Marmot Tungsten 4 Tent Review (Bought & Tested!)

I bought this tent with my own money and put it through 12 hands-on tests.

Setup 11.75 min
Peak 52.25in
Inner area 51.2 sq ft
Vestibule 34 sq ft

The author testing the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *My Marmot Tungsten 4.*

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Test scorecard · scored against other camping tents

7.8out of 10

Portability10

Ventilation8.7

Spaciousness8

Rain Protection7.6

Quality7.3

Ease of Use7

Comfort & Features6.6

The Marmot Tungsten 4 weighs the least per person of the 8 camping tents I’ve ranked, and its 2 top poles give you lots of livable space. However, for an expensive tent, I didn’t expect its poles to crack on me after just a few uses.

What won me over

The lightest tent per person
More livable space

What let me down

Poles can be significantly thicker
Expensive

Check price on REI Co-op Backcountry – 3-person Dick’s – 3-person

If you prefer watching to reading, my video review of this tent is coming soon.

See the 12 tests

In the Box
Set Up & Pack Away
Peak Height
Livable Space
Base Area
Vestibules
Doors
Storage
Ventilation
Rain Protection
Quality
Portability
Pros, Cons, Recommendations
Bonus – MUST Read!

In the Box

Tent body
Rainfly
Footprint
3 poles
Pole bag
8 stakes
Stake bag
Repair splint
4 guylines
Carry bag

Poles 31 orange X-pole, 2 short blue ones
Stakes 8
Guylines 4

Set Up & Pack Away

Both the setup and pack away were easy and relatively fuss-free, except for the X-pole popping out a few times during each setup.

Now, here’s what to take note of.

Set-up time 11.75 minOn my own
Pack-away time 10.75 min

Pro tip The 8 provided stakes only cover the tent base and two vestibules. I’d recommend buying an extra 6 stakes and 2 short guylines so you can stake down the widths and guy the tent out properly.

Peak Height

Peak height 52.25inAt the center of the tent

That isn’t the highest peak I’ve measured, but it was more than enough for me.

The author sitting upright inside the Marmot Tungsten 4 on an air mattress. — *Still upright with a mattress under me.*

Livable Space

The two short blue poles across the top are what carry the height outwards. They extend the peak height further across the tent than any of the other tents I’ve tested.

The two short blue poles running across the top of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *Blue pole #1 and #2, sitting on top of the orange X-pole.*

Extreme left 46.25in
Extreme right 47.0in
Back of the tent 40.25in
Front of the tent 40.0in

The measured heights across every part of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *Every height I measured, from the outside.*

Base Area

Floor area 51.2 sq ft
Floor size 91 x 81inLength across the tent, then the width

The author measuring the floor length of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *Measuring the length across the tent.*

Single pads 42 doubles, side by side
Exped Duo 74 x 43in
Klymit Double V 74 x 47in
Leftover space 8inAt the front, for gear

The measured floor dimensions of the Marmot Tungsten 4 with two double pads inside. — *Two double pads only fit across the 91in length, with about an inch to spare at each side.*

That means four of you sleep shoulder to shoulder, and there isn’t much room left over when you sit up.

The author sitting up beside the wall of the Marmot Tungsten 4 with her head against it. — *Sitting up on the outside pad, my head grazes the wall.*

The leftover floor space at the front of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *The leftover strip, between the pads and the front wall.*

Alternatively, a queen air bed fits, and it leaves enough room leftover for a single regular pad.

Queen beds 1Etekcity, 80 x 59in
Leftover space 21 x 10.5inLength, then width

The measured queen air bed inside the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *What a queen looks like in the tent.*

Vestibules

Vestibules 2One over each door
Each vestibule 17.0 sq ft
Both together 34.0 sq ft
Size 45 x 91 x 36inShort edge, long edge, then depth
Stakes 2 each

The measured inner area and both vestibule areas of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *The two vestibules add more than half the inner floor area.*

That’s bigger than the average 4-person vestibule. Even so, a chair and a table in there is a very tight squeeze, and I wouldn’t recommend it.

A camp chair set up inside a vestibule of the Marmot Tungsten 4 with someone sitting in it. — *A chair does fit in there, but my knees are pressed up against the vestibule.*

There are only two configurations, shut and open, and two toggles by the side hold it open.

Vestibule zippers 2 per track
Brand None

The two unbranded zippers on a vestibule track of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *Unbranded, but neither of them ever snagged.*

Doors

Doors 2One under each vestibule
Door size 45 x 32in

They look wide-mouthed, but they aren’t big. Getting in and out was easy enough as long as you don’t mind hunching. Zip slowly around the bend at the top, because that’s where they catch.

Toggles 1 per door
Door zippers 2 per door

The author stowing the rolled-up door fabric of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *Stowing the door fabric away.*

Storage

Pockets 6
- Corner pockets 4
- Lampshade pockets 2

The two triangular lampshade pockets at the top of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *The lampshade pockets are partly sewn up, so they only really take a headlamp, and even then the light they spread isn’t great.*

Corner pocket size 10inEach one is a double pocket
Lampshade pocket size 8.5 x 7.5inTriangular
Gear loops 5All closed felt loops

A tumbler, a book and a jacket inside one corner pocket of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *One corner pocket, holding a tumbler, a book and a jacket.*

Ventilation

Take the rainfly off on a hot day and most of the inner tent is mesh.

The mesh on three walls of the Marmot Tungsten 4 with the rainfly removed. — *The Marmot without its rainfly.*

Mesh ~45%Across the whole inner tent
Three walls ~40% each
Fourth side ~80%The stargazing one

The mostly mesh side wall of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *Twice as much mesh on this side as on the other three.*

The view of the sky through the mesh of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *The mesh color takes a bit away from the view.*

Vents 2Both covered with mesh

The author reaching past the door of the Marmot Tungsten 4 to open a vent. — *Opening a vent means stretching past the door.*

Rain Protection

Tub floor None
Floor edge seams Taped
Corner seams Taped
Rainfly seams Taped

The taped corner seam of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *All corner seams were more securely taped.*

The taping stops at floor level, and nothing above it is taped.

The rainfly is full-coverage, and the widths get their own guy-out point.

The rainfly of the Marmot Tungsten 4 pulled away from the tent body by a width guy-out. — *Guying out the widths angles the water away from the tent body. It improves airflow too.*

I left the tent out in 1.5 hours of very heavy rain, with the vents open the whole time.

A vent of the Marmot Tungsten 4 angled downwards in heavy rain. — *The vents angle downwards, which is what keeps the rain out of them.*

A flooded corner of the Marmot Tungsten 4 during the heavy rain test. — *This corner flooded completely.*

The corners held, and so did the vents, the mesh and the fabric. The rainfly was long enough to keep the rain off the inner tent.

The floor edge seams didn’t, and leaked a puddle of water in from the flooding test.

A puddle of water on the floor inside the Marmot Tungsten 4 after the rain test. — *The puddle that came through the floor edge seams.*

The underside of the rainfly was slightly damp as well, so the waterproof coating isn’t the best.

The results of the heavy rain test on the Marmot Tungsten 4, with the damp patch on the rainfly marked. — *Everything I checked after the rain. The darker shade is water seeping through the fly.*

My heavy rain test 1.5 hoursNo leaks except the floor edge seams
Rainfly ~2-3 hoursBefore it wets through, from my longer roundup test

Quality

Flooring 68D polyester taffetaThe footprint is another 68D
Tent body 68D polyester ripstop
Rainfly 68D polyester ripstop
Poles Aluminum 9mmNot aircraft-grade, and not DAC

The measured diameter of an aluminum pole of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *One of the X-pole segments, up close.*

The poles are a lot thinner than I expected, and when the pole wasn’t fully seated during the setup, this segment cracked. That’s disappointing on a tent this expensive.

A crack in one of the aluminum poles of the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *A 2in crack, running along the segment.*

Zippers Unbranded
Mesh MicroSmaller holes than mosquito netting
Guylines ShockcordWith an easy tensioner and reflective guy-outs
Stakes Shepherd-hook
Made in Vietnam

The footprint that comes with the Marmot Tungsten 4. — *The footprint is included, which takes some of the load off the floor.*

The stitching is good all around the tent. I found small rips in one part of the flooring after a few trips.

Portability

Weight 9.4 lbsEverything in the bag
Packed size 24.5 x 11.25 x 7.5in
Carry handles None

The packed Marmot Tungsten 4 beside a 2-person tent and a 1-liter bottle. — *A 2-person Coleman Sundome and a 1-liter bottle, for scale.*

The author carrying the packed Marmot Tungsten 4 under one arm. — *The only way to carry it is under one arm.*

Pros, Cons, Recommendations

How does the Tungsten 4 compare to other 4-person tents? I averaged the figures from four much less expensive ones I’ve tested: the Teton Mountain Ultra 4, the ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4, the Kelty Wireless 4 and the Coleman Sundome 4.

Test	Tungsten 4	Average 4P tent
Setup	✗ 11.75 mins	9.25 mins
Pack away	✗ 10.75 mins	9.0 mins
Setup details	✓ More	Less
Peak height	✗ 52.25in	57.0in
Top poles	✓ 2	0-1
Vertical walls	✓ 2	0-2
Inner area	✗ 51.2 sq. ft.	57.7 sq. ft.
Vestibule area	✓ 34.0 sq. ft.	25.0 sq. ft.
Total base area	✓ 85.2 sq. ft.	82.7 sq. ft.
Doors	✓ 2	1.75
Pockets	4+2	4
Rain test	1 hour	1 hour
Flooring	68D Polyester taffeta	75D Polyester taffeta
Footprint	✓ Yes	No
Canopy/Rainfly	✓ 68D Polyester ripstop	68D-75D polyester
Poles	Aluminum	Fiberglass/Aluminum
Weight	✓ 9.4lbs.	10.5lbs.

The vestibule average only counts the tents that have one. With the Coleman Sundome’s zero in there it would be closer to 19 sq. ft.

So, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the Marmot Tungsten 4?

More setup details

Tungsten 4: 2 top poles + rainfly grommets, color-coding
Average 4P tent: 0-1 top poles

More livable space

Tungsten 4: 2 top poles = 2 vertical walls
Average 4P tent: 0-1 top poles = 0-2 vertical walls

Poles can be significantly thicker

Tungsten 4: 9mm aluminum
Average 4P tent: Fiberglass or aluminum

I didn’t like the X-pole either. It pops out of the grommets more often than two separate poles would, and one segment cracked on me after I put it back in without seating it fully.

Expensive

Its MSRP is almost double that of the cheaper 4-person tents I compared it against.

Overall recommendation

Add up the setup details, the top poles, the livable space, the slightly bigger base area and the better materials, and the Marmot Tungsten 4 gives you maybe a 10-20% boost over the average 4-person tent. I don’t think that’s worth almost double the price, so I’d wait for a sale. If it’s the small packed size you’re after, the Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 packs down smaller for less.

Bonus – MUST Read!

I put every camping tent I own through the same tests, and my Best Camping Tents article ranks them against each other.

Or, check out the Marmot Tungsten 4: