How to Choose a Backpacking Tent

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Offering livable space for summer road trips and lightweight backpacking missions, the Mountain Hardwear Aspect 2 tent shelters you in robust 3-season protection that pitches and packs down fast.
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View all Mountain Hardwear Backpacking TentsBest Use | Backpacking |
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Seasons | 3-season |
Sleeping Capacity | 2-person |
Minimum Trail Weight | 2 lbs. 14.7 oz. |
Packaged Weight | 3 lbs. 5 oz. |
Packed Size | 6 x 20.5 inches |
Floor Dimensions | 88 x 50 inches |
Floor Area | 29.3 square feet |
Vestibule Area | Unavailable |
Peak Height | 41 inches |
Number of Doors | 2 doors |
Number of Poles | 2 |
Pole Material | DAC Featherlight NFL |
Pole Diameter | 8.7 millimeters |
Canopy Fabric | 15-denier ripstop nylon/nylon |
Floor Fabric | 40-denier ripstop nylon/nylon |
Rainfly Fabric | 20-denier SIL/SIL ripstop nylon/nylon |
Footprint Included | No |
Design Type | Freestanding |
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I bought this tent from REI about 3 years ago. No problems yet - and still waterproof. Easy setup (but I haven't yet had to race a storm), light, good pegs, adequately ventilated, and vestibule for pack. My dog has jumped on it more than one chasing a fly and I haven't holed it or bent a pole. More than enough room for 1 person and a dog; 2 people would be comfy, but 2 and a dog might not work. Make sure you get the footprint with the tent.
Such a great tent. the other guys were pretty jealous. Love the two doors and the pole design. Love that the two main poles are stuck together and the third smaller pole tightens things up nicely. Really like the loops on the ceiling to clip gar to and there is a little place for a light to be held in the very middle....super convenient. I like that the doors can be held open by tucking them into a little sewn on handle thing and will pull free when zipped. Good engineering that. The stakes are even well shaped. The way the pole ends insert into the tent corners are easy and the rain fly just uses chill little loops to hold on tight. 10/10 thanks MH Team. ALSO... Love the way the tent uses little loops to clip onto the poles- no need to slide the pole through any loops!
I have used this tent about a dozen nights backpacking at Henry Coe, Point Reyes, and Catalina Island between November-December 2022. I bought this tent because it was lightweight and had a higher denier floor relative to other options. Pros: It handles rain really well and ventilates nicely just by letting down the top zippers on the fly doors about 1/3 to 1/2; it's light, spacious, and packs down really well; the zippers are excellent; being able to secure the tent/fly doors makes getting in/out easier and also makes for nice views; the floor is sturdy and I haven't felt compelled to carry a groundsheet. Cons: it collapsed on me during wind gusts around 25+mph and the poles are now slightly bent; the mesh is very delicate and snags easily, so pack carefully; the system used to attach the tent body to the poles (both at the body and the ground) can be difficult to manage in cold weather or with gloves; the offset side pockets are awkward for use with a partner; and it does not feel like its 50 inches wide (even when fully-staked out) - that said, it will easily fit two normal sized sleeping pads.
I haven’t used anything other than a single-wall tent for alpine climbing in 15+ years and I was a bit skeptical at first. The tent was amazing though! I took it to the Cirque of the Towers for a week and it did great in the daily rainstorms and didn’t ever have the condensation my past single wall tents have had. We stayed warm and dry and were able to keep all our climbing and camping gear under the vestibule on either side. The length is great for someone my height. 6’4”. Usually, the foot and head of my sleeping bag are soaked in the morning from pressing up against the ends of a too-short tent. Not with the Aspect.
Used this tent on the Teton Crest Trail. The tent is very light and very easy to set up. Rain was not a factor, but I have soaked the tent with a hose while trying to clean and it appears to be waterproof. The tent did very well in high winds. My only complaint, the high winds blew A LOT of dust, so much so that I had to empty the inside of my tent. The tent cleaned up great, but the rainfly does not clean up as well. I believe it is due to the light gray color. I have tried soaking the rainfly in water and a lot of the dust came off, but the fly is still stained.
Just got it shipped to me. Came in good time. Tent feels sturdy. Have used other well made tents including big angels copper spur HV UL, tiger wall UL, and the MSR Hubba Hubba, and this fits right up there with them. Only complaint is it’s specs state 50” wide online, and the shipped product arrived tagged as 48”. Two inches may not sound like much, but for tents that are already tight for two, it just got that much smaller. Further, the actual manufactured width staked out is just over 47”. It will be a cozy sleep, hope I like my camping partner!
This tent is great—I used it for a trip into the Desolation Wilderness, and found it to be amazingly light and spacious for a double-wall freestanding tent with 2 doors and vestibules. Setup was very simple, and it was quite large for one person. It’s a true rectangle, whereas the BA Copper Spur is a tapered shape, without being appreciably lighter. This tent can comfortably sleep two with room for gear in the vestibules. I got this tent on sale in 2020, so it was a no-brainer purchase since it had all the features and low weight of other best-in-class tents. I can’t wait to use it again soon!
First outing in this tent was hit with constant rain, then about 8 inches of snow, followed by more continuous rain. I stayed dry the entire time while in the tent (I did seal the seams). Sadly due to the ground fly not having grommets you can't take the inside tent down with the rainfly still up, so the internal tent got soaked. Pack-ability of the tent is awesome, saving about half the space over my OG REI Half Dome. Still hate pole hubs and 3rd poles for these kind of tents but these pack fairly well. Only 2 guy lines were provided, should have provided 6. Not enough stakes either to fully guy line out the tent. Next adventure out was fair weather with 60deg temp swings, minimal amount of condensation which surprised me as there aren't any vents in the fly other than 2way vestibule zippers. Overall a decent purchase but disappointed can't setup the fly without the tent and lack of included stakes/guy-lines, would be a 5 star otherwise.