How to Choose a Backpacking Tent
MSRÂ Access 2 Tent
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Lighter than a mountaineering tent but warmer than a backpacking tent, the 4-season MSR Access 2 tent offers ample comfort for 2 on nights in the protected winter conditions found near the tree line
Shop newer version- Limited mesh on the tent body keeps in hard-earned warmth on cold nights, while the tent's overall light weight keeps you nimble while skiing and hiking
- Central-support frame withstands overnight snow-loading; large hooped vestibule with snow flaps shelters climbing equipment
- Spacious floor plan and extra headroom create a generous interior for 2 climbers and their bulky winter gear
- Unified, hubbed Easton® Syclone™ pole makes for a quick pitch; its composite materials are resistant to breaking in winter conditions
- Rainfly vents reduce condensation while Xtreme Shieldâ„¢ waterproof polyurethane coating helps keep out the elements and promotes long-term durability
- 2 doors; 2 internal pockets; multiple guyout points
Imported.
View all MSR Backpacking Tents| Best Use | Backpacking |
|---|---|
| Seasons | 3 - 4-season |
| Sleeping Capacity | 2-person |
| Minimum Trail Weight | 3 lbs. 10 oz. |
| Packaged Weight | 4 lbs. 1 oz. |
| Packed Size | 6 x 18 inches |
| Floor Dimensions | 84 x 50 inches |
| Floor Area | 29 square feet |
| Vestibule Area | 17.5 square feet |
| Peak Height | 42 inches |
| Number of Doors | 2 doors |
| Number of Poles | 1 |
| Pole Material | Easton Syclone composite |
| Pole Diameter | 9.3 millimeters |
| Canopy Fabric | 20-denier ripstop nylon/10-denier micromesh polyester |
| Floor Fabric | 30-denier ripstop nylon with 3,000mm XtremeShield polyurethane and DWR |
| Rainfly Fabric | 20-denier ripstop nylon with 1,200mm XtremeShield polyurethane/silicone |
| Footprint Included | No |
| Design Type | Freestanding |
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Most Helpful Favorable Review
Baffled and happy
Randor3 years ago
I'm always a little confused by product complaints that include negatives like "bad color" or "too small". The MSR Access 2 is designed to be a lightweight gap filler between an ultra-light 3 season tent and a more bombproof and heaver expedition tent. Thus there has to be a balance struck between strength/durability of the poles and fabric vs. the total amount of those materials.....which taken together become "weight". MSR notes they are threading a needle with this tent. Thicker materials and fabric than a UL 3 season but lighter materials and fabric than a bomber 4 season tent. Not a UL 3 season tent, but not exactly a bomber 4 S tent either. Instead, an "treeline" winter tent compromise that seeks a balance between attributes to fit that niche. And darned if they didn't pretty much NAIL it with the Access 1, 2, & 3. You can't have a 60 square foot tent that's "light". You can't have a 4lb tent that's sleeps 5. Compromises must be made and MSR tucked the Access perfectly into the niche it's intended to fill. I winter camp. I needed a tent light enough to carry alone, packs down small enough to leave space for other bulky winter gear in my pack, roomy enough to have that gear in the tent with me, but something stronger than my MSR Hubba NX1....something that can take more wind and some snow load overnight or while I'm off snowshoeing. The Access 2 is perfect. At 4lbs it's only marginally heavier than my NX1 but significantly stronger and roomier...though admittedly "smallish" for two people. But I solo camp so....no biggie.
When it comes to color....I pretty much LOVE it. It's always sunrise or sunset inside and in any case the color is something you can check out before buying so it hardly seems fair to ding MSR on that front. (I skipped over Sierra Designs for that very reason...but would never leave a negative review for it.) Same goes for spaciousness. You're getting a 2 person, 4 season tent coming in at 4lbs. The weight has to come from somewhere...at least until MSR starts building their tents from the same stuff as Harry Potter's tent.
Randor
New England
26 people found this review helpful
Most Helpful Critical Review
Poles are wack
mblaney3 years ago
I took this winter camping and the plastic pole tips broke with little pressure put on them. I sent them in for repair and they sent them
Back unfixed. Pretty bad experience, especially with how much this tent costs
mblaney
Laramie, Wyoming
17 people found this review helpful
Customer Images
JC Pett
Shell Wyoming
Good Mountain Tent
4 years ago
Bought this to replace my 20 year old REI Mountain 3 tent. Spent 5 nights on high mountain trip over 10,000 ft. It is a nice, light and easy to set up small tent. A little tight for two large guys, barely enough room in the vestibule to store both packs with boots. Does not vent well, especial on warm nights, with two guys. We opened up both doors and the fly and it aired out well, but there were no bugs. Kept us dry with doors open and fly closed on raining and very windy night. Want to take it out on winter trip. Best feature is its a solid 4 season that only weights 4 lbs. Worst thing about it is condensation build up, dripping water from the ceiling woke me up.
Age:55–64
Weight:200–225 lbs.
Height:6'0"
Yes , I recommend this product
Tommy L.
True backcountry pass
7 years ago
This lite weight 4-season tent is superb, I've had it for over a year now doing ultra-lite backcountry caming in the Canadian rockies and western United States throughout winter, I never have to worry about the conitions its gotten me through monsoon rain, wind storms and even a -21 degree night, super easy to set up in the dark and/or snow. Summer in the Canadian Rockies doesn't get very warm so havnt had much of a chance to test it in warmer conditions but it handles single digits and below perfect, MSR gear loft is a must so convenient for extra gear in winter.
Originally posted on a Cascade Designs brand site
Wildlife
Monterey Tennessee
Winter camp
3 years ago
Added extra guide lines for wind and snow loads.
Age:55–64
Weight:150–175 lbs.
Height:5'7"
Yes , I recommend this product
mblaney
Laramie, Wyoming
Poles are wack
3 years ago
I took this winter camping and the plastic pole tips broke with little pressure put on them. I sent them in for repair and they sent them Back unfixed. Pretty bad experience, especially with how much this tent costs
Age:18–24
Weight:175–200 lbs.
Height:6'0"
No, I do not recommend this product
Anonymous
Small
7 years ago
The description, floor plan and features of this tent were everything I have been looking for for backcountry tours. The materials are top notch. Set up is easy. But... upon using it it I was severely disappointed. !st off, the poles didn't come with my tent and after contacting MSR got them shipped out. The condensation is pretty bad due to that the tent fly (no matter how much I tried) would rest on the body of the fly. The biggest failure is simply the architecture. The walls of the tent body are so low angle that it creates a large amount of unusable space. 6"" of the 4 corners is too low for even a sleeping pad. to position a bad and bag so that it wouldn't touch the sidewalls I was basically in the middle of the tent. My partner and I had to curl up just so our heads and feet didn't push against the walls. The condesation that built up dripped onto our heads and feet soaking our bags. This tent needs to go back to the drawing board in my opinion to be considered for use in the snow. This tent would work as a 1 person (under 6') great. But for 2 people, no way
Originally posted on a Cascade Designs brand site
Linds
Seattle, WA
Splint in pole after minimal use
2 years ago
I never write reviews, but I feel I needed to write one considering the cost of this tent and having splints in the poles when only used a handful of times. Very upsetting.
No, I do not recommend this product
Randor
New England
Baffled and happy
3 years ago
I'm always a little confused by product complaints that include negatives like "bad color" or "too small". The MSR Access 2 is designed to be a lightweight gap filler between an ultra-light 3 season tent and a more bombproof and heaver expedition tent. Thus there has to be a balance struck between strength/durability of the poles and fabric vs. the total amount of those materials.....which taken together become "weight". MSR notes they are threading a needle with this tent. Thicker materials and fabric than a UL 3 season but lighter materials and fabric than a bomber 4 season tent. Not a UL 3 season tent, but not exactly a bomber 4 S tent either. Instead, an "treeline" winter tent compromise that seeks a balance between attributes to fit that niche. And darned if they didn't pretty much NAIL it with the Access 1, 2, & 3. You can't have a 60 square foot tent that's "light". You can't have a 4lb tent that's sleeps 5. Compromises must be made and MSR tucked the Access perfectly into the niche it's intended to fill. I winter camp. I needed a tent light enough to carry alone, packs down small enough to leave space for other bulky winter gear in my pack, roomy enough to have that gear in the tent with me, but something stronger than my MSR Hubba NX1....something that can take more wind and some snow load overnight or while I'm off snowshoeing. The Access 2 is perfect. At 4lbs it's only marginally heavier than my NX1 but significantly stronger and roomier...though admittedly "smallish" for two people. But I solo camp so....no biggie. When it comes to color....I pretty much LOVE it. It's always sunrise or sunset inside and in any case the color is something you can check out before buying so it hardly seems fair to ding MSR on that front. (I skipped over Sierra Designs for that very reason...but would never leave a negative review for it.) Same goes for spaciousness. You're getting a 2 person, 4 season tent coming in at 4lbs. The weight has to come from somewhere...at least until MSR starts building their tents from the same stuff as Harry Potter's tent.
Age:45–54
Weight:150–175 lbs.
Height:5'11"
Yes , I recommend this product
bachar
CA
A great tent that does what it was designed to do
2 years ago
This tent has been great for summer alpine climbing and some light winter mountaineering. I debated going with this tent versus the classic single-wall two pole design. I ultimately opted for this tent because I knew I'd be camping in "3 season conditions" for summer rock climbs in the High Sierra, and I wanted something that would handle condensation a bit better. Overall, I'm really happy with the purchase. It fills a great niche for alpine rock climbing, where weight and packed size is important but a backpacking tent won't quite be enough once you get up past the treeline. I haven't had any major problems with condensation yet. I'm 6'4" and have found that one end of my sleeping bag usually touches the tent wall, but it hasn't bothered me too much. I don't really understand the complaints about sleeping 2 in this tent, just go head to feet and it's fine. Like I said, this tent shines for summer alpine climbing. I've also taken it on backpacking trips at lower elevation and even camped in it at Joshua Tree (without the fly) and it was great. It's workable for mountaineering objectives too, kept me warm and dry during a winter ascent of Mt. Whitney (highest bivy at 12.6k feet). I would have given this tent 5 stars, but on the summit day of this trip, I came back to my tent and saw a rip in the fly. Since I wasn't there to see it, I'm not sure if this rip was solely due to the strong winds that day or a wayward rock/crampon. The tent structure itself is still fine after that very windy day. I've had no issues with the poles so the other review are surprising to me. Maybe it was an old issue. Just as MSR intended, this tent is great if you want something that has (nearly) the breathability and weight of a 3 season tent with the burliness and weather resistance that (nearly) rivals a more typical single-wall 4 season tent.
Age:25–34
Weight:175–200 lbs.
Height:6'4"
Yes , I recommend this product
Michael B.
Bad poles and worse service.
3 years ago
I was extremely excited to use this tent. After a couple of camping trips I really liked it. However when I took it into colder temperatures one of the plastic pole tips broke, with little stress put on it. Makes you wonder why they put plastic pole tips on a 4-season tent. After sending my poles in and waiting for a couple months they were sent back and they were said to be fixed but nothing was changed and the tip was still broken. I wanted to love this tent, it is beautiful and well made but the poles and Cascade Designs (parent company) service is terrible. Especially for this tent costing what it does.
Originally posted on a Cascade Designs brand site
CampingBen
Bay Area
Good Tent
3 years ago
This is a quality all around season tent. Not sure why there are so many complaints with the poles! It works well as long as you take care of it. I had worst experiences with the Telos and Big Agnes poles when it snapped with the tent already standing. This will serve you well if you are smart with its care.
Height:5'6"
Age:35–44
Weight:200–225 lbs.
Yes , I recommend this product
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