Mountain Hardwear LightPath 3

[basecamper]

More concerned about space in your tent than weight in your pack? Get this roomy, affordable, freestanding dome. It’s boxy—in a good way—thanks to hub connectors at each of the four corners, which dramatically increase headroom. That pole structure, combined with a 51-inch peak height and bigger-than-its-numbers, 37-square-foot floor, proved spacious enough for three guys (including one 6’9” tester).

“All three of us could sit up comfortably no matter where we were stationed,” one reports after a trip in Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest. Two massive, 17-square-foot vestibules hold three hikers’ gear with plenty of room to spare, and 10 interior pockets organize wallets, headlamps, and keys. “It’s roomy enough to change clothes inside, even sit in a circle for poker games,” says our tester. Ventilation is excellent: Vestibules can be unzipped during downpours to improve circulation without admitting precipitation, and vents on the fly also move air.

It repelled a drenching storm in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge National Forest without condensation buildup. But the tent’s flat crown lets a small amount of water pool on the fly above the doors; it doesn’t leak, but can get you wet if you bump the fly when exiting. $275; 7 lbs. 5 oz.