Mountainsmith Mountain Shelter LT

Mountain Shelter LT offers a lot for its price. It is spacious, relatively lightweight, durable, and the package includes everything you need to set it up.

The total length of the tent is 360 cm, width 210 cm, and peak height 130 cm. Although it is officially intended for two people, we managed a trip in it with three in the snow-covered Tian Shan mountains. The tent provides plenty of space for two people, their gear, and even a four-legged friend. It’s also an excellent choice for taller individuals. Keep in mind that pitching this tent requires a relatively large area, so make sure you have enough space at your campsite.

The package includes a tent with guy lines (780 grams), 13 V-shaped aluminum stakes (length 17,5 cm, weight 10 grams), a stuff sack for stakes (8 grams), and a transport stuff sack (18 grams). The advantage is that there is no seam taping required, which you often have to do with ultralight siliconized tarps and tarptents.

The tent is constructed from durable 40 denier rip-stop nylon with an externally silicone-coated surface and a PU coating on the inside (2000 mm), so it easily handles heavy rains. The tent is equipped with quality YKK zippers. Packed in its original transport stuff sack, it has dimensions of 42 x 13 cm.

The tent is pitched using two trekking poles, with the tips in the ground and the handles at the top. The front pole (at the entrance) is adjusted to 130 cm, while the rear pole is set to 100 cm. There is a vent window at the rear peak. Thanks to the sufficient number of anchoring points (a total of 13), it can withstand stronger winds (tested in windy Patagonia).

The overall setup is simple and straightforward. Lay the tent on the ground and anchor the three rear points. Insert the rear trekking pole into place, followed by the front pole. Finally, secure the three front anchor points, and you're done. If needed, you can adjust the tension of the tent or anchor additional points for extra stability.

On the outer side of the tent, the lengths of the front and rear trekking poles are printed in actual size, so you just need to measure and adjust them accordingly. All instructions can also be found on the transport stuff sack.

The photo shows the interior of the tent with a homemade mosquito net and a footprint made of Tyvek (not included in the package).