REI Co-op  Half Dome 2 Plus Tent

Bought this tent a couple of months ago and have had it camping off the motorcycle a couple of times in the desert. During both trips we experienced strong winds. One trip was easily 30-35 mph gusting in Death Valley. This tent performed well in the wind. At no time were we worried about the fly coming off. Stakes held with additional weights on top. I would suggest stronger stakes if no rocks are available. The dual doors and generous vestibules were both features I wanted for motorcycle camping and they were great to have, making entry/exit easy and gear was protected. The stand-up venting was also really nice to have in the desert.

The first time I set the tent up, it took a few minutes to figure out how to set up the tent. The second time was much easier and I developed a system for setting up the tent (probably the way it was meant to be done to begin with, but I'm slow like that! LOL). The Half Dome 2 Plus is a rock solid, roomy, well designed tent that suits my needs. Only suggestion I have for REI is to include the footprint with their tents, so that customers don't have to go looking all over creation for one (and more often having to order/backorder a footprint). I ended up using a tarp that I had with me, to protect the floor of the tent.

Took this tent backpacking with my son to Sylvania Wilderness in Upper Michigan. Tent withstood a Heavy downpour for over an hour and moderate rainfall before and after that. No signs of tent collapsing, no water inside. Water pooling all around tent. Had to buy 2 additional guy lines for the ends of the tent and several additional stakes to complete proper set up. Would be nice to include that with the tent. Easy set p and take down. It's not the lightest tent out there but works great and in the price range I was willing to spend for 3-5 uses a year. The vestibules are nice but not really large enough for a pack. Works great for shoes and small items.

My older son just crossed over into Boy Scouts in a troop that welcomes dads to join the monthly campouts but leaving the boys plenty of space to learn the outdoors with their peers. I only had the Kingdom 6 for our family so I needed a 2 man tent for myself and gear on such trips and hopefully plenty of others. Store employee, CJ, at our store in Conshohocken PA hooked me up by allowing me to compare the Plus to the REI Passage 2 and Half Dome 2 tents in the store. I chose the Plus for the following reasons: SPACE - I am 5' 10" and found the standard Half Dome 2 and Passage 2 to be a little short. With my head very close to one end, my toes were almost touching the other side. Keep in mind when considering base dimensions that tents taper inward as they rise up. This space really came in handy in August when my I paddled to an island in ADK with fabulous spaced out campsites with my 5 and 11 year old sons (see pic). The little guy slept across an end and there was still room for me to stretch long ways. It was a little tight but it's a two man tent, right? I think the 3 of us could even get away with sleeping next to each other in the same direction for another year or two. There's no way we could have swung this in the other two tents in my comparison. STRAIGHT SIDES - This feature speaks for itself. The Half Dome tents feel much more comfortable when dressing inside, etc. due to te straight sides. It's a feature that's worth the money. The setup is quite intuitive for anyone who has put up a tent before, and easy for me to do alone. OTHER FEATURES - I also like the pockets at the corners and the top, the 4 vents on top, the vestibules on each side, the shape of the door which allows one handed operation if you stake the tent out tightly enough, the fact that it's easy to get the tent back into the case even with the footprint and that the case has some compression straps. NOTEWORTHY: Footprint: People have criticized the footprint. I have no problem staking it with the grommets as is. The footprint size does seem to be a little short and the case mentions it is so that rain does not collect and go between the tent and the footpront. So the edge of the tent can get wet a little on the outside if it contacts grass, etc., but I don't think it will weep in because the edges of the tent are somewhat rounded from ground to sides and the bottom coating goes up several inches before the seams for mesh or side walls. Stakes: Enough stakes are included to stake out the fly and 4 guy lines but then there are none left for the loops at the bottom of the two ends. So buy at least two more stakes. People complain about these stakes. They are not the strongest but they are very light and I have not bent them, simply by repositioning instead of trying to drive them through roots or rocks. Condensation: On one trip to Maryland in September, the inside was full of condensation even with the vents open; the grassy field we were on was soaked with dew and the night temps were around 45-50. On another trip to northern PA in October, the inside was completely dry even though the ground was damp; temps were between 40-50. So I say condensation just depends on the weather (maybe relative humidity)and this tent is as fine as any other in terms of condensation. Maybe a little long winded but you can see that I am very pleased with the Half Dome 2 Plus.

- Extra space of the "Plus" is NICE! - Super Easy setup, - lightweight, - just enough space for 2 people and gear under fly on each side.

This tent is fantastic. I have used it for several years without complaint. It was really put to the test summer 2013 when I took it on the Teton Crest Trail. We had one night of constant drizzle and little wind and there was a small amount of accumulation, but nothing that came through the screen. We opened the vestibule a bit and everything cleared up. The following two nights were exciting. The wind was blowing so hard the heavy rain was coming down sideways. The campsite quickly accumulated puddles and small streams going through it. my biggest concern was the tent would tear and fill with water. I had it anchored with stakes and rocks along with two grown men in it and the tent survived. There was no moisture build up on the ceiling or the tub, no damage to the fabric or screen. This is a solid tent, I cannot say more about what a great tent this is.

We go backpacking about once a month and this tent is great. We got the footprint for it as well. There is condensation that builds up sometimes overnight on the rain fly, but it never leaks into the tent. There is enough room for two people to fit comfortably. as well as both of our packs and our little dog, with room to spare. The vestibules are roomy enough to keep shoes and things we dont want to bring into the tent with us.

While not advertised, this is a "fly first" tent! This was discovered when it was hastily assembled during a 48 hour rain to replace a $595.00 Hilleberg Anjan 2 tent that had been absolutely soaked through on both the outer fly and inner wall. While the wind was only 15 mph, the Half Dome tent was subjected to about 36 hours of constant rain in temperatures down to 33-32 degrees, it stayed bone dry, without condensation (with two 200 lb. plus men inside), and without zipper freeze (unlike the other). We were so impressed, we purchased more. The design and construction of this tent makes its weight a non-issue to me.

Have used this tent for three years in the Cascades. Easy setup, roomy, big vestibules. This tent is bombproof when all the guy lines are staked. No condensation problems so far. My only 'complaint' is that it is heavy. We split it between the two of us. (Fly/Poles & Floor/Tent/Stakes) Gave it five stars it is a great value.

This tent was recommended to us by a very knowledgeable REI staff member, and I am so glad we got it! It fits two of us, plus our 65 lb. dog, with no trouble at all (with a heavy tarp over the floor to keep the dog from damaging it, of course). It's very easy to put up and take down. We also love having a vestibule on both sides, so we can keep our packs in one and use the other one as an entrance. After using this tent for two trips so far, neither my husband nor I have anything negative to say about this tent. We highly recommend this product.