Fal Pro. Air 3

At first I was worried about its ventilation (only a half mesh door and a roof vent), until we took it out on a summer eve. The design is ingenious: you breath in cool air from the half door mesh vent, and the breath-out carbon dioxide hot air goes right out of the roof. The design leverages human respiration as an air circulation system and you will never feel congested. Wonderful design with beautiful aesthetics, where form follows function.

Really wanted this tent when I first saw it. Mostly due to aesthetic reasons and an understanding that Snow Peak stuff is world class. Shopped around everywhere and talked to a plethora of reps from different stores on all different makes and models of backpacking tents. Ultimately so happy I sprung for this. After doing some research on materials I now know that Nylon is not exactly waterproof. It in fact absorbs water and expands! After searching REI, most big name tents use lightweight Nylon for everything as it is cheap, light, and strong. It just doesn't hold up in true wet climates like polyester. The tents sag up to 20%, tension in stakes/lines is lost, they flap in the wind, and the barrier between rainfly and tent disappears. Everyone has experienced that annoying condensation situation waking up soaked from the tent walls! It seems that Snow Peak put in their due diligence with this one and only the tent base is made of the cheaper Nylon probably because it is more durable. I expect this thing to be rock solid in rain, snow, and wind.

In any case my only concern with this tent is in hot climates where ventilation and mesh windows can come in handy especially on still nights. It does have a nice top vent and this 3 person version has one half mesh door. I was told you can use just the rainfly and a footprint during the summer and it stays considerably cooler, but I'm not sure how the bugs stay out. I do a mix of backpacking and mountaineering so I bought this tent to do everything. I think there are better/cheaper choices for fair weather and casual campers, but this one will last a lifetime and I prefer the minimal look! Also, its very easy to set up and the stakes/poles are superb quality. Love how light this thing is too! After seeing how nice it is in person I feel much better about the price. I would definitely size up a person as the vestibule is quite small and probably only holds small packs/boots. Might need extra space for some gear storage or to not be constantly against the tent walls. Plenty of head room for me though! I'm 5'10 and medium framed.