“How long does gear last?” I am asked this a lot. I have spent more money on constantly replacing cheep stuff than I have replacing expensive stuff. Granted I have to maintain the expensive stuff. And maintaining expensive stuff takes about 20 minutes.
One of my oldest pieces of gear is my Mountain Hardwear Skylight tent. Backpacker magazine wrote a tent review of this tent in May of 1997 (pages 118, 120).
I love this tent, it is a great kayaking and backpacking tent; moreover, my two year old son loves the head room and pockets. My only gripe about it is that Mountain Hardwear has some new tents that are lighter, roomer, and has two doors. I am actually trying to wear out my old tent so I can up grade it. O woe is me. So remember when you buy the expensive stuff be prepared to have that item for several years…focus on floor space, head room, pockets, and a large vestibule. These are all things that the Skylight has. If you cannot find an old Skylight for sale think of buying the Mountain Hardwear Hammerhead 2, or the Skyledge 2.1 .
…Who knows maybe someone from Mountain Hardwear will read this post and take pity on me and sponsor me with a new tent! Now that would be a gift that will last! – Jeff
UPDATE: I upgraded my Skylight tent for the Skyledge 3 Mountain Hardwear tent. I am gaining 6 square feet of floor space and reducing the weight by almost half a pound (7 ounces). tent review
Liquid Rhythm Adventures' Journal 
Update! I just got the Mountain Hardwear Skyledge 3 tent. It is a very roomy, freestanding, three season tent designed for serious backcountry use.
Because I will be using this primarly for kayaking I see an advantage to the mesh and ripstop canopy. And the two side doors with large vestibules should provide ample gear storage. It also has the Atlas UL poles reinforced by Evolution Tension Arches. So the probability of wind imploding the tent in stormy conditions is minimal.
I also got the Spun-bonded Olefin Pitch Light™ footprint to decrease the wear on the tent floor from sand and shells. The ground cloth is stiff and does not compress well into a compression dry-bag. I will be giving a detailed update on this tent at a later.
You’ve got great insights about three seasons tent, keep up the good work!