SwissGear Hiking Tent

SwissGear Hiking Tent
by Swiss Gear/Wenger

Anyone know anything about this tent? I have a chance to buy one...there are pictures on Amazon and a few reviews but not enough to make it a sure thing. Price offered is $45, which includes shipping, and it'll be used for two people (2 non-romantic, 5'11" men of average body weight) for backpacking. Any information/opinions are welcomed.

You mean the orange one with the side entry? Weighs 6 lbs - that would be enough to send me browsing elsewhere, but I'm not sharing the weight of my shelter with someone. Might be an affordable starter tent that will work until you decide you want something better. There's a review or three here that indicate it has condensation issues.

I don’t know exactly which Swiss Gear tent you’re talking about. If it’s this one: http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Gear-SwissGear-Hiking-Tent/dp/B001G69ZZ8
then I’m glad they’re using aluminum poles instead of fiberglass. I’ve seen too many fiberglass poles break with my hiking buddies and scouts. My niece used this tent last summer backpacking with us. It leaked around the floor every night. We were lucky to have 8-hour thunderstorms for 3 nights in a row.

Now if this is the tent: http://www.swiss-gear-tents.com/ccp0-prodshow/eiger.html
I would shun fiberglass poles.

Some more experience I’ve had with Swiss Gear tents vs. scouts is (and maybe they have improved): As I stated above, floor leaks after a hard rainstorm. Zippers give up the ghost soon. And all-in-all, they’re not the greatest weight-saving tent. It ends up being cheaper to spend 2-3x the amount of money on a Eureka, Kelty, or Sierra Design tent (all can be had on sale) since these tents last much longer, are lighter, more waterproof, and have better zippers.

Buy a heavy tent now, and you’ll always be longing for a much lighter tent. And thus I love my 2-man GG Squall Classic (25oz).

That said, to encourage backpacking--- It’s probably OK for a few hiking trips with nice weather with a Swiss Gear tent.

-Barry

Barry, I have a swiss gear that looks just like the second link you posted, however, mine has an aluminum pole. I have only slept in it a few times, once in South Texas, and a few times in the Rockies. I have never been in it in a heavy rain, although I did set it up in a heavy rain (in the backyard) with towels on the floor to see how much it leaks. I have found that it is terribly ventilated especially in Texas, if you close it off completely. If you open it up, then no condensation (even with me and my 2 sons inside all night), in which case it becomes a very heavy tarp tent that is less waterproof. So, to sum it up, I basically agree completely with Barry.

" Buy a heavy tent now, and you’ll always be longing for a much lighter tent. And thus I love my 2-man GG Squall Classic (25oz).

That said, to encourage backpacking--- It’s probably OK for a few hiking trips with nice weather with a Swiss Gear tent."

They also produced a rip off of the REI Half Dome. Is it that one? (It was sold at Sams Club last year for under $50)

If someone has just checked the market to see what is out there, they would know where this tent was at just by price. Clearly it is not top-of-the-line or near top-of-the-line but rather down between the minimally-functional and joke categories. I would not waste my time looking just because probabilities would be so much against it having any practical utility.

My wife --who teaches violin -- deals with the same concept all the time. She will refer students (or their parents) to a variety of price ranges from sources she considers reliable. Then people come in with a deal they found on ebay because it was such a good price. Unfortunately, it is not a violin that you can actually play -- it's just a fake, imitation violin that acts as a medium to take people's money without providing them value in return.

It's a basic principle . . .
There may be features in top of the line items that are not needed by the average user or just branding fluff that provides bragging rights for those who can afforde the most expensive. BUT it simply isn't reasonable to suppose that the average person purchasing the items in the middle of the pack would throw their money away if the same features/value/performance were available at a lower price.