They look nice for family camping and the like in groomed camping spots but out in the desert they might take a beating with the winds that can kick up in my opinion. I don't know that they would fall apart but the profile will take the brunt of the wind and put a lot of stress on the tent maybe making for a rough night. The idea of setting everyone's up together with access to one another's tents doesn't appeal to me whatsoever and seems to be the main gimmick behind them. The idea with the easy setup seem super nice. If I had my druthers about it I would save up for a Shift Pod. If not a low profile wind shearing shelter might be the way to go but those have the obvious drawbacks for cramped space. The Yurt design of the Shift Pod is really amazing. They took something that will withstand the harshest of environments and made it into a lightweight shelter that will support lots of people comfortably in several different environments. While I do not own a Shift Pod in my younger years I did a lot of high altitude mountaineering in places like the European Alps, Sud Tirol, Norway, Macedonia and here in the Sierras at home. When you have to haul it on your back you want something super lightweight and bomber in construction. Once inside in a mess of a storm they really work well but you are stuck inside. Any movement more than rolling to a different side is a lot of work. Think eating and the like which typically has to be done in a vestibule and is still not optimal. A Yurt style design really accommodates the weather and allows a level of comfort that a mountaineering shelter will not. Now would you do a high altitude mountaineering trip with a Shift Pod, of course not but we have our vehicles to schlepp that weight and it's not on our backs. Why not live in the best comfort you possibly can. It's really cool to see all the recent innovations come about that make our lives a whole lot easier out there!
