I bought this a long time ago when I was still living in Chicago. My friend and I wanted to go camping in Wisconsin, and I didn’t have much money. This tent was only $50, so I thought it was only going to last a few uses. I ended up using it for almost a decade.

Side story: I got Lyme disease from a tick while I was camping in Wisconsin that led to about $3000 in medical costs for the half-hour visit to the emergency room. Yay American health system!

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Wyoming

I ended up using this in Wisconsin, later in Wyoming, and then I took it with me to South America, where I probably used it for at least 30 nights while there. I used it when I traveled around the East Coast of the USA a bit, and I even used it in Europe, so I have certainly gotten my money’s worth. It can snugly fit two people inside it, although there isn’t much room for backpacks, but the vestibule in front offers protection from the rain.

Laguna Parón in Peru

The only thing that really broke early on was the carrying bag, which I fixed with a bit of duct tape. One of the fiberglass rods also split a little down the center, but that was an easy fix with some tape as well.

Near Kuélap, Peru

By some point later in my East Coast travels, already after more than 5 years of use, the tent no longer seemed waterproof. It didn’t necessarily soak up water, but it would drip a little bit near the top when it rained.

Eifel, Germany/Belgium

When I was in the Pyrenees, we were hit with a heavy storm. The wind howled from the side, and it practically flattened the tent against us. In conjunction with the rain that seeped through the wall that then lay on top of me due to the wind, my stuff got a little wet.

I decided to get a new tent after that.

One of the biggest things about this tent that I didn’t like is that it is not freestanding. It requires at least 3 pegs to be in the ground for there to be enough tension to actually keep the tent up. I had some issues in Wyoming where I was camping on rocky ground where the pegs couldn’t quite find purchase. It was even worse when I was in Chile and camping on the sand. With the breeze blowing in off the ocean, it would easily rip the pegs out of the loose sand, and I had to fight with the tent collapsing in on me every few minutes.

So when I got a new tent, I made sure it was freestanding. With that being said, for the meager price of 50 bucks, this tent has proven most capable and has seen use in 3 continents.

If someone needs a really cheap tent, then this would work fine. But if someone wants something that can be used in a bit more adverse conditions (like poor ground for pegs), then at least another style of tent might be in order.

Pros:

Super cheap, yet very capable

Can fit 2 people comfortably enough

Not heavy

Cons:

Not freestanding

Carrying bag didn’t seem that durable