Sierra Designs Sirius 3 Tent

Trail Weight: 4 pounds 11 ounces
Packed Weight: 5 pounds 4 ounces
Peak Height: 44 inches
Interior Area: 41 square feet
Interior Dimensions: 84 inches x 71 inches

When I was poking around the Internet tent shopping last year, I had several requirements in mind for my new backpacking tent:

Lightweight – Close to 5 pounds: I was looking for lightweight backpacking tents where I could split the weight and have it be about 2.5 pounds per person.
Double doors: I don’t like to disturb my tentmate if nature calls at night.
Room inside for gear: As you can probably tell by the rest of this website, I love hiking gear, and I also treat it well. I hate keeping gear outside, even under tent vestibules, especially if it is raining.
Roomy enough for 2 large people (plus gear): I like my space!
Price under $200 including footprint: This eliminated a lot of tents on the market. Luckily I was able to get this Sierra Designs tent when it was on sale!

I thought the search would have been easier, but I found most tents too expensive, and way too heavy. Since I bought it, I’ve used my Sierra Designs Sirius 3 tent numerous times. Technically it is a 3 person tent, but I don’t know of any 3 humans who would be able to get a decent night sleep in this tent… but the great thing about it is that it is quite roomy for 2 people, and it is still lightweight! In total it is 5lbs 8oz, which doesn’t feel like much when you split it between 2 people.

Sierra Designs Sirius 3 Footprint

The design is quite unique, and hugely beneficial for backpackers. Because it is a hybrid single and double wall tent, it is lightweight, but does the work of a regular tent. As seen in the picture above, the vestibules are quite small when the tent rainfly is on, but with 41 square feet of interior space, I really haven’t used the vestibules to store any gear.

There are far more expensive tents that have similar features, but this one is an excellent value in my opinion.

Sierra Designs Sirius 3 Footprint