REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

I bought my Half Dome about six years ago. It is used exclusively for motorcycle camping. In that time, I've spent 50 or so nights in the tent, from California to the Outer Banks to Canada and all points in between. While I've never used it in the winter (snow/ice and motorcycles don't mix well), it's seen many a frosty morn and quite a few torrential downpours without causing any great discomfort. More about that later.It is very easy to pitch and to pack. It has ample room for me and all my gear and I do carry a lot of gear. My helmet, armored riding suit, clothes bag, and lots of other stuff all fit nicely in the tent with me, and my boots stay safe and dry under the vestibule. Of course if I camped with another person it'd have to be someone I'm very fond of, because it could get a bit cramped in there. It's been a dependable workhorse. While I do take reasonable care of my stuff, I'm hard on my gear and expect it to hold up to rigorous use.The last time I used it, an unexpected thunderstorm passed through. For four hours during the night, the rain came in buckets. I had no great concerns because this wasn't the first time It had protected me from the rain. In the morning, I found a little moisture inside the tent. It wasn't enough to soak me or my gear, just a small puddle in one corner, but I was slightly alarmed because that had never happened before. While enduring fits of cabin fever this winter I stated thinking about getting a new tent. During my extensive web-based research, I came upon this site and read some of the reviews. Reading multiple accounts from other Half Dome users has reminded me how well this tent has served me and of the many features I've taken for granted. I think I'll just reseal the corner floor seams and give it another season. I know I'd miss the gear loft, mesh pockets and ample room and I now know that any other tent with all those features would cost substantially more than I paid for this one years ago [...] and unless I bought another Half Dome, I probably wouldn't be happy. In fact, when the time finally comes to replace it, I'll probably do just that.I've really had only one peeve. As a few here have mentioned, there is quite a bit of condensation inside the fly. The roof vents do mitigate it somewhat, but it's usually there in the morning when I've slept with the fly doors closed unless I happen to be camping in Arizona or some other arid area. I'm not convinced that any other tent with a full coverage fly would be any better, and as I see it, that's a minor inconvenience.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

I've used this tent three times since I got it for Christmas and I've been impressed every time. One of those times was setting up in the rain and the most recent involved setting it up in high winds by myself, which is no small challenge.

That said, it's incredibly easy to set up and the pole "hub" makes it really stable. I didn't have to worry once about whether or not my tent would collapse in the wind.

I've found the ventilation to be excellent and the vestibules are an absolute lifesaver for drying out muddy shoes while it's pouring down outside. My soggy-shoed companions were very jealous the next day. I've also used the vestibule as a makeshift cooking area when the wind was too strong for a stove to really be effective. There was plenty of space for the stove and pot without having to worry about getting too close to the tent or fly.

I'm 6' tall and fit comfortably in this tent, so long as I don't try to stand up. I highly recommend it for one person or for two people who are on friendly terms, as it would be a bit

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

Philmont...a name which is an accomplishment in its self. This tent saved the moral of my group. In eleven days and 100 miles, this tent weathered the extremes, from hundered degree heats one day to torrential rains, to even a night spent in the snow...New Mexico was an adventure in itself. This tent stood up to everything nature threw at it, and i never had any regrets at all to this tent, it kept out the bugs, and the dust and the rain and performed exelently, asking for more with every hit it took. I would not only reccomend this tent to anyone intersted in three season backpacking, but i would be severly dissapointed if they bought something else. there is NO tent with REI for the price that is better. with so many adjustments availible, it is more than functional as a tent in hellish conditions, it felt like home.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

All in all, easy setup; 4min with footprint! I have owned a few REI tents throught the years, usually the bigger 4-6 person ones, but have decided to drop down to this size for a upcoming Solo Thru-Hike. The weight is a bit heavy, but I compensated that with a lighter pack, so no problem there. I tested this out last night with 25 mph winds and snow and it held up without a problem. I would just suggest that if you are planning on running into any windy conditions that you purchase some more stakes and guyline to really secure this puppy down (they don't supply enough for the guylines they include). Absolutely no problem with ventalation, air circulation was fantastic.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

Wow, I really couldn't be happier with this tent.

I was a little worried at first because although almost all of the reviews are very positive - one of the common complaints is that it's a bit cramped for two people. I didn't find this to be the case at all. I'm over 6'1 (260 lbs) and my wife is 5'11 (average weight) and both of us fit comfortably with our 40 lb Australian Shepherd. We don't have to get "cozy", we still have enough space between us to stay comfortable. We can't keep the gear in the tent with us and stay comfortable, but that's what the vestibules are for.

The only other tent I have is an old 6 person Coleman tent which is a serious pain to set up, it takes a good 20 minutes to set it up correctly and it's a major headache to setup in the wind. This tent is the exact opposite. This is the first freestanding tent I've owned. This tent is extremely easy to setup, it's so much better then the Coleman. It literally takes a minute or two to setup the actual tent. The rain fly takes a little longer to setup but after you do it once it's a snap.

This tent is very lightweight considering what I'm used to. I understand some of you ultra-light backpackers might want something a bit lighter but at just a little over 5 lbs packed it's very easy to carry on weekend backpacking trips.

This tent compresses pretty well. It doesn't compress as small as some of the ultra-light (and ultra-expensive) tents, but given the price of this tent it's very forgivable. I use only a 42 liter REI Lookout backpack and if I separate the fly from the tent and poles I can easily fit this into the compression straps on the side of the Lookout backpack.

Doors on both sides, the attic, the 4 pockets on the inside are just gravy on an already incredible tent.

I couldn't be happier. Given the price of this tent I really can't ask for anything more. This tent is 100% perfect for what I use it for, which is 1-2 night weekend backpacking and camping trips. I originally purchased this tent for weekend backpacking trips thinking I may not want it for camping (since I do have that big Coleman for camping) but I love this tent so much that it will replace the Coleman, even though it is smaller.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

The pro's and cons of this tent have been pretty thoroughly covered already, so I'll try not to be redundant in my comments.

This is a great tent for casual backpacking or car camping. You get a lot of value for your money here.

I'm somewhat mystified by people who claim it is "too heavy". It's not an ultra-lightweight backpacking tent. Doesn't claim to be, and in any event, the weight is clearly listed. The weight is very reasonable split among two people, and even a solo backpacker could handle this on short-duration trips. However, the Quarter-dome is probably a better choice if weight (or lack thereof) is a high priority.

As much as I like this tent, I do have a couple of con's on it. The vestibule design and space is not particularly useful for my purposes. While the floorspace of the vestibules looks impressive, the slope of the fly makes the space too small to accomodate a full size back pack, relegating it to use for muddy shoes and small items. That's a handy use, but an awful lot of rainfly (i.e. weight) is devoted to it. The slope of the fly also makes it near impossible to exit the tent without brushing up against the underside of the fly as you reach for the zipper. If the fly is covered in frost or condensation, as it often is, you get wet as you exit.

Which leads to the condensation issue. I find that the tent collects significant condensation in Fall, Winter (yeah, I know it's not really a winter tent), and Spring when the dew point is an issue. However, the condensation is not greater than any other tent I've owned, so I can't find too much fault with it.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

Ya, I comparison shopped, read all 192 reviews for this one and then was mesmerized by the 360 feature. Played it over and over.

So, I'd given away three old tents -- expecting this new one to arrive and be what I'd expect from REI.

At age 61 I have some criteria: not heavy; plenty of sit-up room and foot room for my claustrophobia and my 6' 6" sleeping bag; a spot to put my glasses so I can find them in the morning (four pockets and an attic!?? Two vestibules!??); and, oh, goof proof set up + easy entry and exit.

Okay, it only arrived today, and is set up in my living room. It will move outside soon.

I wanted to go slow for the first set up -- you know, like a Californian, to "enjoy the experience". Yikes, the whole shelter was up and habitable in about six minutes. I was almost dissappointed at how quick it set up. Then I tried all the features and goodies and felt like a kid in a cookie store.

For 35 years I worked outdoors in Canuck
winters, climbing trees and long ago developed some odd ways of testing gear. Like showing up at work with one sock and boot on my left foot and a different sock and boot on the right. Testing all sorts of rope for "bounce" and tie-ability in case I took the long fall. I remember wearing a bread bag on one foot to test it as a "vapor barrier" while dusting my other foot with cayenne pepper. Ya, I'm of the curious sort.

My physics teacher, Julius Miller, always emphasized that "no experiment is a failure". He's well worth a Google.

So, for the new tent set up in my apartment living room, I'm not exactly allowed to create a rain storm to test the tub floor. Instead, I poured buckets full of water inside the tent and waited to see a dribble or a even a drop on the floor outside. Didn't happen.

Oh, the pole suspension gear. Ten stars, on a scale of only five. In my quirky experiment style I hung 22 pounds from the center top hook. It just jiggled a bit like Jello and stayed sturdy and strong.

More surprises. The two side walls are near-vertical (!) and reminded me of a heavy canvas Civil War surlus ridge pole wall tent my Dad pitched for us kids in Omaha in the fifties.

I'm old and solo. This tent will be a fine new helper.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

I love this tent.

I've owned this tent for over 2 years now and bring it everywhere. Takes me roughly 3 minutes to set up, alone, rainfly and footprint too. I've been caught in many downpours, even with strong winds, and the tent's never dripped once or lost stability. In the morning, it can be hot inside if the sun's coming right down on it. I haven't had the condensation issues that other people complain about, even when other people are in the tent. Make sure you keep the vents on the rainfly open, they don't let water in, even in the rain.

The reasons I gave this tent 4 stars instead of 5 are:
- It's slightly cramped for two guys, but did lovely for camping when it was me and my girlfriend. Split the weight between two hikers and the cramped space is easy to look over.
- The stakes need to be replaced if you intend on using it on the beach or on snow. I recently bought the REI snow/sand anchors, and this will hopefully take care of this issue in the future.

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

I took this tent on a recent hang gliding trip where we were surprised by a Severe Thunderstorm with 40-50mph winds. The half-dome completely stood up to it!!! Stakes didn't come out of the ground, tent didn't drag, no condensation made it through the fly, etc. Friends had to hold their tent together at the top where the poles crossed, but with the half-dome's central hub it took care of it for me! Completely amazed me!

Comments about REI Half Dome 2 HC Tent:

I have used this tent for the last 4 years for backpacking, regular car camping, and when I go hunting. I have never been disappointed by the durability or the level of comfort this tent gives me. I have been in weather ranging from 90D+ with the sun beating down to 15d and pouring down rain. High winds have little effect as does hard rain.
Due to my size at 6'2" and 240lbs I have found that this tent really fits me well. It can even accommodate another smaller person as well, though it will be a little tight and not much room for gear.
The only problem I have ever had was my own fault. I had forgotten my footprint and had to use a small tarp. Unfortuanately it rained very hard for the next 2 days and because the tarp did not fit under the tent very well I did get some water seepage.
All and all I can't say enough good things about this tent.