Please see my Initial Report for a detailed description of the Coleman Exponent Krypton 2 tent. My Field Report details the first two months of use.

Since my Field Report, I have taken the Krypton overnight for one night in a state park, and have pitched and slept in it in the backyard two times. I have also stuffed it in my backpack and went on several dayhikes to simulate lugging it around in the backcountry.

Due to an unusually warm winter, the coldest it dropped when I was sleeping in the tent was 14 F (-10 C). That night I was camping in the backyard, set up on a light layer of snow. I tried setting up the tent with two types of gloves, my leather car-driving gloves that allow for somewhat decent dexterity, and my clunky stay-warm-while-shoveling-the-snow-gloves. I had no problem using the leather gloves, but ran into problems while trying to thread the poles when using the bulky gloves. I still find it somewhat difficult to thread the poles that are curved, even without gloves. The curved poles were a pain in the posterior to thread with thick gloves, though I eventually managed to erect the tent by myself.

The Krypton does a good job of keeping out any drafts, and while it might be colder than I personally prefer to backpack in, it's actually quite comfy when the weather is taken into account. The extra volume that this tent has really helps when I have to take my bulky winter jacket on and off. Even with the doors zipped tight, I usually see little if any condensation inside the tent, though I have to admit that when I wake up on cold mornings I don't usually think to check for condensation between the tent and the rainfly. I have not noticed any problems with water between the tent and rainfly except before I seam-sealed a few corners.

The only thing that frustrates me about this tent is the number of guy lines. Since I don't plan on hiking in any ultra-windy climates, I don't feel that I need so many. I'll probably try using only the guy lines for the vestibules on the next few trips I take (once it warms up) to verify that they don't assist with ventilation somehow. After that, I'll probably remove the guy lines, since when I backpack I usually don't bother to tie up the string nice and neat, and end up having to untangle a mess. And that was with two lines on my old tent. Eight lines to untangle would be a real nightmare.

While I haven't camped with my husband in this tent, we did spend some time together in the tent so get a feel for the roominess of the tent. Scott and I both like that we have a lot of headroom, which is helpful if we ever get stuck in the rain all day and decide to play cards or magnetic chess/checkers. From backpacking with my brother, I know that the layout of the tent is very useable for two people.

I've come to prefer the head and foot end doors of the Krypton as opposed to the side-entry doors of my old tent. I've taken to stashing all of our gear in the head-end vestibule (determined by which direction we set up the sleeping bags), and using the foot-end door for entry/exit. I like it that I can now get into and out of the tent without disturbing my hiking partner (or at lease not too much) and without having to climb over my gear in the vestibule to get out. I can also fit all of our gear in the one vestibule without having the packs leaning heavily on the side of the tent, which seems to be a design problem of some side-entry dome tents.

Although the weight of the tent is too much for me to want to use it on longer trips, I will probably use it as my tent of choice on trips of up to four nights, and when we decide to go car camping and park-hop for vacation. If Coleman could make a tent with the same volume and layout as the Krypton and about 3-4 pounds (1.4-1.8 kg) lighter, I think that would just about be my dream tent.

For a four-season tent, the Krypton has an acceptable weight for its price range. I really like the layout and the volume that this tent has, and I definitely don't mind carrying it on our shorter trips. I might even consider carrying it on trips of five nights or more if the mileage is low. So far the tent has held up well, suffering the standard abuse of putting it up, taking it down, and shoving it in my backpack. The only difficulties I have are with threading the curved poles into the sleeves, but overall setup is manageable for one person.

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Coleman Exponent Krypton 2 Tent > Becki Stacy > Long Term Report