Mountain Hardware Trango 4 Tent

Our 2011 spring semester students are the guinea pigs for our newest addition in the gear room – Mountain Hardware Trango 4 tents.  These apricot tents will be spotted in the campgrounds and backcountry throughout the Rockies for the next couple of months while Yamnuska’s Spring Mountain Skills Semester students continue their 3-month training program.

When deciding on the semesters accommodations for the program, we took into consideration many things:

• First we had to consider the dimensions of the tent – the internal space, height and weight.  Internal space depends on the needs of you or your group.  A 3 man tent is really a 2 person tent with internal space for gear and likewise a 4 man comfortably fits 3 people with gear without using the vestibules as overflow.  Having said that both the 3 and 4 person tents are quite cozy and comfortable for the # of bodies stated using the extra square footage provided outside with the fly. The Trango 4 offers 65 sq ft of internal space and weighs 12lbs.  This may seem like a hefty price to pay for the room but, divide that 12lbs by 3 or 4 people and you’re laughing all the way up the mountain!  With an internal head height of 50 inches this really adds ease to getting ready in the morning or crawling into your sleeping bag at the end of the day and for packing your gear in and out of the tent.
• Another important feature not to be overlooked is the vestibules.  From experience we knew that the space offered in the vestibules of the Mountain Hardware Trango 3.1 tents was much appreciated during last year’s semester program.  The 2 vestibules on this tent offer 24 sq ft of extra space – one is poled for maximum space usage.  This space is valuable for the storage of backpacks, ski boots and a changing/staging area out of the elements.
• Set up and take down of a tent plays a big role in the enjoyment of a trip.  The Trango 4 offers a 4 pole system with clips instead of tubes – which has proved to be more user friendly in both luxurious campgrounds and on potentially unforgiving glaciers.
• Also an important factor when considering your back country living quarters is the warranty.  Mountain Hardware offers a lifetime warranty on all of their products – a true testament to the quality of their craftsmanship and confidence in their goods.

We are very satisfied here at Yamnuska Mountain Adventures with our purchase of the Trango 4 tent, and we’re confident that our guests this summer will also be very happy with the comfort and space that they provide.

Review performed by Jana Christison, Logistics Co-ordinator 

** Yamnuska was not paid by Mountain Hardware to do this review.