Are you looking for a real review of the Teton Sports Mesa canvas tent?
I purchased a Teton canvas tent and took it on several trips. You’ll learn about the nuances of the tent and some of the problems I had with it.
I will compare the Teton Mesa to similar canvas tents I have experience with so you can make a more knowledgeable decision.
The Teton Sports Mesa is a budget-friendly canvas tent option. While it’s a great beginner canvas tent, it doesn’t match the quality and standards of a Springbar (U.S. & Import) and Kodiak canvas tents.
Note: Some product links below are affiliate links which is how I make money. I DO NOT accept free or discounted gear. All thoughts are my own and all products were purchased with my own money.
Teton Sports Canvas Tent Review: The Mesa
I purchased the Teton Sports Mesa Canvas Tent with my own money and I was disappointed.
It is #5 of 5 on my list of the best canvas tents.
The Teton Mesa will have the same pros and cons of a canvas tent vs nylon tent, so it’s important to know those so you’re not surprised that “it’s super heavy” because they all are.
Is the Teton Mesa Canvas Tent Worth It?
In my opinion, the Teton Mesa Canvas Tent is not worth your hard-earned money.
While it is budget-friendly, the flaws outweigh the small price difference compared to a Kodiak or an imported Springbar. Read my full review on Kodiak Canvas after this article to understand the differences.
There is a big exception. I purchased a 10×10 Mesa at $400 during a random flash sale.
At that price, it’s hard to go wrong, even with its flaws.
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Advantages of the Teton Mesa Canvas Tent
I’m a pessimist at heart, so finding the advantages of the Mesa Canvas Tent, when specifically comparing it to the other canvas tent brands I’m familiar with, was a challenge.
Budget-Friendly Family Canvas Tent
The biggest advantage the Teton Mesa Canvas Tent has over the competition is the price.
The 10×10 canvas tent can typically be had for $600. However, Kodiak has one at the same price and has 15+ years of proven quality and experience making them.
Teton Sports also has a bunch of influencers that promote their products because they get the gear for free.
That seems to help the public perception. I remember watching a review video with manufacturing defects and a hole, and they still said you couldn’t go wrong with it in the comments.
D-Shaped Door: My Favorite Change from Other Brands
The Teton Sports Mesa has a D-Shaped door making it different than the other entry door styles on Springbar, Kodiak, and White Duck.
I love it.
It makes getting gear in and out a breeze and won’t snag on any loose mesh as it does to me on the Springbar Outfitter entry door.
Other Benefits
As I wrote earlier, I’m only comparing it to other canvas tents. Here’s a list of general benefits of canvas tents.
While I would still choose a Teton Mesa over a traditional nylon tent, I wouldn’t pick it over a Kodiak or Springbar import.
Disadvantages of the Teton Mesa Canvas Tent
Most reviews of Teton Sports canvas tents are comparing a canvas tent vs nylon tent because it’s what they have experienced in the past.
This is an entry-level canvas tent, and any canvas tent is a huge upgrade from a nylon tent.
However, I’ve owned the Teton Mesa along with several other brands of canvas tents, including Springbar and Kodiak.
The Teton Canvas Tent is by far inferior.
The Worst Canvas Tent Design: The T-Bar Issue
One of the primary issues I have with the Teton Mesa is the T-Bar system Teton Sports uses compared to the other 3 brands.
These cabin-style tents use the same general design and only differ on materials and minor mechanics of the setup.
One important aspect of setting up a canvas tent is the ridge poles that form the “roof support” of the tent.
For example, Springbar uses a sliding steel tube to secure the ridge poles in place.
Teton Sports canvas tent uses a pin locking mechanism.
It is a huge design flaw in my opinion and seemingly has zero advantages over Springbar’s (and the others) methods. It feels awkward to set up and slightly dangerous.
In addition, I nearly lost one of the pins on my first day (see the image above, you can see the string dangling without a pin on it!).
They are connected to the ridge pole by a little rope and the knot came undone. I found it lying in the dirt. It’s not great to have such a small piece being so integral to proper tent set up.
In addition, it’s hard to get the pins set without positioning your face near the connecting point. If you let go while it’s under tension, it will pop up in your face.
This is true with Springbar’s style as well, but all you’re doing is sliding a tube over so you can stay clear with your face.
The Teton Sports method requires more precision and the need to see the holes being lined up to get the pin through them.
It’s one of those things I heard in passing in a review video, but once I set it up myself, it became abundantly clear how poor of a design it truly is.
Packing The Teton Canvas Tent
Each tent pole segment is connected with paracord attached to metal wires.
It seems like a smart design, you know exactly how to assemble the poles.
However, it makes packing the poles a pain in the butt. The T-bar breaks apart in 4 pieces, connected to metal wire, and makes an awkward shape for packing into the tent pole bag.
Each time, I’m barely fitting them back into the pole bag and feel like I’m about to rip through it on the final pieces.
Other tents allow you to break the poles apart and easily fit back into their bags.
It’s the last thing I want to deal with when I’m breaking camp.
Teton Mesa Tent: The Stakes Provided are Junk
The stakes I received came with some chips in them. They are metal and simply painted black. It came off immediately after the first and second use. I could see the black paint flying off as I pounded them in for the first time.
After a few uses, they were in rough shape.
I used them in a dry environment and they still rusted immediately when in the ground.
I’m not the only one that had that issue, either. It’s a result of providing extremely cheap tent stakes with their tent.
A Review the Teton Mesa Tent Stake Loops
The Teton canvas tent comes with webbing stake loops. In my opinion, this is a poor choice.
In fact, Kodiak canvas tents used to come like this as well. They replaced them with metal stake loops after enough customer complaints and feedback.
This is where the lack of experience in the product category hurts newer entrants like White Duck and Teton Sports.
Rather than starting from best practices, they are starting where Kodiak started 15+ years ago.
The primary benefit of metal stake loops is that they will last longer than fabric webbing. And because these tents need to be properly staked each setup, a failure in a tent stake loops causes a failure in the tent.
The other major benefit of metal stake loops is that they accept a wider variety of stakes including wedge stakes. Wedge stakes can be useful in softer terrain where standard stakes will pull out easier and result in your tent failing.
It also is safer and more secure to use lag screws for camping with metal stake loops vs fabric.
If you purchase Teton Sports canvas tent, you must be careful not to strike the webbing with your hammer and avoid using wedge stakes.
Other Considerations
When inspecting my tent, I noticed many loose threads all over the canvas. In addition, there was other gear rusted when it was brand new.
The Teton Mesa is made in China (source). Many tents are made in China, but this one checked all the bad stereotypes associated with overseas manufacturing.
To me, it’s a sign these tents are never quality inspected prior to sending to customers. In addition, another reviewer on Youtube had issues on arrival as well.
My Experience with the Teton Sports Brand
Overall, I’ve had a positive experience with the Teton Sports Brand before this tent.
I’ve used one of their sleeping pads for car camping for over 3 years and it’s still going strong.
So, I was a bit disappointed in my experience with their canvas tent.
Great Customer Support Team
When you email Teton Sports customer service, you get an email saying they are busy and will get to you ASAP. This was true months apart from contacting them.
Both times they got back to me within a couple of days. Not as fast as Kodiak and Springbar, but still pretty reasonable.
Follow-up questions were quicker. In addition, they were helpful each time.
A while ago they had a “small team of 3” in the email, and the next time it was a “small team of 2.”
This means any questions specific to canvas tents will be hit or miss. Teton Sports sells many different outdoor products, so they likely have to reach out to another team member to answer your questions.
Conclusion to My Review
The Teton Mesa is a solid tent if you can get it for the right price.
However, at full-price, I recommend going with Kodiak or Springbar.
- Best for Summer (4-Sided Windows Option)
- Proven Tent (15+ years)
- Awesome Accessories (Vestibule)
- Highest Quality (at a price)
- Fast & Competent Customer Service
- Made in the U.S.A.
- Good Accessories (StormFly)
- Springbar Import
- Good Value
- Proven vs Newer Brands
- Limited ventilation
- The only 9x7 with full-length side windows
- Similar to Kodiak, but
- Webbing for Stake Loops (vs Metal)
- Doors have velcro at bottom (no full zipper)
- D-Shaped Door is the BEST, but
- Poor Quality (stitching, poles, etc)
- Worst T-Bar Design
The webbing stake loops, t-bar design, and questionable quality control in other reviews would keep me away.
However, if it ever goes on sale for $400, that’s as cheap as you’ll see any legit canvas tent go for, so it might be worth it at those prices!
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