After the weeds were cleared, I set up the new Refuge in the backyard this weekend. My major impressions:

1) Nice headroom; it's the first lightweight tent I've had that I could actually sit up and not feel that I have to pull in my head/shoulders/elbows like a turtle. Plenty of room for 2 to sit up and get dressed/pack up stuff at the same time.

2) Though it's a narrower inside than our Cloudburst is at the front, the outside footprint is wider because of the way the sides are constructed.

3) It doesn't seem to pitch very "tight"; though it seems stable enough, I think there will be flapping in the wind.

4) The screen at the bottom looks like it could be a problem as it seems to just lay on the ground, leaving it susceptible to getting wet, muddy, then rolling onto it. I may eventually move it up higher on the side somehow, or at least sew in a fold-back piece of silnylon to cover it if needed.

5) I wish the door zipper had gone all the way up to the peak of the tent; it would make it easier to get into.

6) The sewing done on the tent looks much more basic than that done on our Shires Tarptents - for the most part, seams are not felled or even folded/double stitched in many or most places, just a simple seam with a 1/4 seam allowance (if that). This at first struck me as not a good thing, but it may be to my advantage if I want to alter the tent in any way (which I just might).

All that said, it weighed *24.1 ounces* on my digital scale. That alone is enough to make me decide to keep it. I also like that it looks very simple in design and construction; I think I could copy it fairly easily for myself and alter things that I would like to change in the design.

I won't know about the wind stability until we actually get out on a trip; that is the big question mark for me. I've corresponded with a couple of owners that say it performs OK in moderate winds, and we don't usually get a lot of wind where we camp in the Sierras, so it may be OK.