I wanted a light weight tent to backpack with my 11-year old son. I read the reviews and visited Sierra Design's website and thought, "the SD Meteor Light CD sounds like everything I could want in a tent". I ordered it online and 8 days later a box arrives.

I lifted the box, which felt quite heavy, and thought, "opps! feels like they sent two tents by accident".

WOW! Was I suprised when I opened the box and found one heavy, Metero "not so Light" tent inside. It felt like a 10 pound weight. When I placed it on a scale, no suprise, the tent was 10 lbs!

(Note: That's two pounds heavier than my Eureka Mountain Pass 4 XT tent a 4-man tent).

I'm disappointed with Sierra Design's deceptive and false advertising. Here's my advice to Sierra Design's management team:

1) Quit supporting oppressive goverments (a.k.a. China and Korea) and STOP exploiting underprivledged people.

2) If you're going to export AMERICAN jobs to 3rd world countries, have the decency to pay these poor people more. Don't feel you're doing these people a favor by giving them a job that pays a few cents a day!

You're welcome to prove me wrong by making a public annoucement outlining the salary/benefit policies for the workers you employ in China a Korea, but I won't hold my breath!

3) Take care not to exploit EVERYONE, it's sure to come back and bite you. For now it seems like S.D. exploits people outside the country and it's own people(deceptive advertising, high prices, and the tendency to sell things to people you've taken jobs from).

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox. The quality of the tent appears good, but this is moot if it weighs a ton :(

I didn't know how to rate this product. If it was as light as advertised I'd give it a 4 or 5. But since it's a bag of bricks, I decided to give it a 2-star rating.

Customer Service

None to date.

Similar Products Used:

It you want a functional light weight and less expensive tent research the Eureka Mountain Pass XT (4 or 2-man).

Why this tents got a lower rating than the Meteor light is beyond me. Looks like marketing hype really influences people. I've had nothing but good luck with the Moutain Pass XT. Looks like I was suckered by the hype too (I bought the Meteor light).

If your religious pray at night that the Sierra Design managment team develop a concious and become better Global citizens, if your not religous pray anyway, it might do them some good.

We bought this tent over 12 years ago, it has been incredibly reliable and durable. We have heavily used this tent in all kinds of conditions, and it has take the abuse well. I love the open feeling of it when you're not using the fly. We had to buy a new fly for it, after a while it seemed like it wouldn't hold the seam-seal, and would leak, but that made it seem like a new tent. we have had a few zipper problems, but other than that I would highly recommend this tent. Sometimes I will carry it for solo trips, it is a grand hotel then.

Customer Service

returned for zipper maintenence, very prompt service

I went down to Quest in search of a tent that wasn't overly heavy, not too huge, but great for 3 people, and would be durable. I made the perfect choice! A 2000 Meteorlight.
That night the temperature went down to 10 degrees here in little Indiana and I laid comfortably in my tent and bag. Since then I have been in plenty of weather, and this tent blocks it all.
Plus: Awesome looking, all my friends are jealous. The sleeves are easy, and the clips make it simple for one person to set up. The inside is huge, and the weight isnt bad at all. The window adds to the touch also. The fly works like a charm, with to condensation if everything is staked out perfectly.
Minus? A tad heavy, but who cares, its a bombshell and has great mesh on the top to see stars.
Buy THIS TENT! Its perfect for any weather.

Customer Service

None yet, but thats SD quality for you.

Similar Products Used:

SD Omega
Coleman (sucks)

I've only had this tent for four months, so I cannot comment on its warm-weather abilities (actually, living and camping mostly in western Washington, I may never experience warm-weather camping), but for warmish snow conditions, it rocks. It is not supposed to be a winter tent, but around here winter camping is mostly around 15-30 degrees, and this tent is fine for those temperatures.

It pitches easily, and the large vestibule gives you lots of room to store gear out of the snow and rain. I'm 6'3" and I can easily sit up and lay down. It is comfortable for two and a palace for one. It's a tall tent and I was concerned about its abilities in wind. The jury is still out, but it just went on a week-ender to Mt. Rainier where it easily survived 3" of snow, about an inch of rain, and moderate winds. Not a drop of water inside, although once snow sealed up the bottom of the fly I did get some moisture on the inside of the roof -- a problem almost all tents have. Washington is always damp, it's hard not to get some condensation. Our group had about 10 tents on this trip, and half of them were leaning under the weight of the wet, heavy snow. The Meteor (and a couple of The North Face tents) was standing tall.

As nearly every other reviewer writes, the zippers on the fly require a lot of care to open and close without getting fabric jammed in them. My first morning in the tent (under 4" of new snow) I jammed *both* vestibule zippers when I was *very* anxious to get out the tent to attend to some important business. A few trips out and I can now get them open and closed without jamming nearly every time.

By the way, the blue fabric on the fly looks really cool.

Customer Service

Haven't needed any service. REI's staff, as usual, was very helpful.

Similar Products Used:

A bunch of cheap tents. This is my first really nice one.

I've used this tent four times now and have to say it's great. It's my first "real" tent and I've been very happy. I've only camped in rain in this tent and it's held up very well. We're talking situations where it rained all night - when it was all said and done the tent stayed completely dry.

I'm 6.'3" and there is plenty of room in this tent. Additionally, the vrstibule of this tent is great. If you have a dog or a good ammount of gear, this tent will do them justice.

Setup is a breeaze as well. All in all a great tent.

Similar Products Used:

None

This is a very spacious 2-person tent. I've used it in poor weather conditions ranging from freezing rain, sleet, 1 foot of very wet snow, thunderstorms, gale force winds, multiple consecutive rainy days. The tent has held up great and the only leak(actually drip) I had was due to condensation dripping on the tent from the underside of the fly. This was on a very calm, humid night camped next to a river. The flaps covering the fly zipper may get caught in the zipper while zipping from within the tent. The tent is heavier than advertised. After 5 years of abuse, the fly is starting to delaminate. This tent will easily hold 2 plus gear.

Customer Service

Never had to call.

Similar Products Used:

Marmot Nutshell, Walrus Arch Rival, and many others...

I've used my Meteor Light for six years now. Included during that time is two separate stints sleeping in the tent every night for 50 or so days. Overall, I've slept in the tent more than 250 nights. It's held up like a champ. The only problems that I've experienced are with the zippers, but I attribute that more to normal wear and tear. If you're looking to stay in a tent in weather below 20 degrees or so, then I'd recommend upgrading to a four-season.

Similar Products Used:

None

I have a 6 year old Clear-Light version, which is mostly mesh.
Was a Campmor closeout item. was like $120
Excellent tent for 3 seasons in the Southwest.
Tent looks a little rough now, but is still leakproof and pitches tight.
Zippers are a little finicky so be carefull with them.

Similar Products Used:

None

I have the 99 model. Been thru rain and wind with no problems. At one Scout campout we had 50+ mph winds and tents and dining flys were sailing. 4 stakes (and my backack) held the Meteor Lite down.
Pros: Love the 2 doors. Great vestibule. Roomy, comfortable, watertight. Easy to set up and take down.
Cons: Zippers on the fly catch in the fabric unless you zip very slowly and carefully. A second vestibule would be great. Weighs far more than advertised.

Customer Service

Have not had to use them.

Similar Products Used:

North Face
Kelty Vortex2 (also a good tent)

I bought this tent based on 3 factors: 1) weight, 2) vestibule size (dog), 3) volume. It has scored high on all counts, although at 7 lb, 4 oz (weighed with all sacks, poles, etc) a bit heavier than I wanted (dream on...). THIS TENT IS GREAT! If you need a "real" 2 person tent with plenty of room for gear and a dog, this is it. On our first use, we ran into gusts up to 60 mph with sleet up in the White Mtns. The tent held nicely, stayed dry. I highly recommend this tent. Campmor advertised this tent on their website (campmor.com)for $120 (the '99 model) for 3 days (deal of the century).They now have it for $230. Only "complaint"? Be careful with the zippers. Feed them through carefully, and you'll be fine.

Similar Products Used:

SD Flashlight 3 CD
Eureka (don't remember which)
REI Nitelite