Mountain Hardwear

Stronghold Tent: 10-Person 4-Season

When the weather disintegrates at Nanga Parbat basecamp, huddle your team inside the ten-person Mountain Hardwear Stronghold Tent for meals, weather briefings, or to play some poker until you can go outside again. It's a good thing the Stronghold's ginormous, because it might be a while. Designed to shelter large groups in the worst mountain weather on the planet, this huge, floorless (footprint sold separately) double-walled dome can be used as a common gathering space, kitchen, sleeping quarters, or all of the above, with a six-foot-plus ceiling and 15-foot diameter that provides plenty of room for 10 rugged mountaineers to hang out in (relative) comfort. The dome shape is designed to shed wind and snow, and there's a series of perimeter and roof vents to keep air moving when you're cooking or just lying back smelling bad.

Make no mistake, the Stronghold didn't grow up to be this big and burly without lifting some serious weights and putting on some pretty legit bulk: it weighs 42 pounds, which seems like a lot until you realize that you're probably not throwing this on your back and schlepping it in yourself, but loading it onto a mule or into a plane for the trip out to the glacier. You should also take into account that you're getting 15 DAC Pressfit aluminum poles, a 70D nylon taffeta fly with PU and silicone coatings, and perimeter snow flaps to seal out snow and lock in heat. There's an internal perimeter skirt, too, which is the Stronghold's secret do-it-all weapon: you can make a bombproof anchor by stacking your gear on it and shoveling some snow around the outside, or you can carve snow benches and drape the skirt over it, creating waterproof easy chairs for the whole gang. While you're lounging, take a peek out one of the five SVX windows to check on the conditions, or you can get up and stick a head out one of the two doors, if you're feeling brave. It'll clear up soon, promise.