The REI Flash 3 is a freestanding, double-wall 3-person tent that’s light-weight and compact sufficient for backpacking however spacious sufficient for automotive tenting. Whereas REI charges it for 3 individuals, I believe it’s on the small measurement for 3 full-grown adults until your third companion is a canine or a small youngster. The place it actually shines is as a 2-personal palace with an infinite quantity of ceiling mesh for air flow and stargazing, with loads of additional room to unfold out. Along with its beneficiant size, good for tall individuals, the close to vertical facet and finish partitions on the Flash 3 present higher livability for occupants than the sloped partitions of many dome-shaped tents.
Specs at a Look
- Greatest Use: Backpacking and Tenting
- Kind: Double Wall
- Construction: Freestanding Tent
- Doorways: 2
- Variety of Poles: 3
- Inside pockets: 4
- Claimed Minimal Path Weight: 3 lbs 7.6 oz
- Precise Minimal Path Weight: 3 lbs 11.8 oz (Internal Tent and Rainfly: 41.5 oz) (Poles (3): 18.3 oz)
- Most pole section size: 18″
- Precise Internal Tent Dimensions: 85 x 68/61 (L x W head/foot) inches
- Peak Peak: 42″
- Precise Packed dimensions (in stuff sack offered): 19″ x 7″
- Seam-taped: Sure
- Footprint: Not included.
- Minimal variety of stakes to pitch: 6; Really useful: 8-9
- Cloth: 20D Ripstop nylon
The REI Flash 3 is a light-weight, freestanding double-wall tent with two doorways and two vestibules. It has an enormous expanse of mesh making it good for stargazing whereas offering glorious air flow when used with or with out its rain fly. Totally seam-taped, the partial facet and end-walls present additional privateness, wind, and dirt safety whereas the big doorways allow quick access and exit.
Nonetheless, the Flash 3’s head and foot finish widths of 68″/61″ inches, make it decidedly slim for 3 full-grown adults. Whilst you may match three x twenty-inch broad sleeping pads facet by facet within the interior tent, it truly is a decent squeeze. You’d in all probability be much more snug utilizing the Flash 3 as an expensive two-person tent with a canine or small youngster as a 3rd companion.
The Flash 3 comes with three poles which slot into color-coordinated man out factors. With the intention to save weight and make the tent extra packable, the REI selected to not join all of the poles along with a number of hubs, which is usually the case with different tent producers. The draw back of that is that it makes the tent slightly extra difficult to arrange and might result in a misplaced pole until you’re cautious to maintain monitor of all of them when breaking down the tent.
Whereas not troublesome to pitch, it takes a apply session or two to determine how you can arrange the Flash 3 and is finest completed in your yard just a few instances earlier than you try to determine it out with a associate within the area, significantly for those who’re making an attempt to impress them together with your outside abilities. There are instructions included within the tent’s stuff sack, though you’ll be able to determine it out with sufficient endurance. 🙂
Whereas the interior tent is technically freestanding, it’s giant sufficient and below sufficient structural stress that it’s a must to stake out the corners while you set it up. The rainfly snaps into the corners of the interior tent, so that you simply want one stake in every nook for each. Nonetheless, I’d encourage you so as to add just a few additional guylines alongside the fly perimeter for stability in wind and to maximise the interior quantity.
In contrast to a dome tent, there’s a distinct directionality to the Flash 3, with a head finish and a foot finish. Whereas the tent has an infinite quantity of inside quantity, it doesn’t have plenty of pockets inside, or the place you’d look forward to finding them. For instance, there are not any pockets on the within of the doorways and no gear loft pockets within the ceiling. There are 4 mesh pockets on the again wall of the tent on the junction between the stable material and the mesh wall, however they’re a bit excessive as much as comfortably attain for those who’re mendacity in your sleeping bag.
There may be sufficient inside quantity, nonetheless, to retailer plenty of gear contained in the tent, however the Flash 3 is decidedly gentle in the case of the frills discovered on different tents of this quantity just like the Large Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 or the NEMO DragonFly OSMO 3P. The Flash 3 is cheaper for that cause, so that you’ll should determine whether or not the added options in these tents are well worth the value distinction.
Whereas the rainfly covers the interior tent mesh, it doesn’t present full protection over the ends of the interior tent however is scooped to allow higher airflow inside. The uncovered partitions of the interior tent are as waterproof because the fly, so there’s no web loss in performance. NEMO was actually the primary tent producer to include this scoop design extensively throughout their product line and its been adopted by different producers since. It additionally helps cut back the burden of the rainfly as a result of there’s much less material required.
As talked about, the Flash 3 is a two-door tent with two vestibules which is a must have for consolation when tenting with two or extra individuals. The Flash’s vestibules are giant with loads of room to stow a backpack. The doorways have bi-directional zippers so you’ll be able to partially unzip one from the highest down or backside up, even in dangerous climate, to extend air flow via the tent with a purpose to offset any condensation formation.
Comparable 3-Particular person Tents
Suggestion
Whereas the REI Flash 3 is bought as a three-person tent, it’s in all probability finest thought-about a excessive quantity 2+ individual tent with area sufficient for 2 adults and a younger youngster or canine. Certainly one of its major advantages is a comparatively small pack measurement attributable to the truth that its poles aren’t packaged collectively in a single large multi-hubbed array, however damaged aside so that they take up much less quantity. Whereas it doesn’t have plenty of inside pockets and options discovered on costlier tents, its size, vertical facet partitions, and enormous mesh ceiling provide occupants a extra spacious feeling of inside quantity and star-gazing potential than most comparable dome-shaped three-person tents.
Disclosure: The creator owns this tent.
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