Proteus from United States, NH Public Profile

I saw this on the YouTube site, so it's not my idea. But I tested it out as a proof of concept and it works.

You're in the rain. Bummer. So drop the footprint, and deploy the tent poles. Put the pole ends in their corresponding corner grommets, and now you've got the framework that the fly can rest on. All set? Great! Now you can take your time and set up the tent itself underneath, nice and dry.

Yes, you'll have to grunt and groan a little more. You won't have perfect access from every angle as you might if you were pitching your tent the normal way. But when all's said and done, the important stuff will be dry, and that's the name of the game, right?

This little bit of versatility packs with the tent seamlessly, and only adds about 10% to the total weight of the entire kit. Not bad!

So four stars out of five, but only because I haven't had the chance to get outside with it just yet. However, some first impressions:

Setup? Fast and easy. Poles are all shock-corded together, so unpack them, and it's the bit that takes care of itself. There's some hullabaloo on the MSR video about grey and red tabs. Fuggedaboudit. Just grab two corners and stretch your arms out. If your elbows are still bent, you've got an end. If your arms are fully stretched and the tent isn't taut, you've got a side. No kidding, it's just that easy. Stick the pole ends into the corners. Now hook the ceiling to the pole middles.

Confused? Don't be. MSR has spent a lot of time thinking about how to make things obvious. Once you unroll everything, it all makes sense what goes where. Without even giving the instructions a sidewards glance, I had the thing up within a few easy minutes. If all I was reviewing was the ease of setup, MSR would get that fifth star, no question.

Apart from that, it's versatile in how you use it. The fly can go on such that you can have it half undone, and fall asleep beneath the stars with plenty of ventilation. And if a squall blows in during the night, the fly can be fully deployed within moments. Again, MSR spent a crazy amount of time designing an effortless product.

OK. Enough reading. Buy the thing already.