MSR Elixir 3 Person Tent With Footprint

Very roomy and well built. Excited to try it out in a couple of weeks in the Wind River range

Replaced my Elixir 3 rainfly 5 years ago. New rainfly leaks from even the lightest rain, water comes right into the tent as if there was no rainfly on. I contacted MSR Customer Service – They offer to sell a new rainfly or a discount on a new Elixir 3 – but they haven’t changed the technology, so I’m being asked to buy a new faulty rainfly that is certain to leak again. MSR Customer service says I must have left tent in too much UV exposure, or stored it wet. Not true – I always left rainfly to dry on clothesline in dry gear room after each trip for at least a week before putting it away. The rainfly has very little use, there should be virtually no UV degradation. MSR Customer service gave me instructions to restore rainfly – Niki wash, Niki Wax, Seamseal. Out of pocket $100 and a couple hours of labor later – the tent leaks as much as it did before. MSR says new regulations on DWR chemicals mean they can’t make rainflys like they used to – OK, but why are other tent companies still able to make a good rainfly? For whatever reason, MSR just hasn’t figured it out, and leave the cost on the customer to buy a new tent from a better brand. I tried to re-open warranty claim after following MSR restoration instructions. Now MSR has no phone number to contact, no customer service email, and they don’t respond to the warranty form they have online. I will never buy a MSR product again. Very disappointed to have to send this tent to the landfill. I recommend avoiding all cascade design products including: Thermarest, PackTowl, MSR, Platypus and Seal Line. No customer service, they clearly buy reputable brands to cut costs and run the product quality into the ground to boost profits. Disappointed customer here, don’t make the same mistake I did.