I used the tent right away following purchase.  I wanted to get a feel for how well it would work for me and the family.  The first thing I did was to set it up inside the house and seal the seams.  I used a commercial product that was essentially liquid latex.  This took a little time but was easy enough, if not at times a little bit messy.

Setting up the tent is a two-person job, mainly because the top bows are so long and must be balanced or held in position when put together.  My four year-old son is able to help me well enough to get the job done without putting stress on the bows.  Once the four main bows are in place, the rest of the set-up can be done by one person.  Two people makes it go faster but other than that, you could get a buddy to help you get started then finish on your own.

The tent keeps all the bugs we have where we live outside.  This is important to me; I am pleased with the tent performance on this issue.  Water is another thing altogether.  Since this tent has a fiber-reinforced Polyethylene floor, it does a good job of keeping water from coming up from below.  The problem is in the rain fly.  It is way too small.  It covers the screen openings in the roof but does not cover the tent very much beyond that.  With wind blowing hard, water still gets up under the rain fly and comes in through the roof.  I have also noticed that it leaks at the zippers.  I am able to keep the center area pretty dry, and sleeping on the air mattress prevents any major water from being too annoying.  After my first camping trip with rain, I got a very large tarp to use as a rain fly.   This has helped quite a bit.  I also use a tarp underneath it as a "footprint" to keep the tent floor off the bare ground.  I think this adds another layer of protection and will help make the tent last longer.