Readers' Choice 2014: Eastern Mountain Sports Traverse

[all-season tent]
Why I love it In the Pacific Northwest, a dependable, year-round shelter is paramount. This tent is a fortress in winter, yet it’s airy enough for summer and—when split between two people—is quite manageable to carry on mild-weather backpacking trips.
Protection Four sturdy 9mm poles, four pole junctions, a combo of clips and pole sleeves, and three-point guylines gave the Traverse the fortitude to withstand lashing winds in Washington’s Goat Rocks Wilderness and exposed snow-camping on Montana’s Mt. Stuart.
Space With 33 square feet of floor space and a 45-inch peak height, my partner and I had plentiful head- and elbowroom to wait out a pounding thunderstorm in Oregon’s Indian Heaven Wilderness. The 10-square-foot vestibule allows for stacked pack storage or cooking in nasty weather.
Ventilation A big mesh front door and four ceiling vents provide good airflow in warm weather, but condensation accumulated on cool fall nights.
Fave features I loved the glowing zipper pulls and the 10 (!) interior pockets.
$400; 6 lbs. 4 oz.; ems.com

Tested by:

Whit Vogel, 31
Hometown – Portland, OR
Day job – Art Director