MSR Elixir 3 Person Backpacking Tent with Footprint

2024-11-06T19:00:00

Excellent tent. Could not recommend enough. Rain proof and wind resistant, always have a great nights sleep

Rose M.

Originally posted at

2024-11-06T19:00:00

Great quality, setup is simple, one con is the interior sidewalls don't breathe. Mesh starts halfway up the wall and when laying down with no fly on the air flow is to high to feel. Good tent for shoulder seasons!

Bryan W.

Originally posted at

2024-10-21T20:00:00

I love this tent!! I love the design and the ease of which to set up. I had an issue, contacted the company and was sent a replacement part. MSR stands behind their product! Excellent customer service which is so rare and important in a purchase like this.

Nancy Y.

Originally posted at

2024-08-12T20:00:00

Great tent

Brian J.

Originally posted at

2024-08-02T20:00:00

We've had several tents over the years from MEC and Sierra Designs and never seen a fly fail in such a short time frame. Just returned from a seven day canoe trip and the fly seams failed in several places. I'm an ex outdoor industry employee, and experienced gear user, and know how to dry and store a tent after and between trips. Our Elixir 3 has been irregularly used, well stored and dried after every outing. There's no reason for a manufacturer like MSR to produce unreliable gear. I've found their products, in particular the mountaineering stoves, to be some of the most reliable and well-built gear that I own. A little disappointed. On a positive note, I like the design of the Elixir 3, ease of set-up and weight for a 3-person/3 season tent.

Edward

Originally posted at

2024-07-31T20:00:00

For a brand that says it values durability, I'm disappointed that my Elixir 3's rainfly leaked like a sieve after less than three years. The tent gets used <10 days a year and is stored in a a closet in an air-conditioned bedroom. I contacted MSR about that and they sold me a replacement fly. Except they made a "minor change" in tent designs and reversed one of the doors. So the new fly doesn't match up at all with the tent body. You have to be a contortionist to use one of the doors, and using it pretty much makes the vestibule a "crawl-in tunnel" rather than a storage space. They offered a 30% discount coupon on my next purchase as a "make good" but that discount is only off of a full price item, so it's worthless given seasonal discounts from retailers are larger than that.

Kyle B.

Originally posted at

2024-07-28T20:00:00

amazing tent. I have the bikepacing version. This tent is great for couples. If you're over 6'2" I would get a longer tent.

Aineel R.

Originally posted at

2024-06-23T20:00:00

We are so disappointed. We were told it was a spacious tent for 3 people. We are only two and wandering where the third one could sleep. We had no space for anything else but our sleeping bags. We opted for this model thinking we could lodge our day pack?.

Chantal P.

Originally posted at

2024-05-20T20:00:00

I love the design. I have the Elixir 1 and use that when I bikepack Very spacious for a 3 person backpacking tent. I'm pretty sure the people who are commenting about the lack of waterproof may be referring to the morning dew/ condensation of moisture that builds up on the inside of the tent in the early morning. One the best tent companies out here.

Medic117

Originally posted at

2024-05-02T20:00:00

Very spacious for a 3 person backpacking tent. Nice cruved pole design that keeps the tent low to the ground in the wind.

Gina C.

Originally posted at

2024-05-02T20:00:00

Very spacious for a 3 person backpacking tent. Nice cruved pole design that keeps the tent low to the ground in the wind.

Gina S.

Originally posted at

2024-04-09T20:00:00

I have the MSR Elixir 3 for about two years and the rainfly has completely degraded and has now deemed my tent unusable. I loved this tent and it worked so good but for the money I spent it didn't last.

Tristan a.

Originally posted at

2024-04-09T20:00:00

I have the MSR Elixir 3 for about two years and the rainfly has completely degraded and has now deemed my tent unusable. I loved this tent and it worked so good but for the money I spent it didn't last.

Tristan A.

Originally posted at

2023-11-03T20:00:00

Great tent, could easily fit three but very comfortable for two. Lightweight and easy to set up

Hannah M.

Originally posted at

2023-10-15T20:00:00

Works great but creates a lot of condensation. It's been really good on rainy days. Great for car camping or camping with dogs. The corner straps sometimes get twisted to one side of the pole when stretching them. When the tent is fully stretched, the doors get too close to the face of the edges people, sometimes annoying and easy to get wet with condensation.

Jose R.

Originally posted at

2023-10-15T20:00:00

Works great but creates a lot of condensation. It's been really good on rainy days. Great for car camping or camping with dogs. The corner straps sometimes get twisted to one side of the pole when stretching them. When the tent is fully stretched, the doors get too close to the face of the edges people, sometimes annoying and easy to get wet with condensation.

Jose

Originally posted at

2022-12-04T19:00:00

This tent exceeded my expectations. It is east to set up and plenty big enough for me and my buddy. I have been very happy with all the msr products I have purchased.

Michael H.

Originally posted at

2022-11-17T19:00:00

Great, we use it for our clients in Torres del Paine national park, Chile, is light and works great for windy days!

Gonzalo F.

Originally posted at

2022-11-10T19:00:00

I recently picked this up to size up from a cheap two-person tent, and was at first a bit worried by the reviews mentioning leaks due to the lack of seam-sealing (which seems to have been corrected in newer models). I currently live in Texas, so the prospect of surprise thunderstorms with heavy rain is fairly common, and this tent had a trial by fire on its first night out. A fairly strong thunderstorm blew through in the middle of the night, and we remained completely dry inside the tent. For reference, a car roof "Dry" bag we had tried out had a ~2 inch deep pool of rainwater inside of it (which some of our stuff/compression sacks were floating in, unfortunately). The only hints of moisture we got were from keeping the rainfly vents open, which occasionally allowed mist to spray in lightly (an unfortunate necessity in Texas humidity). Additionally, the vestibule design ensured there was a sizeable space to egress from the tent without issues and our shoes remained completely dry -- the top pole gives the vestibule some extra headroom that was very useful for removing my rain jacket in the vestibule. It was also nice that the vestibule had several different guyout points and toggle points, so that you could have openings of multiple sizes. My only real gripe with the fly was the attachment to the poles seemed odd and the instructions weren't completely obvious (the older model used clips it seems, while the new model has grommets that you fit the tent poles into). Also, there was a fair amount of moisture inside the rainfly, but I chalked that up to the extremely high humidity throughout the day and night. Leaving the fly, tent, and footprint (definitely a nice touch that it has this included) in the sun allowed them to quickly dry without any issues. Also, using the two-zipper design on the rainfly, we were able to get some extra airflow to alleviate the awful humidity - zipping up the fly completely managed to also keep in quite a bit of warmth as the temperature dropped. The tent itself was great, though the lack of a true gear loft was a little disappointing, though the number of pockets and their placement made the need for one pretty unnecessary -- I'll probably just attach one from another tent if I start to miss it. In summary: Pros: -Pretty waterproof, can't complain -Good ventilation design -Very roomy, lots of headroom inside -Spacious vestibule (with headroom) -Vestibule opening is "modular" -Quick setup with at least two people -Lot's of storage pocket space -Included stakes are surprisingly pretty good (just typical aluminum J-stakes, but with cool red MSR coating to make everyone jealous) Cons: -Weird rainfly attachment (doesn't appear to be problematic, more of just a preference) -Gear loft not included (but alleviated by two tent-ceiling pockets, and toggles for adding a gear loft) For a car-camping tent for two people and a husky, this is a great fit. I'll be trying this tent out in Colorado soon, and I'm fairly confident that it will be perfect for the colder nights.

Matt

Originally posted at

2022-11-10T19:00:00

I recently picked this up to size up from a cheap two-person tent, and was at first a bit worried by the reviews mentioning leaks due to the lack of seam-sealing (which seems to have been corrected in newer models). I currently live in Texas, so the prospect of surprise thunderstorms with heavy rain is fairly common, and this tent had a trial by fire on its first night out. A fairly strong thunderstorm blew through in the middle of the night, and we remained completely dry inside the tent. For reference, a car roof "Dry" bag we had tried out had a ~2 inch deep pool of rainwater inside of it (which some of our stuff/compression sacks were floating in, unfortunately). The only hints of moisture we got were from keeping the rainfly vents open, which occasionally allowed mist to spray in lightly (an unfortunate necessity in Texas humidity). Additionally, the vestibule design ensured there was a sizeable space to egress from the tent without issues and our shoes remained completely dry -- the top pole gives the vestibule some extra headroom that was very useful for removing my rain jacket in the vestibule. It was also nice that the vestibule had several different guyout points and toggle points, so that you could have openings of multiple sizes. My only real gripe with the fly was the attachment to the poles seemed odd and the instructions weren't completely obvious (the older model used clips it seems, while the new model has grommets that you fit the tent poles into). Also, there was a fair amount of moisture inside the rainfly, but I chalked that up to the extremely high humidity throughout the day and night. Leaving the fly, tent, and footprint (definitely a nice touch that it has this included) in the sun allowed them to quickly dry without any issues. Also, using the two-zipper design on the rainfly, we were able to get some extra airflow to alleviate the awful humidity - zipping up the fly completely managed to also keep in quite a bit of warmth as the temperature dropped. The tent itself was great, though the lack of a true gear loft was a little disappointing, though the number of pockets and their placement made the need for one pretty unnecessary -- I'll probably just attach one from another tent if I start to miss it. In summary: Pros: -Pretty waterproof, can't complain -Good ventilation design -Very roomy, lots of headroom inside -Spacious vestibule (with headroom) -Vestibule opening is "modular" -Quick setup with at least two people -Lot's of storage pocket space -Included stakes are surprisingly pretty good (just typical aluminum J-stakes, but with cool red MSR coating to make everyone jealous) Cons: -Weird rainfly attachment (doesn't appear to be problematic, more of just a preference) -Gear loft not included (but alleviated by two tent-ceiling pockets, and toggles for adding a gear loft) For a car-camping tent for two people and a husky, this is a great fit. I'll be trying this tent out in Colorado soon, and I'm fairly confident that it will be perfect for the colder nights.

Matt D.

Originally posted at

2022-09-11T20:00:00

I find it very roomy. I?ve read some reviews that say the fly will leak because of a poor glue. Have u changed the glue?s formula?

Owen L.

Originally posted at

2022-05-27T20:00:00

I bought this tent for two plus one medium dog. The space is great. Easy setup and easy takedown. Very pleased with this tent.

Michael H.

Originally posted at

2022-03-21T20:00:00

Sorry to jump on the band wagon, but I bought an Elixir 3, after my first Elixir 3 wore out. Needless to say my son and I have run into the same problem with the new tent. If you do not put a separate tarp over the rain fly, you are going to get wet. We are in the market for a new tent for our rappelling and caving adventures . Until reading these reviews, I thought our problem was with us setting up the tent incorrectly, I?m believing that after a good run on the first Elixir 3, the second Elixir 3 is not as well made.

Robert B.

Originally posted at

2022-02-26T19:00:00

We purchased this tent over a year ago, primarily for car camping, It is easy to set up, very durable, and quite spacious. This past weekend, I put it to the test on a three-day winter camping trip. Although marketed as a 3 Season tent, it performed better than expected over the weekend. The ground cloth was effective at keeping the tent floor dry. The two vestibules were ideal for removing/donning ski boots, and provide ample wind protection when preparing meals. The fact that it's free standing was a huge bonus. Granted the stock tent stakes were about useless in the snow, but luckily I had two MSR Snow pickets which proved ideal for holding the tent down during one very windy evening. Nice to have the extra headroom too, making it that much easier to dress /undress before heading out in the snow. The mesh roof panels didn't help keep in the heat, but I also wasn't covered in condensation/frost each morning when I woke up either. We pulled all our gear in pulks/sleds, so the weight / bulk of this tent wasn't a big deal for me. If you only plan to winter camp a few times each season, and a true 4 season tent isn't in your budget, I would seriously give this tent a good look!

Crusty

Originally posted at

2022-02-26T19:00:00

We purchased this tent over a year ago, primarily for car camping, It is easy to set up, very durable, and quite spacious. This past weekend, I put it to the test on a three-day winter camping trip. Although marketed as a 3 Season tent, it performed better than expected over the weekend. The ground cloth was effective at keeping the tent floor dry. The two vestibules were ideal for removing/donning ski boots, and provide ample wind protection when preparing meals. The fact that it's free standing was a huge bonus. Granted the stock tent stakes were about useless in the snow, but luckily I had two MSR Snow pickets which proved ideal for holding the tent down during one very windy evening. Nice to have the extra headroom too, making it that much easier to dress /undress before heading out in the snow. The mesh roof panels didn't help keep in the heat, but I also wasn't covered in condensation/frost each morning when I woke up either. We pulled all our gear in pulks/sleds, so the weight / bulk of this tent wasn't a big deal for me. If you only plan to winter camp a few times each season, and a true 4 season tent isn't in your budget, I would seriously give this tent a good look!

Craig V.

Originally posted at

2022-01-06T19:00:00

I've had the Elixir 3-person tent for a few years now and it receives a lot of use throughout the year. Everything from weekend camping trips, to 8 day excursions. It's been through insane rain storms, snow storms and wind storms and it's kept me warm and dry every time. I saw some of the other reviews below stating how it's not waterproof and I couldn't disagree more. This tent is a beast and can withhold any storm. It's durable and reliable. A great purchase and bang for your buck.

Brandon

Originally posted at

2021-12-28T07:20:25

First time camper. Set up and take down was a breeze. Pack up was extremely easy. Definitely a 3 season tent.. My wife and I learned that the hard way.

TYLER P.

2021-10-11T20:00:00

We bought this tent in summer of 2019 and have used it a handful of times. The fly started leaking in multiple places last Spring, even after light rainfall. Other than that, we love the design and setup. I wish MSR would do something about it since it sounds like a pretty common problem. It?s annoying to have to put an additional tarp above it every time!

Cody B.

Originally posted at

2021-08-17T20:00:00

I love this tent...so much so that we own 2! My son and I have used them many times backpacking/camping in scouting. They have survived canoe trips, campouts, hiking at Philmont and many more amazing adventures! They have kept us dry and out of the elements. I love the ease of setup in that my 13 year old son handles it with no problem! Unfortunately, the weatherproofing on one of the rainflies is peeling off. I would love to acquire a new one without replacing the whole tent. That is my only complaint. I just cannot seem to find one. Hoping this post might bring help my way!

Virginia M.

Originally posted at

2021-05-18T20:00:00

Took it to Alaska on the ferry. Tied it to the railing on the deck. Scary. Survived. Stayed dry. Took it down the Mississippi in a canoe many times. Many storms. Stayed dry. Took it to Mexico. I took it almost everywhere I went. Beach, jungle, fly only, sometimes screen only. Stayed dry. Took it to Lake superior many times. Bears are not afraid of it. Stayed dry every single time. There's maybe one hole smaller than match head where a tiny ember melted through. it's in the footprint. probably from someone smoking on the beach hiding from the sun. I'm surprised it lasted all these years. Never once has the poles been a problem or needed repair. the mesh is still...new. the zippers don't snag. no tears. nothing. very happy. it's getting near the end of it's life i bet. It's been through a lot. often with a few crammed in. and a yellow lab five or so times. i'm amazed it's held up 100%. it outlasted my best friend, gus. i wish it was the other way around though. the white isn't as clean. it look slightly worn. it aged we'll. the new flys with color doorways are nice. i bought this from cabelas more than a few years ago. it was in a "deal barn" section in the back. the tents had just come out. but the two in the back were 1/2 price. two of them. elixir 3's. i chanced it. it was my first aluminum poled backpacking/ car camping tent. it was 150 bucks. they were 300 dollar tents. i think..maybe they thought the msr logo was printed wrong, like i did at first, or maybe i would find a defect. i never did. it was worth the full price even though i paid half that. i'm using it in two days again and i just used it a few weeks ago next to the big lake. I realized you can pull half the rain fly back if you want to stargaze and still be prepared for midnight or morning rain quickly. not one regret for what i used it for: car camping, hike in sites, backpacking, canoeing. it was beach worthy, rain worthy, wind worthy and if your stake and tie it down and use sand/dirt/rocks in dry bags as anchors it's even sea worthy. as long as the sea says so... thanks. i took a chance on something. it. was well worth it.

Anthony W.

Originally posted at