
For your reference, this page contains historical product information.
Imported.
Item 732070
Specification | Description |
| Season | 3-season |
| Design type | Freestanding tent |
| Sleeping capacity | 2 |
| Average minimum weight | 3 lbs. 15 oz. |
| Average packaged weight | 4 lbs. 5 oz. |
| Average weight - metric | 1.96 kilograms |
| Floor dimensions | 84.5 x 53 inches |
| Floor dimensions - metric | 215 x 135 centimeters |
| Floor area | 31 square feet |
| Vestibule area | 9 square feet |
| Peak height | 40 inches |
| Peak height - metric | 105 centimeters |
| Doors | 1 |
| Canopy fabric | Nylon ripstop |
| Floor fabric | Coated nylon taffeta |
| Rainfly fabric | Coated nylon ripstop |
| Number of poles | 2 |
| Pole material | Aluminum DAC Featherlite NSL |
| Pole diameter | 9.0 millimeters |
| Packed size | 7 x 25 |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviewsPros
Cons
Best Uses
Reviewed by 23 customers
Sort by
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
I bought this tent during the summer of 07. While working as a canoe guide in northern maine, i found that the lightning was great in the fact that it was light, and it took up less space in my dry bag than my sleeping bag did.
The only negative thing I would have to say about this tent is that there aren't any inside pockets, so it was hard to stash anything inside the tent without fear of rolling over on it.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
This is the second Sierra Designs tent tht I've purchased, and like the first, I'm happy overall with the quality, design, functionality, and workmanship of this tent.
SD has managed to engineer a tent that's very lightweight for a double-wall tent over 30 square feet. Although, I did find that SD's listed weights are a little optomistic by about .25 pounds. The "Fast pack" (fly/poles/footprint) option shaves about two pounds off for all of us ounce-counters. It packs pretty darn small too...
The SD Lightning is a breeze to set up with a simple, yet effective, two-pole, clip design. While not as bomb-proof as my SD Stretch Dome, it still managed to shed about 4" of suprise snow that fell on me last winter in a 3 hour window! Not bad for a 2 pole, 3 season-rated tent. The fact that it's free-standing is also a bonus, but plan on using stakes and guy lines for optimum performance.
Ventilation is great with its mesh body, and any rain or snow intrusion is repelled by its "bath tub" floor. Floor space and dimmensions allow enough sleeping room for two average adults up to about 6' or so.
My only real complaint with this tent is the fly and vestibule design. The fly's zipper placement is offset, creating fabric tension that causes the zipper to bind when entering/exiting. I've expirimented with different stake placements and tensions, but I haven't been able to improve the situation.
Some may find the overall size of the vestibule a little disappointing too. Not much room for anything more than your boots and a sub-30L pack.
These few shortcomings aside, this is a GREAT tent from SD in both value and function.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
This tent is lightweight, easy to set up and sturdy. It's light enough to take by myself and use the extra room for weather proof storage. I'm 6' tall and the length is perfect.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
This tent is really light and it was incredibly fast to set up. The construction was sturdy but the stuff sack that held the tent wasn't. I had my tent on the outside of my backpack and leaned back on a tree to rest and there were some tiny holes in the stuff sack. It was a normal tree trunk with nothing prickly sticking out. We were camping at 35 degrees at night and felt some drafts from the wind. The tent collects condensation too easily. We had little bubbles of water near where our heads were resting.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
I bought this tent to use while I back backed this summer in Yellowstone. It is lightweight and easy to put up. It stands alone quite well and is wonderful when it comes to rain.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
We bought this tent instead of a self-standing mosquito net since it had all the open window space and included the rain fly for not too much more. We took it on a trial run this past week for some fall camping up north. Worked excellent. We love the light weight and super simple set-up. Probably would not recommend for winter camping with the huge windows/door, but it stood up very well to cool autumn nights in the north.
Comfortable sleeping with two of us, but don't plan on bringing in any packs/other gear into the tent itself
Great value for too compared to others in the category!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
This is a great little tent. It is the perfect tent for myself. It may be cramped for 2, but it is great for myself and my gear. It is easy to set up and I love the big side door. It held up well in a rain shower. My son also loved it and wished that he had one.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
I like this tents design and lack of weight. It is relatively easy to setup and breakdown and get into bag.
The door is wide open, however the full opening is a little strange and affects the sturdy construction. I would prefer two entry points. The vestibule is a waste of space and weight since you can barely get one pack in/under it. It also has a poor opening so any water build up on the fly runs into the wide mouth opening. The ground cloth is a little large/loose (not taunt at pole points) so bunching/slippage can occur. I had a lot of water build-up under the tent after a trip where it moved outside the underside due to the slack.
Got a great deal, so I can tolerate shortages.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
I could ask very little more of this tent. It is extremely light weight and amazingly easy to set up. There is just enough room for two people, and it will be extra tight if you try to squeeze your gear in the tent with you. This tent is perfect for spring and summer adventures, but you will be in trouble if you try to use this tent in the winter. The very large windows are not going to be good for keeping out the winter elements. But for rain the tent is great. The fly goes on easily and the whole tent packs up small.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Sierra Designs Lightning Tent:
All is well except the fly, does not really live up to the expectations you will have since everything else in the tent works so well.
I don't agree with others that have complained about lack of pockets, I prefer that to be an option, more stuff = more weight. The days of the heavy 2 person tents are finally over.
How are we doing? Give us feedback on this page.
Shopping Cart
Find REI on:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
MySpace
Flickr