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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
 Posted - 05 June 2007 : 00:07:04
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I was needing a new car camping tent as my old 3 person Outbound Hercules Clip 3 tent is nearing the end of it's useful life, after over 14 years and many, many trips.
I have a few other tents, but nothing that has a decent amount of room for two+ people. I actually have a total of 4 other tents, but they are all geared towards backpacking and offer little in the way of 'generous accommodations' that I look for in a shelter for either car camping or leisurely canoe tripping. I wanted something spacious enough that you didn't need to do the Limbo, in order to change your clothing. I wanted a shelter that provided decadent surroundings for 2-3 campers that could fit 4, if needed.
I could have gone the route of a cheap tent from Canadian Tire/Walmart etc, but I also wanted a rather 'quality' product to provide weather tight 'housing' at a 'reasonable' weight/price and one that the manufacturer/retailer would 'stand behind' their product.
I looked at a lot of various products, but kept coming back to one. The MEC Wanderer 4 had everything I was looking for, at a price of $259.
I ordered the tent and optional 'footprint'($24) online, on Friday afternoon and it arrived the following Tuesday.
I decided to take it out for a 'spin' this past weekend and report back on my observations.
I opened the 'stuff sac' the tent comes in, to find the tent body, fly, the tent poles in a separate 'pole bag' and another bag that contains 14 'superior-grade' aluminum(#7001-T6)tent pegs, 2 nylon guylines(9'long with a plastic tensioner) aluminum pole repair sleeve, a swatch of both canopy(nylon) and fly material(coated polyester) to make repairs(in case of rips/tears) and a small bottle of water based seam sealer.
The Wanderer 4 comes with shock corded 11mm diameter 7001-T6 aluminum poles, connected to a 'centre hub', which keeps the pole sections all together and is easy to set up for insertion into the grommets in the colour coded webbing on the corners of the tent body.
There are 2 short 'crossbar poles, that hold the fly out and away from the tent body, over the doors. This 'awning' will help keep the rain out of the inner tent when entering/exiting the tent, unless the rain is wind driven towards the door.
The tent's fly has one 'multiple opening' vestibule, with a plastic 'window and a zippered 'scoop air vent', located high on the vestibule, to aid in ventilation.
The vestibule, which has a double zipper, can have the entrance to the tent located in the centre, with the door rolled and secured with a 'toggle' and elastic cord ...
or offset to one side....
or the whole affair rolled back and secured, providing maximum air flow.
As you can see, the optional foot print(630g including 'stuff sac') is extended in the vestibule area, to hep keep the inner tent free from dirt and keep your boots/packs up off the ground/mud.
The tent's fly has all seams factory seam sealed(taped) and is polyurethane-coated for waterproofness to 2000mm. As you can see, the colour of the fly("Driftwood") is a nice 'subdued' colour that should blend in to it's surroundings quite nicely.
Both doors have a fabric panel behind the noseeum screening, that zips up to provide privacy and unzips to provide ventilation or views. The rear panel is polyurethane-coated for waterproofness, should the weather turn sour.
The fly has 4 'hook and loop patches, that attach to the poles to help secure the fly. The tent canopy attaches to the poles with plastic clips, making erection quick and easy. It took me about 10 minutes to erect the tent the 1st time out but about 5 minutes of that was trying to figure out which way the footprint, with the vestibule end, was to be positioned. I expect I can get that time down to 4 minutes, or so.
The full bathtub floor is made of HT-Seal™, polyurethane-coated for waterproofness to 10,000mm. It appears to be very durable compared to other tent floors I've seen, so this floor should provide years of usage.
There are 4 fair sized mesh 'storage pockets', located to the sides of the doors, to help keep things organized and less cluttered
The doors have double zippers(with zipper pulls) and open either from the top, or you can open the top and the bottom zippers and have the door open wide open. There are a lot of zippers on this tent.
If you decide to leave either the door, or the zip up panel that covers the screening unzipped and down, you can stash the material into 'pouches' located underneath and close by 4 'toggles', so the material does not get in the way/dirty
All exterior zippers have a 'flap' covering them to help prevent water entry into the tent.
I had this tent set up near a mountain lake, under some tall Pines, where the day time temps were hovering around the 34*C mark, with night time lows of 17-20*C. There was a breeze blowing the 1st night, which I would guesstimate of 35-45KPH. I noted the fly flapping a little bit but i didn't have the Velcro patches attached to the poles and the vestibule, as you can see, was not staked out tightly. I never heard the fly flap the 2nd night, although the breeze was not as strong and I had attached the Velcro patches to the poles. I never found the tent 'stuffy', nor overly hot(despite the temps and intermittent full sun) under these conditions and although there was no rain, I have complete confidence/experience in MEC tents that rain should pose no problems
The weight of this tent, according to my scales are as follows:
- tent body, fly and stuff sac - 3702g (8.16lbs)
- poles, including pole bag - 1196g (2.64lbs)
- pegs, material swatches, guylines, pole repair sleeve and peg bag - 291g (10.26ozs)
- footprint and bag - 630g (1.39lbs)
Overall, I think this tent represents very good value and should satisfy most buyers quite handily. Craftmanship/quality is typical MEC. It has enough room to fit 4 people snugly and has enough head room that you don't need to do contortions to change out of your clothing. It ventilates quite nicely and there is an optional vestibule available, to add on to the other door if you feel that is needed(I didn't, due to the fly's 'awning' over the 2nd door and pitching the vestibule into the bad weather.)I can see this tent lasting at least as long as the tent it will replace and look forward to using it.
Dusty |
now back in Ontario |
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AlgoGirl
getting warmed up
Canada
53 Posts |
Posted - 22 August 2007 : 13:57:07
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Wow Dusty Boots, that's quite the write up!
I have the MEC Wanderer 2 and have used it for the past 5 years or so in Algonquin Park. I love it, except that I find it difficult to unpeg. I've had it out in a windstorms' snowstorm; sleet; and most recently heavy record falling rain of 102 mms and it's always stood up to whatever Mother Nature throws her way.
The floor is really durable. I've never used a footprint ... but now that I see yours I might just go out and get one.
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AlgoGirl |
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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 30 August 2007 : 19:00:03
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Thanks AlgoGirl.
MEC makes very durable tents, as you can tell by the thickness of the coating on the floor and the fly. I bought the Wanderer 2 as a Christmas present for a friend and she loves it. It's a little too heavy for backpacking for me, but would make a good tripping tent for two, who want to travel lighter than carrying a larger tent. Love the 2 huge vestibules.
" I love it, except that I find it difficult to unpeg "
Can you elaborate on this? Is it the pegs/stakes that are hard to pull out, or due to the tent's design?
Cheers, Ken |
now back in Ontario |
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splashdancer
addicted to OAC
Canada
553 Posts |
Posted - 31 August 2007 : 14:53:49
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Hey Dusty
I have the MEC Wanderer 2 and I think what Algogirl is talking about is the grommets on the tabs that are pushed onto plastic knobs on the ends of the poles. These can not be pulled off using the tab end. I need to put a finger on each side of the pole, on the ring, and pull straight off.
Clear as mud eh? |
Robbie |
Edited by - splashdancer on 31 August 2007 14:55:57 |
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AlgoGirl
getting warmed up
Canada
53 Posts |
Posted - 02 September 2007 : 18:28:36
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Ah Splashdancer, I see we speak the same lingo lol! Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Trying to get the thing out of the grommet ... grrrrr do I ever swear when i'm tearing down the tent  |
AlgoGirl |
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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 02 September 2007 : 20:31:02
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Ha, I guess we all specialize in 'mud lingo'! 
The reason the poles tips are tight fitting is to facilitate easier erecting by 1 person. That way, the pole tips stay put, while you are moving around to insert the other tip of the same pole into the other grommet, at the other end of the tent.
Dusty |
now back in Ontario |
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Hillbilly
a post-count junkie
Canada
2090 Posts |
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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 02 September 2007 : 22:13:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Hillbilly
quote:
Originally posted by Dusty Boots
facilitate easier erecting by 1 person.
Dusty
Getting a little graphic aren't we. 
wait until you see the movie Bill! 
Ken |
now back in Ontario |
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MEC Wanderer 4 - 4 person tent - Short Review
