ALPS Mountaineering  Chaos 2 Tent

PROS: I love this little tent and it has served me well, especially under extreme wind conditions and rain. I got hit by a major thunderstorm while I was traveling across Kansas and I was certain the wind would blow me and my tent off the ground. However we both stayed put and not a drop of rain got into the tent. I learned afterward that the Chaos was designed to withstand strong winds and ever since then I've made a point making sure it's fully guyed into place (make sure your tent stakes are secure!). Lots of little mesh pockets to store things in. Easy to assemble. I went for durability and price with the purchase, which generally outweigh the few cons, but here they are... Buy with confidence and know the quirks! CONS: Even though the mesh fabric seems like it will last, whenever it gets packed up it comes in contact with the plastic clips and the friction creates tiny pulls. Every. Single Time... No matter how carefully I try to fold it up. It's mostly aesthetically displeasing more than anything. The mesh also doesn't offer much privacy when shield is off and I wish the "bathtub" were slightly higher for this reason. There's no in between option between having the shield on or off and I miss having windows in a dome style tent, also for air flow. Out west the tent is great, but while camping up in Maine the interior of the rain shield does get considerable condensation build-up. I'm not sure if that's entirely avoidable in damp conditions, but it can get quite chilly inside being surrounded airy mesh tent and a very damp rain shield. In a nutshell, I wish there was a way to increase air flow within the rain shield without losing privacy. I also wish the upper mesh pocket was built in so I didn't have to re-hang it each time. Some of the hooks have a sharp edge inside the curve and I worry that they could also damage the mesh. Lastly, when disassembling, the elastic knots that are tucked inside the poles easily pop out. Not a huge ordeal, but it takes two hands to carefully disassemble so you don't have to keep getting them tucked back in.

I bought this tent about 5 years ago and I’ve used it hundreds of times. It has withstood torrential rain and strong wind. I took it to Alaska For a backpacking trip in 2016 and it kept me mostly dry during the strongest storm I’ve ever camped through. The wind was so strong, I thought the poles were going to snap. The wind pushed the poles of the tent so far down, they were only about 10 inches from my face. When the wind died down, the tent readjusted and wasn’t harmed. I also love the vestibules when I have the rain fly on. It can fit two 70L backpacks and two pairs of boots under one vestibule. Another detail I love is all the netting. I prefer to use the tent without the rain fly. I can’t count how many times I’ve fallen asleep under bright stars and the Milky Way. During heavy storms, I expect to take on a little bit of water, only because I’ve used this tent so much, and I don’t use a footprint. I have started waterproofing the entire tent seasonally and it has made a huge difference.

This tent is easy to set up and has a lot of room. I took it to Colorado and it held up great to storms that came through. I remained dry and the tend did not have any issues with the winds that got to probably 20 mph. I am returning this tent however as it does not work for me on backpacking trips due to the weight. I need something a bit lighter but that does not take away from the fact that overall this is a great tent for most uses.

Great size and weight the hooks might poke holes in it event and it get a lot of condensation on inside of cover and the bathtub could be a little bigger

I’ve had this tent for almost a year. It’s been in the mountains, on the beach, forest, in rain and heat. It’s a tough tent and well worth the purchase. The size and weight have been wonderful for backpacking. Would recommend 10/10.