REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

Ordered this tent and took it out on a two-day backpacking trip in the Southern Canadian Rockies, with high hopes. Camped at 6,500 feet and got a few inches of snow overnight (late September). The tent's performance was very disappointing -- this tent fails on a number of accounts, and I'm having to send the tent back for the following reasons:

1) While the stated floor space makes it appear that the tent might be very spacious, it is in fact VERY cramped. The side (door) walls slope in such that two people can barely change side by side, and you end up sleeping with the tent fabric hanging just a few inches from your face.

2) The door to the tent and the door to the vestibules are very poorly designed, so it is essentially impossible to get in and out of the tent without rain/snow getting in the tent, if it is raining/snowing at all.

3) The vestibule are very cramped, and because of the design, you can't really be inside the vestibule unless both the vestibule door and tent door are open, which results in a went tent if it's raining or snowing.

4) Due to the nature of the vestibule design, any sizeable amount of snow results in the vestibules sagging a lot, reducing the size of the small vestibules but almost half.

5) Despite being advertised as a four-season tent, it's not, particularly if it snows. The tent has a big flat area right at the top of the tent (over the vent) which in our case did a perfect job of collecting several inches of snow, and eventually causes drips into the tent via where the vent zippers are.

6) Finally, even the tent only has 2.5 poles, it is quite fussy to set up. Not only are the two poles a bit hard to get in if it's cold at all, but the 1/2 pole (that holes the fly vents open) is VERY hard to get into the pole sleeves with even thin gloves on.

If you're using this tent in mild weather, you might enjoy it. Otherwise, save your frustration of buying it, only to have to bundle it up and return it, after finding out all the flaws of the tent the hard way....

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

Used this tent with my 8 year old son this weekend. Kept us dry with only a intermittent drizzle, and 35 degree overnight temp.

However, because of the inward slant of the sides, it is a bit more cramped than I would expect from a 3-person tent (The floor size really only would allow for a 2.5 person, when combined with the slanted sides, I wouldn't reccommend it for 3 adults.)

The vents are useful, but I wish I had used the vent on the top of the vestibule (which is designed to leave open in a non-windy rain. See the pics or the video), because there was a fair amount of condensation inside the rain fly by morning.

The setup gets much easier after the first time or two, and I didn't experience the same trouble with the rain fly pole the other reviewer did.

There are several nicities, including reflective ties for finding it again in the dark, lots of inside ties for hanging clothes or lights, pockets for your stuff sack, the ability to vent the vestibule in a light rain (though I have to agree that it's tough to get in and out of the vestibule in the rain without getting the tent wet - it's really only good for leaving your pack in a dry spot), it's lightweight and fairly compact.

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

If you can accept that the Cirque 3 is either a spacious 2-person or cramped 3-person tent, there is nothing to fault in the design or function of this product. If you have problems with this or any tent, examine your setup and expectations. In their quest for reduced weight, manufacturers have replaced canopy fabric with extensive mesh panels, largely abandoning the concept of a 4-season tent except for their heavy duty mountaineering models. The C3 is a medium duty mountain tent that is absolutely weatherproof but has three large ventilation panels that can be closed to seal out storms or cold downslope winds. The A-frame side walls do not intrude on living space for 2 people and the headwalls are near vertical. The pitch is very taut and care must be taken not to bend the poles. The poles will take a set on their first use but they should not be straightened as this will weaken the tubing. Instead maintain their curvature with each use. The fly is very well designed and completely seals out both rain and snow. It even has awnings or vent panels over each entry which moves the drip line out from the top of the tent doors. When the fly is properly attached to the pole frame and guyed out, there are no pockets to trap water or snow. Each vestibule readily holds a large pack and boots and still allows for easy entry into the tent. Although the C3 is a pound or so heavier than most similarly sized backpacking tents, the increased quality and weatherproofing more than compensates for the extra weight. In short, if you demand comfort and frequent high altitude or cold conditions, you will not be disappointed with the Cirque 3.

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

Great tent, I use it for mountain hiking and backpacking. Cozy for 3 adults but it works. The tent walls are angled in more than I'd like, and the fly doesn't keep the elements out as well as it should in bad weather. Tent stays warm, is very well ventilated and lightweight. This is a great tent and well priced.

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

So I don't know how that guy gave this tent a 1 but thats crazy. I used this tent at my land in South central alaska last week at 25 below zero. It set up very quick stayed 10-20 degrees warmer than outside, collected no water and packed up just as quick. This is a great design and i felt it had plenty of head room for a tent under 7 lbs. I think its the perfect 4 season tent. Also i'm 6'4" and had plenty of head room

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

I used the Circ 3 on hike this weekend at Wildcat Hollow in southern Ohio. We had a really hard and windy rain Friday night and the tent performed great. The tent was easy to set up...I set it up in the store with the sales person so it went up pretty easy and it went up in about 4 minutes. I will use it as 2 person tent...as most tents are too cramped if you use the recommended rating. I use a 2 person as a 1 person. The fly worked fine in the heavy rain and the circulation was fine when I used the wind vent feature on the fly door. I have a Deuter 75+10 pack and had room to store my pack and tentmates pack on one side of the fly. The weight penalty for the 2 doors is well worth it. Buy the foot print and don't mess with a ground cloth that you need to cut. I recommend foot prints with what ever tent you buy. I will carry it this summer on a trip Philmont Scout Ranch

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

I ordered this tent online so I red all the reviews. I guess I was a bit hyped out. I feel bad giving this product only 2 stars but I really think it needs some improvements and I'm just being honest. First pros: The overall design is pretty cool and it is very stable. Also the weight is minimal and nothing seems to be sacrificed on the quality of materials. It is definitely more in the category of 4 season (all the vents are closable and it keeps the warmth very nicely). Major con for me (which finally made up my mind about returning it) ended up being the zippers (YKK but too small) and awkwardly designed doors (hard to get in and out) and fly. Also the steeply angled walls make this a 2 person deal in my opinion and I didn't found it comfortable enough to hang out in. I also found the set up more difficult than I expected and I'm no amateur :] If you want a comfortable 3 person 3 season tent than pass by, if you want a good value 4 season go ahead and buy it. I opted out for Black Diamond's Vista and I'm glad I did.

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

This thing was sweet. I set it up alone it about 3 minutes. Recently went on a two week road trip with 2 tents, this one and a cheap one because I didn't really expect it to get cold. Well it did. My g/f fell in love with this tent after being shivered out of the cheap one. I have big shoulders, and the fit was tight. We didn't mind being too close though. Very easy to set up, can be very warm, very light and easy to carry (basically the size of a football).

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

For the record, I picked this one up at a scratch-n-dent, so I'm basing the review on the fact that I bought it for under [$]. However, it was neither scratched, nor dented, just used and in fine shape.I do a fair amount of winter camping/backpacking/climbing - so I've spent more than 1 night in this hog. I also own a Mountain 3 tent which I like a LOT better. The upside to this is that it's very possible to use it in every season, where the mountain 3 should be called a 4th season, not 4 season.the downfalls are just like everyone else has said - walls angle in and it's cramped. It's also tricky to set up due to the pole sleeves and the fact that the poles are EXTREMELY long. It's hard to set this up alone, but if you're at altitude in a storm, forget it.I've been in a pretty nasty blizzard at treeline on Mt. Elbert with this (probably the worst conditions I've put it through) and as far as stability goes it held up quite well. I used every guy-point and snowshoes for stakes...so I know it can stand up to wind. Having two doors and vestibules is nice.

Comments about REI Cirque ASL 3 Tent:

We've taken several multi-day backpacking trips with this tent. It's held up great and so have we. We can fit two 6' adults in this tent with no problem. When guyed down, the tent can stand up to serious wind. If there's no wind, it can stand up to pretty much anything else on its own (or with the fly). It's a bit heavy--but that's exactly what you would expect from an all-season tent.