ALPS Mountaineering  Mystique 2 Tent

This is the first two person tent I've purchased in 25 years. So they've certainly improved in that time. I've been used to cheapo 6 person tents that do the job for car camping; so that's the perspective I'm coming from. This 2 person tent is lightweight (haven't taken it on a backpacking trip yet), super easy to pack up, easy breezy to set up. Overall I'm very pleased, though only having used it once so far. The reason it gets 4 stars out of 5, is that it must be staked to stay upright. I probably missed that in the description of it before I bought it. But still, it has already in the month we've had it been an issue that it needs to be staked to stay upright. So if you're camping on hard sand or whatever other kind of very hard surface, it's not gonna be the right tent to use.

I bought this last summer before I knew a whole lot about backpacking tents. I know a lot more now. You can spend more money and get a lighter tent, but this one does the job. Nice and roomy for one big person and a dog with gear. Solid in the wind and rain and you are separated from condensation by the inner net. You can pitch without the fly to see the stars and I had an amazing night in Grayson Highlands near Mt Rogers on a cloudless night with no rainfly. It’s ruggedly constructed so you don’t have to worry about fragile materials. You can pare the weight down to a little under 4# if you leave all the stuff sacks at home, get some lighter (and better) stakes, and use a polychro footprint. 4# isn’t really so bad for a roomy tent at a reasonable price.

I've camped in this thing in both hot summer muggy weather and in cold late fall and its always performed just fine. I use the footprint with it. It's never once leaked in rainy weather and it breathes nicely with the tarp doors rolled up. It's not too stuffy with the tarp closed. I'm 6'2 and I fit just fine, even with another person. Are there lighter tents? Sure. If you're hiking the whole AT, maybe invest in something lighter. This one is a good quality, good bang for the buck.

I bought 2 different tents to compare - this one and a Nemo 2-person tent. This tent weighs over 5lbs and marketed as a "backpacking tent." Only set up in living room to get an idea of size. Looks smaller set up than I thought it would be ... also the tapered end looks quite claustrophobic. I already sleep in a mummy bag, unsure how much more I want my lower half to cramped in.

Worked for a while until it didn’t. The large pole snapped in two places, luckily REI’s return policy is pretty good and I got a full refund.

Haven't had a single problem with the tent, and have been able to take it out quite a bit since I bought it. Happy with my purchase.