Sierra Designs Meteor Lite 3000 2P tent review: Lighter than ever

Sierra Designs is originally an American outdoor gear manufacturer, but in recent years, the brand has made big strides in the UK and European markets.

This is thanks to the launches of some genuinely innovative, user friendly and competitively priced products such as the nifty Flex Capacitor hiking packs and the “3,000” series of tents and bivvy bags.

These shelters are based on existing Sierra Designs products but are optimised for our wet and windy climate thanks to the use of more waterproof fabrics, with a 3,000mm HH (hydrostatic head) rating, hence the name.

When it was first released a few seasons back, the Sierra Designs Meteor 3,000 2P model soon became one of our favourite all round backpacking tents, particularly given its competitive sub-£250 price point.

The Meteor Lite is an upgrade on this design with a lower overall weight and improved headroom. Otherwise, it’s built on the same principles, so you still get a quick pitching, freestanding tent with a practical hubbed-pole set and double-skinned design. However, it’s also come with a pretty hefty price hike.

Shape, structure, pitching and internal liveability

Sierra Designs’ original Meteor 3,000 tent was a Trail and LFTO favourite, thanks to its mix of practicality, versatility and outstanding value. In our opinion, it’s still one of the best tents you can buy for under £250.

However, this latest model has undergone a serious makeover, retaining all of the best features while adding extra internal headroom – yet also saving nearly half a kilo in weight. Inevitably, that’s come with a price hike, and the RRP is now £430/$499.

Can you justify the additional cost? Well, it’s undoubtedly a more pleasant place to spend the night, since the re-engineered, pre-bent poles noticeably improve headroom and liveability.

It’s still a practical proposition too, thanks to the double-skinned, fully freestanding design, which does a good job of managing condensation and coping with uneven, lumpy pitches.

On the other hand, it’s designed to go up inner first, just like the standard Meteor, which isn’t so great if you’re forced to camp in the rain.

Luckily, set up is easy thanks to the use of colour coded pole ends and grommets, which lock neatly into place. It is important to orientate the fly sheet correctly though.

The easiest way to do this is to match the red corners together and go from there. The flysheet also has a few more Velcro tabs than we’d like too, which are bit fiddly, though they undoubtedly add tautness and structural integrity.

The fly sheet is at least a muted dark green colour (unlike the bright blue and yellow colourway of the original Meteor), which is a good choice for stealthy wild camping in the hills, though there are some reflective elements for added safety on the campsite too.

Double doors and vestibules are a decent size and make for easy entry and exit, whilst giving adequate space for boots, packs and cooking kit. There's over a metre of headroom at the apex and a rectangular floor area of 213cm x 130cm (L x W).

It’s not the longest tent overall, and with your sleep system set up and your gear spread out around you, you might find yourself wishing for a bit more room at either end. Width isn’t an issue though, and you can get two 60cm sleeping mats side by side.

Waterproofing

As its name suggests, the Meteor Lite 3,000 is designed to offer both low weight and decent levels of waterproofing. The flysheet is a 20D PFC-free nylon ripstop, while the sewn-in bathtub floor is 30D PFC-free nylon ripstop. Both have (unsurprisingly) waterproof ratings of 3,000mm Hydrostatic Head.

These are superior figures to most tents in rival ranges such as those offered by Big Agnes and MSR, and equal to other competitor models such as the F10 Xenon UL2 and the NEMO Dagger Ridge OSMO.

The flysheet is also a slightly heavier weight nylon than the 15D versions of some ultralight rivals, which helps to ensure less sagging when the fabric is sodden or saturated.

All in all, it feels like a protective shelter. The flysheet offers excellent all-round coverage, and the upper vent can be closed off to keep out wind-driven rain.

Both door zippers are also protected with external storm flaps to minimise leakage into the vestibules. The extended brow pole also just about ensures that water doesn’t drip into the inner even if you have to get out of the tent in the rain.

Condensation

The Meteor Lite 3,000 2P is fitted with a triangular vent in the upper section of the fly sheet, which is equipped with a folding Velcro strut to ensure decent airflow and reduce condensation build-up.

The entire upper third of the inner is made from mesh, which creates adequate ventilation without making the tent feel too draughty. The flysheet is cut fairly close to the ground for good all-round coverage, but there’s enough of a gap to stop things feeling too stuffy.

Two-way zippers on the flysheet doors also enable you to crack them open for added airflow. All in all, it strikes a sensible balance between breezy ventilation and cosy warmth for chillier nights.

Wind protection

The head wall of the tent is very steep – nearly vertical in fact. This dramatically improves internal liveability, but it does mean that the tent can occasionally catch the wind, especially if pitched head-on in more exposed locations.

To be fair, it’s a failing of most tent designs of this type. You do get four sturdy guylines to help improve overall stability and a set of good quality Y-beam stakes for decent holding power though.

You should be fine in all but the windiest weather, and even if this end of the tent buckles it is highly unlikely to fail.

We didn’t experience any pole breakages, even after extended spring testing in the hills and mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia). But we’d still say that it’s sensible to avoid pitching the head end of the tent directly into the wind.

Weight and packed size

The standard Meteor 3,000 2P tent weighs 2.4kg/5lbs 4oz (packed weight) and has packed dimensions of 45 x 16.5cm. This Lite 3,000 version weighs 1.96kg/4lbs 5oz, with minimal difference in packed size and the same overall footprint, but increased headroom.

So, that’s a weight saving of nearly half a kilo for an objectively bigger and better tent, which isn’t insignificant. Still, if you're solo camping, it weighs a lot more than many ultralight one-person tents.

Of course, there are lighter tents around, even in the same class of poled, double-skinned two-person tents. Lighter examples include MSR’s FreeLite 2 and Hubba Hubba, Big Agnes’ Tiger Wall or Copper Spur UL2, Sea to Summit’s Alto and Telos TR2, NEMO’s Dragonfly or Dagger OSMO 2P… the list goes on.

In short, this is a congested segment of the tent market and Sierra Designs has some tough competition.

And though the Meteor Lite 3,000 2P is less expensive than many rivals, in our opinion it isn’t quite as good a value proposition as the original Meteor 3,000 was when it first came onto the market a few years back. This makes it a little hard to recommend unless you’re a particular fan of the brand or can find it at a decent discount.

Features

This model ticks most of the boxes for a backpacking tent – it uses high-quality materials and components, with decent pegs and a sturdy 7000-series aluminium alloy pole set. You also get a practical side-entry ‘burrito bag’ with compression straps that makes it easy to pack away and stash in a rucksack.

You also get double doors and vestibules, which are a good size in terms of providing easy access and gear storage. We also like the upper flysheet vent, locking guy line runners and single-pull tensioners at all critical pegging points.

One minor niggle is that the inner has just two storage pockets, which are small and of limited use for much more than a compact head torch or a pair of glasses.

On the plus side, one unusual – if not unique – feature of this particular tent is that the fly sheet can be rolled back and secured in multiple configurations, giving great panoramic views out of each side as well as the ability to furl one half of the fly and create a ‘moon view’ for stargazing.

It’s ideal for balmy summer nights when you’re confident that it definitely won’t rain. So, that’s a few days a year in most of the UK’s mountains then…

Final verdict

A decently light, packable, waterproof and well-ventilated backpacking tent that balances trail comfort and practicality with three-season versatility. Perhaps not a standout performer in any one metric, but an excellent all-rounder. We'd rate it at 72% overall.

For adventures with more members, maybe consider our list of the best family tents.