Sierra Designs Polaris

An old-school, bomb-proof tent best for short hike-ins or car camping at higher elevations and/or deep into the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. I have no earthly idea where to buy one now, but I would keep my eye open for this tank of a tent. I bought it new in the early to mid-1990s and have never doubted its ability to keep the elements at bay.

I bought this tent new in the early to mid-1990's and my 6'2"+ son used it in Colorado just two weeks ago and loved it. That's 30 years of service and it is still going strong!

At this point I use it for short hike-ins or car camping (it *is* heavy compared to new tents) but I definitely used it on multi-night trips in my younger days. It is overkill for summer nights at low elevations, but is absolutely bombproof at higher elevations (in North America this is like 10-13k feet) with strong winds and rain/snow squalls.

I seam-sealed practically every inch of it when I first bought it and should probably do it again (after 30 years!) but that's not hard. As others have said, two adults and a little gear fit comfortably, but three will fit if everyone is friendly or properly motivated. I never experienced condensation to any significant degree.

I've taken good care of this tent and it has always taken good care of me. I'll keep it in rotation until it literally falls apart around me.

Background

I bought this tent new in 1994 or 1995 and used it exclusively in New York, Kansas, Colorado, Paraguay, and Guatemala until me and my two kids outgrew it in the late 2000s. I own two other tents (a three-person Kelty Gunnison and an REI Flash Air 2) and this is still my go-to for high elevation and/or cold/windy/rainy/snowy weather so long as I don't have to carry it very far.

Excellent for trips where a tent with a little more room for two, vestibule for gear, and being solid in wind are important.

Got this in excellent used condition a year ago. Has been on hiking overnights on the coast of Oregon, in the mountains, and on a 5-day trip on the John Day River in the high desert.

I love this tent! It is not an ultralight tent but a light for its size type of tent.  Best of all is that it is roomy for its size, has all the bells and whistles you would like, and can handle wind.  

We had 20+ mph winds one night and with it properly tied down and staked I slept like a baby. No collapsing sides, snapping material, sand blowing in, or rattling poles. Other folks in our party woke up blurry, sandy, and with comments about how their tents were collapsing on top of them in strong gusts.

Everyone is saying 5 pounds but just took mine out and weighed it in the shop and came up with 7.5 pounds.  Poles, stakes, tent, fly, and stuff sacks.

Easy to set up

Condensation is not an issue with fly set up properly

Good ventilation when needed but can be shut down if required in blowing sand

Great room for sleeper, gear at feet and head, more in vestibule, and can sit up in to get dressed easily.

Packs well, but I would distribute the load between two people as it is on the heavy side for backpacking.

Parts and features work well.

Background

One year with this, but 30 plus years with backpacking and camping tents of this class.

Why did SD stop making this tent? It's a great all rounder tent! I did a NZ /OZ trip and many other backpacking trips, have had about 300+- nights in it over the years—It's the "Bomb-ditty-bomb" of tents! SD needs to bring it back!!!!

Great tent! Does great in wind, rain. Ample room for two people and can get a tight three if needed...or gear.

Ventilation is wonderful with zip-off ceiling panel. Weight is a tad heavy but still not bad for the protection you get. Durable. Simple design without bells and whistles that holds up well for year of use.

I have been in other fancy expensive tents and this still kicks ass over those. Friends that had fancier tents were always jealous of this little gem. I have had it 25 years. I have made a few simple adjustments, repairs, modifications... but overall I would still take this over other newer models...this tent just works!!!!

I found a used one on Ebay a few years back that had little use and bought it as I knew it was going to be a keeper and the newer models just don't do it for me. So this is round II for me and the Polaris!!

I hope SD will bring this baby back with a few simple modifications that are ever so slight. This tent is a keeper!

Background

Sierra Designs makes a good product. It has really held up well for me over the years, I trust it will keep the elements off me. Had the first tent for 25 plus years now, many-a-nights in this home away from home. On a scale of 1-5 I give it a 5+.

This is a moderately large two-man tent (39.0 sq ft of floor space). Two people plus some gear fit inside nicely. Could work for three in a pinch. Clips make setup easy, although the poles are a little long and can be clumsy for one person.

Tent has a large zip-out panel in the roof (covering no-see-um mesh) and storm flaps for the front door and rear window. The door is large and side-hung, which is a nice feature (keeps you from stepping on the door every time you leave the tent).

Tent is tall enough in front for me to stand on my knees, and you can sit up everywhere inside except the very back. Fly attaches to the ends of the poles as well as to the tent and goes all the way to the ground. Front of fly forms fair sized vestibule (10 sq ft) that can easily hold two large packs plus muddy boots, or one large pack and a golden retriever. Tent is free-standing, but you have to stake the fly to get the vestibule. Stake straps are large enough to use a ski to stake it down in the snow.

I bought this tent because it was the most versatile model I saw anywhere. I plan to use it primarily for backpacking, but also for winter camping, car camping, etc. In good weather, you only need to use three of the poles. This tent is very solid and well worth the money. Only knock so far is that the seams weren't factory taped (no big deal).

I picked this tent up on sale without really doing much research on it. I just had to buy it and figure out if it was worth it or not later. So far it has been great. It is fairly easy to set up, even when it is pitch black outside. It keeps the rain out and still can keep you reasonably cool on a warm night.

I am 6'1" and still have plenty of room to move around. Headroom is sufficient to sit upright at the door and use the vestabule half zipped as a make-shift kitchen when it raining.

I do wish the poles were a little shorter to make packing easier, but I do not find that a reason to down the tent at all.

It handles gusts fairly well, but I have not yet had a chance to really test it out on a cold winter night with the wind howling. The vestibule and mid-rear points need to be staked to keep it flat, but I choose to just stake the entire thing down (family members got caught in a freak summer wind storm one night and flipped their tent over and trashed the poles, shook them up too). When it is set up and staked down, I call it the LITLLE BLUE BOMB SHELL. I am looking forward to testing it out this winter in the Carolina mountains.

Overall I give it an A. No complaints so far except that Sierra Designs stopped making that model.

Combines the pluses of a dome and a hoop style tent. It's called a convertible, meaning the ceiling can be zipped out and removed along with a pole. Without the pole the rain fly is useless because it sags onto the tent in a bad way.

Ventilation is unbelieveable with the fly on. A little modification on setup can create a bomb-proof tent. A totally free-standing tent, no guide lines, even in the worst weather. It's a huge tent measuring 5'x8' and 50" tall. My backpacking partner and I are both 6'3". We have no problem fitting in this tent

Downsides. Pole design creates a dip in the roof that water pools in and a possible problem in snowy conditions. Occupants must push up on the ceiling every so often to let whatever has collected, run off.

This tent must have been a limited run because I have never seen it ever again, in catologs, stores, and out there. Sierra Designs didn't believe me that I had this tent made by them. I had called trying to find a footprint for it. I still haven't found one yet.

I just ordered this tent and the only trace of its existence on the INTERNET could be found here. Looks like a good tent. Ordered it from eBay for $75, but wow I can not believe that there is no trace of this product on the whole internet except for this forum. What's this about?? Very weird.

I haven't received it yet but will update once I receive it. But seriously why is it non-existent??

This is one that you'd have to find used or on sale somewhere b/c they quit making it. Why I don't know. I love the tent, especially its ability to be three- or four-season. Its four-pole design can be reduced to three in better weather and with three it's still very sturdy.

It would have been nice to have had taped seams, but after sealing them myself it was water tight. One night I didn't put on the fly and the water pooled up in a flat spot on the ceiling, but it held kept it out. I've loved it and would recommend it to anyone.

Bought this tent two years ago. Very pleased. Extremely pleased. Cannot believe that SD took this one off the market.

Have been out in high winds, hard looong rains several times, and have yet to get wet. I did seal this thing super tight with Seam Grip. Easily large enough for two. I can stand on my knees due to great headroom. The vestibule is fair size, enough for a couple of packs. Very wind stable, easy to set up in the wind (relatively).

Hope to winter camp in it this year.

I bought this tent at a pawn shop around 1999 (?). I have used it a lot and it's a bombproof shelter.

After all these years, I'm still surprised at how big it is when I set it up. Plenty of space for two big dudes and the vestibule is nice, too. I rarely use the fourth pole, but the fly does fit a lot tighter with it. Either way, I have never been wet in this tent.

My only gripe is that it's quite a bit heavier than most newer two-man tents.

Bought this tent approx. seven years ago and absolutely love it. Got caught in a spring snowstorm in Alberta and was cozy warm and dry. Unfortunately Sierra Designs no longer makes the tent and to try and find poles to fit if you break or misplace them is a pain. Downside is no stuff sacks for poles/pegs.

I'm very pleased with the tent overall, but displeased with the support from the company. The tent came with a lifetime warranty on the zippers, but for the past few years, I've been unable to get Sierra Designs to recognize that they ever produced a model called the Polaris.

Excellent tent except it came without stuff sacks for poles and stakes. And the stakes bend if placed into anything harder than oatmeal.