Gear Review: Exped Pegasus Tent

[expedition basecamp]

Get the next best thing to a hut, says a tester who lived in the Pegasus with three others for a month-long research project in Alaska. The four-person refuge is spacious and strong, withstanding 18 inches of snow in a single storm and 40-mph gusts on the Kuldrow Glacier in Denali National Park. Even in nasty weather, the five-pole exoskeleton design (poles slide into sleeves on the 40-denier polyurethane-coated fly) pitched easily while protecting the tent body from the elements.

A full, 11-inch-wide snow skirt kept spindrift out. The rear vestibule is only large enough for a few pairs of boots, but the 19.3-square-foot front one is palatial. “We cooked and stored food with ample space to get in and out,” says our tester. Four 6-footers slept comfortably on the 43-square-foot floor, and five vents kept condensation to a minimum while blocking blowing snow. Finding a downside was hard (even the vent props can be used as repair sleeves to fix broken poles), but the 30-denier nylon near the door zip developed a small hole after a month of nights. Plus, you could buy a lot of hut nights for the price. $1,099; 13 lbs. 4 oz.; exped.com