Glacier's Edge Bandon Dome 3P

Dry weather use only. This tent will leak heavily, and don't expect to be able to put it back in the stuff sack.

I bought a couple of these for $24.99 since I've had a very good experience with a Glacier's Edge tent in the past. This time, though, not so much. Most of my camping is in good weather, I'm a summertime car camper, but I've definitely been caught out in a deluge or two and know the value of a dry tent. So now, whenever I buy a tent, I give it a water test. 

After setting one of these up in the front yard, I already had my doubts about whether it would hold up in a rainstorm of any intensity, or with any wind. The rainfly barely extends down below the mesh, and it's very difficult to get the fly (or the tent) taut. I turned on the sprinkler and let it go — rainstorms tend to have a little more power than sprinklers, but this seems to be a pretty fair way of testing.

I was expecting maybe a little bit of dampness around the edge of the mesh, since the rainfly is almost useless on the sides there, but that didn't happen. What did happen was that a huge puddle of water — enough that it took a bath towel to soak it up — collect inside the tent, running straight in through the zipper area, despite it being zipped. The fly doesn't cover this at all, and apparently the material there is water's best friend... 

Anyway, it would definitely be enough to soak a sleeping bag and ruin a camping trip. So, while the tent is roomy enough for three people, maybe four at a squish, I would only recommend it for trips where you absolutely, 100% know there will be no inclement weather whatsoever. No rain, because you will get soaked if it comes from above, and I imagine it'll be similar if there's wind to bring it against the side of the tent where the fly barely covers the mesh, and no wind because the tent poles already began to warp from being set up for a few hours. They feel flimsy, and I wouldn't trust them in a storm. 

Last note: I have never had trouble getting a tent put back into its stuff sack. Sometimes it can be a bit of a pain, but taking the time to get them neatly folded will usually do the trick. This tent, though... I think it's evil. It's laughing at me, still in a blobby pile, after an hour of me trying to fold it neatly, roll it tightly, etc. It is not going back in its sack. Fine, tent. Stay there. You won't be on my table for long — you're going back to the store.

Overall opinion: camping should be fun. Buy a better quality tent that costs a little more money and you'll have a much better time, because the *doubt* will be taken out of the equation.