MSR - Elixir 4

I just got the elixir 4 on sale. But haven't tested it out yet. I'll probably set it up in the backyard tonight to give it a once over.

Update. I set it up last night, was actually pretty easy to set up. Seems very well built and very cozy.

Wife and I have a nice msr elixir 4 that we took to yosemite and sequioa in april one year for her birthday trip. Brought 2 of our big wolfdogs with and needed a bigger tent n one i didnt care if they destroyed. Got the 7 person teepee tent from walmart clearance 2 days into the trip for like $40... Got a huge snowstorm in sequioa and it held up to over 2' of heavy snow in one night. Was insanely surprised and still use that tent for family camping trips today. Some of the ozark stuff is surprisingly decent for the price.

I've used the elixir 4 many times with my family (2 kids <11 yo) and it's great. Tight, but comfortable, and manageable to carry for kid-distance backpacking. My rainfly did leak, but had the tent a few years before I realized. Contacted MSR and they actually sent me a new one!

to summarize what you probably want in a good tent, especially one as versatile as you want: strong pole structure, more solid body than mesh, enough mesh and vents for proper airflow, and portability. increased visibility is also always a plus, especially if you’re camping in wintry climates. generally, for something that will be tested by harsh conditions on a regular basis, it’s good to stick with the established brands rather than rolling the dice with amazon-affiliates: they’ve been around for a long time, and they’re a lot more likely to stand by their product than a shifty company that has never heard of the phrase “quality control”. MSR elixir is great, and usually is cheap. it’s very storm proof, does well in high winds, and can handle both texas heat and colorado blizzards comfortably. it’s a bit heavier than the REI half dome, but i’d wager it probably handles rough conditions far better. with gear, the cloud up 2 design is going to suck. you’re going to probably want two doors/vestibules if you have a lot of gear, and having the entrance like that seems like it would be far more annoying that a standard side entrance for a tent. also, there’s no such thing as a true all-season tent (at least one that can handle alpine conditions without being a sauna/greenhouse any other time of the year), but the elixir is one of the few that can come close to fitting the bill. if you want something that will let you do some serious winter camping (high elevations, high winds, high snow loads, etc.), you will need to go outside of that price range unless you find it used somewhere or it falls off a truck. i wouldn’t trust the onetigris “4 season” tent, since it looks like they’ve equated “4 season” with “no mesh”, allowing them to sell a cheaper tent at a higher price point. as a rule of thumb, i’m generally cautious about onetigris and other brands like them that try to market themselves as tacticool bushcraft warrior tent brands, since that’s usually compensating for shitty equipment. the north face tent you’ve shown might be a good mountaineering tent, but it’s probably overkill (if it’s any good) because you likely won’t be doing any alpine expeditions any time soon. a “treeline” 4 season tent like the MSR access 2 would be a better fit if you want a true 4 season tent, and it occasionally is on sale — i managed to get one used for $100 and it’s been a pretty good tool for camping in harsh wintry conditions. that said, it’s very expensive (for good reason), so you’re probably better off sticking with something like the Elixir, as you’re probably not going to get as lucky as i did any time soon.

The Elixir is a great tent - is pretty tough while still being on the lighter side compared to standard or cheap tents. I’ve had one for 5+ years and taken it on portage trips and car camping trips and it holds up well. The 2 is a good size for one person and some gear, and I bought a 3 to camp with my gf. My only reason for changing tents was weight. I recently sold both of them and upgraded to a Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 3, a much lighter tent to make portaging and backpacking easier. They are a bit more delicate feeling than the elixir, so I am more gentle with them. The Elixir is the kind of tent people live in while tree planting for many seasons in a row. The single zipper door design on the Elixir is nicer / smoother to operate than the Tiger Wall. The fly also opens closer to the door, so it’s easier to get in and out, whereas the Tiger Wall you have to lean out pretty far to close or open the fly. My friend who is also a gear head bought the nature hike tent - he’s had it many years and it’s worked well. Basically an MSR quality tent without the brand name. Just make sure it’s not “used” and being sold as “new” - hold the fly up to the sky and loom through it to check the waterproof coating / pour water on it before your first trip to make sure. Use your footprint and it will last many years! TLDR; the Elixir is a great tent - buy it!

MSR Elixir is superior

https://preview.redd.it/lsqbgkz5dj4f1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=844144fb179976bb6b0bf23849d3228715d37202 I really like the MSR Elixir.

Seems we have an elitist over here? I did multi day (5 till 10 days) hikes for years with an MSR Elixer to no problem whatsoever.

I have MSR Elixir and I think this is suitable. Trekking tents are always a compromise - weight vs space vs strength. We are going to Sarek in February / March. What is your destination...? The more visited trails (Kungsleden, Helags-Sylarna area) have the luxury of retreating to a STF cottage in case of a serious storm or incident.

MSR Elixir has double pole structure and is thus rather sturdy in winds. Double entrance comes handy in blizzards. The setup is reasonably easy. It is not very lightweight though. I have done Abisko-Nikkaluokta three times in winter. Here is some advice: \- Take more time than suggested. 8 days is ideal in my opinion. More than that and you will get bored with the snow. Less than that and you cannot do the interesting side trails. \- Start from Katterjokk or Riksgränsen, not Abisko Tourist station, and spend your first two days in the valley west from Kungsleden, at the border of Norway and Sweden. Why so? Less crowed. No snowmobile track. Much more serene. \- Do a detour to Nallo. Either from Alesjaure (Alesjaure - Vistas - Nallo - Sälka) or from Tjäktja (Tjäktja - Nallo - Sälka). \- Do a detour to Tarfala, from the Kebnekaise base station. \- Explore options to summit Kebnekaise - I have not been at the summit in winter, but it should be possible, the Kebnekaise mountain station would know. \- Spend one night in a STF house with sauna. This is part of the Lappish experience that you cannot get in tents. Unna Allakas, Vistas, Sälka have saunas IIRC. Part of the fun is making the firewood yourself and heating the place up. The main route (Abisko - Singi - Nikkaluokta) has become so popular that skiing on it does not do the neighbourhood proper justice. Side valleys give you the real feeling. No snowmobile tracks, no large guided groups, just you.

Ok let me pitch on the list then: This is an incoherent list: contains tents with different sizes and persons count, so it is creating more confusion than being helpful. Apart from that several of the tents there have well known problems: \- Hilleberg is a winter tent; if you rely on this list and buy it for a summer holiday you will die. \- Elixir does not use seam sealing and instead use a sealing technique mostly seen in cotton fabric tents, and it is known that it leaks. So late autumn it is a dangerous tent. \- North Face Stormbreak is a very old, reliable tent, but uses polyester, so it weighs around 3 kilos. You can easily find a tent with the same specs, much better material for half the price and would weigh around 2 kilos. \- Rei and Nemo tents in the list are all dome tents, which are literally replicas of each other (i would even say knock offs of Big Agnes there with inferior build quality). Many of them are half covered with fabric instead of mesh in their inners, which is terrible for summer. Always go for as much mesh as possible for summer. For early autumn, late spring they are probably good. But definitely master of none. I dont know how they are in a "best" list \- Kelty again is an old reliable tent, but has pole sleeves, so setting it up is a chore. It is covered with fabric again, so not so good for summer, would be good for mountain weather in the summer though. Still, material is outdated and setting it up is much slower than current lines of tents. \- Hillebergs are top of the top, and big agnes clearly earns its place in the list. \- MSR tents there are both very light options, but nothing special there. Personally i would carry 500 grams more instead of paying premium to a tent design that is so common. It is a very good alternative for ultralighters. \- There are other tent types, such as inflatables, such as popup tents, such as summer tents. The list contains none. So, if you are trying to find a tent to buy .. ditch this list and check out other sources. It is incoherent, it misses out a lot of different alternatives and it doesnt factor in criteria such as who? how? where? when? how many people? duration? conditions? It is basically the sunday paper of tent recommendations. A potpourri of cool images.