REI Hoodoo 3 Tent

I purchased this tent for a campout with my two boys (6 and 8 at the time) and we fit in this tent really well. There was plenty of room for the three of us and our stuff. The tent is really easy to get into and out of and I really like the two doors (front and back) and two vestibules. It is simple to set up after you do it once. The hardest part is figuring out how the poles all hook together but on once you figure that out it's easy.

This tent also has great ventilation with two strips of full length mesh on the ceiling and full mesh front and back doors and two vents that open at the front and back of the rainfly.

The first night we had this tent out we set it up in the dark while it was raining. It was quick to set up because I practiced earlier in the week. One downside to all the mesh is that it rained in the tent until we got the rainfly on but this would be common with any airy tent.

After getting the tent up it really started pouring. It rained so hard that the huge drops of rain hitting the rainfly caused the condensation on the inside to get knocked off into the mesh which caused a mist to hit our faces in the middle of the night. It was crazy but the tent did well considering what we were going through. Besides this little condensation mist we were nice and dry.

The tent is equally easy to pack back up and fits into a pretty small stuff sack. I upgraded the stakes to MSR Ground Hogs for the guy lines and Vargo Titanium nail pegs for the tent corners (ground hogs would not fit through the hole in the webbing).

All in all I am very happy with this tent and plan on using just it for quite some time. To make it better I would like to see a nylon door at the front and back to match accompany the mesh. It would be nice to be able to close these to block a cold wind.

So I bought this tent at a very discounted price at the Attic Sale, that REI occasionally hosts. If you don't know what an Attic Sale is, I think it's worth it to find out!

Anyway, I haven't had the chance to test the Hoodoo 3 out in inclement weather, but I did get a chance to set it up in my living room. It's VERY spacious... Keep in mind that I'm 5'6", so I guess I'm kind of short compared to most guys... But if you are saying to yourself, "hey, I'm around that height," then this is the tent for you. The headroom is great and the little door in the back is plenty big to get in and out of if the front is too crowded with gear... not that it should as it boasts almost 20 square feet of vestibule space in the front.

Also it is important to keep in mind that most 3 person tents only fit 3 people who are comfortable being intimately close, and will fit 2 people wonderfully. My girlfriend and I can fit in the tent with space for our dog just fine!

The floors are sealed and don't seem to be a problem for water protection. The rainfly is well constructed and seems to vent really well. As I said before, I haven't tested it in rainy weather and will eventually put up a review on the REI website.

The set up was quite easy, but I do suggest you have a practice run at it. The first time was a bit tough as the pole hubs might give you a bit of a problem, but in terms of layout, it's truly simple because it's color coated. The tricky part is flexing the poles just enough for the ends to slide into the pole hub. The second time I set it up, I did it alone and was a thousand times easier. So the learning curve is pretty quick on this tent. Alone, it took about 5 minutes to set up.

I really am happy about this purchase and haven't had a single bad thing to say about this tent yet. I'll keep you all updated!