Wenzel Sentinel 9- by 9- Foot 3-4 Person Pentadome Tent

Wenzel Sentinel Sport Dome Tent sleeps 3-4, sets up faster with a 5-way center hub! Vacation time is too precious to waste setting up the tent! So the Wenzel Sentinel uses a unique 5-way center hub with Fast Feet and clip system for quick and easy set-up. And just like all Wenzel tents this one is roomy, comfortable and expertly designed. Stretch out, the Sentinel sleeps 3-4 people comfortably. Built for serious family camping fun: Generous 9' 6" x 9' base size with 52" center height; Updraft Ventilation System provides excellent airflow in tent; Removable fly, with hoop frame over door; Shockcorded fiberglass frame for ease of assembly; Tub style welded polyethylene floor with rain shingle for excellent weather protection; Light-yet strong polyester taffeta walls; Includes gear loft for storage; 3 polyester mesh windows let the breezes in, keep even the smallest critters out; Easy-access Dutch "D" style zippered door; Lightweight, non-rusting plastic pegs; Carry weight: 12 lbs. Get more fun out of your camping with Wenzel. Order Today! Wenzel Sentinel Sport Dome Tent
Customer Review: Large, Solid, Easy to set up, GREAT FOR THE $$
This tent is large on the inside, really easy to put up and really cheap. I got it here on amazon for $45 on sale and am very pleased. I'm no mountaineer by any stretch of the imagination. So let me explain what I used this tent for. I'm 25 and I wanted a tent that my guys and I could bring out for a weekend adventures involving a lot of drinking by the camp fire. I don't know much but I know this: the best way to figure out if a tent is easy to put up or not is to knock back an 18 pack of your favorite brew and then try to put a tent up with only campfire light. I can vouch that this tent went up with out an issue and more importantly without reading the instructions (since it was impossible for me at the time to read anything)... should last a while. Slept two of us very comfortably.
Customer Review: Very nice tent.........
Just bought this for my two kids, 3 & 5, and wife and we all love it. The colors are very nice (made me buy this one over other popular Wenzel tents....call me shallow) and its seems very well made. Bottom of the tent is thick and durable, doesn't seem like it would be punctured easily, zippers are solid for this tent's price, lots of windows and the "skylight" at the top of the tent allows for great star gazing. Very easy to put up and take down. 10 minutes the first time, five minutes after that. Haven't done the major test yet....camping in the rain, but I'll add to the review once we hit that benchmark. Would have given it 5 stars but I'll save those for things that really knock my socks off. Very solid tent though.

Why ultralight backpacks? Devotees of ultralight backpacking know you reduce your packweight most by concentrating on the "big three;" backpack, shelter, and sleeping bag. Forget those 6-pound backpacks, 9-pound tents and 5-pound sleeping bags. Reduce that 20 pounds to less than 5, keep the other gear to 5 or 6 pounds, and you can chuck the hot and heavy hiking boots, put on the running shoes, and start enjoying those trails.

Four Ounce Ultralight Backpacks

No, that's not a typo. One of the ultralight backpacking suppliers recently came out with a light pack with a capacity of 1800 cubic inches, plus more in an expandable rear pocket. Designed to carry just fifteen pounds, It may be more fragile than the average pack, but it weighs just 3.7 ounces! With a pack that light you're well on your way to keeping your total packweight to fifteen pounds.

I bought a six ounce pack at Walmart. Maybe you didn't know they sold ultralight backpacks, and niether did they. I'm sure it was intended as a daypack. However, it has 1200 cubic inches and weighs only 6 ounces, so I'll use it for summer overnighters. At $4, it was light on the budget too.

It easy to imagine that a decent-sized backpack can be made at home that weighs less than 8 ounces. If it's a simple one, without extra pockets, made from light nylon material, how much could it weigh? Making your own may be the way to get the lightest backpack.

Alternatives To Ultralight Backpacks

I've used my 8-ounce duffle bag for backpacking. With no pockets, it's tough to organize things, but it has lots of room, and it is very tough. In practice, the full-length zipper makes it so easy to see everything that organization isn't very important.

I also have tied the duffle bag to an an old aluminum pack-frame, to create a full-suspension backpack. It has a hip belt, comfortable padded straps, and weighs exactly two pounds. It worked fine on a trip above timberline in the mountains of Montana. If there are any lighter exterior-frame ultralight backpacks out there, I haven't seen them.

You can also go on overnight trips with just a bivy sack, a bottle of water and a few granola bars in the pockets of your jacket. I've done this in the summer. Of course, I suppose without ultralight backpacks, this can't even be called backpacking.

Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate of lightweight backpacking. His advice, stories and backpack recommendations can be found at http://www.TheUltralightBackpackingSite.com