MSR  Access 1 Tent

Works great for winter backpacking. For the rest of year, the tent is a bit too warm to hang out in during the daytime due to the lack of mesh. Also, the orange rain fly can tend to feel a bit "loud" in less extreme conditions. Overall though a very good tent which I would happily recommend.

I bought this to replace my MSR Hubba, which was a great tent but with all the mesh, not the best for use in cold weather. I've used the MSR Access for a couple years now in temperatures down to 0°F with strong rain and wind and have never had a problem. I haven't had to deal with snow but where I camp, I don't have to worry about accumulation beyond several inches. As a 3-4 season tent, it does it's job well. It's light and compact, and keeps me warm and dry.

I have used this tent in an ice storm, snow storm and cold-ish (15-25f) temps. It shrugged off the ice easily. It vented really well (minimal condensation), and it's quite warm. I am very pleased with the ease of set up. It's intuitive to the point that I was able to pitch it at night with stiff and frigid fingers. As advertised, it's footprint is small and I was able to find a space in thick forest. I have yet to experience any winds it couldn't handle. With the 4 guy-outs, it sunk into the ground like a limpet. Luckily, I am a side sleeper, so the lack of length (I am 6'2"") is okay. I will be heading up to some ridges this January in N.H. I have total confidence it will be fine.

I bought this tent because it was a light way 4 season tent that had great reviews. I thoroughly loved it (although it was a bit small inside) on my adventure to Split Mtn in the Sierras in early April. There it was great. The first week in May I took it to Mt Baker on a 5 day trip. The tent held up really well until the second to last day when we had a storm come in. The wind snapped the side pole at the elbow junction and then tore a hole in the rain fly as it was battered. I had to evacuate in the storm, but luckily it held up long enough to get most of my gear packed. Totally shocked that the pole snapped as were in spring and we were camped around 6k ft on Baker. Love REI however, who took the tent back and refunded the money. Now to find a tent that can stand up to a spring storm.

Tent does pack well, setup easy and kept me dry. Haven't had issues with poles as I have read in other reviews, so far so good. My 52 litre bag fit inside as well. (Average temp range upper 40's to low 70's only)

Very disappointed in this product. After 2 months of use, * the side pole broke by the junction (also mentioned in another person's review) * Waterproofing on the rain fly has failed and let's water pass through. I would not buy this product knowing these defects exist.

I am a avid backpacker/peakbagger and have used my Access 1 on mountains, Ridgelines, and through inclement weather to heavy winds. I have yet to be disappointed in my Access 1. I would strongly suggest it. The only issue I have had was the adhesive in the poles needing to be redone and this was nothing Tent Pole Technologies couldn't fix.

I use this product Guiding in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana. There is certainly a lot of room as a single person tent, id imagine two can squeeze no problem for a night or two on fast and light missions. There is no shortage of wind and rain storms in the Beartooths. It holds up well in the rain keeping you completely dry but has trouble with wind. There seems to be too many tie downs and I cant get the vestibule door to tension just right. While the footprint of the body is small, the fly and tie downs end up with a much bigger footprint. Set up time also seems to be longer then I expected. Although, I am biased coming from a very simple BD Firstlight where there are only 4 tie downs and set up time is minimal.

For a single person 4 season tent this one comes in at a very light weight and packability. It's easy to set up. Taking down can be more challenging requiring hot water. During a 3 day white out conditions storm on top of a mountain I hunkered down. After storm finished I had a hard time being able to disassemble the tent due to the canopy straps being frozen. This design requires those straps to be pliable in order to install or remove canopy. Once saturated and frozen they are rigid and difficult to release. Without hot water I would have to otherwise had to cut straps or abandon the tent. I feel like the tent poles could be split into two pieces and redesigned with a connection that would marry to two. It's roomy inside height wise and has a mini vestibule. I found about a 15° warmer temperature difference from inside to outside as it holds heat well and any moisture you feed it. Ultimately I see this best used for short dry winter camping trips. I don't recommend for storms where accumulation of snow will occur. The tent won't be able vent and it'll rain inside. In the end I see myself using this for a thru hike of the CDT as best applied use.

I bought the Access 1 for a canoeing trip in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). It was cold (freezing), windy, and rained/sleeted for most of the trip. Size weight: it's pretty light and packs down small. It's easy to set up by 1 person. It's big enough to change my clothes and sleep/read comfortably while storing a little gear with me, although I am only 5 ft 1in. It's hard to imagine a 6ft man in this tent. I was able to fit my gear in the vestibule, but it was tight! I really would would liked more room there. Performance for conditions: I experienced significant wind/rain/sleet/cold weather during the trip and the tent hardly seemed affected. The inside stayed dry from rain and I did NOT have any condensation including one night so warm that I had to sleep naked; I don't think I generate much body heat:) I also didn't notice fabric flapping or any significant breeze. I also have the Hubba NX and the access is significantly warmer and has a stronger frame (aka handles wind better). Like most tents, most guylines were not included and I didn't bring enough for all guyouts. While I didn't have any problems with wetting the tent body, the fly needed to be staked out more in order to deal with the wind (and not touch the body fabric). Overall: I think this tent fits that niche between a 3-season tent (with lots of mesh) and a true mountaineering tent (that deals with the harshest conditions and weighs more).