Mountain Equipment Dragonfly

Tamsin says : I have the Dragonfly 2XT (the same as the Dragonfly, but with the extended porch for an extra 130g). It's a great little tent, and one of the few (semi-)geodesic tents on the market under 3kg. I've used this tent extensively across England, Scotland and Wales, plus I walked the Tour du Mont Blanc (11 days) and the GR20 (16 days), putting it up every night, down every morning, and stuffing it in a backpack. It's coped well, with only 3 of the tags that hook the inner to the outer tearing on occasion (I stitched them back on), and this is probably due to us being heavy handed with dismantling, shaking off the dew, and packing it away. I got a little tear in it too, but that's to be expected on the rocky camping spots we found across Corsica. The only other trouble I had was two of the poles getting slightly bent, but that's to be expected with the kind of wear and tear it's seen. I think it was a day in heavy winds then a night of heavy snowfall in the Lakes at Easter, but that's pretty harsh for a 3-season semi-geodesic design, so I can't complain. As for the dew (blackSP), I find this is down to where I camp - we woke up very damp in the Alps, but found Corsica much dryer. Campsites in the Lakes are dewy, but camping at 700m on the side of a Munro is breezy and dryer. We also took to sleeping with the inner tent open (when the insects weren't bad) which helps a lot.

Tamsin says : I have the Dragonfly 2XT (the same as the Dragonfly, but with the extended porch for an extra 130g). It's a great little tent, and one of the few (semi-)geodesic tents on the market under 3kg. I've used this tent extensively across England, Scotland and Wales, plus I walked the Tour du Mont Blanc (11 days) and the GR20 (16 days), putting it up every night, down every morning, and stuffing it in a backpack. It's coped well, with only 3 of the tags that hook the inner to the outer tearing on occasion (I stitched them back on), and this is probably due to us being heavy handed with dismantling, shaking off the dew, and packing it away. I got a little tear in it too, but that's to be expected on the rocky camping spots we found across Corsica. The only other trouble I had was two of the poles getting slightly bent, but that's to be expected with the kind of wear and tear it's seen. I think it was a day in heavy winds then a night of heavy snowfall in the Lakes at Easter, but that's pretty harsh for a 3-season semi-geodesic design, so I can't complain. As for the dew (blackSP), I find this is down to where I camp - we woke up very damp in the Alps, but found Corsica much dryer. Campsites in the Lakes are dewy, but camping at 700m on the side of a Munro is breezy and dryer. We also took to sleeping with the inner tent open (when the insects weren't bad) which helps a lot.

Ben Thomas says : Don\'t buy this tent.The second time I errected it one of the poles shot through the plastic pole holster. I managed to fix it for the night with a piece of wood and gaffer tape. Returned it to Snow and Roack who replaced it without question. I thought I was just unlucky getting a faulty tent. New flysheet came and I used the tent once again. It worked fine on our 2 day hike, but on returning home I put it up to dry it and the same thing happened. One of the poles shot through the bottom of the plastic pole holster. Snow and Rock were great again and refunded our money fully. I complained to Mountain Equiptment who didn\'t even bother responding. Luckily I used the tent in good weather during the summer. Don\'t rely on this tent if you aim to use it other than maybe for a festival tent - bit expensive for a festival tent though. Just don\'t buy. I agree too with blackSP. Lot of condensation build up.

blackSP says : I find this a really great tent with that is up in 2 minutes, is light and versatile free standing tent. Only one disadvantage: ventilation is really bad, in the morning everything\'s wet from condensation.

Steve Woodward says : Over the last twelve months I have used this tent backpacking in the Pennines, Brecon Beacons and the Pyrenees everything from 30C to minus 5. It has been fine except I managed to bust a pole first time out, something I have never managed to do in over thirty years camping. Getting a replacement from the shop and then from the manufacturer was a nightmare. It took over a month. Pathetic. I could have walked to Manchester and back in that time. Apart from that it has been fine. I like the colour - it blends in. It is self supporting, sheds water well and has high viz guylines and around the door which can be a blessing when you are blundering about at three in the morning getting back in your tent after a quick pee.

Steve Woodward says : Sorry I hit the send button before putting in my name on the review above.