Outside Buyer’s Guide Summer 2007 Zonda Tent

Long and Light

A single pole arcs the length of the Zonda, acting like a spine to give it strength. Two shorter brow poles complete the structure and create a decent amount of headroom (39 inches), while the Zonda’s 100-inch floor length (many two-person tents are about ten inches shorter) provides ample room for sprawling. Even a tester well over six feet tall had plenty of room to sleep and stash gear on either end of his bag.

Bonus: The pre-cut slits in the webbing at each corner of the tent (used to stake it down) are the best we’ve seen. Not only do they save weight; they also make setup easier and faster.

Men's Journal 8/07 Zonda 2P Tent

The Ultralight Trials

The innovative pole design not only lightens your sack, it offers 39 inches of headroom at its peak. It also creates a knife-blade-shaped tent that slices through wind, weathering the gustiest storms with ease. Swaths of mesh provide good ventilation – a blessing, as the slim, 4.5-foot-wide footprint means you’ll be snuggling with your hiking buddy.

National Geographic Adventure 8/07 Zonda 2P Tent

The Makeshift Motel

The Marmot Zonda 2P is a clip-together tent built with enough mesh to keep you cool in almost any circumstance (and give you a window to the stars). Also, if you want to ditch your ride and delve into the backcountry, this four-pound shelter is eminently toteable.

Adventure Travel 9/07-10/07 Zonda 2P Tent

One of the Best

This one’s a bit different. Pitches inner first with a kind of pole spine. An excellent warm weather tent, with the inner being almost entirely mesh, great as an inner only tent for keeping the bugs out on a hot night. The porch is roomy enough for two big sacks, and there are storage pockets inside. It pitches fairly easily, though not entirely intuitively, but stands without guying. A generous two man this and a good choice as back up for when huts might be full.

In a line: Roomy warm weather palace.