How to Choose a Backpacking Tent
REI Co-op Half Dome SL 2+ Tent with Footprint
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Enjoy space for 2 people plus gear—or a pet—on your backpacking trips with this REI Co-op tent. It weighs less than 4 lbs. and sets up fast so you have more time to kick back and relax.
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- Superlight (SL) construction engineered for an impressive trail weight (3 lbs. 15 oz.) that stands up to 3-season weather and doesn't skimp on the beloved Half Dome features
- 2+ size floor plan boosts livable space for 2 people, plus gear—or a furry friend
- Pre-bent pole architecture boosts livable space; vertical side walls provide generous head and shoulder room
- Mesh panels in upper portion of tent improve ventilation and views; ripstop panels in lower portion provide privacy, reduce drafts and lessen exposure to blowing dust and dirt
- REI Exclusive tension-truss architecture creates stable vertical sidewalls for generous space and plenty of headroom
- 2 large D-shape doors offer a spacious yet lightweight solution for ease of coming and going; doors can be rolled up and secured
- 2 dual-stake vestibules offer easy access and additional covered storage
- Hubbed, color-coded pole assembly simplifies setup
- Pockets and hang loops help organize the interior
- Fly design allows sides and ends to be rolled up to maximize views and airflow; everything also rolls down quickly if a storm blows in
- Fly has 2 closable ceiling vents that provide airflow and help prevent condensation buildup
- Made with solution-dyed mesh to reduce water and energy use in manufacturing
- Durable water repellent (DWR) and polyurethane coating on the floor and rainfly; DWR on the canopy
- Fully seam-sealed
- Includes rainfly, footprint, guylines with tighteners, pole-repair tube, pole bag, 8 stakes and stake bag
- Packaged weight includes all components, including the footprint
- Contains materials that meet the bluesign® criteria
- REI Co-op brand is certified to The Climate Label; we actively fund efforts to reduce carbon emissions across our business and support climate projects around the world
Imported.
View the REI Co-op Half Dome Product LineView all REI Co-op Backpacking Tents| Best Use | Backpacking |
|---|---|
| Seasons | 3-season |
| Sleeping Capacity | 2-person |
| Minimum Trail Weight | 3 lbs. 15 oz. |
| Packaged Weight | 4 lbs. 11.5 oz. |
| Packed Size | 7 x 20.5 inches |
| Floor Dimensions | 90 x 54 inches |
| Floor Area | 33.75 square feet |
| Vestibule Area | 22.5 square feet |
| Peak Height | 42 inches |
| Number of Doors | 2 doors |
| Number of Poles | 1 hubbed poleset |
| Pole Material | Aluminum |
| Canopy Fabric | 40-denier ripstop nylon/20-denier nylon mesh (bluesign approved) |
| Floor Fabric | 40-denier ripstop nylon |
| Rainfly Fabric | 30-denier nylon |
| Footprint Included | Yes |
| Design Type | Freestanding |
| Sustainability | Contains materials that meet the bluesign® criteria From a Climate Label Certified brand |
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From feedback to field testing, all of our gear is dialed-in by REI Co-op members. Their adventures informed every stitch and detail—making for better, longer-lasting gear.
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Most Helpful Favorable Review
Half Dome SL 2+ Compression sack fitment
Cliff2 years ago
Loving the Half Dome SL 2+ tent so far. This is a quick FYI for folks looking to maximize utilizing limited pack space. The tent+fly+footprint, excluding poles+stakes, can fit in a 5L compression sack. Photo shows so packed, next to the stuff sack that comes with the tent.
Cliff
Santa Cruz, CA
99 people found this review helpful
Most Helpful Critical Review
Poles broke on second use
David4 years ago
Seems like for almost $300, these poles should have lasted longer than 1 camping trip. Pole snapped in half upon second use. Of course REI won't take back or replace.
David
Phoenix, AZ
83 people found this review helpful
Customer Images
Wufler94
Recommended
1 year ago
Have had this tent for 10 years now and Have taken it on countless backpacking trips (overnighters to 5 day treks). Great blend of light weight, packable, durable, and affordable. My wife and I fit snug + a small pup. Easy set up and tear down. The tent poles strings needed replacing in year 7 and were sent to a company who replaces them for $50ish, now work like new.
Age:25–34
Weight:125–150 lbs.
Height:5'9"
Yes , I recommend this product
kinsman1703
Murfreesboro, TN
Weak Materials
8 months ago
I've been camping and backpacking for nearly 40 years. This is the first REI tent I have ever owned or used and most likely the last unless they improve on their product. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I'm only able to get out 2-3 times per year. I purchased and used this tent for the first time in May '23 and it has always been set up in pretty clear campsites. The fabric is weak and gets holes or small tears very easily and one of the polls just broke last weekend. I have always used Eureka tents in the past and never had these kinds of issues.
Age:45–54
Weight:225–250 lbs.
Height:6'0"
No, I do not recommend this product
mcengland
Received free product
Los Angeles, CA
My new car camping tent?
4 years ago
This tent review comes amidst a pandemic, obviously. At the time the test offer came in, it was possible to camp on National Forest campgrounds. That changed between the time of the offer and the time I received it: the Angeles National Forest (and other forests) shut down its campgrounds and I was in no position to travel farther out for camping. This left me in a bit of a quandary. I DO take product testing seriously, though, so I did what seemed the only reasonable thing to do: I set up the tent in my backyard. SUMMARY Test period: Four weeks Conditions: Los Angeles “winter”, with temperatures ranging from the high 20s to the 80s, multiple significant Santa Ana Wind events, and several major Pacific storms with substantial rainfall. Ease of set-up: Easiest tent I’ve used. Ease of take-down: same. Handling of weather: stayed dry in torrential rains with the excellent rain fly. Didn’t move a bit in 50+ mph sustained winds despite being in an open and elevated place. SET-UP Tent set-up was easy. It has a simple dome shape, a single radiating pole, a rain fly, stakes, and it even came with a footprint attached to it. It took me 10-15 minutes, and it only took that long because I’m an idiot and initially tried to attach the poles 90° in the wrong direction. TAKE DOWN Again, about ten minutes. The tent was in pristine shape save some bird droppings and some dirt from rain splattering mud during the storms. I had to remove the footprint to hang it to dry, but that was also simple. GENERAL THOUGHTS The tent is light and would make an excellent two-person cozy backpacking tent. It’s a little too much for one person, and I will likely not use when I do my usual solitary backpacking. It is spacious enough, with the ease of set-up, I may have it replace my four person tent for solo car camping. I look forward to being able to take this on a real camping trip in the local mountains!
Age:45–54
Weight:175–200 lbs.
Height:5'11"
Yes , I recommend this product
MonoMan
Cary, NC
Keep me covered on the GAP, GREAT TENT!
2 years ago
I have camped twice with this tent. First time was in the mountain in NC and the second time was on the Great Allegheny Passage bike trip from Cumberland MD to Pittsburg PA, and I'll tell you whut, this tent is awesome. Set up is not that complicated, just follow the colors, you know, like a 5 year old. It has mesh pockets on the inside and over head to store things. It also has loops at different point on the inside above head to hang things. You don't need to stake down the tent for set up which is great. Good luck trying to drive a tent stake into the ground along the GAP. First time I camped with this tent it was with another person, my medium dog (32lbs) and an adult Husky. We all were able to fit inside of the tent without issue and still had extra room for gear. For the space and its weight I think the price is more than fair. Second time was on the GAP with my dog, we had an abundant amount of room with just the two of us. With practice, set up and break down of the tent takes no time. When you read reviews about people getting wet on the inside of the tent it is because they didn't properly vent the tent. It has vent flaps at the roof on both sides you can use and you should also leave one flap of the outer shell open to properly vent the tent, then you won't get condensation on the inside
Age:25–34
Weight:175–200 lbs.
Height:5'6"
Yes , I recommend this product
NJPhotoman
Jefferson Twp, New Jersey
Great for motorcycle campng too!
1 year ago
Just returned from a 2050 mile motorcycle ride with a friend where we camped 4 of the days in Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine. I really love how easy this tent sets up, as well as two huge vestibules to store my waterproof gear and boots for easy access from within the tent. Interestingly I sleep better tent camping than in a hotel, says my Garmin Solar Instinct 2 watch that I also purchased at REI a year ago!
Age:65–74
Yes , I recommend this product
Untamed
Utah
Decent tent, the specs are misleading
2 years ago
Just got the tent today and set it up in my living room I know a little strange set up was easy as any other freestanding tent where I have an issue and only gave it three stars is the floor space is not what it is claimed pictures to show and the romance for the fly are very very tight to the orange pole. If I would not have got this for a great deal I would be sending it back is not worth MSRP.
Age:45–54
Weight:175–200 lbs.
Height:5'9"
Str8Shooter
Maryland
This is a nice backpacking tent
3 years ago
Durability, comfort, weight, packability, ease of setup, and price were all important to me for my backpacking trips. It's about 2.5 pounds heavier than those single wall ultralight tents and about 1 to 1.5 pounds heavier than a similar ultralight tent that cost about $150-200 USD more, but those more expensive 2 wall tents use less material and are more fragile, which means you need to baby them more. I decided not to go single wall to better avoid condensation issues under certain conditions. Being that I have lost about 20 pounds (now 145 pounds at 5'9) bodyweight backpacking worrying about carrying another 1.5 pounds of more durable tent is a good trade off. I seriously think this is a good choice for most people. I carried this in an Osprey Aether 55L backpack (another non ultralight choice) for 24 miles over 2 days with no problem. Perhaps the Osprey Aether's awesome lumbar back support helped with a little extra weight (28 pounds total weight at start of 2 day trip).
Age:55–64
Weight:125–150 lbs.
Height:5'9"
Yes , I recommend this product
Scott
Received free product
Hickory
Spacious, dry, 3-season tent
4 years ago
IMO the primary purpose of any tent is to protect you from the elements. After 24 hours of continuous rain (sometimes heavy) the inside of this tent was completely dry. Helping keep the inside dry (and warm on colder nights) is the high bathtub floor - the mesh sidewalls at their lowest are 16-18” from the ground. The sidewalls are also steep which provide welcome interior space. I measured the peak height at 43”. Six gear pockets (one in each corner and two overhead) provide plenty of storage space. Both vestibules are large and offer extra storage. Setup of the tent is straightforward. Technically there are 3 poles (2 long, 1 short) but they are assembled as one piece as all are connected to a center hub. Actual weights are as follows: Tent, fly, footprint, guy lines and stakes - 4 lbs. 12 oz. (this does not include stuff sacks as I don’t use them when backpacking). Use only the fly, poles, footprint and stakes - 3 lbs. 3 oz. Some may consider this heavy but the extra space and protection from the elements are worth the extra few ounces that would likely be split between two people. This a great tent. You won’t be disappointed!
Age:45–54
Weight:150–175 lbs.
Height:6'0"
Yes , I recommend this product
Charlie
Urbana, Illinois
Easy setup with 2 design fails, one fatal
1 year ago
It is not a backpacking tent if it can't hold back even a medium level rain event for several hours. The attractive aspect of this tent is weight and space, sleeping two plus gear comfortably. Though very easy to set up (directions inside the main storage bag) with nice layout of 4 side pockets and two top pockets and lots of internal hanging loops to work with, after several uses including a week in Maine during medium rains, we have returned this redesigned tent as flawed. We found that the rain fly seam leaked where the seam sealer ended halfway up the zipper on identical points on each side roughly where the zipper curves. This resulted in pools of water inside the tent from drips that fall 3 inches inside the main doors. Further, even with the footprint properly installed, moisture was penetrating the floor when set up on soggy ground. We were replacing an older model that we heavily used for the past 13 years that never leaked in even the heaviest of storms when properly staked out and became a water bed if the ground got saturated as the tent bottom was leakproof even without the footprint. The differences are two-fold: the floor material was a bit heavier and the zippers on the fly are fully sealed and covered by material from bottom to top while the newly designed rain fly has bare stitching two-thirds of the way up so that water leaked inside near where the junction of sealed versus unsealed met. Finally, it is beyond me why anyone would design a footprint with straps that have to be looped through tent corner loops that make it awkward to remove and attach instead of the previously used grommet design. Proper daily packing let alone storage (we are experienced bike campers as well as hikers) means drying the footprint, even for moving day by day and usually packing it separately. Finally, the accessories included should include two more stakes and instructions for pulling the middle ends of the fly out away from the tent for better air circulation and rain protection, something we've been doing for years on the older model.
Age:65–74
Weight:150–175 lbs.
Height:5'8"
No, I do not recommend this product
Daniel C
Johnson City, TN
Excellent Tent!
3 years ago
Have had the tent for about two years and used half dozen times on various trails all on backpacking trips. My last trip this past weekend on the Cumberland Trail really tested it. Held up in a spring “blizzard” just fine! No condensation, leaks or moisture in the tent. Not the lightest weight 2p tent on the market but for sub 4lbs I don’t think you can get better. Has great storage inside, lots of pockets, easy setup/breakdown and so much space inside and the vestibules are some of the larger ones out there in my opinion. My 65L pack fits great along with any of the other gear that I need to put in them. Overall just a great tent.
Age:35–44
Weight:200–225 lbs.
Height:6'3"
Yes , I recommend this product
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