Big Sky Chinook 2P 4 Season Tent Review

Field test and review

When I first started hiking I spent the first twelve months of my new ‘life of adventure’ exploring the state parks close to my home in western Victoria. As my skills and confidence grew, shorter half day hikes evolved into lengthy and more challenging full day hikes, often up to 10 hours and 25km in length.

I discovered my passion for hiking as a solo hiker, mainly because none of my friends were really into the outdoors. I actually enjoyed hiking alone, but I longed to head out on a few multi-day hikes, and to do that I needed to find myself some hiking companions.

To cut a long story short, I found one and married her. So the planning for our first multi-day hike began, and we headed out on the trail with a 2.7kg three-person tent.

Compared to some of the tents I had used previously for car camping, this one was as light as a feather, and we loved that our packs only weighed around 18kg. Looking back, I can’t believe I thought that was light. As our love for multi-day adventures grew, so too did our passion for the alpine areas of Victoria, and our hikes became longer, more adventurous and deeper into the wilderness of the Victorian Alps.

It quickly became apparent that we couldn’t go on hauling 18kg around with us on these hikes, so we started searching for ways to lighten our load. Pack, sleeping bags, tents, cooking gear, clothing, camp stoves, toothbrushes, we soon discovered that by replacing everything we owned with lighter, more expensive gear we could shave kilos off our pack weight. With a limited budget, the obvious place to start was the heaviest item, our tent. After months of research we discovered the Big Sky Revolution tent, a tent that carries with it a mere 1.7kg pack weight.

That alone was enough to sell me, but there were plenty of other features to this tent that I loved too. It is a brilliant example of a well thought out and well manufactured product: so light to carry, so small to pack, so quick to erect and so roomy inside (we purchased the 3P tent). I could go on about this tent all day, but that’s not the purpose of this article. What I actually want to tell you about is the Revolution’s smaller but tougher sibling.

Enter the Big Sky Chinook 2P 4 Season Tent

The Chinook is made for more serious adventures such as snow camping, mountaineering and multi-day hikes, and it’s designed to perform at its peak in high-wind areas and snow. It offers double-wall protection from the elements with enough room inside for you, your hiking buddy and smaller packed items. Like the Revolution, it uses an exoskeleton design, three sturdy aluminum poles secured to the outside of the fly, which gives you a super-taut pitch that lets you set up your tent in any weather without exposing the interior to the elements.

We optioned the snow skirts on the fly, which add an extra layer of protection by extending the fly down onto the ground so you can bury the overlap under the snow and keep the weather out and the warmth in. Inside, the Chinook has two large vestibules on either side of the tent, perfect for stowing your pack, and doors on both sides mean either of you can come and go without disturbing the other. Beyond the vestibules and the two zippered doors, the interior is surprisingly roomy, with high ceilings, deep pockets and plenty of internal clips for hanging torches or clothes you’re trying to dry.

I have always used tents that are one person larger than the number of occupants, so I started this field test with a little bit of scepticism about the size, a 2-person tent for 2 people. I can honestly say I find that this tent has more room than its larger sibling, the 3P Revolution.

We have tested the Chinook on a number of overnight hikes and have been exposed to a good range of weather conditions in the process. We have camped in heavy rain, gale force winds and even a substantial dusting of snow, and the Chinook has never let us down. Having already owned the Revolution I suppose I knew what to expect from Big Sky, but it still amazes me every time that a tent this thin and this light can be so solid and provide the protection it does from the elements.

It’s worth noting that the Chinook can be easily converted from a 3 season to a 4 season tent simply by adding or removing the cross pole that supports the vestibules, which also reduces your overall pack weight if you’re confident you’re in for fine weather. As with the Revolution, the Chinook is available with a mesh inner, which provides excellent ventilation on warmer nights but isn’t so great when you’re out in a snow storm or facing strong winds from the Southern Ocean. For the Chinook we opted for the breathable fabric inner instead, which provides greater protection from the elements and, with two people in the tent, keeps you exceptionally warm. As with all solid skins, this does increase the chance of condensation building up on the inside of the tent, so Big Sky have built two ventilation flaps into the ceiling to let some of the moist air out and help reduce that buildup.

An additional benefit of the external poles is that the fly can be set up on its own, without the inner tent. This floor-less configuration gives you the lightest possible setup for weather protection and works well as a shelter for lunch breaks, or as an ultralight option for those who like to carry only 6kg on an overnight hike. Between the light weight, the flexibility, the durability, the space and the large vestibules for cooking, it packs down surprisingly small to fit neatly into your pack.

When I purchased the Big Sky Revolution I thought I had found the ultimate 3 season tent, but after field testing the Chinook 4 season I have to say the little brother has won my affection as the best tent I have ever used. That’s a big call, but for those who know how extensive my backpack and hiking boot collection is, you’ll know I have owned, and still own, quite a number of tents to measure it against. This is the one I reach for now.

Big Sky tents are available in Melbourne from Big Sky International.

Prices vary from $779 to $1069 depending on options Now for those who have been dying for the technical info…

Tech Specs

• Manufactured by Big Sky International
• Fabric, fly: SuprSil, 1500mm
• Fabric, floor: SuperSil, coated on both sides, 3000mm
• Fabric, interior: Mesh (breathable fabric inner upgrade available)
• Factory-sealed seams
• Material, poles: DAC NSL 9 mm (aluminum)
• 3 four-season poles
• 2 large vestibules
• 2 top vents on vestibules
• 2 large zippered side doors
• 4 interior pockets
• Pole length, four-season, folded: 43 cm
• Weight: 1,684 g with mesh inner
• Weight: 1,694 g with breathable fabric inner upgrade