Big Agnes Pine Island 4 Tent: 4-Person 3-Season

I bought this tent for my sister, who will be living in this for the next 2 months in south Texas working at an archeological dig. Before I mailed it to her, I did set it up and it was everything I expected from a BA tent: solid construction, relatively easy to set up (though there weren't any instructions).

Fast forward several weeks: my sister set this tent up about 8 days ago and has slept in it every night. Said it was easy for her to set up with 2 other people (she had no experience setting up a tent, though it isn't rocket science). Not enough room to stand up in it (she is 5'4"), but it still has plenty of room to name it her living quarters for the next 2 months.

Maybe this isn't a review as much as it is a story... two nights ago my sister texted me and said: "I hope this tent stands up to downpour. Really bad downpour."

The next morning she sent me another message: "Greg... Your tent is a GODsend. It's dry and withstood some really nasty storm today. Thank you :)"

After talking with her, a nice line of t-storms rolled through and the other kids there with Wal-mart tents got what they paid for: wet, soggy, and little sleep. While they were evaluating the damage as the sun came up, my sister was able to sleep in like the princess that she is ;-)

This is the 3rd Big Agnes tent I've bought (also have the Seedhouse SL1 and the Emerald Mtn tent), and you get what you pay for!

I have been camping for a solid 15 years and I have never found a tent that worked better than this, from the old Biblers to North Face 4-mans, 2-mans from Sierra Designs and Marmot, a terrible Kelty 4-man, etc. Every problem I have ever encountered in a tent has been fixed in this one. It is so intuitive to set up that I actually over-interpreted and did it wrong before realizing I was an idiot. Yellow clips on the fly go to yellow clips on the tent which go to gold poles. Silver poles go with black clips. Duh. There are 2 vestibules, both of which have easy access from inside and outside the tent, wall to wall pockets in the sides, and it comes in a single briefcase-like stuff sack that has a space for everything and is sinfully easy to pack and unpack. The tent doesn't contact the fly at any point when it's set up, so condensation is nonexistent, even in hail at 8000 feet. Solid in wind, rain beads off it, fast to set up, easy to pack, lighter than almost any other 4-man on the market, even the guy lines are orange with reflective tape in them so you don't trip over them at night. They really have thought of everything. I can't think of a single thing wrong with this tent. I think I'm in love.

Love the tent. Roomy, well constructed, dry, comfy and all around solid. The first set-up is a little difficult due to poor instructions. Subsequent set-ups take about 3-4 minutes. If I could give the pole system 10 stars, I would. Overall the tent is crafted with military precision, I would trust it on any trip. The fly, on the other hand, is mediocre at best. The main vestibule is great, the secondary vestibule is nearly useless. It is small and the fly must be un-staked to enter it. No matter the amount of time I spend adjusting all of the straps and strings on the fly, it still contacts the tent. Incredibly frustrating.

Having said all of that, the tent has never let me down. A friend and I endured an incredible 8 hour storm in the tent about a month ago. It didn't leak a drip or fold in the wind.

Throw anything you want at this tent, it's a survivor. You get what yo pay for, and this tent is definitely under priced for the value! Wind and water proof and so much room! So eay to erect and take down too! Friends were gathered in my Big Agnes Pine Island when theirs was being blown and washed away. If you need a real tentand not just a "shelter", then this is the home away from home you can trust!

Angus B. summed it up perfectly! this tent is awesome. it's a spacious four man and a downright luxurious two man! check my picture below. for the sake of brevity, i'm just going to sum my review up with a big ole' DITTO. get this tent, it will be one of the best gear purchases you've ever made.

Easy set up and easy clean-up. The clean-up was the important part, my 7 year old threw-up in it, we rinsed with mild soap and water and was good to go. Great tent.

The tent was very easy to set up by one person and held up well in wind, rain, snow, and hail. However, one of the zippers is starting to stick already.