Black Diamond Mesa 2-person 3-season tent

I had the chance this last weekend to take the Black Diamond Mesa tent winter camping. A tent is your home, your shelter, your backcountry getaway of love; never good to skimp on your home away from home. Black Diamond has done a stellar job with the Mesa, here are my findings. Space We all need more space with our tent. Whether it be the vestibule, inside, or more gear pockets on the walls. One thought is to decrease the junk we bring camping...nah probably not going to happen. The tent was great for just me, I can see two people fitting fine but its going to be snug. My Big Agnes sleeping mattress size long barely fit the tent. It made the whole floor of the tent into this mattress, which was actually kinda cool. No complaints, why need more space if your not going to use it? Vestibules were plenty big. I had a oil candle and my Jet Boil busting away with ease. At the top of the zipper of the door it has the hooped nylon to keep the rain out. For this trip it actually rained all morning so that came in handy. Having two vestibules is a plus, I honestly don't care for single door tents much. Design The height fits pretty low to the ground which is great for high ascents and backpacking. Weighing you and your partner down a mere 4lbs. 8oz. I think your back will be stoked carrying and laying down in this nylon home. It was also easy to build a snow wall to block wind and insulate around the tent. Two doors is the way to go. I am planning on taking this tent on Rainier this summer because the nylon goes pretty high up the wall for warmth. The Mesa is your all around tent with having a mesh roof to take out on the warm trips. The spider pole design threw me off but I am a firm believer now. Like a spider, there is a metal ring that connects the 6 poles together, two short poles for the fly and four main poles. At first its hard to put together and break it down, but I'm a huge fan now. The system is very to use for one person setting up the tent, which is usually me. Gripe For the tent stake loops I wish they had a tightener buckle system to cinch down the fly. When your using the snow to replace tent stakes its hard to dig a mini-pit and then find its not tight enough for the fly. I reckon they didn't put buckles on because they were trying to save weight. Since BD got Gear of the Year in 2007 from Outside magazine I should keep my yapper shut. Bottom Line Its going on Rainier with me this year. BUY NOW: The Black Diamond Mesa 2-person 3-season tent at Backcountry.com. Pictures: The picture where the packed tent is next to a Nalgene, kinda makes the tent look huge right? Wrong. That's a mini-nalgene. It's my first time messing around with camera tricks, hope you got tricked!