~ Chuck
If you are looking for a spacious 3 man, 3 season tent….then look no further than the Sierra Designs Zolo 3 Tent.
(product provided by Sierra Designs for review purposes)
Zolo 3 Tent (shown with Rainfly)
Here is what Sierra Designs says about it:
For extra gear, space to stretch out, or just big folks in general, you need some serious room. Enter our Zolo tents, with an eight-foot-long footprint and all the functionality of a Sierra Designs tent.
Features:
• Long Footprint
• Jake’s Foot™
• New Swivel H/C Hub™
• Brow Pole With Ball Cap
• 2 Doors, 2 Vestibules
• Sew-Free Window
• Reverse Combi Poles
• DAC Twist Clip
• Patented Stash Door
• SuperSeal Floor™
Zolo 3 (without Rainfly) Footprint and Interior Dimensions
Specifications:
• Trail Weight 6 lb 5 oz
• Packed Weight 6 lb 14 oz
• Number of Doors 2
• Interior Area 48 ft²
• Vestibule Area 11 + 11 ft2
• Peak Height 45″
• Floor Material 70D Nylon, 3000mm
• Body Material 68D Polyester, Dye-Free White
• Fly Material 75D Polyester, 1500mm
• Poles DAC Featherlite NSL
After receiving this tent and setting it up, one of my favorite features is the Jake’s Foot . The Jake’s Foot is a great design for the connection of the end of the poles to the outside corners of the tent. Most tents provide a pin at each corner and the pin is inserted into the end of the pole for the connection.
The Jake’s Foot. The ends of the poles have a small ball shaped tip. This ball tip snaps into the base of this clip (or foot rather). For release, simply twist the foot and it release the ball tip
With this feature the tent is so easy and fast to set up. The tent also has the DAC Twist Clips that makes connecting the tent to the poles, a breeze. In less than 2 minutes, this tent is out of the bag and fully deployed. Another great feature is the rain fly with two vestibules. Having the two vestibules gives plenty of area outside of the tent for gear, dirty shoes and stinky socks. The interior of the tent is very spacious. From floor to the peak of the tent is 45″ which is plenty of head room to remove shirts and jackets in a normal fashion without having to be a contortionist.
The length of the tent is very impressive. At 96″ long, this gives me plenty of head to foot room and some extra space at the head for extra clothes or personal items that makes it easy to reach for. The width at 72″, is very generous for two people and can certainly handle that third person in a crunch, but sometimes three is a crowd.
The nylon and polyester material that make up the tent seems to be very durable and leak proof, I guess only time will tell. The weight of the tent is not the lightest in the 3 person family of tents but I would take the durability of the material over a thin, see through, material any day. So far the Zolo 3 has exceeded my expectations as a 3 person 3 season tent and I look forward to some fall and winter trips with it to put it to the test.
Stay tuned for more….
UPDATE: 4/12/11
The Zolo 3 has been a great 3 man tent for me and my son. We have used it on several occasions on scout camping trips. It has been so easy to put up myself but he has helped me a time or two and it makes erecting the tent much faster. One of the things I have had to pay special attention to is the swivel hub at the peak of the intersecting poles. This hub is what holds the peak of the tent up. If it is turned with the hub in the upward position, the H Clip will not be able to slip onto the hub. I have gone as far as placing the ends of the four poles into the Jakes Foot, clipped all of the twist clips onto the poles and finally to the H clip at the peak, and realized it was facing upward. So, of course, I had to undo everything and flip the poles so the hub was be facing down.
After doing it wrong that first time, I haven’t done it again. I always make sure it’s in the correct position. After it’s deployed and the fly is on, my son and I have found it to be very roomy inside. I have a Long size bag, and with it, I have plenty of room above my head to place my gear whether it be a backpack or a duffle bag. Both of us had plenty of room on each side of us as well. I like the loop on the inside peak of the tent, this allowed me to attach my flashlight to it and it made a great night light as we got ourselves ready for bed, instead of blinding each other with our headlamps.
The headroom is another plus feature for me. I like to be able to sit up and put my clothes on or off and have room to do so. The peak height is 45″ and that’s plenty of head room to do what I need to do. I really feel like I can move in this tent, even with my son in the tent with me, it feels bigger inside than it looks from the outside. And that is a positive thing when the weather outside is not cooperating and you find yourself in the tent most of the day.
The vestibule is a gracious size on both sides, especially when you have two doors. This means each person, if traveling in two’s, has their own vestibule for their shoes or gear. The fly is vented pretty well. I never had any condensation issues while in the tent. The fly comes fairly short from touching the ground and I think this gives any air, plenty of room to escape and creates a good cross ventilation.
So far the tent has been great to have as my home away from home while out with my son. We will have a couple more opportunities coming up to try it out some more. Stay tuned…
UPDATE: 1/18/12
I have been able to use the Zolo 3 one other time since my last update. And again, it turned out to be a great shelter while out in the outdoors. I have finally gotten the buckles tweaked so that it makes the tent fabric nice and tight once fully deployed. I decided on this last trip to put the guy lines on the connection points on the fly. This made the vestibule seem even bigger. Even though I didn’t need it for rain, it just makes sense to use these to increase the vestibule area.
The tent has been very durable for me and I have not seen any signs of wear. Even the moon window is still nice and clear. The zippers still function great and the floor shows no signs of wear on the inside or out.
This is definitely a great tent for two people and can be split up to be able to share in the carry load. It could definitely be used as a three man tent as it is advertised, but you won’t have the joyous space as you would with two. But in a pinch, it would be a great shelter for three people to hunker down in. Thank you Sierra Designs and 4AllOutdoors for the opportunity to test this tent.
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