REI Co-op  Arete ASL 2 Tent - 2018

I, recently, moved North and was looking for a good 4-season tent. I have become a solo camper and no longer need the extra space that my 3-season MSR (3 person) provides. Additionally, I enjoy sleeping on a Helinox cot and needed a tent with an entry from the end that could accommodate my cot. I found that the Arete ASL 2 met all of my criteria. After receiving the tent, I immediately took it out for it's maiden voyage and it lived up to my expectations. The tent was easily setup on the first try in under 10 minutes. (The directions are printed on the flap of the stuff sack so that you never lose them.) The integrated exterior ventilation sticks were a great addition! (Previously with my MSR tent, I would have to search the ground for the right size stick.This search would always prove difficult when setting up in the dark.) The two center poles are built with a center clip that easily indexes their location before clipping the tent to the pole. As a result, the tent is extremely sturdy, even without the guylines attached. My Helinox cot fit easily in the tent and allowed for the room that I needed to still change clothes. The temperatures on my maiden voyage only went down to 64 degrees. Still, I was able to sleep comfortably with the ventilation covers unzipped. I woke up each morning with zero condensation! I look forward to taking the tent out on more adventures. I am confident that it will provide me with protection from the elements regardless of the weather that might be thrown at it. I would definitely recommend this tent to others.

I love this tent! It took about 8 minutes to assemble the first time (we timed it for science), and then it's taken about 3-4 minutes each time after that. The tent has 4 poles total, which snap easily into the grommets and pole clips on the canvas, and feed smoothly through the canvas during setup. The stakes are lightweight but sturdy, and we had a relatively easy time staking the tent into dirt that had a substantial amount of rock below the surface. It is spacious enough to fit 2 adults (5'8" and 6'3"), two sleeping bags/mats, two pillows, and two packs (30-liter) with room to spare on the floor. The 5 pockets available in the interior were perfectly placed for both of us to use for glasses, car keys, wallets and headlamps. The rain fly (not pictured) is easy to add in the event of a surprise rain shower. The tent is also lightweight (<6 lbs), and is perfect for taking on adventures where your car may be a couple miles away from your desired campsite. When stored, it fits nicely in the above-mentioned 30-liter pack (or in a closet, bin full of gear, trunk of car, etc.). Added bonus - the stuff sack is fairly generous, so even if you don't roll the tent up as tightly as it came, it will still fit. We used a simple tarp for a footprint, which was great for keeping the moisture contained, and perfectly sized for the bottom of this tent. All in all, I've really enjoyed my experiences with this tent to date and I can't wait to take it on more adventures!

While this tent is touted a a 4-season tent, this review is based on a summer usage, so I cannot comment on performance in cold temps. The size is a typical 2-man tent, meaning it is just big enough for 2 people and a small amount of gear. Since I am usually the only one in my tent, that makes it perfect for me. Plenty of room for my stuff, but still a small footprint, so I won’t roll around too much. Also, this tent is a little longer than others I’ve owned, so it is great for accommodating taller people. Or storing backpacks at your feet. Setup was a snap, and took less than ten minutes. The color-coded poles are a nice touch and add to the ease of assembly. The instructions are printed on a waterproof material, which is sewn to the stuff sack, so you’ll never lose it! There are several pockets and loops spaced around the tent for storage and hanging things. I love this—a safe place and findable for my glasses, and a loop for hanging something like a small lantern (plus storage for many more small items). Zippers allow pushing part of the “roof” aside and exposing a lot of mesh for ventilation on a warm night, or for providing an unobstructed view of the night sky and all those beautiful stars. With the rain fly on, the vestibule is kind of small, so if you have 2 people and 2 backpacks, it will be a bit cramped. I love that the door is at the head of the tent (rather than on the side — I hate having to crawl over someone in the night to visit the facilities. Take down was also a snap, although I did have a hard time getting the poles out of the grommets, and got some help from a handsome stranger. (Batting eyelashes—can you please help kind sir? Works every time :-)). I also love how the stuff sack is roomy. I remember the days when it was a real chore getting the tent back into the bag.

Is spent a couple nights recently in the new version of the Arete near Galbraith Lake located in the North Slope Borough of Alaska. First night we had strong winds and rain and I was extremely comfortable and dry. I did need to get out and attach additional guy lines and stakes that were not included (not a big deal) to quiet the rain fly. Next night we had strong winds and driving snow and again very warm and comfortable with minimal condensation. My nephew stayed in the older model and had no complaints. These are of course fairly small tents for two persons. My wife and I are planning to spend 10 cozy nights together in the newer Arete in Brazil next month.

as I was reading through the REI reviews on this tent, there were a couple of reviewers that complained about the difficulty of putting the poles into the sleeves of this tent. I had no difficulty at all. poles went into sleeves perfectly, and it was easy to bend the other end of the poles to fit it into the grommet holes. so maybe REI made an adjustment to the design that was flustering a few people. who knows, it sets up very easily. I also really like the fact that the tent fly has buckles which firmly attach to the tent itself. my three season REI fly is not so securely anchored. It appears this tent will be well suited for windy weather. got a nice deal on this tent during the recent Memorial Day 20% off sale, and literally received the tent one day after I placed the order. Expecting to have fun with this tent in the Eastern Sierras soon, no more freezing when the cold winds blow. the vestibule looks small, it will be an effort to get two packs, boots and other stuff in there. seems like it would not cost too much to increase the size of the vestibule by 50%

I've had this tent for a year now and it has beyond lived up to my expectations. It's been to 13 national parks and handles the full 4 season range within reason. The extra weight is greatly off set by the durability of this tent. It is a very strong shelter that can be minimized to a fairly open and breathable tent without the fly on. Make sure you set it up once before you take it out, but its pretty straight forward. Buy new stakes and you're ready to go. If you think this is possibly the tent for you, snag it! In high winds it's the tent I want to be in.

Still in lockdown here in Argentina, waiting to go to the mountains. Nevertheless, we received the Arete and put it on the garden, and try it in cold nights! (34F). Set up was super easy and the poles went through without any problem. There is an instruction card on the bag, but we did not realize that, and don't need it. Maybe an additional pair of stakes and ropes could help. The foot print I bought, for this model, it is not quite precise with the tent floor. Size is very comfortable for two people (we are mid size), the vestibule is a little small. The fly has very well designed ventilation windows as the tent itself. Inside the tent, plenty of pockets and hooks. Super useful. During those could nights, just a little condensation, not too much. We are very happy with the tent and looking forward to go to Patagonia ASAP!

I really liked this tent. Felt very sturdy, though I didn't get to test it out in high winds, nor snow. It was my first real backpacking tent so I have little to compare it with, but it felt quite light, was reasonably warm, and was easy to set up. I understand where some reviewers were coming from with the poles being hard to lock in, but I didn't personally find them anywhere close to impossible (as a reasonably strong guy) and I think my friend was also able to set them up (as a fairly thin girl) though with difficulty. The reason I didn't give it a 4/5 was because on some rainy nights I woke up with water soaked into the tent. I'm pretty sure that was from contact of the walls with the rainfly overnight. From some reading, this seems to be due to nylon's propensity to expand/sag when wet. Maybe most experienced campers already know about this and how to compensate for it, but I personally think using polyester might have alleviated this problem and made it a perfect tent. Anyway, still a great value, and a great experience with it. I love this tent a lot!

I took this tent on an overnight snowshoe/backpacking trip to Yosemite. I brought along a calibrated laboratory grade thermometer. Outside temps at 4:30am was 18F. Inside the Arete was 26F. There was only a little bit of wind, maybe 5-10mph, and the tent stayed very stable. It even deflected the falling snow and ice that dropped from the tree nearby without even a shudder. I was most impressed by how easy it is to set up. The pole sleeves dead end at the rear of the tent so you only have to put the poles into the grommets at the front. The black poles that create the peak near the front of the tent clip on really easily. I was also impressed by all the thoughtful details built inside the tent. You have a lot of latitude over the amount of ventilation inside the tent because you can open up the panel behind the door's mesh. There a bunch of mesh nets inside the tent to store stuff. There's one in the top to put your headlamp facing downwards to light up the whole space. There are nets in the corners to put your eyeglasses or flashlights. REI products are usually known for being "bang for your buck" products... but I gotta say this tent knocks it out of the park regardless of price.

As other reviewers have said...this tent is great...until...over time the rainfly gets sticky, decorates, and the rainfly tabs fall off the seams like they were taped on. For such an expensive tent this is extreme negligence from REI. If a car came out with something like this there would be a free recall. I will not be buying REI brand tents in the future, which is a shame because my old original half dome is still great.