical Technician I have
been trained to be prepared at all times so my pack tends to be on the
heavy
side
Product Information:
| Manufacturer: |
Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) |
| Manufacture Date: |
2005 |
| URL: |
http://www.rei.com |
| Specified Weight: |
4 lbs 4 oz (1.93 kg) |
| Actual Weight: |
4 lbs 3 oz (1.90 kg) |
| MSRP: |
$209.00 US |
| Sleeping Capacity: |
2 |
| Specified Length: |
7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) |
| Specified Width: |
4 ft 4 in (1.32 m) |
| Specified Area: |
28 sq ft (2.60 sq m) |
| Specified Height: |
3 ft 4 in (1.02 m) |
| Vestibule Area: |
14 sq ft (1.30 sq m) total: 7 sq ft / side (0.65 sq m /
side) |
| Number of Doors: |
2 |
| Number of Poles: |
2 |
| Pole Material: |
Aluminum / DAC Featherlite SL |
| Specified Packed Size: |
7 in X 20 in (17.78 cm X 51 cm) |
| Actual Packed Size: |
7 in X 19 in (17.78 cm X 48 cm) |
| Canopy Fabric: |
Nylon Ripstop |
| Floor & Vestibule Fabric: |
Coated Nylon Ripstop |
Description:
The REI Quarter Dome UL is an extremely light weight, 2 person,
backpacking tent. As with most freestanding tents, there are 3 main
components: the tent itself, the fly, and the poles. What sets the REI
Quarter Dome (QD) apart is the outstanding design and how all
the pieces fit together so easily. This is the first tent I have owned
that actually used color coded pieces to aid in recognizing which piece
goes where during the setup process.
 The tent
itself, the base layer, is composed of nylon and mesh. Much of the
walls and the doors are comprised of no-see-um mesh screen. This
provides for wonderful ventilation and spectacular views when not using
the fly. Unlike a number of other freestanding tents that incorporate
clips to attach the poles to the tent, the QD uses an enclosed pole
sleeve with a dead end pocket. Since only one end of the poles have to
be attached to rivets in the tent, this allows for simple, easy one
person setup quickly. The poles them selves are color coded to allow the
user to easily recognize which end is supposed to seat in the dead end
pockets.
The tent is equipped with 4 quick release clips that allow the
fly to be easily attached. As with the poles, these are also color
coded to make it easier to place the fly on correctly. After the
initial learning stage, setup with the color coded clips and poles take
significantly shorter time than tents I have used in the past.
Two large, dual pull zippered doors allow for convenient
access from either side of the tent. All of the zipper pulls have
reflective material to allow users to quickly find door entrances
during the night. This is especially useful during nights when one must
venture out into the pouring rain for whatever reason.
The fly is constructed of a heavier gage nylon that is also
coated to prevent leaks. In addition to the 4 clips that allow for
quick attachment of the fly, there are also 3 Velcro strips located on
each pole sleeve that allows for the fly to be more securely attached
during heavy storms. The only guy lines that must be placed are on the
vestibule area of the fly. These lines are also constructed of
reflective material to limit tripping over the stakeouts in the middle
of the night. On the top of the fly is a piece of Velcro that is
designed to either lift or secure a flap on the roof. This flap allows
good ventilation during a light rain, but must be secured closed during
hard, driving rain.
Total tent contents include: 1 Tent, 1 Fly, 2 Poles with Stuffsack,
4 Guy Lines, 6 Aluminum Stakes with Stuffsack, and 1 Main Stuffsack
with directions sewn to the outside.
Environmental Information:
I have used this tent in a variety of environments ranging
from
mountainous terrain to flat level ground. Most of the use
occurred in the southeast region of the United States including
sections of the
South Cumberland Recreational area near Chattanooga, TN, Land Between
The Lakes Recreational area near Paducah, KY, and various other
locations in the western Kentucky region. I have also used this tent on
my week long excursion in the depths of the Grand Canyon. The
temperature range that this tent has been exposed to include sub 20's F
(-6 C) with lots of snow, ice, and sleet to the mid 90’s F
(35
C) with extremely dry air and lots of sun. I prefer hiking in colder
weather so most of my trips have been in inclement weather with lots of
precipitation; most of that being rain and snow.
Field Use:
I found this tent was extremely easy to setup, and was wide
enough
for a moderate amount of comfort for two people. Setup time was around
3-5 minutes depending on how fast I was intent on setting it up.
Because the tent was constructed with dead end pole sleeves, all I had
to connect to the tent was one end of the poles. I had a problem that
led to the pole ripping the sleeve material during one of my setups
though. The pole had separated around one of its sections and crimped
the sleeve material. As I pushed, I actually tore a 1 in (2.5 cm) hole
in the sleeve. Luckily, the hole was small enough that it hasn't
affected the stability of the tent, and only requires a little bit
extra time during setup to make sure that I don't push the pole through
the hole, or accidentally rip it further. It's a simple fix with a bit
of stitching, but something that I have never encountered on any other
pole tent that I have.
 One
of the things that really influenced my decision to purchase this
particular tent was the ability to leave the rain fly attached to the
tent while in storage for a quicker setup. It worked well in the rain
on a few occasions, but I found that setup time was actually slower due
to the fact that the poles would get bound up inside the pole sleeve
around the Velcro area.(See Figure at Right) The extra material from
the rain fly attachment provides just enough stiffness to the pole
sleeve to prevent the pole from smoothly sliding through. Instead, the
pole
would naturally try to push around the
Velcro rather than easily
sliding through the pole sleeve as normal. Although the manufacturer
states that it
is possible to leave the rain fly attached for quicker setup, I found
after a few tries that this is
not practical to use it this way due to the amount of time and care that must be
exercised to prevent damaging the tent.
Unlike traditional dome tents that use 3 poles, or even 2 pole tents
where the poles are perpendicular to each other, in order to get the
full usable
area out of this tent the corners must be staked out. When I used it
without stakes I lost a good 5 in (13 cm) of width around the shoulder
area due to the way the poles naturally tend to draw together.
This wasn't an issue when using as a solo tent, but when
trying to fit two big guys in there we needed all the usable space we
could find.
With all the mesh incorporated into this tent, condensation wasn't
normally an issue. There were only 2 occasions where condensation
inside the tent soaked any of my gear. The first occasion was in the
Smoky Mountains at an elevation of 4949 ft (1508 m). Because we
were backpacking in late fall, and because the weather was around 55 F
(13 C), the cloud base had steadily dropped throughout the day and
completely encompassed the top of the mountain. This virtually
prevented any sort of evaporation for taking place throughout the
entire night. Because of this, the inside of the tent was covered with
moisture. The water wasn't running down the inside of the tent
normally, but anything that came in contact with the sides did get
soaked. The other time that I observed a condensation problem was in
the Cumberland Recreational Area at an elevation of roughly 1000 ft
(305 m). The temperature on this outing dropped to 15 F (-9 C) and due
to blowing wind I was forced to close up my tent as tight as I could.
When I woke up in the morning I had a fine layer of frost on the inside
of my tent due to the condensation from my breath. Since I was soloing
at the time and had plenty of space, I didn't notice any of my gear
becoming wet from contact with the sides of the tent.
I was extremely pleased at the size of the doors on either side of the
tent. They are large enough to allow me to enter easily
without stretching out the material or having to perform some sort of
contortionist maneuver simply to get into my sleeping quarters. The
doors have double pull zippers allowing them to be opened from either the
top or the bottom. I did notice that it was easier to open from the
bottom though due the way the material would stretch. When
opening
from the top, the mesh would stretch just enough that when the zipper
reached the nylon section, it would bind unless I used two hands. When
opening from the bottom, I didn't have this problem at all.
There are multiple points to hang equipment from on the roof of the
Quarter Dome, in addition to the 2 mesh pockets located around the head
of the tent. On one outing, I hung most of my clothing from these loops
in order to try and dry them out from all the snow they received that
day. At no time did the tent sag, or feel like it was becoming unstable
from the extra weight I had lashed to the inside. The pockets are large
enough to hold a number of things. Most of the time they were filled
with flashlights, medicine, glasses, and gloves for my outings. At no
time did I ever feel like my head was being bashed with, nor did
anything ever fall out onto my head during the night.
Although this is considered a two person tent, I was forced to use it on
one excursion with both my wife and 6 year old child. It was somewhat
cramped quarters, but there was enough room for us to be moderately
comfortable. We all slept throughout the night without waking each
other despite all the tossing and turning we did because the
temperature was in the 90's. Both my wife and I feel that although we
would rather have a larger tent next time, it wasn't so uncomfortable
that we would abandon our plans if we were forced to use this as a 3
person tent at some point in the future. I would hate to try and
snuggle up to 3 other burly men in there though.
In all, I would highly recommend this tent to anyone wishing a light
weight, stable two person tent.
Some Characteristics I really like about this tent are:
- Light weight and easy setup
- Comfortably fits two people
- Freestanding
- Exceptional protection during inclement weather
Some things I feel can be improved on include:
- Difficult setup with rain fly pre-attached.
- Packed size is a bit big
Read more reviews of REI gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Buskov
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