Chinook Technical Outdoor - Twin Peaks Guide 6 - Review

After 4 years of what can best be described as "tolerating" a mediocre tent, i set out to find a replacement. The new tent would have to satisfy a few notable deficiencies in the last tent as well as meet a few basic requirements. This tent:

·Would be able to stand entirely on its own, with or without the use of pegs.
·Would have a sheltered area outside of the main living area
·Would be able to comfortably fit 2 people with enough room to allow operation of a heater
·Would be easy to assemble with 2 people. But still be doable by one.

After looking around I stumbled upon another Chinook Tec tent at a retailer nearby, while it was not what I was looking for, the way the tent was constructed was. As a result decided to look up Chinook Technical Outdoor’s website and see what else they had available.  That’s where I found the Twin Peaks series and it looked like a great option to fit my needs.

I shopped around and unfortunately local pricing and availability left a lot to be desired, I was never able to actually see the tent as it was out of stock with no eta in every store I could find that carried it. After pondering it for a while I decided that based on the perceived quality of the other Chinook tents I was able to view that it was worth a shot. Ultimately I ended up buying it online from scouttech-outfitters via eBay. Price was $340.11 +gst. Shipping was free and the product arrived promptly and exactly as expected.

Once I received the tent we immediately headed out to an open spot to set it up. The tent is stored in a duffle bag style case, which compared to the “sock” type that my old tent was in, is a huge improvement in itself. As I started rolling out the parts I was looking to see how some of the weak spots on my old tent compared to this new one, and was pretty impressed. The stakeout loops have been reinforced where they attach to the tent, and not just in the corners as my previous tent was.  The seams have all been taped and sealed. The mesh on the screens is also a lot finer then what I was used to, and did an excellent job of controlling the mayflies and mosquitos on our first trip out. I would have liked to see  additional stakeout loops positioned at the center of the doors to hold down the base of the tent a bit better but we’ll see if this actually proves to be a problem or not.

Setting up the main tent is remarkably simple thanks to every connection and pole being color coded. The instructions are straight forward and easy to follow. Set up is as simple as putting two poles through the screen side, followed by two poles though the body side, then raising the tent.  Adding the fly is also very easy although the method the instructions suggest requires you to be eight feet tall and able to reach through solid objects. We found it far simpler to simply connect one side with the color coded, quick release buckles, attach the ridge pole and then pull the whole assembly over the tent. The straps build into the buckles make tightening up the fly a breeze. The full length fly has loops around the base allowing it to be staked out away from the main tent to keep water away. Adding the PE floor to the screen room is also simple and it is simply connected using 4 buckles at each corner of the room, I would have liked to see a couple more buckles on the long sides of the floor but it is defiantly not a deal breaker as the only time I see even using the removable floor would be if the area was VERY muddy or wet, otherwise it really serves no purpose in my opinion.

Going into the tent, it is obvious this is a step above the last one we used. The zippers are heavy and run smoothly, the only binding I experienced was when I ran the rain flap on the fly into one of them as I was closing it, but this is too be expected, I can’t really see a way it could have been done better. Both the screen room and the tent include a removable gear loft and the hangers are more than strong enough to hang a light or wet gear to dry. The main living area also features four pockets positioned at opposite ends of the outer walls and they were easy to find and access at night from where we set up our bed. The walls are tall enough that we could comfortably stand almost everywhere in the tent. We were able to set up a queen size inflatable mattress and still have enough room to move around on one side of the tent.

Overall I am very happy with this tent, while there are many other options available in a tent this size I feel for the price this is by far the best bang for your buck. After a few light uses since we received it there is no sign of any weak spots or potential failures in the structure of the tent. I will update this review at the end of the season with any issues or quirks we encounter. At this point I would have no issue recommending that you give the Chinook Technical Outdoor – Twin Peaks Guide a try for yourself or at least consider it when you buy your next large tent.

My Rating: