Marmot Limelight 3 Person Tent Solar/Red Sun

2025-05-09T20:00:00

Love it - the little bump outs make for perfect "night stands" for storing glasses, water, phone, flashlight.

MC M.

2024-05-24T20:00:00

Just what I was looking for. First two times it was used got decent rain and it stayed perfectly dry. Had very strong winds that collapsed one side (while nobody was in it and I don't have it tied down, just staked) and it popped right back up when the wind stopped. No damage. The "wings" make it a little more difficult to set up with a good tight stretch on all sides, but I do love that extra space inside.

higgs

2024-05-20T20:00:00

Has handled 4 trips to the BWCA and is still in new condition.

tvu01

2024-05-16T05:05:37

Great tent very roomy. Easy to set up

TERESA M.

2024-01-22T19:00:00

Let me first state that I have purchased nothing but Marmot tents for the past ten years. I had both the 2 and 3 man versions of the previous limelight design. Both tents were great, 5-star tents in durability, waterproofness, easy to set up, etc. My 3 man limelight even provided shelter for my dog in I during a small, confirmed EF-1 tornado (true story) and came out the backend with only a small crack in one section of a tent pole. Granted I was set up between 2 RV's, which certainly helped protect us, and it only lasted about 10 seconds, but the tornado ripped the entire roof off of the adjacent barn (dropping it 75 feet away from my tent) and moved one of the 2 RV's a few feet to the side. After that, I swore that I would never purchase anything other than a Marmot tent. Fast forward a few years and that same tent ended up being run-over by another RV while the guy was backing up (luckily nobody inside) so it was time to purchase a new one. I noticed they had changed the design in order to incorporate part of the vestibule inside the body, which seemed like a good idea. However, the door opens from the wrong side in order to exit the tent. If you want to exit, you have to open the door all the way in order to reach the zipper on the rain fly, and if you don't roll it up, it can dangle onto the wet and muddy ground inside the vestibule area. This, in turn, leads to other problems including filty white mesh in the door (any white on camping gear is just a bad idea) that's impossible to get as clean as you would like, and dirty doorway zipper, which has already broken after only around 10 days since new. Who honestly rolls up their door and secures it every single time they enter and exit the tent? Well, if you don't, you pay for it quickly. Out of the box, the rain fly also wetted out, causing it to cling to the body of the tent, which then caused water to enter the tent in the seam between the floor and side wall. I have since remedied this problem with seam sealant and using a lot of waterproofing spray on the rain fly, but I would have thought it would have repelled rain right out of the box. My previous Marmot tents did. But when the rain rolls down the rain fly and hits the ground, it bounces back up under the rain fly, and even after spraying it twice, the fabric in the tent body still has a tendency to wet out and allow that moisture inside. Hopefully Marmot can address these issues (I saw someone else bring up the door problem) and get this model back up to snuff with its predecessors. Until then, and it pains me to say this after my previous high-quality Marmot purchases. I can't recommend this tent as it stands currently.

Pauly75

2024-01-06T19:00:00

To provide context for this review, I routinely live out of a tent for weeks at a time in remote sites at high latitudes in North America and Asia. Weather extremes, especially gale-force wind and rain, occur often enough that any tent I use needs to be able to handle such conditions without risk of collapse or allowing water inside. Biting insects are also a common concern, so tents need to allow exit/entry to take place through the smallest possible opening in the door, in as brief a time as possible, ideally with the fly only partially unzipped. I am not climbing mountains, so an expedition-grade mountaineering tent is not necessary, nor am I backpacking, so I am not concerned about going with an ultra-light option (though lighter is generally better, of course). Recently my two go-to field tents gave up the ghost in rapid succession, which sent me on the hunt for a new one. I've not been especially happy with the "standard model" that has become the norm for 2 and 3 person camping/backpacking tents - a "spider" made of 4 legs and a single ridge pole, and a separate short pole that holds the sides of the tent as well as the full coverage fly out from the ridge pole. That design is great for providing vestibule space, a roomy interior, and decent protection from rain. It is not so great, in my experience, in high wind situations. The single ridge pole simply doesn't have much to brace against, so the spider flexes and flattens. With that in mind, I went on the hunt for something new. I liked the look of the Limelight for several reasons. Rather than the above-mentioned spider, it has a pair of poles that crisscross over the tent and are attached to one another via a swiveling linkage. I especially liked that the separate cross pole that holds out the sides of the tent didn't cross the other poles exactly where they meet each other, but rather they cross on the opposite side of the tent's peak. This creates a triangular arrangement between the poles in the roof that I believe gives the entire structure a bit more rigidity. I expect that each pole can brace against the other two when the tent is hit by a gust, though I admittedly have not had the tent in a big windstorm yet, so I can't confirm that this is the case. In addition, I thought that the unique "wings" were creative, and they really do add a considerable amount of extra room inside the tent. Though it is not absolutely necessary to stake them out, the fact that they can be staked provides additional points to help hold the tent down in high winds. There are also several tabs for attaching guy lines, which for me are critical. The full coverage fly is adequate to prevent rain from being blown into the tent. The orientation and position of the vent close to the peak had me a bit worried about wind carrying rain in through it and I haven't been in conditions to test for that possibility, but it has seemed to do fine keeping rain out under non-windy conditions. One might grumble that the vent is too small to be of much value at preventing condensation inside the fly. In my experience, there is no venting system that will guarantee a condensation-free tent under all conditions, so I wouldn't worry too much about the vent, as long as it doesn't let rain in. The construction is solid and consistent with my experience with Marmot gear (which I am, in general, a fan of). The tent was intuitive to set up. The gear hammock is clever, though I'm not sure about its long-term utility. Unfortunately, despite all of its good qualities, the tent suffers from a fatal flaw, which can only really be understood by crawling in and out of the tent itself, but I will do my best to explain. The issue is the arrangement of the doors and rain fly, and the position of the zipper on the fly. We'll tackle this from the perspective of exiting the tent after a rainy night in northern Minnesota, but the same issues would be at play when entering. In our scenario it was raining last night, so you had the fly zipped down to the ground. Happily, you and your gear are currently dry (way to go Limelight!), but there is plenty of condensation lurking on the inside of the fly (because of course there is). To leave the tent, you have a couple options. You can either fully open the big inner door, or you can try to just open the curved edge enough of a gap to squeeze through. If you fully open the door, you will be able to easily access the zipper on the rainfly, unzip it, and crawl out. On your way out, you will definitely get condensation smeared down your back as you brush against the fly. After you escape, you will turn around to close things up, and discover that the unzipped rainfly is now hanging directly into the open tent door, and it is funneling rainwater and condensation straight into the tent (no tent design should allow this to happen, but in the Limelight it does). This problem could be somewhat mitigated by tying up the fly before you leave, but 1) that's a pain when you are trying to be as speedy as possible (see mosquitoes, below; also, you probably really need to find the latrine) and 2) if it is still raining, you will now have rain entering the tent. Further, in addition to all that wetness, the inside of the fly was lined with several hundred hungry mosquitoes, because mosquitoes love to hang out under rainflies. As soon as you opened that big door and disturbed the rainfly, they all began swarming into the tent. This did not make you popular with your tent mate. What about the second option for exiting, in which you only partially open the door? This is the preferred method for avoiding providing entry to all those mosquitoes. However, if you only partially open the curved end of the door, which is at the corner of the tent rather than the center of the sidewall, you will be faced with the rainfly a couple inches from your nose rather than the rainfly zipper. To reach the zipper, you will have to squeeze your body through the gap between the door and the rainfly until you can reach the fly's zipper to open it. This might limit the number of mosquitoes that get into the tent, but it is slow, it will absolutely soak you from the condensation, and it is awkward and uncomfortable. It will also inevitably result in damage to the door, zipper, and mosquito netting as buttons, Velcro, and buckles on your clothes catch on the tent while you are squeezing past. The bottom line is that the unfortunate arrangement between the door and the fly make this tent unsuitable for camping in any situation where you expect rain and/or mosquitoes (or other flying nocturnal blood-suckers). It is possible that simply reversing the direction of the door, so that the curved end lies directly across from the fly's zipper (rather than in the corner of the tent), would go a long way toward resolving this issue. However, I still think that the rainfly would tend to channel water (rain or dew) into the tent when both are open. As a recreational tent for families who are camping in the American southwest or other places where rain and insects are not a major concern, I think it would do great. For anyone who needs to ensure that their tent will stay dry and bug-free in less-than-ideal conditions, I recommend looking elsewhere.

keg34

2023-09-21T20:00:00

Very nice tent and light weight for backpacking the JMT

SJK T.

2023-09-19T20:00:00

I'm happy receiving this tent. I was concerned regarding size, every review I had read said that it is no roomy tent. I needed tent for 2 person, so after all comment I had read before I decided to bought limerick 3, to feel more comfortable. BUT. When I opened the tent I saw that it's enough space for 3 person- to feel comfortable. Anyway. It's nice tent

Tamriko

2023-08-10T20:00:00

This tent is really super cool. I love the "cubbies" on either side, like little night stands. My partner and I bought it for the two of us despite it being a 3P, and that was our mistake, not Marmot's. We recognize now that its pack-down size is too bulky for our backpacking excursions, so we should have gotten the 2P one. The only catch for us that is likely not applicable to other people is the fact that the cubbies require stakes to function properly. Our backpacking locations cannot rely on stakes, and for this reason only are we going with another tent, which makes me so sad, because I'm obsessed with the tent layout and space.

absgeller

2022-12-16T19:00:00

I have been using this tent for 3 years now. The design is smart and practical, including the internal height, the aerodynamic shape, the open to, the vestibule - and it's a piece of cake to put it up / take it down in less than 3 minutes total (2 people) or 5 minutes (1 person, inc. packing it away). I have found it to be the best in its price category. It has withstood 100kmph wind and 120 Fahrenheit in the Canyonlands, extreme damp and mud in the Olympic NP, snow camping in snow storm in Crater Lake NP and a lot of other challenges in between. Still as reliable as new. Is it perfect? No... but so far as good as it gets for the investment. I give it 4.5 stars - half reduction for the fact that the side gets pulled up at the bottom when the top cross-pole is in use (I usually don't put it in) and well, the weight is great but like all tents of this size, it "gets noticeably heavier" every dozen miles day during a 10-day hike, if you know what I mean:) Anyone who mentioned that it gets ripped easily or the zippers get stuck easily are either bots of have a lot of outdoor practicing to do. By the way, the color not only looks cool but also helps to spot the tent when you're hiking back to your camp in the middle of nowhere, regardless of the dominant colors of the environment. Would / will buy it again.

forgottentraveler

2022-10-02T20:00:00

This tent has plenty of room. Set up is a breeze, I like that the poles and tabs are color coordinated making it super simple to keep everything straight. Having an included footprint is nice. Our scout troop uses Marmot tents and they've lasted well so I wanted to get one for myself for when I'm camping with the boys. This tent is high quality and seems like it will last. Unfortunately, the first Limelight 3P tent I purchased had a missing grommet so I exchanged it, only to find that its replacement was also missing a grommet. Luckily the third tent had no such issue and has worked perfectly on the campouts I've used it on so far. So my advice is to check the tent out thoroughly when you first receive it to make sure that all the parts are in order.

BrainDeadBrian

2022-09-27T20:00:00

Easy to set up. Hearty enough for the dog and light enough for backpacking.

Katec

2022-09-19T20:00:00

It was the easiest tent yet for me to set up, the color coded poles made it so simple. I set it up in a few minutes on my own the first time. Having the footprint included was also a perk. The little outcoves for stuff was really nice. They need to be staked though to keep open, but if you put a water bottle or your stuff out at the corner, that works fine. It was spacious and fit 3 just fine.

Ali G.

2022-09-12T20:00:00

Purchased this tent after owing many Marmot tents the most previous being an Eclipse 3P from 2015-ish. Just got back from a 6 day backpack trip for its first outing. Super impressed with the tent and had no issues. The vestibules that are inside was the selling point for me, love having my pack inside!!! Well played Marmot!

CO S.

2022-08-30T20:00:00

Recent purchase, but good results. Absolutely huge tent

Schlawn G.

2022-08-27T20:00:00

Perfect size backpacking tent for two people and a dog. Not too many 3 person tents hit the 5 pound mark. By day 3 of that grueling hiking trip- I am always happy I shedded the 2-3 pounds by upgrading to the Limelight. I also have being using the 2 person Limelight for the last 10 or so years and still love it. Had to get the 3 person when we added the pup.

BT911

2022-08-21T20:00:00

Fun and spacious! Big for two people, just right and cozy for three (if you keep you packs under the vestibules outside). The corners are a fun addition. The rain fly definitely traps in heat, and worked well against summer rain in Canada.

NatB

2022-07-22T20:00:00

The only thing this is lacking, is the "light" part of the name. It is not horribly heavy, especially when divided up between 1-2 additional campers. Spacious, and airy!

Elijah327