Trekker Tent 2.2, 2-Person Trekking Pole Tent for Backpacking and Camping

The short version of this review is that I was pleasantly surprised by this tent’s performance in severe inclement weather. The long version can be read below: I’ll be the first to admit I bought this tent without doing hardly any research. I watched Dixie’s youtube video reviewing the Trekker Tent 2 and saw in the comments that the 2.2 version had remedied the condensation issues that plagued the 2’s single wall design. I ordered the Trekker Tent 2.2 with the UL Carbon Trekking Poles almost immediately. Between the time I ordered and the time I got to take my new tent out in the field, I read dozens of horror stories about leaking seams and the barely water-resistant rainfly. I was not optimistic about this tent’s durability in the rain and decided to conduct a test in my backyard before I took it backpacking. Experimental Design: 1) Set up the tent in torrential downpours and driving wind during a thunderstorm. 2) Check the tent’s interior for water immediately after setting up. 3) Wipe down the interior of the tent with a towel and then completely batten down the hatches on the tent. 4) After the storm passed (2 hours of rain), open up the tent and check the interior for water. Observations: 1a) Setting up this tent in the rain and wind would not be easy if you haven’t set up a trekking pole tent before. Since this might be some people’s first non-freestanding tent, I thought this is worth mentioning. I had set it up twice prior to this and it took me less than 5 minutes working by myself to set it up in the storm. 1b) Prior to setting the guy lines on the front and sides of the tent, the side vents (the ones that differentiate the 2.2 from the 2) are not fully covered by the rainfly and will take on water. Unless it’s completely wind-free, some rain is going to get into this tent through the vents while you’re setting up and you should bring a microfiber towel or something to soak up water prior to getting inside. 1c) There is no vestibule for this tent and getting in and out will invite in water. Setting up the tent with the entrance downwind will help to mitigate this. I didn’t consider this prior to setting up and the wind was driving rain inside while I was getting in. 1d) Going off of 1c, there is no place to store your gear out of the rain without bringing it into your tent. This means that your muddy and wet shoes come into the tent with you or stay outside and get soaked. This isn’t too much of a problem if you’re sleeping one person in this tent as one side can be dedicated to gear, but two people and their gear would not comfortably fit inside of this tent. If I take this on a two-person trip, the other person will be bringing a tarp to set up a makeshift vestibule. This tarp could also be used to keep water from coming in the vents during setup. 2) Considerable water was on the floor of the tent when I opened it up. I would estimate approximately 1 cup of water had accumulating in the corners of the tent with some water in the center of the tent floor that I dragged in with me. 4a) There were small dark patches around the droplets where water appeared to have soaked into the fabric. I will be treating this tent with a durable water repellent to improve water runoff and prevent water from soaking in. 4b) A 1-inch circle of water had accumulated in one of the corners on the side opposite the entrance. There was also a single drop of water in the center of the tent. I’m not sure if this was water that I had missed during my initial sweep, but it is worth mentioning. Additionally, there was a small amount of water at the entrance of the tent. Again, I’m not sure if I let this in while I was closing up the tent or if it got in during the waiting period. This was a negligible amount of water so I would not worry about it wetting my sleeping bag or gear. 4c) I noticed that there were some loose threads along the edge of the rainfly. After 3 times setting this tent up, I would not expect any visible wear. Conclusion: In summary, this isn’t a perfect tent, but for the price it’s hard to argue with the results. I took a star off for the design which allowed significant water into the tent during setup. A potential design or DIY fix for this would be to put a velcro patch on the fly and body of the tent that keeps the vents covered while the corners of the tent are staked out. The guy lines of the tent were sturdy enough and kept the tent from toppling over despite heavy winds driving against the vertical face of the tent. I didn’t love that the tent is showing some signs of wear, but slight fraying is the price to be paid for cheaper materials. For $60 plus the cost of the poles, I like this tent and feel comfortable taking it into the backcountry for short trips. Would I bring this as my only tent for a thru hike? Probably not. Would I buy this tent if I were a beginning backpacker on a budget? Absolutely.