I've got a mec north field, 4 season, and camp with it weeks on end. It's also 10 years old, never leaks, but I recently had to re waterproof my floor. Now, my floor is 10000mm waterproofing, 1500mm is the most common, and I see is what they're offering at tent city. You may find that in very wet weather, an1500 mm floor may not stay dry as long as you wish. To counter act that, you can add a waterproof footprint in the inside of your tent, as well as underneath your tent. yes, that would be 2 alltogether, but they're usually really light. Or, ofcourse, any other type of waterproof sheeting you can get your hands on and cut to size yourself works too. The other thing you've got to be careful with is that the fly is made so it can breath, if you were to waterproof that with available spray on waterproofing (
Many outfitters carry it, specific for nylon tents,so does Canadian tire) you will loose your breathability and tent may condensate heavily on the inside , so better use a tarp in that case.
I've found a lArge vestibule a fantastic invention, as I can get in and out without immediately getting everything damp/dirty inside tent. My Waterproof footprint(homemade) extentends into the vestibule,so clothing etc stays nice and clean when going in on knees, and footwear can be put back on without me getting soaked first in case of rain.
Have a look at mec website, they offer a used gear site, tents is one of them, and maybe a slightly used high end used one becomes more affordable for you.
One other thing, I had one tent that had the main inside tent door as an round shape, the bottom of the shape several inches of the floor. This turned out to be a deal breaker,as I tripped one to many times in the middle of the night getting out of the tent.

Hope it helps,
Wanda S

I'm pretty sure our larger tent is a MEC Northwind.   One thing about it that we intensely dislike is that the doors only have a single zipper that runs around the arch shaped part of the door.  You can't get in or out of the tent without opening a huge area of the door which really sucks when you have a zillion mosquitos waiting outside.  If you have a zipper that runs along the bottom of the door and a second zipper that runs around part of the arched section of the door, you can open a much smaller area of the door to get in or out.

Last edited by yellowcanoe (8/28/2015 11:45 am)

Hey liamc

I think Dan gave you the first key piece of advice. Most tents run small for the capacity they state. I use a 3 man for just me and the wife etc.  There are exceptions though.

The other key consideration for me is weight. What will you be doing with this tent. Canoe camping only? Do you do a lot long portaging ? Any backpacking at all. ? Do you always double carry anyway so weight isn't a very big deal for you.?

Generally though the tent is one of the top 3 or so areas you really have the opportunity to cut down on your total weight. I personally place a lot of importance on it. Others I know it is way down their list.

I have never heard a person say" boy I really wish my load were heavier" though.

As far as tent city goes. I have made a number of purchases from them. They have very good prices and service.

Last edited by ShawnD (8/28/2015 1:22 pm)

It is time to leave the world of the ground behind. Sleep comfortably and worry not about ground runoff flooding you out. Hammock my friend I'm 51 and can't beleive I slept on the ground for 45+years


Hank Scorpio: Hammocks? My goodness, what an idea. Why didn't I think of that? Hammocks! Homer, there's four places. There's the Hammock Hut, that's on third
.Homer: Uh-huh.
Hank Scorpio: There's Hammocks-R-Us, that's on third too. You got Put-Your-Butt-There
.Homer: Mm-Hmm.
Hank Scorpio: That's on third. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot... Matter of fact, they're all in the same complex; it's the hammock complex on third.
Homer: Oh, the hammock district!

...but the sites at Algonquin were made expressly for tents. Lots of them are big open sites with glorious views. Sometimes i have to look at four sites before i find a site where I can hang my hammock (with tarp) properly without cutting bushes etc. (which i wouldn't do in a park, but might on Crown Land), so I carry a second tarp for living under. Getting to be weighty. Bought a bivy recently for this reason.

Back to the discussion at hand. Check out Gear up for Outdoors, too. Their prices are usually competitive with Tent City, and sometimes they carry different lines of goods. Online only though, unlesss you live near Thunder Bay.  Check out ScoutTech in Mississauga too.

Thank you for the feedback everyone. I am looking for a 3 person tent to sleep 2 people comfortably and have a little space for bags. As of right now I would say we try to 1.5 carry portages, but are working to get it down to single carries and that the tent would be used pretty exclusively for canoe camping.

I would love a hammock, but normally I bring my girlfriend or a buddy who are less equipped and expect me to provide the shelter lol. Thanks for the gear up outdoors and scoutec options and I will have a look at the mec used too, but worry a little about used tents and whether they maintain their waterproofness

thanks again!

Last edited by liamc (8/29/2015 8:39 am)

Hey Shawnd,
Appreciate the help! I have a couple of questions now. Do you know how fast gear up ships? IM headed up for the long weekend and would love to have the new tent by then. Second does the pound or so less weight of the first two make a large difference? 3rd the glo tent is cool, but am I sacrificing a worse tent for a nifty feature? And finally If I were to buy the MSr elixir would you get a footprint included for $284 or will I be fine without it at $234.

Liam, ny daughter bought a nearly new north face tent through mec used gear website. It was exactly as described, she did research regarding the tent and after much emailing with seller, went ahead and bought the tent. Tent has been going strong for 4 years. Just know to ask the questions that are important to you about the tent on offer. But, reading through all the responses , have you thought of what would be important to your girlfriend when talking about tents? As a female I know that sometimes their ideas are totally different then men's? Might be a good conversation to have!
WandaS