Tarptent Scarp 2

Excellent customer service and made in the USA! My first experience with Henry and the Tarptent staff was nothing short of excellent! The Scarp 2 is well crafted, lightweight, versatile in configuration, and spacious.

I highly recommend this tent to anyone camping as a pair and/or with a pet. Packs down small and light for those looking to lighten their load and working with minimal pack space.

I had narrowed my options down to a couple tents and I settled on the Scarp 2 for a several reasons, but the one that pushed me over the edge was because I had emailed Tarptent with a few questions and literally within a couple hours I had received a phone call back and had all my concerns tended to. There were other things but that was a big deal for me.

Now for the tent. I received the tent within a week of ordering, as it was in-stock.

What you get: You have a couple options with the Scarp 2; There are two interior bodies you can choose from: a solid body with minimal mesh for 4-season, or the mesh body for 3-season (all mesh except seams and floor) this is the option I went with. The sil-nylon fly; this comes clipped to the body so its a one piece set up. Six super light Easton aluminum stakes, and all the necessary guy lines are integrated into the tent. And a sil-nylon stuff sac. Optionally you can order carbon fiber poles, an extra set of poles for stability and freestanding feature, as well you can order both interior bodies if desired. They offer seam sealing kits, ground cloths etc.

Setup: Initial setup is tricky, but once I figured it out I have the tent pitched in around two minutes or less. Once guyed out the walls are taught, the bathtub floor sits high enough to protect from splashing. Add on the optional 2-pole set and the tent opens up even more and becomes free standing.

Ventilation: There are several options for ventilation; Two rigid vents at the peak with Velcro and clips are the first vents you see, at both zippered vestibule doors there is shock cordage with clips to pull up the entire wall a few inches to vent, along with small zippered vents with similar cordage on either end.

Interior space: I set it up initially to seam seal the body with my buddy who purchased the Double Rainbow. I am 5'8" 160# he is 6' 220# and we fit in there with enough room to put packs etc. I bet 4 people could sit and play cards in there albeit snugly, but totally doable.

The claimed floor area is 31 square feet. Most 2-person tents are around 27-29. Vestibules are a little on the small side but still give you an extra 19" from the body to the fly. The cabin style design give ample headroom even near the walls. No worries about bumping the tent with your head during the night.

• One of two vestibules, holding a 60L backpack

Packing/Storage: Packing this tent is easier than putting it up, which as most of you know is not the case with many tents. Getting them back into the stuff sack is near impossible. Pull the stakes, remove the usually single ridge pole and roll it up. Yeah that's it!!! To give you an idea of packed size. The packed tent (not counting the extra 2 poles) fits in the exterior mesh pocket of my Granite Gear Blaze A.C. 60 (soon to be reviewed) :) 

Winter use: This tent holds up to heavy snow and winds. Set-up is so quick that adverse conditions aren't really an issue. Be sure to use the "free-standing" optional crossing poles to support the tent in heavy snow/winds. Condensation is always a concern. The way the double wall design separates the fly from the body helps a little. Be sure to utilize all the venting options. I did and still noticed a fair amount of condensation forming on the mesh and the interior of the fly. All in all the tent performed impeccably in all the conditions I threw at it.

Final thoughts: The Scarp 2 is a bomb proof and lightweight tent that is easy to set up, take down, and modify to conditions. The interior is roomy enough for 2 and a Taj Mahal for 1. The only things I found less than desirable, but by no means a deal breaker were:

• The fabric is super slippery, sleeping mats etc will just slide around inside the tent. I made some horizontal strips of silicone seam sealer along the floor to prevent this, it helped a little. The stuff sack and tent are the same slippery material. Putting the tent into the sack can be awkward at times, as the tent kind of "squirts" out of the stuff sack like water. 
• The tent does not "breathe well" so be sure to use all your vent options to reduce condensation. 

I am very happy with my Scarp 2, It has been all over the east coast, and in all conditions. I will have this tent for years to come. 

This light 2-person tent is roomy and easy to set up. With two doors and two vestibules there is plenty of venting when weather permits. The inner tent options and crossing pole options make it a 4-season tent if desired.

This Tarptent 2-person tent is all silnylon for light weight. The quality and design features make it one of the best 2-person backpacking tents available. 

In a pinch the tent is large enough for three ("consenting" ;o) adults sleeping head-to-toe. See Tarptent website photo. Otherwise plenty of room for two people's winter clothing and sleep systems.

VENTING:

• As mentioned the two doors/vestibules are the best vents, weather permitting.
• The roof vents and end vents can be left open in all but the very worst of rain or snow storms. 
• The option of completely mesh inner tent means good venting in summer use. 
• The ripstop inner tent option has ceiling mesh vent panels. 
• Vestibule main pole sleeves can be slid up and held in place with the factory keeper system for low venting in rainy weather with vestibule zipped shut.

VESTIBULES:

• Double vestibules have room to the side of the doors for packs, boots or a dog.
• Cooking can be done in VENTED vestibules.

OPTIONS:

• The option of a ripstop inner tent makes the SCARP 2 a 4-season "forest" tent. (Not for exposed, very windy ridges.) 
•  
  
  "Winterized" Scarp 2:

Modified interior X-ing poles shown W/Velcro loops holding them in place

Heavier main pole for winter (from Tentpole Technologies)

• The Crossing Poles greatly help resist high winds and snow loads.PITCHING OPTIONS:

• inner tent only
• fly only
• inner tent pre-attached for fast set-up and rainy/snowy weather setup
• inner tent detached from fly and carried separately for better weight distribution among party

MY WINTER MODIFICATIONS:

• heavier duty (stiffer) main hoop pole from Tentpole Technology 
• pre-prepared TripTease guy lines with Line Loc tensioners
• Crossing Poles shortened and moved INSIDE the fly for more support (See my photos, instructions and comments at Backpacking Light in the Winter Camping section for this mod.) X-ing poles rest in the original grommeted webbing but now sewn inside at the apex of the carbon fiber corner rods. This puts pressure on the corner triangles which are very strong in this type of tension.
• top 1/2 of fly and entire floor exterior RE-COATED with a 5:1 mix of odorless mineral spirits and GE clear silicone caulk. Mixed THOROUGHLY and rolled on with small short nap paint roller then wiped down with paper "shop towels". **    **very important to wipe it down. This extra waterproofing adds to the tent's life.
• 4 fly hem stake loops sewn equidistant, 2 on each side. This prevents most fly flapping in high winds. The factory will do this for you at a slight extra cost and is, IMHO, very important. (I hear that now many Tarptents have these loops as a standard feature.)

Now my Scarp 2 can (and has) withstand 65 mph. gusts with little deformity and flapping. I'm very confident in its strength.

I've owned three Tarptents and keep coming back to them for their excellent design, great quality, and amazing customer service.

Background

The Scarp 2 is roomy for two and packs down small. My modded X-ing poles under the fly (shown) take some fiddling to set up but are well worth it in very windy conditions. They strengthen the tent a lot under both lateral and vertical load.

Very fast to set up and take down. Ticks these boxes: High quality, lightweight, made in the US, reasonably priced.

My wife and I recently completed a short canoe camping trip in Algonquin Park. We broke camp daily. The tent is quick to set up and offers the convenience of being able to set up the fly first—handy if it's raining.

Speaking of which, we experienced one day where it rained from 10 AM until 4 AM the next day—nonstop. No leaks—dry and comfortable. We followed Tarptent's seam-sealing instructions. The stuff sack is a very reasonable size, no fighting to pack the tent away, but no wasted space either.

All-in-all, completely satisfied with my purchase and would do it again. I purchased the tent, solid interior, and crossing poles (which I have yet to use in a camping situation).