REI Half Dome 2

Summary

Love this tent.

This is the first tent I bought and I still use it to this day. I love this tent. It fits my wife and I just fine, it is light, sturdy, and compacts down. It is the best bang for your buck. 

The REI Half Dome 2 tent has really impressed me so far. In addition to car camping, I also take it along for short backpacking trips and haven't had an issue with it yet.  It's been through pretty heavy rains, 30 mph wind gusts and even snow. 

Interior space is adequate for two people (I am 5'9" and weigh about 145 lbs. and my girlfriend is 5'3" and slim :).  We can fit comfortably with enough room for some clothes and a couple backpacks.  We can both sit straight up in the center of the tent.

The two vents on the rainfly work well as we haven't had any condensation problems yet, the eight mesh storage pockets are plenty for us there is also a handy loop at the top of the tent on the inside where we can hang a small Black Diamond Orbit Lamp.

Set up is quick and easy with the color coded parts and take-down is just as fast.  The tapered and compressible storage bag also makes it easy to pack away.

Overall the Half Dome 2 is a solid tent for most activities (might be a touch heavy for longer backpacking trips) and I'd recommend it to those who car camp and do shorter backpacking trips.

I bought this tent at an REI used lot sale. Paid $34. The poles were bent so I turned them in for repair and REI gave me a new set free of charge. What a Deal. 

I used this tent up at Mt Whitney at 12,000 feet for 2 nights in November. I got blasted by wind one night and the next morning. The tent held up fine. Very durable.

There are extra loops to attach tent line to hold down the tent and reinforce it. I reinforced the tent witn the tent lines and left one vestible down and put rocks on the fly on two sides to block of all the wind and I was fine though the night. I had a +10 degree REI bag and that kept me warm and I was able to cook food, store my boots out of the other vestible.

The tent is the right size for myself and all my gear. Two would be cramped. I like the storage pockets on the inside and I know it is not a 4-season tent but I would use this in winter plannning accordingly for light or no new snow fall.  I have a 4-season tent but the stability and light weight I think it can handle some winter abuse.

I did not get any condensation in the tent. 

I like to fold the tent and fly and stuff it in the tent bag but I only use half the bag and fold the extra material over. The tent fits inside my pack and takes up very little room. I use an Osprey Variant 52 lg. so it is not a huge pack. I like that I can use just the fly and footprint also.

I would take this to any 14er any season with clear skys.  Great tent  and I have confidence with it on my next winter trip.

I bought this tent after doing much research through the winter and it was a great choice. A few highlights from a three-day two-night canoe/camping trip I took this tent on:

-Set up and break down. I was able to set up and break down my tent in half the time of others on this trip. Including some Marmot and Kelty tents. Easy EASY to set up and take down!

-Roomy. I'm 5'11" and shared with a man 6'1" and we both had plenty of room. Not an excessive amount, but enough that we didn't touch throughout the night and we had about 6" of additional room lengthwise.

-Internal storage. There are 6 storage pockets in the tent. One on each corner and two attic storage pockets. This is quite valuable in helping to find things in the middle of the night.

-Moisture - Rain fly/condensation. I was rained on throughout the first night and had zero water come in the tent and I kept the vents open every night which helped in having no condensation on the inside of the tent.

-Head room. Both me and my tent partner were able to sit up in the tent with plenty of room between us. Because of the brow pole that gives the tent it's unique shape you no longer have to be in the middle of the tent to sit up. Awesome design!

-REI Customer Service. I ordered this tent and the next day the price had dropped by $40 because of a sale. I called REI customer service and they credited my account the difference within a week.

I really enjoyed this tent and would recommend it to anyone that's tired of buying $30 and $50 tents and is ready to spend a little more money on a good tent. This tent is without a doubt worth the money and one that I look forward to using for years to come!

Best value tent out there. It exactly hits the mark for quality and features vs. price. There are lighter tents out there and more rugged, but nothing comes close to the quality of the half dome 2 for its price.

This weekend I spent 3 windy nights in my half dome. First night I set up only the tent with no rain fly thinking that the wind would make the wind fly flap too much. The tent was easy to set up in the wind by myself. That night it was absolutely quiet and stable in the wind. I slept like a baby! next night I added the rain fly. Much to my delight, there was minimal flapping and the rain fly has lots of extra loops to adding ropes to make it even more stable and flap free. I didn't need them.

On the con side, I don't care for the door design, it is a little awkward to get in and out of the tent. Also, I am concerned about the air vent in the rain fly - good idea on a hot dry night but I don't know what will happen on a windy, rainy night. If it becomes a concern, I am sure there is a work around. Also, the zippers for the door leave a little opening where they meet. Again, there may be a work around. It is a little heavy as a backpack tent, not bad but for about three times the price you can get one that is a pound lighter.

Other than the couple of minor things, this is an awesome tent, the best value out there. Very well built, very sturdy.

ron jones

It seems to me that the below reviews are from people who live where it does not rain, or the excellent reviews are just fakes. I have been in 3 rainstorms and one snowstorm with this tent and have never been dry. And I am not talking about torrential downpours, I'm talking about light rain that lasted only a couple of hours. Within minutes of rain hitting the fly it begins to seep through, then drip onto the mesh walls, inevitably into the tent.

Same thing happens when you try to keep your gear dry in the vestibules, it will just drip off the fly and onto your gear which you are trying to protect. Opening the vestibule flaps causes the fly to either hit you or the tent, allowing the collected water on the outside to run off onto either you or the tent, so make your choice of the two evils.

The floor also soaks up water in no time. It does not even need to be raining, all you need is damp ground and the floor gets wet through the footprint and into the tent.

It also appears that the floor of the tent and the footprint got switched in making this tent, as the floor does not stretch out completely when setup, and the footprint is unable to get taught as it is too big.

Bottom line, if you live where there is no moisture, then you have found yourself an excellent tent. Otherwise, I can't quite comprehend the amazing reviews for this tent, it must not be raining on these folks.

This is a great tent! It sets up easily in about 10 minutes, 5 if you're rushed. I've had mine through blizzards and rain storms and only once did it momentarily "cave in." A gust of wind caused one of the tent poles to momentarily invert. This was during a fierce storm that turned out to be the tail end of Hurricane Ineke.

I'm 6'1" and I can sleep flat against the side without having to sleep "diagonally." The tent is big enough for 2 without gear. I usually pack my own tent, so it fits me, my gear, and my two large dogs who are both about 80#. I use my tent as a 4-season tent though snow does sometimes blow in because the fly doesn't come down far enough in the front or the rear. Though it has steep sided walls, wet snow does stick to it, causing the fly to press against the tent wall. This reduces all ventilation between the tent and the fly causing lots of condensation. The aluminum tent poles slide through the guide sleeves both ways without snagging, making takedowns a snap, too. The tent anchors at each corner. The fly uses Fastex-type clips to attach to the four corners and also uses a shock cord on each side. Additionally, the fly attaches to the tent via Velcro fasteners to the tent poles and a small hook on each side of the tent. The tiny hook helps keep the tent walls "pulled out." Though snow has occasionally blown in, rain has never been a problem.

The interior has four loops at each corner near the top so you can rig a gear net. There are also two pockets on either side of the tent for things you need quick access to. The floor is coated with some kind of thin film rubber. I've used my tent heavily for over 5 years and the coating has yet to show signs of peeling or wear. The zippers for the doors and windows are high quality. Because of my dogs, the zips have seen hair, ice, mud, etc. and they have yet to fail. The window flaps are secured with Velcro and the door is held open with a small nylon web strap.

The tent comes with a nice stuff sack. There is a sack for the tent spikes (which are the cheesiest things about the tent but they still work great), the poles, and the whole tent itself. Also included is a small tube used as a repair for a bent/broken pole. The cord lock on the stuff sack is useless and crapped out the first trip I used it. It jammed with dirt and never worked again. This is no biggie since the sack is overly long anyway.

The only thing I wish it had was a vestibule. The tent will get wet or filled with snow if the snow is blowing toward the door. Again, this is partly because of the high rainfly profile.

If it sounds like I'm nuts for this tent, it's because I used a $20 pup tent for 4-season 'packing for 10 years before I finally decided enough was enough. That said, YMMV.

John

Before purchasing this tent, I had a bad experience with a Eureka tent: waking up to an inch of standing water in a driving rain and the temp. ~35°F. I was prepared to spend some money went I went on my search.

This tent has met all my criteria: single pole system, tent attaches with hooks instead of a sleeve, 2 openings and large vestibules. I have used this tent for 2+ years now, in all seasons and I love it. Very easy to set up. The window comes in handy. Bought it on sale at an incredible price.

My only problem is the stuff sack. The 2 straps create a choke point and prevent the bag from opening fully. Not sure why REI did this since their original design back did not have this problem.

Two of my friends bought this tent on my recommendation and they both love it. But, they both agree that sack is a bad design.

This tent is an excellent choice for two-up motorcycle travel and camping. The tent, rain fly, footprint, and poles take up less than half an Electra Glide saddle bag.

I have tried several other tents in the past, with some success; but each trip I was unhappy with the large amount of space required for packing the larger tent and the corresponding lack of space for packing other things. The REI Half Dome 2 seems to be the perfect tent. It provides adequate space but packs small.

For several years, I thought that I had to have at least 50 square feet for helments, boots, and personal items. Although the larger tents took a lot of packing space, I was afraid to try a "two-person" tent. But after repeated frustrations and inconviences related to other larger tents, I decided to try this REI Half Dome 2.

Our first trip was to the Smokey Mountains National Park. I was immediately pleased with the result. It is exactly wide enough for two 25" air matresses, and it has additional length (I am 6'3") for clothes and personal items.

Some of the other desirable features are: aluminum poles, simple but sturdey grommet holes for holding the poles at each corner, easy clips, two doors, lots of tie backs for the doors, and two vestibules to store helments and boots in dry bags.

Some other observations are: Gear lofts, in general are not helpful for me, so I immediately removed it and hung a small micro light from the center tab; a string was looped through the four corner tabs and used as a clothesline; there are no inside pockets but that isn't a problem for me; the center pole hub is intended to give additional stability but it requires a little more time to set-up and take down; ventilation was ok but this tent really holds the heat in (there was a noticible temperature difference in the cool early morning; both doors are at one end and it took a few nights to figure out which end was best for our heads (we finally decided to have our heads at the door end), even though this arrangement made it a little more difficult to get in and out of the tent; I am not able to comment on waterproofness yet.

Overall I am very satisfied with this tent and plan to keep it in my saddle bag for a long time.

Summary

I have owned this tent for many years. I am truly convinced that REI is on top of its products in terms of features, weight, dependability, and longevity. This is STILL about the BEST overall and all around tent you can buy.

I own eight tents at my house. They range in price from $39 to $350. I will have to say that the REI Half Dome tent is the THE BEST tent I have ever come across, feature for feature, and best bang for the buck.

There is not enough room to talk about how great tent this tent is! For the price you pay, you get SOOO MUCH more than ANY other tents in the this price range. Reflective tape on the tent and zippers, aluminum poles, gear pockets, supplied gear attic, quality craftsmanship, good stakes AND tie down cord supplied, not to mention light weight.

Backpacker magazine picked this tent the best of tents a few years ago, and if you own one you will understand why. If you want a lightweight, bombproof tent that has a lot of high dollar tent features, then this is the one! I doubt I will ever find one that will match features, strength, quality workmanship, and price.

This tent is truly remarkable! You will not be disappointed if you are looking for an all around 3-season tent.

My wife gave me this tent for my 30th. So it should say price "she" paid. Of course, I suggested it. I research for weeks before buying anything and I couldn't find a tent anywhere near the functionality, weight and price.

I've read the other reviews and I've found my experiences with this tent to be different than some. As far as the room, I'm 5'10 and it fits two people my size and a 50 lb dog at our feet. Yeah, it's a little cramped, but that doesn't bother me. If you're able to pound two sticks in the ground along side the tent, a pack can lean sideways on them and easily stay out of any weather in the vestibules.

Someone mentioned the fly sagging. As long as you use guy lines, it's had three inches of snow dumped on it overnight and held up just fine. It's rated 3-season, but I've had it out as low as 10 degrees F. I'm not sure if the poles would hold up in much colder temps. The mesh gear loft is great for setting a headlamp in for light and the side pockets are nice for small personals. I recommend the footprint. It weighs next to nothing and completes this tent.

I just want to join the others in giving this tent a two-thumbs-up review.

First of all, it's probably the best value for the money of ANY tent I have seen for sale (including those cheap, heavy, poorly-vented, shoddily-constructed-with-Chinese-slave-labor tents from Wal-mart): At $100 or so, it's a bargain!

It's also quite lightweight for a *free-standing* tent, and pitches easily. Staking is unnecessary unless you use the fly (2) or expect wind (another 4 at the corners). There are certainly lighter tents out there, but they cost 2-3 times more and usually need to be staked/guyed at numerous points. (For comparison, my Moss Helix {which is a lovely tent} weighs about 4lbs 6oz w/o stuff sacks, and it has less floor space and needs TWELVE stakes to pitch!)

This tent has withstood wind, freezing temps and torrential rains, and vented comfortably at 85 F, and is still going strong after eight years.

The only complaint I have had is condensation inside the tent. I think this comes from not treating the fly and canopy material with a hydrophobic coating (like Nikwax), but I also think my tent could use a cleaning, and I can't blame REI for not using an additional expensive coating process on an inexpensive tent.

We got this tent for our wedding by registering through REI. We took it on the Wild Azalea Trail in Louisiana a couple of times and it is bombproof!

On the first trip, we really appreciated the light weight and good ventilation because it was muggy and warm. On the second trip, it rained for 14 hours straight, starting at 8 p.m., I mean TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR. Not a drop inside! We couldn't believe it, the rain was coming down like someone had aimed a firehose at the tent. We slogged out the next morning due to flooding of all but the highest points of the trail, but it had nothing to do with the tent. It was amazing, and we plan to use it for many more years.

As far as floor space, we consider it adequate. I am 5 feet tall and 110 pounds, my husband is 6'1" and 225, and we could have pulled our packs inside if we wanted, although it would've then been cramped. It sets up in about 5 minutes flat if you're taking your time, and is very easy to set up. Stop searching! Get the tent!!

This tent has a polyester fly, so sun doesn't kill it. It is actually pretty light, especially when you figure that a single wall G-tex tent weighs the same if you add in the ground cloth. I can replace my Half Dome four times and have a new tent every year for the same price (but after two years it is still going strong).

It really sleeps 2: you can easily fit two long/wide Thermaleak pads--be sure to check this when you compare. The vestibule is small-ish, but you can cook in it no sweat. And the tent holds up in winds that blew trees down (if you guy it out, which I did). And it didn't flap too badly.

The only downside might be that the grey color would be hard to spot in a white-out. Mine sheds Sierra snow well, so I think others may not have used the fly tensioning feature when they had sag. It has zero snob appeal, but I would take it over any of the many much higher priced tents I have compared. It's great!

This is an awesome tent. I have been using it for three years and it hasn't let me down. In October it was great in 50 mph+ winds at an open site on the Straights of Mackinac.

Some people say it's kinda small, but I guess it depends on what you want/need from a 2-person backpacking tent. I am 6'5" and I sleep very comfortably with my wife (5'4") and our sheep dog below her feet. I can lay out straight without pushing on either end of the tent, which I can't do in most 2-person tents. There is enough room to sit up and move around a bit. Hanging out inside all day would be tight, but if that's what someone wants to do this probably isn't the tent for them.

As a lot of the reviews say, the attic is great for a headlamp and the side pockets keep track of small things. This is a great tent no matter what the price....at this price it can't be beat!

I shopped around for a while before I went with this tent several years ago. It is still in like-new shape with moderate use. I like that it has two vestibules, two doors, and is long enough for me (over 6ft) to sleep without touching the walls.

I've gone quick and light with just the fly and groundcloth. Excellent Tent. I noticed the new version on this tent, the UL, has sleeves for the tent poles. I like the clips better. Way less of a hassle setting up.

I agree with a previous review of this great tent. REI has done a great job of making an inexpensive tent that really holds up under heavy use. It sheds rain (and snow) very well. Although I would not use it for winter use.

My girlfriend and I used it backpacking last June at the Grand Canyon. I wanted to take along a well vented tent because we expected sweltering temps and I did not expect to use the rainfly. Much to our surprise it snowed two of the three nights we were there. The tent did not leak a drop.

It has decent sit up room for changing clothes and for playing cards in the foul weather. I will certainly buy another when this wears out.

Ok tent. Easy to setup, and very light. Enough vestibule area to keep boots and pack outside. Not easy to get in and out of the tent (I feel like I'm getting stuck in the door each time I get in or out). I used it in cold and snowy weather, without any leak, but the condensation inside the tent was a bit too much. I have the impression the tent doesn't extend to its full capacity! I have used the Sierra Design Gamma 2 tent (similar dimension), and I think the Gamma is a much better design.

Not impressed with this tent. Aftering having used Sierra Designs tents for years, the Half Dome doesn't compare.

It sets up fast, but the poles don't stretch the tent out to its full dimensions even on a flat surface. The actual floor dimension was not as wide as advertised, although it fits two 6 footers comfortably.

Also, the fly leaked at several locations and had to be seam sealed. There are a number of tie backs and guy points along the seams that act as wicks. I found this out when it started dripping through the screen onto my face.

This is a great tent for someone who doesn't feel the need to shell out big bucks. It is light, easy to set up, and has a nice sized vestibule which is perfect for wet boots or a wet dog!

Only complaint is that the rain fly seems to sag a bit in heavy rains causing a bit of condensation in the tent. An added bonus of a light colored rain fly makes it much more pleasant to wait out a rain storm in as it is plenty light enough to read without additional light sources.

Working in a major outdoor products retailing chain, I see many tents come and go, and I also get lots of information on them. Despite the fact that it is a "store-brand," it performs quite well. It was my first tent purchase, and many nights spent on top of 4-5 thousand foot mountains proved its strength. I recommend it highly for the hiker/backpacker who is looking for quality for a good price.

I have been using this tent for the past five years and can testify it is bombproof. I have camped in extremely wet weather and never once experienced any leaks.The tent is roomy for one, this allows you take in your equipment. This tent is not for tall people but does fit my 6' frame well.

I have been using this tent since 1995. I am very satisfied with the performance, especially considering the price! My daughter (5-3) and I (5-11) have had no trouble making sufficient room. My 6-year-old son and I have more than enough room. It is also light enough for solo fall and spring trips.

Great product kept me dry all night, pleanty of room for another person even though it was just me, bit excessive for one person, just right for two.

I would highly recommend this tent even though I stopped using it when I went UltraLight.

This tent is great. I have had no problems with the Half Dome. I am very pleased. REI makes some terrific gear. Easy set up, easy take down. Two fit comfortably with room for gear in the built in vestibule.

This is a great tent. I use it for all four seasons and it has worked out great every time. It is water resistant and has plenty of room for two.

A very nice beginning backpacking tent. Easy to set-up, rainfly works excellent. Depending on how hard it's raining you may get some splash up (happened to me).