ohhiitznik
WKR
So with my megatarp and stove out on loan to another member I took the opportunity to give this new cabelas tent a try. Its the instinct 2p, freestanding 4 season shelter. Initial impressions are that its a well made tent. The quality of the stitching is on par with big agnes and other higher end manufacturers. I've had decent luck with the majority of my cabelas gear that I've purchased over the years, from waterfowl waders to hunting boots etc. This tent comes with a full breathable material inner, with no see um mesh triangles at the top for venting and condensation issues. Its a front entry D shaped door with front vestibule. They also give you DAC Aluminium poles and DAC stakes with the tent. Where cabelas differs from most tent manufacturers is they also give you a footprint, and a gear loft and a seam sealer kit included in the 300$ price tag. Whats nice is you can leave the footprint attached and the gear loft as well when you take it down so it pitches very fast. Cabelas recommends seam sealing the flysheet where velcro or elastic parts are stitched, but 95% of the tent has taped seams. I'll get to test it this weekend in a rainstorm here in Idaho so I'll let you know exactly where it needs to be sealed.
I pitched the tent in my apartment to get a look at it, I'm a large guy, 6'4 about 265. I fit with about 10 inches of head room with my feet at the end. I wouldn't want to be in this tent if I were much taller. If you lay diagonally you get a few more inches of space. 2 normal sized guys could use this tent to sleep in but they couldn't store gear inside the tent. I see this tent as a palace for 1 guy or if you're close with your hunting buddy you could hunt two average guys out of it. Keep in mind this isn't with a taut pitch as I had nothing staked out. The tent design is an external pitch, like the hilleberg tents. You can pitch the instinct in the rain and snow and not worry about the inside of the tent getting wet. That was a big factor for me choosing this tent. Its a lower cost option for those of you wanting an external pitch, 4 season tent. I also decided to go with freestanding as well because I'd like to have access to my trekking poles while hunting or moving as I can cover much more ground in a safer fashion with the aid of poles. The tent comes in at 5lbs 12oz on my scale with everything in the package. Once you remove the seam sealer bottle and the stuff sacks for it it comes in at 4lb 12oz. That is a decent weight for a 4 season free standing tent. You could cut even more weigh by removing labels and warning, the tent comes with 14 stakes and you could swap them out for a lighter option. The tent also comes with reflective guy line on 4 corners, and you could definitely swap that out for some trip tease to make it lighter as well.
I'll get back to you guys with pictures of the tent and a performance summary on monday when I get back from the hills. Like I said I'll have rain and good wind to deal with so I'll be able to give you guys a good report on how it handles weather.
I pitched the tent in my apartment to get a look at it, I'm a large guy, 6'4 about 265. I fit with about 10 inches of head room with my feet at the end. I wouldn't want to be in this tent if I were much taller. If you lay diagonally you get a few more inches of space. 2 normal sized guys could use this tent to sleep in but they couldn't store gear inside the tent. I see this tent as a palace for 1 guy or if you're close with your hunting buddy you could hunt two average guys out of it. Keep in mind this isn't with a taut pitch as I had nothing staked out. The tent design is an external pitch, like the hilleberg tents. You can pitch the instinct in the rain and snow and not worry about the inside of the tent getting wet. That was a big factor for me choosing this tent. Its a lower cost option for those of you wanting an external pitch, 4 season tent. I also decided to go with freestanding as well because I'd like to have access to my trekking poles while hunting or moving as I can cover much more ground in a safer fashion with the aid of poles. The tent comes in at 5lbs 12oz on my scale with everything in the package. Once you remove the seam sealer bottle and the stuff sacks for it it comes in at 4lb 12oz. That is a decent weight for a 4 season free standing tent. You could cut even more weigh by removing labels and warning, the tent comes with 14 stakes and you could swap them out for a lighter option. The tent also comes with reflective guy line on 4 corners, and you could definitely swap that out for some trip tease to make it lighter as well.
I'll get back to you guys with pictures of the tent and a performance summary on monday when I get back from the hills. Like I said I'll have rain and good wind to deal with so I'll be able to give you guys a good report on how it handles weather.
