MSR  Access 2 Tent

At first I loved this tent and thought it was going to be my 4 season game changer. I previously had a copper spur UL and started to do more winter camping, so I wanted to get a tent that could withstand harsh winds and cold temps. I used the MSR for 7 nights before one of the pole ends broke off. They switched to plastic pole ends that are brittle in cold weather a little while ago. I am very careful with my gear and know how to care for it. So I after 6 months of use my tent broke and it was a bummer, however I was hoping this would be a quick fix. I sent the poles into Cascade Designs, MSR parent company, and they put them in the que to be worked on on March 26. I called them on April 19th to see how things were going, and they haven’t made any progress. I would definitely avoid MSR tents because they changed the poles in the Hubba Hubba as well. My Experience with Big Agnes’s customer service was far more timely and superior. So I highly recommend not spending this much money on a tent with brittle pole ends and terrible service.

I’ve had the MSR access 2 for about one year now and have so far taken it extensively with me in Glacier National Park in he winter as well as during this recent July 2018. It is advertised as a two person tent and I suppose it could hold two people but it would be very tight. But for one person this is perfect as a back packing tent. This is a very easy to set up tent that is light weight. The poles are very sturdy and haven’t given me any problems. During this winter of January 2018 I did a lot of back country camping in Glacier National Park - the tent did hold up very well under heavy snowfall however this tent does create a lot of condensation to build up at night and into the morning and to be honest it’s so cold that I don’t know if any other tent would do better. So it certainly is better at keeping the heat in the tent than some of the other three season tents. My other comment would be the tent floor which is a very thin fabric. It’s a bathtub design floor that can’t be thicker than 20D. So choose your campsites wisely and use either a tarp or a foot print. I don’t own the footprint, instead I went to Walmart and bought a tarp which is much stronger. Overall I do love this tent. It’s beautiful, holds up in cold winter weather and has done well this recent July in the mountains - but it’s also expensive. After owning it for a year I’ve asked my self was it worth the cost - that’s hard to say since I am an avid back country camper. Probably you could find a cheaper 4 season tent with similar specs as this one. That’s why I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars

Pros: Light weight, good in fair weather Cons: Condensation. Water perfusion through the rain fly and the base of the tent Would recommend for fair weather camping. Easy to carry. Two pole lines make it a little sturdy. Also would recommend carrying the rain fly, it provides enough warmth along with rain protection

Tent coming apart at the seams and leaks like a sieve...

Doesn't fit properly, its too big. Wasted much time attempting to tuck it all under tent. Rained in the middle of night and footprint captured and filled with water. Connection points don't keep the footprint centered because they're too big too.