Kelty Crestone 2

Summary

I like it.

Very light and stable, perfect to use. Just put some string across.

Not what I expected. However, very light load to pack on your bag, and I will admit that it definitely stays very dry and circulates air very well. I used it camping out in New Hampshire in the White Mountains and a few local places and was surprisingly comfortable considering the size.

One big downfall is that water pools up on top of the dome of the rain fly. To fix that, I ran a line of light nylon rope right down the center of the frame to create a ridge so that the water can run off. Not a bad tent to have the rainfly off at night.

The Crestone 2 is a jack-of-all-trades tent, but it's a master of none. For its weight, the Crestone 2 has quite a bit of room when you're laying down, but it is limited sitting space. It also has two doors is which is nice. When the rainfly is pitched, there's enough of an overhang to keep boots and packs dry.

Setting the tent up is fairly easy thanks to a color-coded clip desing. The rain-fly snaps easily into side-buckles. The tent is non-free standing (which means that it has to be staked in order to stand), and I've found that in rocky or mountainous terrain the stakes can be bent easily. You can try laying the stakes flat on the ground and placing heavy rocks on top of the stakes if you can't get them into the ground, but this is risky because the whole tent's integrity depends on being securely pinned down. The tent can be fortified using guy-outs--which to me seems a little counter-intutive if you've purchased this tent because of it's proported ease of use and simplicity.

The tent is made of a combination of nylon and mosquito netting and stays very cool on hot nights, even with the rain-fly pitched it ventilates well. The fly provides pretty good rain coverage.

The fly is this tent's major flaw, however. It forms a "cow-belly" or sags in the middle of the tent. No matter how tightly you stake down the fly it still sags. The sagging allows rain to pool in the middle of the fly. At the sagging point, there are also two stiched seams that are "taped," but after only a year's worth of irregular use, it allows water to seap in and drip.

It's packing dimensions are fairly large too if you keep everying together in one stuff sack. It's 8x25 in., which takes up a lot of pack space. It's a little taller and heavier if you take the foot-print (ground tarp additional $30.00 @ REI) into account.

Highlights
* Ventilation
* 2 Doors
* Weight

Fake Highlights
* Price 140 @ REI
but not after you add in $30 bucks for a foot-print

Lowlights
* RAIN-FLY leakage
* Non-free standing
* Guy outs can be a pain
* Sparce sitting room

My main quibble with the tent is that it has a low spot in the fly between the 2 poles so condensation collects on the inside and starts dripping on your sleeping bag at some point during the night. If you get lucky and the condensation freezes while it happens you just have to get up early enough in the morning before it has a chance to melt and start dripping. It's really bad when it rains and almost non-existent in warm places where you don't get to the dew point overnight.

Other than that I actually like the tent and have taken it all over the world.

This tent will sleep 2 people, but I suggest those 2 people really like each other. 2 sleeping pads, even short ones, will overlap at the narrow end of the tent.

I prefer to use it as a 1 person tent, which allows me to bring all of my gear inside, except for my boots which fit nicely under the vestibule. The narrow design means my tent fits in several places that wider tents dare not travel. The fitted footprint kept the bottom dry during an overnight rainstorm, and I have never had any problems with condensation.

So, minus 1 star for making me believe I could comfortably share this tent with a friend, but other than that it's a great tent.

Great tent for backpacking. Lightweight, easy to set and take down. The 2 ppl refers to sleeping only. I got it for myself because I like having the extra room. The vestibules on each side will hold pack and boots fine. The tunnel design give lots of room to those who are tall. It is high enough to sit up in, but not much more. Kept me dry during rain. However, this tent does need to be staked tightly for best results against rain. Because the tent isn't freestanding, it can be difficult to set up in rocky soil. All in all, I am very pleased with this tent