MSR StormKing 4-season Tent

2018-08-14T20:00:00

Used it for 3 of us on a 14-day, 230 km ski traverse across Baffin Island via the Penny Ice Cap. Withstood some furious windstorms- the Syclone poles are amazingly burly. Quick to set up and take down, lots of pockets, great headroom and vestibule space too.

Gravywolf

Originally posted at

2018-03-26T20:00:00

I love MSR gear, but my feelings about this tent are mixed. I live in a remote location so I wasn't able to see the tent before purchasing. I purchased the previous version of this tent (just before the current version was released). This is meant to be a basecamp tent and while the size is perfect for this, it's built like a lightweight backpacking tent. After about 25 nights in this tent, here are some of my findings. Keep in mind, this is a *very* expensive tent. 1) The zippers: Quite frankly, they're horrible. They're not YKK; I'm not sure why MSR would break-away from the industry standard (cost most likely). They're undersized and rough to use. Without question, they will fail (soon). They're also very loud. I have a few other premium-brand tents (US and European) and the zippers are silky smooth. At this price point, I expect top-quality zippers. 2) The fly material is waaaay too light. It's super delicate and very noisy in high-winds. Again the zippers on the fly are terrible. A basecamp tent should have a higher-denier fabric. 3) Similar to the fly, the floor needs a burlier fabric to avoid puncture. On hard corners (i.e. where the poles connect to the tent), the material should stronger. You need to use a footprint with this tent. 4) The fly pole sleeve should be made out of a mesh fabric to avoid stiction. When the fly is wet, it's virtually impossible to remove the pole (it sticks or freezes to the fabric). As mentioned above, the Stormking is an expensive tent and also unique in that it's a 5 person (most 4 season tents max-out at 4 occupants). Given its weight and size, it's best suited to basecamp use. At this price point and defined user group (expedition/4 season use), I'd expect better detailing on a tent like this. For long-term expedition use in harsh climates, I'm not sure how well it would fare. I can live with the material choices and just be careful, but the zippers are inexcusable on a tent of this caliber.

Mike

Originally posted at

2017-12-01T19:00:00

We have the first version of the tent that uses pole clips rather than sleeves (like the 2010 review referenced here). Overall the tent is awesome. We use it as a car-camping tent for our family of four and there is plenty of room inside to spare. Things we love about the tent: -Tons(!) of pockets (20 or so, I think) -You can fully zip up the windows in the door - this makes it much warmer. -Very strong and bombproof. I think there are something like 20 pole crossings on this thing. -Huge front vestibule that can be entered/exited without getting rain inside the tent (though I think the current version is a touch smaller than ours). -Plenty of guy out loops that can be used as needed for extra strength/stability - we've put dedicated cords on some of them. -The pentagonal floor plan is symmetric meaning you don't have a wide/narrow end or anything like that to contend with. There is some inherent asymmetry since the second door is not directly opposite the first. Having said all of that there are two - and I think only two - things we don't like. One of them has been remedied in the newer version (3.0 with the fancy poles). 1. Even though we have yet to see a drop of water penetrate the rainfly water does pool up on the top of the tent during prolonged rain. The tent pole structure naturally creates a flat spot at the apex (pentagonal in shape, imagine that). MSR has cleverly addressed this with a 3-pole "spider" that attaches to this spot and lifts the very top of the fly higher. But, since this spider piece is 3 pole and not 5 there still remains enough flat area for water to collect. Not a huge deal but one I feel that they should have addressed. 2. The rainfly on our version is made of nylon. Nylon expands when wet meaning that once the rain begins I have to re-tension my tent (meaning I have to get wet) in order to keep the fly drum-tight. The 3.0 version's fly is made of polyester so this will no longer be a problem. Excellent job, MSR!

Rusty

Originally posted at

2017-05-23T20:00:00

Bought this tent in 2010 and have used it for our family of 4 in all seasons including winter camping. A supremely durable, hardy tent that has withstood many storms. Because of it's extreme tautness it can be tricky for one person to set up alone. Also because of it's rugged construction it is not highly ventilated and can be very hot during summer camping. But absolutely worth having one tent that can withstand all conditions.

HH

Originally posted at