Comments from users

Comment … I think you’ve “got it”!! In fact, I’m so convinced that I’d be proud to own (and brag to all my friends about) a Mark III tent.

Appy-trails? Has nothing to do with the famed Appalachian Trail, rather, think, “Appy trails, to you, until we meet again. . . . ” Sung with great happiness and glee, knowing how much you reduced your pack weight.  And ‘Appy Trails, to you!

Comment … I’ve taken a look at your Mark V and I gotta tell ya , it’s amazing. Let me say that I never thought I could own a tent this size and carry it in my pack!

Comment … I absolutely love my Mark III !!! Its the best tent that I have ever owned and have done many hikes with it… One morning I woke up with like 6-7” of snow covering the sides of the tent. She held out great!!!

Comment … If you want a testimonial:
The five man tent performed great on a trip to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Wind, light hail, rain and 11 year olds tested it. Performed as advertised and looked great in the process. I just hope to use it again before the snow flies!!!!
Alas….photos of the tent with the Circ of Towers in the background did not work out due to rain and low light.

Comment … The more I play with this thing, the more I am tickled with it. It is so great to pull this out and have it set up before the other guys can get theirs out of the straps holding theirs to the pack. I AM going to try it on a winter trip. I haven’t seen another tent that is lighter and does the same for less than three times the cost

Comment … We just got to use the Mark III for the first time this past weekend.  It was phenomenal.  We were comfortable and dry.  It went down to 47 degrees that night.  It was superlight and very easy to set up.  We couldn’t be happier!  Kudos!

Comment … I LOVE the tent. You, sir, design tents the way I would design them. In fact, I have a sketch in my notebook from about 10 years ago with a very similar design. You have saved me the effort to actually build it!

Comment … I want to send a huge thank you for such a great tent. Your tent held up extremely well in Wyoming’s crazy high country weather.  The high winds I encountered above 10500 ft would of destroyed other tents.  Rained for five (5) straight days and the tent was always a welcoming place to return to each evening.

Comment … Bought your Mark V several years ago.  Love it!  Used the old canvas one as a scout in the 70s-80s.

Comment … Camped out in the rain for the first time using the Mark 5… did just great.  My friend and I even kept both front flaps rolled back and no rain came in.  The Mark 5 is so easy to set up and take down it is all I about use any more.  Don’t know why anyone would use a tarp for a tent when yours is just a few dollars more and a lot drier in the wind and rain…

Comment … Just wanted to drop you a line about the Mark III at Philmont this year.   Myself and another adult used it, and it was great!  There was enough room for 2 adults without sleeping on top of each other (except for the last night, in which we had to sleep on a bad incline, and the incline was towards the side, not the bottom).  And plenty of room for our gear at the head of the tent.

Comment … I was looking at the Trail Days website and realized we didn’t contact you post-trail. We met there last year, we were the hikers using your tent. We did in fact make it all the way to Katahdin, using your tent the whole way. It held up beautifully and was possibly my favorite piece of gear on the whole trip. In the 6 and a half months my wife and I lived in your tent, it never failed and showed almost no signs of wear. The zipper gave us a few problems in the final stretch, but nothing major. We will both vouch for the quality and durability of your product, and thank you for making such a fantastic product. Feel free to use any of our pictures. Hope to see you at Trail Days.

Comment … Just back from a backcountry hiking/camping trip at Glacier National Park. Thought you might enjoy the pictures. We car camped at Fish Creek one night and then four nights in the Belly River backcountry. These are from Cosley Lake and Lake Elizabeth.

Comment … You probably don’t remember me, but we talked and emailed last Fall about your tents at Philmont and I bought a Mark V.  We’re just back from our trek and I wanted to give you an after-action report.  For an update on Philmont’s stance on floor-less tents, attached are excerpts from the 2011 Philmont Guidebook regarding tents.  Note that in previous years, the Guidebooks talked in terms of tents with “attached floors” — as you can see, for 2011 Philmont says “use tents with floors or good ground cloths”.  Based on that wording, I felt safe taking our Mark V for my son and I to use for our trek.

Thanks for offering this outstanding,  lightweight and low cost alternative to the heavy Philmont loaner tents and the high dollar backpacking tents on the market.  The Mark V was the perfect Philmont tent for us.  If you ever need a reference for other Philmonters or Scout leaders who are considering your tents, feel free to send them my way.  I’d be glad to share my experience with them.

Comment … Really enjoying our Mark 5. We are “older” backpackers just getting into the lightweight backpacking scene. When you are our age, increased pack weight means creaky backs and knees! Hubby and I have camped with your tent now in the Grand Tetons, at Lake Chelan and at a couple of state parks. We are taking it into the Glacier National Park backcountry for a 4 day trip over July 4. My family and friends refer to the Mark 5 as a “shelter” and not a tent, but we are happily able to manage packs which weigh less than 30 pounds because of the Mark 5.

Comment … Everyone that sees our Mk V tent and sees how easy it is to set up really likes it and wants to know where we got it.

Comment … So I’m about 15 days into my mark 5. And can say that I’m happy, not blown away but happy! It has held up to some really heavy rains with very little condensation, has seen some decent wind 38 mph tops and didn’t shred! The over all setting up once you get it down is super fast.

Comment … I used my new tent for a short camping trip near Mt. St.Helens, WA with my Boy Scout troop.  IT RAINED THE ENTIRE WEEKEND, except for the half-day we spent underground when the sun actually came out.  It rained really hard each night, all night long.  The Mark III tent worked just fine.  It kept the rain out, entry and exit was easy in the rain, and there were no leaks.  The tent did get dampish on the inside (very humid along with the rain), but that did not pose a problem.  Nice tent.  Light, compact, quick setup and takedown, fits readily in my pack.

Comment … I recently took my new Appytrails Mark III to Co. on a bighorn sheep hunt. My tent was great. Hail, 30-40 mph winds ,rain, and the tent came through. This tent is quickly becoming my favorite bivy, replacing my tuff as nails Mt. Hardware tent.  I’m appy with it.

Comment … I love it more every time I use it. The first few times I set it up traditionally, but this last trip I used it tarp style. I loved it. I look forward to continue to experiment with it.

Comment … Three friends and I headed out for the weekend to Red River Gorge geological area in south eastern Ky and decided to set-up camp at the front of a very large rock shelter so we would have a little extra protection from the rain that was headed our way. I was a little concerned about condensation inside the tent since it did rain for about 2 hours before we went to bed, but I was quite surprised to find only a little bit, and after sleeping through the night with myself and my 75 pound great dane puppy, there was none what so ever. I did leave the door open to allow him in and out as needed. I LOVE the floorless design, especially since my dog tracks a lot of dirt in and out. I simply pull out my ground sheet, give it a shake, and put it back in place. This tent could fit in a 32 oz big gulp cup it is so small! I am very happy with my purchase

Comment … Good camp in the snow although it didn’t get as cold as we hoped, 16 degrees Saturday morning.  Mark V worked well, nice and quiet, only minor problem we had was my 9 year old grandson tried his best to roll out under the side.  But for a stake, God knows where he would have ended up sleeping. Glad I found you site in the Scouting magazine and am very satisfied with the Mark V…..lots of interest among scouters too.