What Rob said. :-)

 

Rob's advice is sound but I will expand to say that having two doors and vestibules help to a certain degree if they will fit all of your gear. The MEC site should provide vestibule area specs - see if they work for you. I will say the Lightfield and Volt 2 vestibules are tiny. The Volt 3 is better and the Wanderer's (which I have and love even with two people) are pretty generous. I canoe like I backpack though with minimal gear. This tent will not shelter the gear of those among us who portage like they car camp. 

If the vestibules work for you then your only concern is proximity to your partner while you sleep. Check the size of your sleeping pads against the floor area.

I have an older Wanderer 2. It's been around for years and while other models come and go, it seems to maintain its spot in MEC's lineup. 

It's not the lightest thing around and I wouldn't backpack with it (although I have taken the fly/footprint/poles alone on a couple of occasions when I was expecting a lot of rain and wind) but for canoe tripping the weight is acceptable. It has two good sized doors and vestibules to hold your gear. Room-wise the dimensions are 90x64x59in so that gives you 32in each of width which is enough room as long as you like your tent mate. A good solid tent in bad weather.

What I don't like about it is that it does not seem to pack up as small as other similarly sized tents. I suspect his may be due to the multi-sided shape of the fly.  Also, the footprint for the newer Wanderers only goes under the tent body itself whereas the older ones have a footprint that extends out to incorporate one of the vestibules, which is nice.

The only difference, to my knowledge, between the Wanderer and the Wanderer A/C is the latter is slightly lighter as it uses more mesh in the tent body. This would promote better ventilation but less warmth in the shoulder season.

The Volt option would give you an additional 10 in of width and the $100.00 price drop brings it in line with the Wanderer. Looks nice but I would ask them why it was being discontinued before making a decision on that.

Last edited by Algonquintripper (1/08/2016 11:29 am)

It looks like your budget is around $350 and the MEC tents are a good choice in that price range. As others have noted the MEC tents are heavier than other options out there but that is also because they are using heavier materials which are less expensive while still being durable. 

When comparing weights, also compare the waterproofing. Many tents have cut back to as little as 3000mm waterproofing on the floor compared to the 10,000mm rating on the MEC tents. That extra waterproofing is a measurable contributor to the weight.

If you are interested in looking at more expensive options, then I'd recommend the MSR Mutha Hubba. http://www.mec.ca/product/5039-923/msr-mutha-hubba-nx-tent/?gclid=CPT2zcnvmsoCFY-PHwodw0wNbA it's similar in price to the regular price of the Lightfield 2. The Mutha Hubba is a lot of mesh, but with the full fly it's been find for us even at the end of April/early May. MSR did increase the height of the 'bathtub' floor a version or 2 ago to address concerns with the lip being a bit low. It's a really light tent for it's size and it's a dream to set up and take down. 

Wow thanks for all the information - helped a lot in my decision making. In the end (yesterday), I purchased the Wanderer 2 and here's why.

Although it is somewhat heavy for a 3 person tent, I ALWAYS split our tent into 2 separate packs which for me, made the weight acceptable (I don't really do any hiking trips). The reason I didn't go with the Volt 3 is because they did not have anymore of the standard Volt - only the the Volt 3 A/C. I camp on the edge of the St Laurence River where it can get quite windy so I wanted a tent that had more wind protection. I was kind of stuck on the Lightfield 2, but as I don't do any 4th season camping, I convinced myself it would be overkill. I stayed away from the MSR tent because although the ultralight set up was very appealing, the person who helped me at MEC mentioned that if I was to be facing a decent amount of wind, the MEC set up would withstand/protect better. I loved the larger than standard size of the Wanderer 2 and to top it off, (not sure if it was a pricing mistake), the Wanderer 2 in store wast at $289.00 - I had to bring the MEC cashier to the tent section where the price was posted because on her computer, and on the website it was priced at $349.

I really do appreciate everyone's feedback. Thank you!!

Yeah exactly!! When I saw the price in store I took it as a sign.
Excited to use it!

ChristineCanoes wrote:

If all the tents were marked down then it probably was an error - if only a few of the tents were marked down it probably was not an error - we have bought many things from MEC that were discounted because MEC has previously sold them and had them returned - the only 'catch' is that if you want a warranty, MEC only allows its 'rock solid guarantee' on items at full price - so if you buy it as discounted or on clearance MEC makes you pay the difference to get a replacement under warranty.

Interesting. I've never seen that. Usually, they clear out their warranty returns ( distinct from clearance items) at the semi-annual Gear Exchange events and they will write with a marker "W/R" somewhere on the item so it cannot be returned at a later date. I've been lucky with those: A pair of Atlas snow shoes ($50), hiking boots (twice, $15 each) and always good as new with no wear indicated.

Anyway, whatever the reason, you lucked out, MatteoP. Maybe you should buy a lotto ticket, too!