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Sierra Designs Sweet Suite 2 Review
December 11, 2018The Good
- Easy packing up & compact
- Light weight
- Versatile fly design
- Tons of elbow room
The Bad
- Lightweight build not good for harsher weather
- Lacks durablity (fragile)
Shoulder Room
At just under 30 square feet, the Sierra Designs Sweet Suite 2 is not a huge tent by area, but it feels roomier. The tripod main pole lifts the tent to a max height of 41 inches. Add a “knee” in the pole near the head end of the tent and a cross-pole between the doors push all the walls to nearly vertical. A gentle bend in the poles at the foot adds extra elbow room down there too. Two vestibules, one at each door, created 8.9 square feet of additional storage, plenty for keeping pack, boots and more dry but out of the way. All in, while it didn’t feel roomy when we were lying down, it did when we were moving around or sitting up.
Packability
A minimalist pole structure, mostly mesh-paneled tent walls and lightweight fly and floor materials add up to a svelte 3.8-pound weight for the Sierra Designs Sweet Suite. For a two door, two vestibule tent, that’s excellent. The poles fold into short segments adding to its packability. And the burrito style stuff sack opens wide and closes with a cinch, making it easy to pack this thing away, no matter how poorly we folded, stuffed or rolled it.
Set Up
The hubbed tripod pole and cross-pole design of the Sierra Designs Sweet Suite are easy to maneuver and get into place. But the tent is not freestanding. Peg out the corners first and it would stay upright. Clips hook onto the poles to lift the tent. It goes up fast and easy.
Weatherproof
The Sierra Designs Sweet Suite fly extends right to the ground and the pole design creates plenty of pitch across most of the tent. Rain rushed off. Big vestibules helped keep it far from the tent itself. The vestibule fabric is pretty light, 20 Denier across most of the tent, so it needs to be treated with respect, but it felt plenty weatherproof for summer and light shoulder season use.
Features
The fly hooks onto the Sierra Designs Sweet Suite tent body with clips. When the weather is good it’s easy to unclip it and roll it back from both ends to the center, exposing the tent’s bug mesh for full ventilation and to watch the stars. It’s quick and easy to roll it back into place.
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+.