Snow Peak Amenity Dome S Review

Snow Peak Amenity Dome S Tent Review

Overall Score:8.7

After 11 months of extensive use, the Snow Peak Amenity Dome S has become our go-to camping tent, thanks to its lightweight and compact design. Despite having a low max height, the tent is deceptively roomy and easy to set up, with two large doors for easy entry / exit. 

Durability: 8.5
Functionality: 8.0
Performance: 8.5
Aesthetics: 9.0
Value: 8.5

Weight: 4900 g 

Main Material:  Polyester Taffeta

Tent Poles: Duralumin A7001 + A6061

Waterproofness: 1800mm Hydrostatic Head

Packed Size: 58 x 23 x 25 cm

Manufacturing Country: Vietnam

Warranty: Lifetime

Length of Test: 11 months

Acquisition: Self Purchase

Countries: Thailand

The Amenity Dome is designed for:

  • Car camping, 3-season use.

It’s not designed for:

  • Deep winter or backpacking.

Table of Contents

Durablity

Snow Peak Build Quality

Main Materials: the Snow Peak Amenity Dome’s flysheet is made of a burly 75D polyester taffeta, that has some heft to it. Unlike nylon, polyester is hydrophobic (it doesn’t sag when wet), dries quickly, offers better UV-resistance, and a more taut-pitch. 

For attachment, the flysheet is secured by wrapping Velcro loops around the tent poles and by clipping side-release plastic buckles into the tent pole hubs, allowing for easy tightening of the rain fly. 

The inner tent is made of a soft-to-the-touch 68D polyester taffeta with an off-white color. The fabric is woven in a style that prioritizes breathability over tightly-woven durability – which is ideal for an inner tent material. 

As for the mesh, it seems to be a 40D No-See-Um polyester that has held up well so far. 

For modulation of airflow or heat retention, both mesh doors and the ceiling vent come with a second-layer backing, that can be rolled away when not in use.

The inner tent is held up by three lightweight and pre-curved aluminum poles, that form a semi-geodesic structure with a fair amount of headroom. The poles connect to the tent via long sleeves, plastic clips, and a pin / rings system at the tent’s base. 

Last but not least, the bathtub floor is made of a heavy-duty 210D polyester oxford – think of this material as the Mike Tyson of tent floors. With this beast of a material, there’s absolutely no need for a groundsheet (although, it’s never a bad idea to use one). 

Hardware: equipped with reliable YKK Zippers and Kifco buckles, we’ve never had any issues with the tent’s hardware components – and we don’t expect to. 

However, the included tent stakes are flimsyy at best – which is typical with tents in this price range. The stakes are easily-bendable shepherd’s hooks, which we recommend replacing with Y-beam stakes like the MSR Groundhogs or the beefier Snow Peak Solid Stake #20, if you plan on being in stormy conditions (like we did).

Functionality

Main Feature Set

Weatherability: with an exterior Teflon coating, an interior polyutherane (PU) coating, and sealed seams, the Amenity Dome is rated at a 1,800mm hydrostatic head.

Functionally speaking, this tent is waterproof and has kept us bone dry during monsoon-level rainstorms in the tropics. Even the bathtub floor has been flooded several times and felt like a waterbed beneath us – but to our surprise, it never wetted out. 

When faced with strong winds, the Snow Peak Amenity Dome seemed to be suction-cupped to the ground like a stable fortress. Its low-profile and aerodynamic design, allow it to cut through the wind and its pole structure offers a fair amount of side pressure protection. 

Side note: we did switch out the cheap polypropylene guylines that the tent comes with, with stronger (high tenacity) guylines and aluminum sliders. 

Ventilation: air flow is a clear strong suit of the Amenity Dome. With excessive ground gaps (that are borderline too large), condensation underneath the fly was relatively mitigated. On most nights (both hot and cold), condensation was never an issue. However on stormy nights with flooding, condensation underneath the fly was excessive, but never seeped through the inner tent’s fabric.  

On the rear of the tent, there’s a multi-adjustable hood for chimney-effect ventilation. This exterior hood is securely propped up by a stiffened piece of fabric which secures via Velcro – it’s also able to lay flat, when desired. 

For maximum airflow, the tent’s vestibules and side doorway can be fully rolled back. 

Vestibules: the front vestibule is massive and is big enough to store a large duffel, two daypacks, a cooler, a food bag, and a water container with room to spare. In bad weather, you can easily cook in the vestibule with a canister stove – just know that you’ll have to sit on the ground when doing so. 

In regards to modularity, you can detach the lower portion of the vestibule’s flysheet via Velcro and prop it up with trekking poles or tarp poles to create an extended awning. With protection from the oppressive Thai sun, we’d put our Helinox chairs underneath, so we could cook or just simply enjoy the view.

In contrast, the tent’s rear vestibule is significantly smaller in comparison and acts more as a entry/exit point, than a place for functional storage space. 

In practice, we’d typically store our camp shoes here and nothing else. 

Performance

Practical Utility

Livability: the living space of the tent is marketed for 2 people – which is incredibly generous. You could easily fit another person here, as the width of the interior (160 cm) is equivalent to most 3-person backpacking tents. 

For us, we’d comfortably fit two 23″ sleeping pads inside with room to spare. Height-wise, we had no problems sitting upright and moving around the tent (120 cm clearance). 

As for interior organization, this is where Snow Peak’s love for minimalism kicks-in. There are only two medium-size wall pockets and a few hang loops on the ceiling – that’s it folks. For a camping tent, additional organization should’ve been present. 

Versatility: when faced with busy camp sites, site selection was much easier with the Snow Peak Amenity Dome rather than a larger, heavier tent.  We were able to fit our tent wherever we wanted, thanks to its overall slim profile. In real terms, that meant setting up camp in narrow spots with the best views – something roomier tents were unable to do. 

Due to the Amenity Dome’s relatively light weight, we were able to use this tent for walk-in camping and not just car camping. Most of the sites we camped at required 15 – 45 minutes of walking to reach, which wasn’t an issue since we were able to carry our tent in, duffle style. Had our tent been any bulkier or heavier, walk-in camping would’ve been off-limits for us. 

Aesthetics

Design Elements

Come on… we know what you’re thinking: this is one damn sexy tent. 

For a “home away from home,” it’s best to pick to pick functionality over looks… but what about a tent that prioritizes both? With the Snow Peak Amenity Dome S, you get to have your cake and eat it too.

Functional and oh so sleek, the Amenity Dome is likely to earn you some well-deserved compliments on your next camping trip.   

Value

Primary Alternatives

The Amenity Dome is one of the most underrated camping tents on the market – which is likely due to Snow Peak’s small presence in Western countries. In Asia, Snow Peak has built a cult-following for a good reason – premium builds and functional designs, complemented by clean Japanese aesthetics.  

If you like the Snow Peak Amenity Dome S, but need a bigger size… there are two larger versions available: the Amenity Dome M (room for 4 people) and the Amenity Dome L (room for 6 people).

Alternatively, our other top picks for mid-range tents include: the Marmot Limestone 4P and the MSR Habitude 4P. Both tents offer more living space than the Amenity Dome S and feature a similar build quality. 

For the most wallet-friendly options, we recommend the NatureHike Opalus and the NatureHike Cloud Up 3. Although inexpensive, both of these tents will still offer reliable performance in moderate conditions.

Did you know that… when you purchase something through one of our links, we earn a small fee. However, you still pay the exact same amount. It’s a win-win that keeps our lights on.  

Tent Main Material Tent Poles Weight Capacity
Amenity Dome 75D Polyester Taffeta Duralumin A7001 4900 g 2
Limestone 68D Polyester Taffeta DAC DA17 Aluminum 4920 g 4
Habitude 68D Polyester Ripstop 7000-series Aluminum 5730 g 4
Opalus 190T Polyester + Vinyl 7000-series Aluminum 4000 g 3
Hiby 3 20D Siliconized Nylon 7000-series Aluminum 3200 g 3

8.7/10 Rating

Overall Verdict

The Snow Peak Amenity Dome S is our top choice for a lightweight camping tent – it strikes an ideal balance of weatherability, livability, and durability at a fair price point. This tent will last you for years of service, while being much more convenient and easier to set up than larger, heavier camping tents. 

Alternatively, if you need more space then we can also highly recommend the Amenity Dome M (for 4 people) and the Amenity Dome L (for 6 people).

  • Stormworthy – fully waterproof and stable in strong winds.
  • Set-up and tear down are a breeze: ~15 minutes.
  • Guyline points and logos are reflective, making the tent relatively easy-to-see at night.
  • Decent packed size and weight, allows for easy transportation.  
  • Needs better internal organization – additional wall pockets and a gear loft would be a welcomed addition.
  • Transitioning to a pole cup system vs pins / rings, for faster one-person pitching in bad weather.
  • Needs more durable bungee attachment loops on the vestibule stake outs (current ones snap easily). 
  • Needs to have the ability to adjust the ventilation hood from the interior – will increase ventilation efficiency.

Longevity

Usage Timeline

Excellent

Initial Usage

Build quality is superb, which is to be expected by Snow Peak. So far we’ve been digging our new “home away from home” and condensation hasn’t been an issue. So far, so good.

Excellent

Excellent

11 Months of Usage

The Amenity Dome is holding up well after many nights of use in a variety of conditions – from hot and humid to rainy and gusty. The only visible sign of wear is a small amount of abrasion on the inner tent’s mesh (which is just cosmetic in nature).

Excellent
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