Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent and Foot Print ReviewThe background:This tent was used on the Central CA Coast while over-nighting the interesting coastal prairies of Cambria. The coast was surprisingly warm, around the mid 70s in the late evening as the sun was setting and in the mid 50s at night. The humidity was a little high and there was a near-constant mist of sea water from the ocean, and a thick layer of fog hugged the ground. I arrived on a Saturday and the ground was wet but not sloshing from a previous day’s rain. For the record, I got this tent at a retail price of[$]and got the additional footprint for $35ish. I did a trial run with pitching the tent since the pole configuration was new to me and I strongly recommend this, otherwise you’ll be left out in the cold (at least for a few minutes) while you try to figure things out as you pitch it your first time. The set up:I started pitching the tent by first laying out the foot print, then laying out the tent over it. I staked out the four corners of the tent, with each stake at a 45 degree angle to the normal of the ground (for added stability). Next, I assembled the poles, connected them to the “Jake’s Foot” connectors on the tent. Then I snapped on the hooks to secure the tent. Lastly, I laid the rain fly over the tent, staked the back part (using one medial stake) and snapped each corner of the rain fly onto a connector located on the Jake’s foot at each corner of the tent. Then I staked out the two front pegs of the rain fly and stopped for a break before cinching everything down and making minor adjustments. Some general notes and comments: I won’t bore you with the details about the tent since they’re clearly listed on Sierra Designs website, but the tent itself is mostly mesh and has a decently thick bathtub polyester floor. There are a few mesh pockets inside the tent and a few loops in the ceiling so you can hang something from it; there loops are just fabric loops, nothing like d-rings or the like, but they are useful if you happen to hang a carabineer on it and use that to hang other things to make it easier to take on/off. The floor area is nice and spacey with significantly vertical walls; this made the impression that the tent was larger then it seemed and made things nice and roomy. A friend’s Velox 3 seemed to be dwarfed by my tent (it probably is physically smaller, but the 2-crossed-pole design, otherwise known as the traditional X pole configuration didn’t maximize on the height of the tent like the Zeta 3’s 4-pole hubbed design. The tent is nice and sturdy, the zippers worked well most of the time, snagging a few times. The doors are situated on opposite walls along with the openings for the vestibules. Overall, a good quality tent for a killer price. The weight seems to be the biggest downsize, as its not an ultra-light tent by any means, but it’s still a decent weight when you factor in the price and features. More specific comments: The pole set up is a double-edged sword; it creates nice and vertical walls for ample space, but the design takes a little practice to get. It’s basically amounts to a pole configuration that looks a lot like #. Three of the poles are connected; the longest horizontal pole (represented by dashed lines) holds the two shorter poles so that it looks like -|-|- and the top part points TOWARDS the front of the tent. There are ball end connectors at the front of the tent, which you insert the ends of the short poles into. On the rain-fly are loops that are looped through the pole to hold it in place. The fourth pole is the same pole length as the longest pole in the hubbed configuration and closes up the back by setting into the two rear corners; the two short poles are inserted into connectors on this pole. This probably sounds complicated but it’s not too bad if you practice once or twice. I can set everything up by myself in about 5 minutes. Lastly, on the underside of the rain fly are Velcro straps so you can secure it to the pole. There are also loops for you to roll the flap up and keep it open, say, for ventilation purposes or just to keep a view open. The corners of the tent are designed so that the tent’s foot print will snap on from under, and remain behind the end of the pole, while the rain fly snaps on in front and over it. You’ll have to wiggle it a bit to get it out, but it works fine and is secure. The plus side is that you get cinch straps on the rain fly so you can loosen it to get the fly hooks onto the corner easily, and then cinch it to tighten things up. Sierra Design’s proprietary RCT Swift Clip hooks are basically just normal hooks that you used to secure the tent body to the poles. They work fine, are easy to handle and I’ve never had it slip off. The packaging is good and you get plenty a bag for your stakes, poles, and one large that holds everything. The organization is good and high-quality. You also get some draw cords that you would presumably use to add extra security to the rain fly, though I didn’t see a use for them. My only concern is the rainfly; it drizzled lightly overnight and when I woke up, I was glad to be dry but noticed some condensation on the underside of the rainfly. I kept the vent on the rain fly open and I will note that it was pretty warm that night, so warm in fact that I left my sleeping bag all the way open and slept comfortably, so I suspect the moisture on the underside of the rain fly was from seepage. Sure, I know it happens, but I’d like to see some more water-proofness. On the plus side, the poles kept the rain fly from coming into contact with the main tent, which was mostly mesh and would have definitely caused some drippage. Conclusion: Overall, I’m very satisfied with my Sierra Designs Zeta 3 tent and foot print. I would have liked to see the foot print included, but oh well, basically every manufacturer sells it separately anyways. The quality is very good and the design is thoughtful and novel. The features are very nice and make setting up the tent pretty easy once you understand the pole configuration. Final rating – 8/10

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

I bought this at the big sale to use for taking some friends first-time (for them) hiking/primitive camping in a few weeks. I was looking forward to this one as we really like our REI Hoodoo 3 and this new Zeta 3 seemed very similar plus addresses just about our only issue (minor) with the Hoodoo design (no direct straight entry through the front door when the fly is deployed).

We tested the Zeta 3 last night on a trial run out in the woods behind our house. The tent is easy to set up - we arrived at our site right at dusk and by the time we started putting up the tent, it was dark (normally a big mistake for a first setup). However, it set up quickly and easily even in the dark for the first time. The layout is nice - I mainly chose this tent for the single large roll up fly door directly in front of the main large tent entry. However, unlike the Hoodoo 3, the sleepers lay parallel with the door planes so if the middle sleeper has to get up in the night, a crawl-over will be required. Plus there is only one vent in the fly.

The biggest problem I have with this tent is that there are no grommets. The poles all "snap" into lots of little plastic ball sockets and the footprint and fly "snap" onto little plastic bars built into the straps at the 4 tent corners. There was almost no wind all night and yet in the morning, three of the connections had come unsnapped somehow. I can easily see big problems even in a small wind. Plus, I just can't believe these little plastic parts are never going to break when stressed by over tightening or high wind or an accidental boot stepping on an outside corner of the tent. I would hate for one of these little plastic pieces to break on me while out in the backcountry (and due to Murphy's law, it will happen while raining). We all know repair situations are going to be required sometimes but why invite them?

If you always camp near your car, then you could risk the plastic breaking. I guess in that case the nice large front vestibule with huge roll up flap may be worth the trade-off, but not for me. I returned this tent and got a second REI Quarter Dome (another favorite along with the Hoodoo).

I may try another Sierra tent someday, but not if they stick with using small plastic snaps in all the high stress points - makes no sense to me (and don't skimp on the fly vents for goodness' sake).

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

Tent worked great until the rain came. We loved the spacious feel and clever pole design with the Jake's Foot and easy clips. Also the footprint snapping to the tent made it easy to position after the setup.
However, it rained during the evenings while we camped and by day 2 the rainfly was not repeling water. It was a steady rain but nothing overly heavy so we were dissappointed that the rainfly quit keeping us dry. Unfortunately we will be returning the tent for a more reliable alternative.

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

My girlfriend and I were graciously given this tent as a gift and it has served us well. We spend a lot of time outdoors and things can often get rough on your gear now matter how gentle you are on it. Most people complain about this tent being leaky but my experience has been the opposite. At one point we lived in it for three weeks in the woods near Paradise, CA and were were in stormy weather for about 5 days and never a drop the whole time. some branches fell on the fly and never punched a hole. I also like how the doors can zip from the top down or bottom up. Best of all I'm 6'4" with no boots and i can sit up straight and relax in this tent. As for the cons there is not footprint option I can see on their website, but I found a tarp right off the bat that fits perfectly. The pole design leaves a bit to be desired, but once you get the hang of it its no biggie. The only other con is the weight. I think its something like 6 pounds - not really suitable for backpacking as I really really believe in shaving weight, but for car camping its great. For the prices its not bad and I think people are being a little harsh on criticism, but you be the judge!

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

First, who's is writing the review? Well, I've backpacked 150 miles of Yosemite and John Muir Wilderness over 3 weeks, I've backpacked for a week at a time in WY, PA, MI, SC, AL, and ON. Additionally, I've been car camping since I was age 12. Meanwhile, my girl friend lead outdoor trips across the Southwest and car camped since age 10.

Second, why do we like the Zeta 3? 2 adults, one 6'4" (I'll let you guess who) sleep DRY and comfortable without popping each other in the face every time one rolls over. There is plenty of room for our gear both inside the tent and under the vestibules. Moreover there's two entrances: The hell with having a back exit when a bear is at the front door - more importantly - one can pee at night without waking your partner crawling over them to get out!

Third, how do we know this? Well, we've been out with the tent twice: once in an open field at a music festival where it stormed complete with lightning and thunder, and once on a hiking trip along the western shores of Lake Michigan where it stormed with a cloud bank that never went dark as it continuously pulsed with lightning. Both times we thought about a lot of things (like is my will current), but we did not think about getting wet.

Now, it could have one or two more vents added. Also, there are some plastic pieces that the tent poles snap into/out of that give me second thoughts, and it's heavier than I'd like for backpacking any distance. Most importantly, I'd like Sierra Designs to explain why it thunderstorms whenever we're out in their tent. However, it was an REI garage sale tent that makes up happy!

p.s. Just make sure to seam seal the seams of any new tent, but you already know that. Happy camping!

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

We first used this tent during a weekend of 30 mph winds and rain for 8 hours. The flexibility of the tent in the wind was amazing!!! The point where the window flap strap attaches to the tent is only point of entrance for water (very little though). Setup time was 2mins for two people, 5 mins for one person. Takedown time was about the same. Dries extremely fast.

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

I was looking for a tent with a bit more elbow and head room and the zeta answered with a 46" ceiling.
It does sleep three comfortably but it is great for two with gear.
I took the opportunity to set the tent up in my yard during a thunderstorm that lasted all night and twice flooded the gutters on my house. I just knew the tent would not be able to withstand such a downpour. But, the next morning to my suprise the tent looked like I had just set it up.
The Zeta has also survived some pretty strong winds at Point Reyes. I thought for sure there would be some flapping in the fly with only four points to stake out but if you tighten it down good the wind flap is very minimal.
If you can get around the extra bulk and weight of a three person I think the Zeta is a steal.

Comments about Sierra Designs Zeta 3 Tent:

Brought the tent to the Boundary Waters and had four leaks around around the sewed on velcro straps on the fly, the first time I used it. Somewhat less secure connections from the poles to the tent as well. Not a bad design but the roof leaks were not expected. Floor did not leak through. This was through mostly moderate rains for four days.