Big Agnes Parkview 3

Much thanks to the first reviewer of this tent. He did not steer me wrong.

This is a great tent poised between the full screen smaller ultralights and the heavier 4 season tents. This was purchased because of its useful rectangle shape, and the ability to lay crosswise in the tent and have more side to side room if desired. These were correct assumptions.

Setup is a breeze and the hubbed pole system folds out nicely and intuitively. Color coded poles and webbing tabs make it very quick to get up. The tent has clips all over to nicely secure the body to the frame. The fly is made from a seemingly bombproof material. Two vestibules make storing 3 packs no sweat and you can still enter/exit from either end.

Used this tent on a 3 night CO hike. Between 3 guys, this is a very light tent and easily split two ways for a virtual palace. We did not run into rain, so I cannot comment, but this tent seals up nice with minimal draft and we were fine in wind at 11,500 ft and 25 degree temps.

As noted before, you can sleep crosswise and my feet did bump up against the tent wall, but I did not suffer any wet bag from condensation. I was the tallest guy in the tent at 6'2" and was very pleased. The tent is not drafty when sealed up, and you can open up each vestibule top end for better venting in warmer conditions.

We used the guy lines on the tent which are cool and all reflective in your headlamp one night when the wind was kicking, total no brainer and the tent will be much stronger with these tied down. I suggest taking some chord and adding it to the vestibule stake tabs and the tweener fly tabs. This is useful if you are in a rocky area and need to tie off to a rock instead of staking it down. I suspect that this tent will easily take a pretty good rainstorm. Two adults and two kids would fit pretty well in there.

Great tent for those who don't mind an extra pound or two for a slightly warmer, roomier tent over an ultralight. Excellent design with attention to detail. My buddy took this one back to Norway to use for a family tent that will handle rain and cooler conditions. I am gonna pick up another one to take my kids up to the Sierras for fishing a couple miles back from the TH and backpacking with the adults.

I've been backpacking and leading trips along the Appalachians for almost 40 years and used a wide variety of shelters and so far the Parkview 3 has been an outstanding tent. It has met my needs perfectly for 3-season use and I could even see taking it for mild 4-season trips. I have not tried it in the snow yet.
I've been stuck more times than I care in a small tent in bad weather so I like a roomy tent.

I'm also a hiker that likes the journey rather than the amount of miles I can crank out in one day so I don't mind a little extra weight for a more comfortable tent.
Its first night the Parkview 3 stood up to a hail storm with only a small leak from a velcro strap for one of the poles. After some seam seal it has been dry in heavy rain, fog, and high winds. Condensation control has also been great.

The only problem I've had is when strong winds changed direction and hit the tent broadside. The fly then touched the screen wall and allowed a small amount of condensation to drip inside the tent. Please note this was during an extremely wet, windy, and cold evening.
I also love the extra pole that opens up the vestibule for gear storage, my dogs, or even cooking during bad weather. I've used other tents, most recently the Sierra Designs Comet, that also had a vestibule but that I would not have cooked under because the vestibule was so close and low to the ground and the tent door.

On a 3-day trip last weekend with my 9-year old son and his friend, the Parkview 3 proved its worth again on a classic hypothermia day. It was cold, wet, and windy, but the boys were dry and happy inside the tent.

The tent is well constructed but the only thing I'm not happy about is the tent's stuff sack. No big deal but the sack is rather flimsy.

Bottm line...this seems to be a perfect tent for my style of backpacking and is the best compromise of size-weight-sturdiness that I have seen. I look forward to using it for many years to come.