MSR  FreeLite 2 Tent

Like the rest of us I was looking for a way to spend my recently acquired dividend and as such I had my eye on either the updated MSR Carbon Reflex or the FreeLite. I opted for the FreeLite because it was freestanding OR as I soon discovered was semi-freestanding due to one end of the tent having only one pole contact point. I quickly overlooked it and hit the trails, being 5'9'' I had a few extra inches of headroom and felt it provided ample space for myself and my girlfriend. That room however quickly vanished with the addition of the rainfly which even when only slightly tightened lowered the ceiling by about 4 inches and bowed in the walls. Sadly I found it almost impossible to sit up while inside without pushing against the roof and when we were both laying down fully extended we had to contend with the inner walls closing in. Thinking perhaps I had my stake points wrong or over tightened the fly I pulled it down and started again all with the same results. The kicker was waking up the next morning with massive amounts of condensation dripping through the mesh. I'm on the fence as to whether i'm going to return it or not. Hopefully more reviews will surface for additional perspectives, but for now it gets 3 stars as a 2 person option.

I bought this tent with my dividend back in March. I was skeptical about the fact that it is semi-freestanding and it was a little challenging putting it up the first couple of times. But I figured it out and it is SO worth carrying one less pound in my backpack (than if I had purchased the Hubba Hubba). It also works very well in the rain, even if it's not put up perfectly. I have not had any condensation problems.