MEC Wanderer 4
The MEC Wanderer 4 comes very close to be the most perfect designed 4 man 3 season travelling tent for all other tents to follow. The beauty of the tent is in its simplicity. No narrow sleeves to feed the poles through, just well-made clips. This makes setting up this abode so simple and just as easy to take down. Great for those trips where to have to put up and take down on a daily basis. A simple 2 pole dome with double entrances and good sized windows for good ventilation. A vestibule designed in the fly with an optional second vestibule for the other side.
The tent is also great beyond the design. It is tough and we have never had problems with weather as long as it is set up properly. It copes with high winds easily and has never leaked even in the most torrential thunderstorms.
The space is ample for 2 or 3 people, although don’t expect to stand up in it as its only 1.4m high. The floor is 2.7 x 2.2 for a large 5.9 square metres of space. The vestibule is another 2 square metres giving plenty of room to keep boots and some outdoor equipment dry. It’s not super light weighing in at 5kg and a bit bulky when in transit, but it is very reasonably priced at under the $400 mark.
We also bought the footprint to protect the tent floor and the optional second vestibule for those extended trips where the extra storage was need.
We take this tent on any of our shorter interior trips such as 2 or 3 days with just a few portages to take advantage of the larger size. We only opt for the smaller lighter tents when doing those much longer trips of 5 to 10 days with multiple portages. On our recent 3 week tour of Newfoundland the Wanderer made for the ideal tent due its ease of set up and take down when travelling across country and it's ample living space.
If you are looking for a well-made, well-designed 3 season tent that won’t break the bank and you don’t mind a little extra weight, then I think you can’t go wrong with the MEC Wanderer 4.