Gear Review: Sierra Designs LT Strike 2 Tent
Choose this tent for its awesome space-to-weight ratio, and use it in moderate three-season conditions.
Light and Roomy
Think ultralight equals ultrasmall? Think again. This tent offers the spaciousness of a base-camper at a weight fastpackers will love. The unique “eye-pole” geometry (a central oval with pole extensions on opposite ends) saves weight by coaxing impressive space and structural support from relatively few inches of pole. It creates near-vertical walls and outstanding headroom, which makes the LT Strike feel much bigger than its measured floor space—29 square feet—suggests.
Two doors and two vestibules offer convenient entrances and gear storage (though our packs had to lean on the tent walls, where they cluttered the doorway). “It feels as airy as sleeping under the stars,” declares one tester of the all-mesh canopy. The mesh, combined with the double-wall construction, provided excellent ventilation in humid Pennsylvania and North Carolina. But during heavy rain in Washington’s Cascades, water pooled (but didn’t leak) on the relatively flat roof, and 20- to 35-mph winds caused wavering (stability was restored by rigging internal guylines).
Verdict: Choose this tent for its awesome space-to-weight ratio, and use it in moderate three-season conditions. $379; 3 lbs. 6 oz.