REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

This is my second Quarter Dome T2 tent, having just replaced the previous model with this, the 2012, version. The old version was simply my favorite tent of all time, being the near-perfect balance of size, room, weight, and cost of any tent I have ever tried or owned.

As for the new model, the changes are largely cosmetic: the small band of white taffeta fabric between the bathtub floor and mesh (which composes most of the body), color of the fly, and changing the diameter of the two smaller poles to 8.5 mm (as opposed to 9 mm). They have also changed to the "green" anodizing for said poles. One minor change for the worse: the guy-lines attached to the vestibule went from reflective to non-reflective. Not a big deal, but it was one of the more handy features for the times when morning wasn't soon enough for a bathroom trip.

Aside from those changes, this is the same tent that has seen me through many local, weekend trips in the back-country of the Los Padres National Forest, to week-and-a-half long Sierra Treks. Each and every time it's rained, I have stayed bone dry, with no rain intrusion. The overlap between fly and tent is enough, so that there's no splashing over from heavy rain, but not so much that ventilation is cut-off. It also hold up well in winds, being rigid enough not to beat the occupant to death, but flexing enough to avoid snapping a pole.

I generally used this tent solo, as I greatly prefer to have my pack indoors and have room to "spread out." I have, however, used this tent with my wife on a few trips and found it not *too* cramped. There's certainly not room to spare, but we didn't spend the night elbowing each other, either. The pole design does make for vertical side walls, so pretty much all of the 51" width is useable.

This tent gets a lot of the "little details" exactly right. The doors zip around the bottom and are attached at the top, so they don't fall into/out of the tent and get wet/dirty. There is even a stash-pocket in the top for each door to keep it completely out of the way when you are getting in and out during camp set-up. There is a small stach-pocket in each corner of the tent, so it's easy to stay organized in the dark. The best detail, however, is the adjustable vestibule tension. With one hand and one simple motion, you can cinch the vestibule taught (for rain-free gear in the vestibule), or loosen it up to make getting in/out very easy. This is something that I am very surprised other comparable tents (i.e. Hubba-Hubba) don't have.

When pressed to identify a flaw, I feel the tent collects a big more condensation that it aught to. Dry weather, wet weather, cold weather, worm weather, there is always a layer of condensation coating the inner surface of the fly every morning. Not copious amounts, but enough to warrant wiping off with a pack-towel before packing it up. You can fiddle with the vents, guy-out the ends, or open a vestibule and it's always there. Again, not a lot, but enough to be worth mentioning.

I have tried many other comparable tents (MSR, Big Agnes, Mountain Hardware & Marmot) looking to shed a couple of ounces, or gain a few inches of space, but each time, I come back to this tent as my favorite.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

Out of all the hiking/backpacking gear I've purchased over the years I'm compelled to say that the Quarter Dome 2 is at the top. Put it this way, it's the only two man tent I've ever purchased. I've gone through a couple solos, and every year in the off-season I'm upgrading my equipment. Thankfully the Quarter Dome 2 is one piece of gear I never have to worry about.

For starters I love the pole design, which allows the front and back to actually have 90 degree vertical walls instead of tapering in at the top like the vast majority of tents. It's so simple to set up too. One person can pitch it in the dark in a couple minutes, and that's because the poles are all connected in one unit.

I've had this tent for about 3 years and I've never had any problem with leaks or wind bouncing it around. Even on the coast where it rained for four days straight there was absolutely zero leakage in the fly or the floor.

I love the fact that the inner wall is all mesh. Not only does it nullify any condensation issues, it also allows for quick drying in case it got wet. The tent is very breathable, which is great for odors especially when a couple grown men are crammed in there after a long day on the trail. Which brings me to my absolute favorite thing about this tent: leaving the rain-fly off and sleeping under the stars on those clear summer nights. It feels like you're outside. And when the mosquitoes are swarming your tent like the London blitz, it's nice to know that you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the wilderness and still be protected. I keep the rain-fly off whenever humanly possible.

As you can tell by now, I love this tent. Sure it takes up some room in your pack, but I've never heard of a freestanding tent that doesn't. At least the Quarter Dome 2 is fairly light. As long as you're using it as a 2-man you're looking at less than 2 pounds apiece, and that's not bad at all for a freestanding double walled tent.

My search for the right solo tent grinds on year after yer, but i expect my REI Quarter Dome 2 to last me for years to come. I just love this thing.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

I've owned the Quarter Dome T2 for a couple of years now, and have found it to be an excellent tent in all seasons and conditions. It has shielded me well from sun, rain and snow.

The tent can be set up by one person in just a few minutes. The single-piece pole design is nice because you never have to worry about any pole parts missing. If you've got the poles, you've got ALL the poles.

The fly provides full coverage and convenient zippered vestibules on both sides. Two pockets on the ceiling of the tent can hold the doors up and out of the way. It took me a couple of nights to realize those little pockets were there.

This is a two-person tent, but I've only used it as a one-person tent. Personally, I think it's a perfect size for one person and gear. I'm about 6-feet tall and length is good for me. If you're taller I'd recommend a longer model.

The tent comes in a compression sack with poles and stakes in two separate smaller sacks. A repair tube is also included with the stakes. Everything fits into the main compression sack very easily, and it can all be tightened down for backpacking.

I use the optional footprint. For the price, this tent should have included the footprint.

I've had no problems at all with this tent or any of the parts that came with it. I'd buy it again, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fairly compact, lightweight one-person or two-person tent.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

I bought this tent to use for camping while on business and also for backpacking. Lightweight and pack-ability were key features for me. This tent has met and exceeded my expectations.My first night out, I was buffeted with 60 mph winds and pounding rain all night long. It was the worst summer storm in years. The tent held up with no problems at all. The breathability of the tent was really key in this scenario since it was 90+ with very high humidity. I was pleased.Then a few months later I spent a week in Utah. This time it was cold with just a bit of rain. Tent was great. I had to break camp and set up quite a few times that week and timed myself. 10 minutes to set up, 15 to break it down.I think the footprint is really the thing that makes this tent amazing to me. You can cut your tent weight by 15oz (almost a full pound) by using the footprint and rainfly instead of tent and rainfly.I agree with the reviewer that recommends setting up the tent once or twice before you have to do it in the dark but once you get it, it's pretty simple. And the corners are color coded to the poles.My only other quibble is that I'm not a big dude at 5'9" but I pretty much touch both ends of the tent when I sleep. So I guess next time I buy, if I have the money, I might get the T2 plus.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

Im a 16 year old boy scout and i love this tent. i used the half dome and wanted this but then i saw this loved it. easy to set up but make sure you do it a least once before you do it in the dark so you know how the complex, but very compact poles fit together. used it in the rain recently and when we arrived i set up the tent in the driest place i could find, although it was still quite wet. i stayed for 2 nights and had absolutely no problems. the vestibule is the best idea i have ever seen i was able to leave my boots out side with out them getting wet. lastly the ventilation is excellent there was NO condensation in the morning. i would highly recommend this tent to anyone who wants a light and extremely durable tent but i would also suggest you get the ground tarp it is a great extra.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

I have had this tent for a few months. While it would definitely be a 3-season tent in a 'normal' winter, the mild weather we've had on the east coast has allowed me to use it during the winter season. I've taken it on a few test runs, and can say I love it.

The tent is a bit on the small side, but I'm ok with this. I use this as a solo tent when camping with my dog (he's spoiled and has to sleep inside the tent), and as a lightweight 2 man tent with a buddy of mine. We're both 6'1" and pushing the length limit on this version - but the trade off for cutting weight over the Plus version is worth it. We have to sleep head to toe to make the mummy bags/sleeping pads fit. We really only use the tent as something to sleep in - I haven't been caught in a storm where we would have to spend a few hours waiting it out inside the tent, but don't think that it would be altogether fun. The near vertical walls make it very good with head-room, but I don't think there would be enough floor space for two people to have to wait out a thunderstorm for a few hours.

My old 2 man was tear dropped shaped with only one door and one vestibule at the top of the tent. This tent is lighter in weight with two doors/zippers and two vestibules. The one door at top always meant the other party got woken up during late night bathroom runs. I never thought I would care so much about doors, but I definitely do.

I would recommend setting it up once or twice at home. My other tents have multiple poles without hubs, and the first time I took it out of the bag, I stared dumbly at the 'one pole' setup for a few seconds before the lightbulb went off. Probably wouldn't be too much fun trying to learn to use this one in the dark.

Bottom line - lightweight, easy to set up, sturdy.

Service and delivery comments:

I did a bunch of research of various tents online, but the staff at the East Hanover REI were really great in helping me make a final decision on which way to go.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

Have used it on about 10 trips this year, including 4 winter trips, no storms, only light snow; 1 trip up to the Continental Divide Trail in the Weminuche Wilderness. Goes up easy, very light weight (a little over 3 lbs). I don't need all the stakes, just a front and rear to hold it down. Huge front and rear vestible. Lots of inside pockets, and 2 nice upper pockets to tuck open the screen. It's lightweight due to its all net upper, but so what, with the fly it becomes bullet proof. The poles are a little fragile, so not sure about long term storms or durability on a glacier, but when the fly is up it would take a giant storm to do any damage. The inside is 'boxie' i.e. the head room is squared off so plenty of usable space. I love this tent.

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

I bought the model before this one and i love it..Very easy to set up after you do it once.. Great tent and great price.. Cant go wrong..

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

Havn't used this tent yet just set it up in the backyard a couple times. I like the ability to use it without the tent body (just fly and footprint and poles). I also like all the small little convenient straps and clips and such they include on the tent, it makes it a very user-friendly tent! They thought of everything good job REI engineers!

Comments about REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent:

So far, I've only used this four or five times. I've used in both car camping and backpacking. For backpacking, it was easy to set-up and tear down, plus it's light and durable (thus far). I've been in two mild rainstorms in it, and it performed well in both keeping rain out and ventilating humidity. I recently purchased the foot-print for it on reioutlet, and I'm really looking forward to some extra lightweight summer camping. All in all, it's done me very well so far.

Service and delivery comments:

As usual, no issues. I'm a big fan of REI's customer service.