3P tent help needed – Marmot Limelight 3P versus REI Taj 3

I don't have experience with either of the two tents you listed, but I can highly recommend the nemo losi 3p tent. It's durable and has quite a bit of space (including headroom). If you do a bit of searching, I'm sure you could find it on a decent sale.

Our Scout troop uses the Taj 3 as its patrol tents, but I was under the impression this tent is discontinued… I have watched my son erect and pack this tent many times, and he's backpacked with it as a 3-scout tent.

Anyway, as a two-man tent it's pretty good: durable, definitely storm-worthy and easy to set up. There's room for gear and the gear loft is nicely sized. It has a funky floor plan that requires 3-person usage to line up with their feet close together and fanned out toward the two doors, and the tallest person will wind up in the middle, climbing over others to get in and out.

If you split the Taj into 3 parts (body/fly/poles with footprint), each part weighs about the same (just over 2lb). If you don't split it up, the tent bag is beefy and durable. You get durability and extra weight, compared to UL tents.

The ventilation is good and the velcro extension bar on the fly works well. The tent is designed for SNOW rather than RAIN, however, so you will not be able to ingress/egress in rain without some of that weather getting into the tent, as there is not only no "eave" but the doors are sloped toward the sky, as on many dome tents.

The zippers are pretty good, but jam up a bit on the older tents.

Ah, I found the page you're shopping off of and checked out that Marmot 3-man. I like the eaved door and the pole setup looks even easier than that on the REI tent. It's also lighter –meaning you could add a large bag of beef jerky. Heck, you're gonna have it anyway!

The current coupon allows you to take 30% off the Taj 3, beyond the current sale price, though. $130 or so… pretty good.

Well, if you bought the Taj 3 using the REI couon and then the footprint with the coupon, your cost is ~$161. You could have got the Limelight 3 for ~$170 from REI last month, but they since sold out (I think in no small part because I made it known on Fatwallet, which got picked up by Slickdeals and a ton of sites out there copying the post). Blame me. :-)
Here's my opinion for what it's worth.

With regards to the Taj 3, which I don't own:

1) I like the side hinged doors.
2) Good reviews.
3) Keep in mind this appears to be a 2009 tent. I'm wondering if it was so popular why they had any left to outlet 2 years later.
4) The Taj is heavier, as you know, but the vestibules appear the same size as the Limelight. However, the Taj lists square footage of 50 square ft vs 42.6 for the Limelight. It's listed at 99×95 while the other is 66×93. Something about the Taj numbers are off as 99×95 would be huge, way more than even 50 square feet. However, I'd venture to guess even if that 50 sq ft number is correct, it will FEEL smaller due to the sloping sides of the design. There's a good picture from joshuajm in the reviews showing the tent from the side which demonstrates this.
5) The peak height is 48" in the Taj,46" in the Limelight.
6) Heavier, but you knew that.
7) Packs 3" longer than Limelight…poles 25" vs 22"?

For the Limelight 3:

1) 2 color choices, the orange or the dark cedar. Dark cedar good for blending in to most anywhere but desert.
2) Gear loft is very small, so other than for like a pair of glasses or light, not real useful so shouldn't factor much into the decision.
3) Low side mesh, either a benefit or a negative depending on your situation. I personally like it, but I'll use it some in HOT weather conditions where I need low mesh for a hopeful breeze to sleep.
4) Easy setup.
5) Good reviews.
6) Lighter, again knew that.
7) Brow pole makes a HUGE difference in the feeling of the tent by making sides much more vertical.
8) Doors hinged along bottom of tent, have to be more careful to roll up and not step on getting in / out so don't damage mesh.

If it were me, I'd get the Limelight (big surprise, I did).

I know for a fact the Limelight is redesigned for Spring. It incorporates 2 changes, one being side opening doors, a bit more angular rather than rounded mesh (uglier but easier to sew I'm sure), and an elimination of the lower mesh on the DOOR (not sides) while keeping the higher mesh. This should mean less rain possibly getting inside the tent getting in or out, as well as you turning that side into the wind if you want to block some of the breeze. Still will come with gear loft and footprint, but retail goes up to $279 ($30 increase) on this newer model.

Can't comment on the Taj 3, but having owned the Limelight 3 for a year now and reading initial reviews for the Taj, I'd still recommend the Marmot. I've used the tent for both backpacking and car camping and it's exceeded my expectations. Have taken it out 10-15 times in varying weather, have always had a second person with me.

+The reason I originally sprung for this tent was the spaciousness. At 6'3" I'm very comfortable stretched out in it and barely touch either end. Sitting on my knees still leaves me enough room to dress, and as mentioned before the brow pole makes a world of difference in terms of space. The side walls are nearly vertical and sleeping right up to either wall isn't a problem. More than enough space for my girlfriend and me with our things inside if needed. A third person could be fit inside with gear stowed outside. I think you'd be very comfortable with your son, some 20in pads, and and gear you'd like to keep inside.

+Set up is incredibly simple and quick even for one person.

+Where some tents boast large vestibules, they're not always useable. So far I've been very pleased with the size of the Marmot's vestibules. Can even fit a large cooler underneath one when car camping.

+The structure has held up very sturdily in some pretty bad storms. Fully staked out it's held up well in high winds. In downpours some rain has managed to bounce up into the vestibule, which will happen with most tents. On one occasion in a hard downpour some rain bounced up into the tent, but not enough to think it was unusual.

+Interior storage is really useful. The included footprint and gearloft are definitely pluses.

-My biggest complaint is that in high summer heat with the rainfly fully zipped up, or during a storm, ventilation isn't too great. Wish there was a better way to leave the doors open only halfway up, but it's rig-able with the velcro.

These are just some points… I've been REALLY happy with the tent, and quality exceeded what I thought I'd get for that price point. Initially looking at the Taj, I wouldn't like the pole set up, the bowl formed at the top of the fly, more stakes, higher weight, less mesh if using it in the summer.

Let us know what you settle with!

see my ad for Losi or BS copper spur, both great for your requirements