Backpacking Background: I started backpacking four years ago, although I did day walks in childhood. I hike in various terrain from moderate/hard track walks to some off track walking. I generally like the temperature to stay above freezing, and have not camped above the snow line. I enjoy going on multi day walks up to about a week. I carry a moderate weight pack to enjoy a few creature comforts at camp.

The MSR Sidewinder 2 is a freestanding, double walled, 2 person tent. The fly uses polyester with 1500 mm PU coating, the canopy ripstop nylon, and the floor nylon with 5000 mm PU coating. There are two doors and vestibules, each on opposite sides of the tent. The Sidewinder uses two DAC aluminum poles for the inner tent, with a third identical pole for the fly. 7 stakes and 4 guy ropes are supplied, however 10 stakes are required to fully stake out the tent with guy ropes.

Review:
I bought the MSR Sidewinder 2 in preparation for walking the South Coast Track in southern Tasmania. Stories of the wildness of the weather of this area abound, so I was looking for a tent that could handle storms, high winds and long periods of rain. I have used the tent in sheltered river valleys, near beaches, on exposed alpine ridges (but not during the snow season) and on open grasslands throughout Victoria and Tasmania. I have encounted winds up to 60 km/h (36 mp/h) and overnight rain up to 15 mm (0.59").

I found the Sidewinder 2 easy to set up. 3 - 5 minutes by myself at a relaxed pace is enough time. The main tent is free standing, so if it is not raining or windy, it can be raised, with the fly placed over before any stakes need to be put in. The fly can be used alone in a shelter configuration with 4 stakes, thus the tent can be set up in wet, even stormy conditions without getting the groundsheet wet. Raising the tent underneath the fly will take more time, but having a nice dry tent on a wet day is a good thing! I have not purchased the footprint, so I can't report on its use.

Having doors on both sides is a great feature of this tent. The vestibules and doors on both sides are the same size, but oriented in opposite directions, so I can take my pick as to which door is better to use during a storm. The zip lines on the doors are not over the ground sheet, so even if the rain is coming in near horizontal, I have always be able to use one of the doors to get in and out without getting the tent inside wet. Each fly door has two zips, so the top part of each door can be opened to allow ventilation. A small opening can be made without letting rain in during calm conditions, so even after hours of rain, I felt that the tent remained well ventilated. The lowest temperature I encountered while using the Sidewinder was 5 degrees C (41 F), during which no significant condensation was noted, even in quite still conditions.

The Sidewinder does need a large area to pitch due to the two large vestibules, however only the area of the main tent needs to be near flat. In places, I was able to pitch the tent with substantial slope in the vestibule area.

Inside the tent gives enough room for pillows, then thermarest, then packs. I wound not like the tent any bigger as this would mean more weight. Each vestibule is big enough to put two packs in & boots and misc stuff, so I have been able to use the other for cooking without any gear in it. The ability to open the top of the door while keeping out rain makes it much easier to safely ventilate the tent while cooking. It must be said, however that I only cook inside when conditions outside warrant it.

I encountered winds up to about 60 kph (36 mph) while using the Sidewinder. The tent was very stable, even without guylines staked. If raising the tent in this kind of wind, two stakes at the upwind end should be placed before raising the tent to prevent it blowing away.

One time during taking down the main tent I had a pole snap on me. The risk appears to be elevated by taking out one pole at a time. The second pole appears to be significantly more bent than when both poles are holding up the tent. If both poles are removed together, then the risk of poles snapping seem to be significantly reduced. The instructions on the stuff bag do not make any suggestions in this regard, but I think that it is much safer having poles bend no more at any time than what they do while the tent is up. After this experience, I both raised the tent and lowered it with both poles together. Even though MSR poles are covered by a lifetime warranty - the cost of freight to get the broken pole fixed would be prohibitive for me, so I repaired it and have been using it for the fly quite happily since.

The Sidewinder is only suppled with 7 stakes, however 10 are needed to fully stake out the tent and use 4 guylines. Carrying an extra 3 stakes will add a little bit more weight, but will give even greater stability to the tent in particularly windy areas.

Summary:
The MSR Sidewinder 2 is a roomy two person three season tent with good sized vestibules. It is easy to set up (but take care with poles) and performs well in the rain and wind.

Things I like:
1. Doors on each side.
2. Decent sized vestibules (and one on each side).
3. Sturdy.
4. Easy to set up, take down and pack up.

Things I don't like:
1. Care is needed to avoid snapping poles.
2. The manual was very thin – and instructions specific to the Sidewinder were not even in it (on stuff bag instead).