User Review: Mountain Hardwear EV 2

Mountain Hardwear EV 2
Above: The current EV 2, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed May 19, 2006 by Patrick

Rating:
Sleeps: 1
Ease of Setup: Very easy
Price Paid: $625

Weight, Ventilation, and Ease of Set-Up are all great points for the EV2. Here was my concern about the tent, the integrated vestibule. Yes it does add a few extra inches to the one-man tent (two-man in a pinch) but here was my problem...

I am from New England and had set it up in some of the worst weather New Hampshire can throw at it. High winds, driving snow, and freezing temperatures. It lived up to the expectations of Mountain Hardwear in that sense, but I noticed that when it snowed more than a couple of inches, the integrated vestibule would start to collapse. No matter how many pickets or poles I had on the front loops, it would still collapse. The snow would just build up and up and I would have to knock it back or get out and dig, but when I got out of the tent, the snow would just fall in, covering anything in the front of the tent.

The other problem was getting into the tent when it was windy and/or snowing, the snow would always get in through the door of the tent. There is no real vestibule; it’s just an extension of the floor.
The same problem happened on a recent trip to Mt. Shasta, and I was so frustrated with the tent I almost left it there!!!

If they had an “add-on” vestibule I probably would have kept it. It’s funny because I am so impressed with my Trango 2 and all my other gear by Mountain Hardwear and I didn’t know if I was just being picky.

So I guess the snow load factor isn’t the greatest point of the EV2 and that is why I can’t recommend it.