SlingFin Portal 3 Review

Livability

The Portal 3 is impressively spacious, especially vertically. With a peak height of 44 inches and a boxy shape, thanks to the internal pole structure, there's ample space for two or three adults to sit or kneel inside. That's exactly what you want from a backpacking shelter, especially if you have to spend a lot of time inside while waiting out a storm.

The tent's floor measures 92 inches long, meaning a 7.5-foot-tall person could lie down straight without issue. It measures 68 inches wide at the head and 62 inches at the foot, for a total of 41.5 square feet of floor area. You can fit three 20-inch sleeping pads side by side without any overlap, but that's no longer true if you try to squeeze in a wide, 25-inch pad or two.

For a pair of backpackers, the amount of space will feel palatial, while the extra width at the head also gives a trio of sleepers more shoulder room. The tent's pole structure pushes out the outer walls for more upper-body space, and instead of a central hub, a swivel connects the long poles, creating a broad ceiling.

The storage space is equally generous. Each of the two vestibules provides over 10 square feet of sheltered storage space, which is substantially more than other 3-person tents we tested. Plus, eight internal pockets are spread around the shelter, including three ceiling pockets, for ample gear storage inside.

When you add the two very large doors, internal loops for hanging gear, and easy-to-slide zippers, the Portal 3 is simply enjoyable to use – which makes it a tent you'll want to use regardless of the weather.

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Weather Resistance

The Portal 3's prowess doesn't come down to a really good rainfly or a thick DWR treatment – it's the whole structural system that makes this tent so solid in a storm.

Let's start with the pre-installed internal guy lines. It's a rarely seen feature — and even SlingFin does not pre-install them on most of their tents. When the wind picks up, you can tighten the clamps from the inside to tension the guy lines, shifting forces from the tent body onto the stronger pole structure. Combined with external guy lines, the Portal 3 becomes a veritable fortress.

Both the internal and external guy points are installed where the rainfly and tent body attach directly to the pole structure. That means the tension isn't simply pulling on the fabric; it is reinforced so the load transfers directly to the frame.

Then there are the 'OutRigger' attachments, which enable you to attach a ski or trekking pole to support the already beefy tent frame. This can be useful when crazy strong winds or heavy snowfall are in the forecast. SlingFin actually sells an optional heavy-duty pole set for this, but your own poles should be good enough barring the most extreme circumstances.

And we can't talk about weather resistance without mentioning the rainfly. It's made of 10 denier ripstop nylon coated with silicone on both sides, giving it a 1,200mm waterproof rating. The floor is a bit stronger, made of 20 denier nylon and a 1,800 mm coating, which does a great job of keeping water from seeping up from below, though you can also buy a ground sheet as an accessory.

Weight

Given how spacious and capable the Portal 3 is, it's surprisingly lightweight. For most 3-person backpacking tents, you'll want to split the load among your party to distribute weight and mass across several packs – that's not really necessary with this tent.

We weighed the Portal 3 in at 4.19 pounds, including everything that comes with it when you first purchase it. We also measured the minimum trail weight – the tent body, rainfly, and poles – which came in at 3.73 pounds. Of course, if you take only what's necessary to keep the tent as light as possible, you'll miss out on most of what makes it strong and storm-ready. If storms are forecast, the stakes and extra guy lines should be required.

Packed Size

For a spacious 3-person tent, the Portal 3 packs down to an extraordinarily small size. When stuffed into its sack, it measures 6 inches wide by 17 inches long – it's smaller than many other 2-person backpacking tents.

Packing it away is straightforward, too. The poles collapse and fold down easily. The tent body simply detaches and falls flat. Then you stuff it away and shove it into your backpack. It's amazing how SlingFin added so much to this tent while keeping it exceptionally light and packable – it's like carrying a loaf of French bread on the trail.

Durability

The Portal 3 is relatively durable, but there's nuance to that statement. The rainfly is only 10 denier, the floor is 20 denier, and the body mesh is 15 denier – those aren't confidence-inspiring numbers compared to more budget-friendly tents that often have 75-denier rainflys and 40-denier floors. It's not a tent you can drag across a field of rocks and expect to come out unscathed on the other end.

The strength and durability of this tent come from the quality of its components and design, not brute-force fabric thickness. For instance, SlingFin uses a silicone-coated nylon for better UV resistance and to prevent the degradation that comes with conventional coatings.

The aluminum DAC poles are much stouter than the poles you typically see on lightweight backpacking tents. The swiveling, non-hubbed architecture where the poles meet also reduces the stress concentration a pole hub usually endures. Every zipper comes with a pre-installed spare slider – when the original slider eventually wears out, you already have another one sitting on the same zipper track.

Should You Buy the SlingFin Portal 3?

The Portal 3 is a strong, capable tent that's also lightweight and packs away small – in many ways, it's the best tent on the market. But it's expensive, and we'd say it's a bit of an “expert-level” tent. You need to be ready to care for it properly, and without backpacking experience and a full understanding of its design, you're not likely to get the most out of this tent, which won't make it worth the investment.

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