[mcguyver]

I deployed the Snugpak Ionosphere last night to give it a try. It is a different tent from my others for sure. Much larger than the Raider, both in internal volume and pack size. Both are priced the same, both have strengths and weakneses that can be deal-breakers. The Ionosphere weighs twice as much as the Raider, but has tons of internal room, enough for any man and all his gear. Setup of the Ionosphere took me a solid 20 minutes, vs. the Raider that takes me about 7.

As far as setup goes, the Raider has a QD buckle system for the fly, and you only need to add one stake for the fly at the foot, while removing the inner tent foot stake, so adding the fly takes seconds. Thee are a total of 8 stakes for the Raider. The Ionosphere requires you to have inner staked first with 8 stakes, attach 6 velcro loops to the poles, then add a further 12 stakes for the fly. The foot pole of the Ionosphere means it will not sag on the legs like the Raider will (impossible to stop that), but it means setup time is greatly extended.