Marmot Eclipse 3P Tent Review

July 5, 2013
Marmot Eclipse 3P Tent
2Marmot-Eclipse-3P-with-fly
Marmot Eclipse 3P Tent 2Marmot-Eclipse-3P-with-fly
GEAR INSTITUTE RATINGS
78
Shoulder room
6
Packability
9
Set up
8
Weatherproof
2
Features
3

The Good

  • Lightweight
  • Lots of ventilation
  • Easy to set up

The Bad

  • Tight for three
  • Fly prone to pooling, sags even with careful staking
  • Only one vestibule
THE VERDICT

With a fully color-coded layout, this is one of the easiest tents to set up. Carrying it is equally pain free, but we found it hard to make the fly bombproof in nasty weather.

FULL REVIEW

Shoulder room
While not the roomiest three person tent, with 70 inches of width, there’s more shoulder room while lying down than the Skyledge, Compact or Obi, room enough for three broad guys to not feel like sardines. The generous single vestibule, single door set up is easy to use for all three tent mates, but doesn’t offer enough storage room for three big packs, boots and other gear, stealing room from the interior.

Packability
Approaching 1.5 pounds per person, this is one abode you won’t mind shouldering. It packs fairly compact too. Definitely one of the tent’s best attributes.  Set up
The easiest tent to set up right out of the bag. Color-coding throughout and a simple pole set up made first time set up a breeze.

Weatherproof
Diligence is needed when setting this tent up in bad weather. The fly tends to sag and will puddle to the point of touching the interior tent mesh, potentially drawing moisture inside. Even with careful staking some testers found this to be a problem. Make sure to pitch it in a sheltered spot if wind is forecasted. A solid crosswind had the tent bowing. The bath tub style tent floor rises high and pulls the seams off the ground, so you won’t need to worry about leaking from underneath.

Features
Almost completely mesh, this tent stayed condensation free even in the sweatiest of weather. Reflective hits on the exterior made it easy to find after a mountaineering benighting. Otherwise, this is a bare bones, simple tent.

Value
You’re paying for the combo of lightweight with livable space and that is a rarity. We were, however, disappointed with the pooling on the fly. That definitely relegated this tent to fine weather camping.

 


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