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KUIU Mountain Star Tent Review
June 1, 2017The Good
- Fast pitch with external poles
- Tougher than most 3-season tents
- Easy to vent
- Big doors
The Bad
- Snug floor area for two
- Pole clips hard to use with gloves or cold hands
- Single zipper on doors
Lightweight hunters are as demanding of their gear as backpackers, so it’s no surprise a tent from a hunting company is one of the best we’ve tested. It’s tough enough to use in three full seasons, set up is easy and fast, it doesn’t weigh too much, and it provides about as much room as we expect. Our few issues with the tent are minor and easily overlooked.
Shoulder Room
Shoulder room feels about average for this category. Tapering from 56 inches to 46 it’s designed for sleeping shoulder to shoulder. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for gear inside, but the two vestibules are big enough to store a full pack.
Packability
The Mountain Star comes with aluminum or carbon fiber poles, the latter ditches a couple ounces of weight for an extra $30. Either way, the tent weighs in just over three pounds, respectable for a three season tent and impressive considering its stability and ruggedness.
Set Up
This was the fastest tent in the test when it came to setting up. The reason is the integrated fly and tent with exterior clipping poles. So rather than set up the tent and then lay the fly over top, the pole attaches on the outside, pitching both fly and body in one. The asymmetric design made it a simple task. There are two cross poles and a truss pulling the fly well over the doors, like an awning. Clips hold the poles in place, while carabiners lock the joints where the poles cross together. These locking carabiners took some effort to work with—a pain on chilly mornings.
Weatherproof
In howling alpine winds the 10 guy out points helped lock this tent down. It barely flapped. Heavy rains rolled off for hours and never threatened to drip into the interior with the door open. The central truss pole pulled the vestibule over the entrance like an awning. This kept the interior dry and makes it possible to cook in the vestibule. A bathtub floor kept puddles from being an issue. Two vents and a mesh body allowed plenty of ventilation.
Features
For a tent designed to be lightweight, the Mountain Star has most of the features we look for: pockets for staying organized, two doors, two vestibules, and two vents. Some touches we didn’t expect: the vents can be opened from inside the tent and the logo glows in the dark, ideal for orientating and finding the tent in the dark. The only thing we missed were two-way zippers—the door and vestibule only have one zip.
Ryan Stuart
- Hiking, Biking & RunningRyan Stuart is freelance writer and jack of all sports—trail running, mountain biking, whitewater paddling, surfing, climbing, skiing and mountaineering—based on Vancouver Island. Follow his testing on Google+.