REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

First, let me preface my comments by saying that I've been an avid backpacker and mountaineer for over 30 years. I have hiked the entire John Muir Trail, most of Yellowstone National Park, and many other popular hiking destinations throughout North America.

During my beginning years – I was an employee of Kelty Mountaineering, and was lucky enough to "demo" many different types of "name brand" equipment, from North Face, to Sierra Designs, and many other well-known brands. REI products were not an option for me then, because they were a direct competitor to Kelty Mountaineering, and I didn't have access to their equipment [unless I purchased it – which would have been very expensive to me at that time].

I have searched "high and low" for a reasonably priced 3-man tent that was more than a just a glorified "tent net". Frankly, while most "backpacking" tents use a preponderance of netting – there are many draw-backs to this type of tent: 1) Complete lack of privacy, 2) Very high chance of dirt [when sleeping in dusty areas], 3) Reduced rigidity during windy nights, and 4) Greater necessity to always use a Rain Fly.

What attracted me most about this particular tent was the combined use of netting [for great ventilation], and rip stop nylon. The benefits of rip stop nylon on the upper shell increase the tent's structural strength, and provide for a much "tighter" fit. Once set up, it's quite obvious that this tent will withstand much higher winds [than a typical "tent net" design], and REI has placed plenty of netting around this design to provide great ventilation.

Regarding floor space – it's been said many times throughout these reviews, but I'll say it again: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC FOR 2, AND STILL OK FOR 3! The interior pockets are very handy, and overall are a wonderful "bonus".

All in all – I can't think of many things that could be added to this tent to make it even better. When calculating the price/benefits quotient – this tent is about as good as it gets!

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

This tent is a steal at this price. I was torn between the new HooDoo model and this Taj 3. I did tons of research and every review I read, people seemed to love this tent going back several years now. The Hoodoo didn't look nearly as sturdy, and it wasn't as big, so I took a chance on this Taj 3. It took a little bit to set up the first time, now it only takes 5 minutes by myself. I got rained on all weekend, and not a drop was inside the tent. There is a vent at the top of the fly that vents awesome and didn't let any rain in.Slightly heavy I agree, but that just means for me to carry one less item to make up for the extra pound of weight. The benefit of the extra space simply wins!We had two people, and two packs inside, and still had plenty of room to spare. There is a huge attic for storage, also three or four extra side pockets that rock as well. Bottom line.....It's a perfect two man tent! Sturdy, Dry, Easy Setup, and Light(IMHO), Spacious, and Cool Looking to boot. Buy this tent!!p.s. [...]. REI Rocks!

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I have owned and used this tent for a couple seasons. Lately I pack it into the saddlebags of my motorcycle for solo trips, however it barely fits and is way overkill for this.

The tent sets up easily by clipping on to the poles rather than threading poles through it. Two doors are placed well, and the slope allows you to stand up inside with the doors open, then step out into your muddy/wet boots. Inside is nice and roomy for two people, even with huge winter bags and gear. The rainfly is suffocating, its awful to have to use, yet I almost always need it due to spotty rain or heavy dew. Water resistance has been excellent, even when I just drape the fly loosely over. The fly cuts down circulation, cuts out views and light, and its a little tough to get it on and positioned correctly. The vestibules are tiny, but work fine to keep your boots dry, however they require stakes to setup.

Packed size and weight are reasonable for the space you get, but I have decided its ultimately too big and heavy for my use so I'm shopping for a replacement. I think I'll keep this one around though, for those car-camping times I want more room but still don't want to bother with the 12-footer.

Overall, I want to love it, but too many compromises make it hard. It only really shines when there is no chance of needing the rain fly. With the fly, weather resistance is great, but its claustrophobic and provides poor transition from inside to out.

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I can see why some people suggested to set it up at home first, the set up is a little unusual. But after trying it once at home, we were able to set it up in the dark by flashlight with no problem. Love how REI attaches the set-up instructions to the bag so you can't lose them, and packs the tent in a nice compression sack that is plenty big.

We love how roomy this tent is. Plenty of room for 2 with lots of gear inside; and lots of height to sit up just about anywhere in the tent. You could be holed up in bad weather and not feel cramped. Nice and long so your head and feet won't hit the ends of the tent, as happens with many other tents. I really like the doors being on each side so that each person has their own door - no crawling over the other person in the middle of the night. It seems much less awkward than entering from the head/foot of a tent(If needed, you could sleep 3, but is very roomy with 2)

Seems quite sturdy, and the fly can be guyed out in additional spots for heavy wind. the shape looks like it would stand up well to wind, as well. Only disadvantage of tents with partial mesh walls, like this one, is that you can feel some air-flow in the tent. In really cold weather, you'd want to stake out the fly close to the walls of the tent to reduce the airflow. I camped in 35 degree weather and it was fine, but I did close the prop-open vent the 2nd night. The natural airflow totally prevented any condensation problems. In the summer, I imagine the mesh feature will be great, and we can even leave the fly open to accentuate it.

Highly recommended.

Looks pretty cool with the fly on - like a UFO.
Oh, I must add that the window in the fly is so cool! I woke up in the night and was surprised to see stars! You can gaze at the stars as you drift off to sleep.

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I'd highly recommend this tent to anyone who does not do intensive packpacking on tough trails. It is a very well-designed, roomy and comfortable tent. It has a top vent works just perfect. I used it in California mountains. It has never failed me yet. No question on how easy it can be set up, even in the dark. The total package weights about 7 lb, not too bad for a 3 person tent at all. Unless you are packpacking on tough trails, you should be fine. The only complain is that REI should give all of its tents better looking bags with some compression straps, just like north faec. But overall, I'd call it "excellent" with no hesitate. BTW, [...] I'd put it as a big plus beyond the tent.

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I love this tent. I got it in a used gear sale about 2-3 months ago and bought the footprint the same day. It's easy to set-up, you can do it with one person, but much simpler and easier with two. The only problem I have with it now, is that I want to get a second set of poles so that my friends and myself can go camping with one tent, but use the fly as a second UL tent

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

This tent worked flawlessly on a 21 mile hike last year in Grayson Highlands in VA. Although the tent is a bit on the heavy side (what 3 person tent isn't?), it performed great in rain and wind. We were comfortable in the driving rains and felt even better walking past other sites with people drying out their gear.

It is a bit confusing the first couple times trying to set it up, but once you get the hang of it, you can pop it up in about 8 minutes.

The interior space is huge! It fit my wife and I with plenty of room for our gear.

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I got this tent for car camping and fairly short backpacking trips, and it's performed quite admirably thus far. It stood up to 35mph sustained winds (gusts of up to 68 according to Weather Underground) at Joshua Tree with minimal noise and zero damage. The interior is huge, the vestibules are ample, and the attic/pockets are quite helpful for stowing whatever you need. Setting it up is awkward at first, but with practice it gets much easier. Other reviewers have found entering the tent to be awkward when the fly is attached, but I did not have this problem. My only real problem was that the transparent window on the fly (which is a nice feature) tends to stick to the tent when attaching the fly, making it somewhat annoying to position things correctly. This is, of course, a very minor complaint, and as such I couldn't be happier with my tent (especially considering that I got it for such a good price).

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

This is a great tent for the price, much less than many other, more advertised 3-person tents. When backpacking with the kids, 2 middle-schoolers and 2 toddlers have comfortably slept in it without complaining of being crowded. The design is simple enough that our middle schoolers can set it up in minutes. Also makes for a very roomy backpacking tent for 2 of us with a little extra weight. Also, the Taj rates for good headroom - I am 6'4" and headroom is pretty good

Comments about REI Taj 3 Tent - Special Buy:

Let me start by saying this tent kept my wife and I dry for a weekend backpacking trip in some extremely wet Pt. Reyes weather. That being said, two things could have made this tent awesome. The vestibule space wasn't big enough for us to leave our wet packs outside the main compartment, let alone enter the tent conveniently without dragging a ton of water in with us. The rain fly also didn't seem to fit the shape of the tent accurately, and while always usable, at times the fly doors would overlap the poles enough to make the zippers difficult to use. While we are very grateful the tent kept us dry, we're probably returning this one due to overall bulk and inconvenient space distribution.