French F1 Tent

For a $60 tent is it bad? Not at all, but spending a little extra would be wise. Be sure to be careful what environment you use this in; a dry climate where you know the forecast would be best. I slept in this for a night at 50 degrees, 94% humidity (no bueno), and a 50 degree or so dewpoint, so it was a really damp night for testing to say the least.

Luckily it didn't rain because the seams are not taped and there's pinholes from faulty stitching near the guyline reinforcements - which can be a problem with a groundsheet, but even more so without one. With both flaps open and doors cracked, there was a ton of condensation on the inner walls in the morning, so much so I had to shimmy out to avoid knocking water off the walls and soaking myself further. Plug for the Belgian mummy bag though, that thing was soaked and still kept me perfectly comfortable.

Not a miserable stay by any means, but I can't let it slide - if you took this out where the weather can turn at any moment without doing some extensive waterproofing beforehand, you could be putting yourself in real danger.

This is just to review the as-is condition of my tent without any work - but if you take your time and seal all seams, maybe use a tarp, these tents can be really tough. This is just my experience. Stay safe out there Stalker

The only negative I've found is there were only four guy lines supplied for the skirting when six are required for proper staking of the tent. I can't vouch for the performance part of the review because I haven't used it yet, although a friend who has one says to check the seam seaI. Since I can't submit the review unless the performance section is filled out I gave it a 4 out of 5 because I'm sure it will be at least that.

What can I say, these tents are nearly unbeatable for the price. I would HIGHLY recommend changing out the stakes for aluminum ones and seam seal/waterproof as you should with any tent.

Affordable and simple tent to set up, and everything comes in a bag that's pretty compact so travelling with the tent shouldn't be much of a hassle