MSR  Access 3 Tent

Initial review as we've used it once for winter ski camping (Jan 2022), and selected this tent after an exhausting review of many different brands and models. We needed a 4-season shelter that will be primarily used for below treeline winter camping and this lightweight tent fit the bill exactly. PROS: 1. Very roomy! I'm 6'2' and not only can I sit up straight, laying on my back my feet don't reach the ceiling, and I can "stand up" on my knees. Enough room for 3 people, and more than enough room for the 2 of us plus dog! There's enough room to have gear on both sides of your pads for both people. 2. lightweight! we can't believe this comes in at just over 5 pounds, considering how big it is, and the fabric doesn't seem flimsy like other UL tents. 3. Doors on opposite ends of the tent! This is a feature we haven't seen, but makes getting ready a roomy experience - no back to back here. 4. Door/fly zippers - The door and the fly are both easily operable from inside and outside the tent, with a single hand. The doors look a little small but they're not. I can sit up straight at the entrance, something rare for a big guy like me. 5. Ventilation - despite other reviews, we experienced zero condensation on the inside of the tent despite low 30s temps, high humidity, zero wind, and the tent zipped up. There are two small windows above the doors that can't be closed, and there are two vents at the ends. Be sure to prop out the fly on the because we didn't on one side and it resulted in some dampness, but not on the side that was guyed out. However, the fly itself had some condensation, to be expected. 6. Massive gear pockets 7. Vestibules - decent size outside each door and big enough for expedition packs. We watched the MSR video showing how to dig a pit outside each door, so you can sit normally when donning/doffing boots and such, and provides ample room for gear storage. 8. Storage - instead of a stuff sack with small opening, this tent comes with a roll bag with cinch straps, making storage easy and quick! CONS: 1.The single tent pole is a little cumbersome for one person to negotiate, but hey, if it was just you, you wouldn't be in a 3-person tent, right?! We likely just need more practice. 2. My partner had a issue with the trapezoid-shaped gear pockets when retrieving an item from the deep corner of the pocket where it resulted in tugging on the opening. No issue here but something to be aware of.

Purchased for use on canoeing/raft trips, where blowing sand is a common concern. Things we loved: Very lightweight, the cinch strap stuff sack with a very large opening was a delight to use, limited mesh helped keep out blowing sand, and roomy doors on each side made for easy entry and exit. Things we hated: Although it may help with snow loads, the central support all-one-pole system made set-up very difficult, especially in high winds. Two of us struggled with the unwieldy spider-like reach of the poles; it would be almost impossible for one person to set up alone. We returned the tent for this reason. Given the cost of the tent, we expected better engineering of the pole system. Also, although billed as a 3-person tent, it just fit 2 large inflatable sea-to-summit pads side by side, with very little room for additional gear. A user-friendly pole system, and a slightly larger footprint would make this an ideal tent for our use. One more comment, we also purchased the MSR Universal Footprint, and wished it had grommets to hold the tent poles; without them, the footprint moved around too much.