Mountainsmith Celestial Tent - 2-Person, 3-Season

Me - - - - - - - - - - - -Solid outdoors-man. My pack weighs in at 40 pounds so ultralight is not for me.
Mountainsmith Celestial Tent - - - 4.5 stars rounded up
Where Used - - - - - Lower Mt. Hood, Pacific Coast, and Eastern Oregon High Desert.
TLDR - - - - - - - - - -Great Tent. Well sewn, good materials, reasonably light, a little cramped.

As stated, I don't run ultralight and have no problem sloggin a 40 pound old-school external frame pack out into the bush. If you are one of those people who are counting every ounce then this tent is Not for you. But, this thing really isn't that heavy either. It is way lighter than "other cheaper brands" and is a reasonable backpacking tent if you are willing to give a little on your weight restrictions. BUT, only you really know what you need in a tent.

Around here, typically a lot of rain so not having total mesh sides is a plus when the wind is blowing. The rain cover has two "vents". I have seen a couple reviewers complain about rain blowing in thru the vents. Simple.... close the vents. If the wind is hurricane and moisture is still blowing in somehow stick a sock in it.

The materials are excellent. The YKK zippers are whisper quiet which is something you don't get even on a Eureka tent. The aluminum poles are very strong. The tent body is made from light but durable materials. Despite that I highly recommend getting or improvising a footprint. I am lead to understand the Mountainsmith Morrison 2 footprint works with the Celestial tent. One camp the only place to pitch the tent put the edge of one bolder under one corner of the tent, and another at the opposite corner. I did a lot of worrying for nothing as the tent floor did fine and I didn't crack my head in the middle of the night either.

The tent is listed as two person, and like any other two-person tent from any Brand, this means you better be ok snuggling that other person and keeping most of your gear outside. The length is great though. However, me and my dachshund and a lot of gear sprawled out like it was a resort. No sleeping diagonal in this tent. The vestibules under the rain fly are very small. A large pack like mine needs to be right up against the tent on it's side or something is sticking out.

The gear loft is two mesh sacks sewn bottom to bottom which is really, really smart. There is a dual pocket at one end and then on each side the pockets intended to hold an open door can be used for gear as well.

The bag is large as some have pointed out. I assume this is to allow for a footprint. I kind of like not having to fight the tent into a bag but am thinking of getting a compression sack anyway. Hard choice as it fits just fine on my pack. If it bothers you a really cheap alternative is just get some webbing and some buckles and make your own compression straps.

Over all, this is a really great tent. Really well built, and despite what some say the weight really isn't that bad. A perfect tent for that niche between car camping and ultralighting.