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Kelty Trail Ridge 2

rated 4.0 of 5 stars
photo: Kelty Trail Ridge 2 3-4 season convertible tent
Version reviewed: Vortex 2

Still pissed off. I'm tired of piss-assed reviews that simply say "NICE".
So here's an in depth review of the Kelty Vortex/Trail Ridge.

My tent was hocked from my storage shed 8 months ago. The tent was nice, and my chocolate lab laid down and fell asleep in it. I set it up once in my Dad's front yard, when I went camping on the Wi. River it was gone. So I have no idea what kind of tent it was because some dumbass stole it.

I am still pissed off about it. So I found a Kelty Trail Ridge at bobwards.com that is a clone of the Vortex and about the only thing you can find to replace it for $120. Kelty doesn't make the Vortex anymore.

The continuous pole sleeves have been replaced with the clips to save money, Kelty is getting cheap, so get the original Vortex/Ridge when you can.

I set the tent up out of the box with no seam sealant. The fly bagged a little but I didn't guy it out rite because the kids wanted to get into it as well as my labrador. My dog took the corner and streched out tent wall against the rainfly, and the fly appeared to give way allowing my dog to stay dry if rain hit.

I later got down to buisness and staked out the fly the way Kelty told me too. The fly stretches so tight, that the seams do in fact come off the ground. This is the "arc edge" bullshit Kelty stands by.

There is overstress in the fabric and fly wall. I don't like that crap one bit, because you can almost hear the fabric rip when you guy it out.
But, wih the strength of the fabric, I could see it can handle many years of wind and rain before ripping apart. The tub style floor takes most of it, and Kelty did a good job in making this tent.

Most bullshit tents today consist of 90% netting. Even TNF is going with 90% netting/mesh and charging $300. You pay for the fabric. Netting, netting, and even more netting. My god, for $300 I think most of us would go to WalMart and buy a plastic tarp for $6 and be happy.

For $120 you can't go wrong with this tent. And I'm a cheap bastard.
This is a good tent. The fly is big enough for about two cases of beer,
and maybe a smokey joe for the hard core. Another nice thing is the double doors. Since these morons don't want to make windows that close, you can vent the tent by zipping down one of the door flaps.

I also want window covers, even the cheap-assed Colemans and Wenzles have window flaps. Kelty could give a little and give us window flaps. For damn sakes, cover the windows. I don't need bears looking in on my can of beans. Let alone pissing off my dog.

This tent has only 2 poles (DAC) so if you set it up in a cloud of skeeters you can get it up and get out in 3 minutes. The fly goes on quick, (buckle clips) so it's not a problem. Swing it over, line it up, and clip it on.

One last thing, don't spray skeeter dope (Off, tick spray, or any DDT formulas) on the mesh. It will disinigrate the fabric as well as any plastic covered fish locators or GPS units.

Nice tent for 2 , if you want 3 or more, or a wet dog, get the bigger model. Like most tents, they fiqure the body ratio of a 6-year-old.
If rather freeze to death that get cramps in my legs.

Two six-foot adults will lay out without touching the side walls (in sleeping bags) but add a wet dog and it will get cramped.

cheers.

Design: 2 person
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: sweet
Weight: bout 3 lbs
Price Paid: $120

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Specs

Price MSRP: $229.95
Historic Range: $109.00-$229.95
Reviewers Paid: $120.00
Number of doors 2
Number of vestibules 2
Capacity 2
Minimum weight 5 lb 5 oz / 2.41 kg
Packaged weight 6 lb 7 oz / 2.92 kg
Floor area 34 ft2 / 3.16 m2
Vestibule area 10 ft2 + 10 ft2 / .9 m2 + .9 m2
Dimensions 90 x 55 x 43 in / 229 x 140 x 109 cm
Packed Size 16 x 10 x 4 in / 40.64 x 25.4 x 10.16 cm
Product Details from Kelty »

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