Owner Review by Laurie Corbin

REI Half Dome Plus 2

Name: Laurie Corbin
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 6.5" (1.69 m)
Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg)
Email: mslimpsalot@yahoo.com
City, State, Country: Cumming, Georgia, USA
Date: March 29, 2004

Backpacking Background: In the last four years, I have returned to backpacking and hiking. Although I took 18 years off, the woods kept calling. I have hiked in Georgia, North Carolina and the Smokies. I have been a three-season backpacker but recently ventured into winter backpacking and truly enjoyed it. My three-season pack weight is about 25 pounds total (11.34 kg) but I am really trying to lighten up. The winter pack weight is significantly heavier as I get cold very easily (read that ice cold sleeper).

Product Information:

REI Half-Dome Plus 2 Two-Person Tent
Manufacturer: REI
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Manufacturer's URL: www.rei.com
Listed weight: 5 lb 2 oz (2.32 kg)
Delivered weight: 5 lb 2 oz (2.32 kg)
Price: $159

Product Description:

The freestanding tent arrived in a blue stuff sack that measured 8 in x 18 in (20 cm x 46 cm). A set up instruction page was sewn onto the stuff sack. Inside the sack was the tent, fly, small sack with six lightweight stakes, 18 in (46 cm) sack with two gold, DAC Featherlight aluminum (about 15% lighter and stronger than regular aluminum poles) shockcorded tent poles, pole repair tube and four guylines with tighteners. The tent body is pitched first and then the fly is thrown over top. The tent body is grey ripstop nylon with generous amounts of black no-see-um mesh netting. The rectangular bathtub floor is dark, smoke blue coated nylon and measures 92 in x 54 in (234 cm x 137 cm). The tent has a large door on both long sides of the tent measuring 37.5 in x 35 in (95 cm x 89 cm). Inside, there is a 9 in x 21 in (23 cm x 53 cm) removable mesh gear loft and two 9 in x 18 in (23 cm x 46 cm) mesh pockets sewn into the sides of the tent. The tent body attaches to the poles with 18 black plastic pole clips and the fly attaches with velcro closures. The fly features two vestibules with 9.6 square feet (0.89 sq m) of storage space each. The fly and tent have color coordinated tabs to help with orientation. The tan fly is coated ripstop polyester. The fly has a small, clear film window in one of the short sides of the tent. The pole tips fit into grommets set into the stake loops attached to the tent and fly. Vents on top of the fly are opened and closed by hook and loop tape-covered props and operate like little kickstands. Seams are factory taped and sealed.

Field Information:

When purchasing this tent, I wanted a tent that (1) held two persons comfortably (including my husband who is 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)), (2) was breathable enough to withstand serious condensation in muggy GA, (3) had vestibule storage space for two packs and (4) would keep us dry during heavy rain. I chose the Half-Dome Plus 2 because it received a good write-up in the 1993 Gear Guide and because it seemed to fit all the criteria. I first set the tent up in the living room for the "Will the husband fit test?". In all seriousness, this had proven to be the reason several other tents were returned.   Fortunately, he fit with room to spare and could even sit up comfortably due to the 42 in (107 cm) peak height. I then took it out to the yard to test the set up. The tent went up in less than five minutes the first time. A couple of more tries and I had it up in less than three minutes. Before its first use, I did seam seal the entire tent, including tent body and fly, even though the seams are factory sealed.

The first trip was a late summer trip on the Benton MacKaye Trail in northwest GA. We hiked in about 7 miles (11.3 km) and made camp in a gap with an established campsite. The tent went up quickly and easily in spite of the gusty wind.   Even though the tent is freestanding, we made sure the tent was staked and guyed out well. The wind gusts were reported to be in the 40 mph (64 kph) range but the tent felt stable and secure all night long. The tent was wide enough for my regular Therm-a-Rest at 20 in wide (51 cm) and my husbands long Therm-a-Rest at 25 in wide (64 cm). There wasn't much elbow room but we did manage to get through the clothes changing and packing up without wounding each other. The gear loft was convenient and a good place for a water bladder for midnight thirst. (Just be sure your spouse doesn't wake up and mistake the tube for a snake.) The side pockets held glasses and headlamps. I had room for lots of extra gear at my feet but my husband only had room for boots. We really appreciated the double doors and vestibules that kept us from climbing over each other when nature called. The large doors kept us from feeling like we had to squeeze ourselves in and out. Each vestibule held our large packs, boots, and poles with room to spare in one half allowing us to freely climb in and out of the tent without stumbling over equipment. Though the temperature dropped to 40 degrees F (4 C), the windy evening kept condensation to a minimum.

The second use was in the backyard. I wanted to test the waterproof seams and set the tent up before a two-day rain in late fall. I staked the tent low to the ground to prevent splatter and opened the kickstand vents in the fly to about half-open. I would occasionally get a few drops from the vents if the wind gusted but no water from ground splatter. As long as I only unzipped the fly about half way when entering and exiting, I could avoid getting water in the tent itself during a downpour. The zippers on the fly have small velcro closures all along its length that keep the rain off the zippers and prevent leaks. They worked well and I had no leaks from the zippers or from any other part of the fly or tent. I did use the footprint with the tent and the floor remained relatively dry. As always, after two days of rain, everything was quite damp just from the humidity. However, my down bag was dry and that was my chief concern.

The third use of the tent was to test the rating on my new sleeping bag for an upcoming early winter backpacking trip. The tent was again set up in the back yard. Night time temperatures dropped to 12 degrees F (-11 C). I opened the kickstand vents completely and left one zipper partially open for ventilation. In the morning, there was no condensation in the interior of the tent body but the inside of the fly was quite icy. I'm sure if my husband had also been in the tent we would have had an ice shower when we tried to exit the tent.

The next use of the tent was a winter backpacking trip to Standing Indian Mountain, North Carolina. We hiked in on a day that was cold and clear and set up camp near the summit. There was a strong breeze preceding a weather front. We were due to have snow before morning. Again, we were able to set up the tent quickly and were happy to get in out of the wind. The plastic pole clips were difficult to use with cold fingers, especially since I was wearing mittens.   I made sure to fully open the vents and stake out the fly for ventilation. Evening temperatures dropped to about 27 degrees F (-3 C). I woke at about 3:00 a.m.to snow falling on the tent. There was about one half inch (1 cm) of snow on the fly and it was starting to sag slightly. We managed to knock off the snow and woke several times more before morning to shake off snow. We had no interior condensation. We were grateful for the interior space as we packed up our gear inside where it was warm and dry.   After returning home, inspection of the poles revealed no damage from the snow weight. However, this is not a winter tent and the weight of the snow did cause significant sagging.

Summary:

I like this tent. It has kept my husband and I and our gear warm and dry. It is a nice balance of weight and space. I would certainly buy it again. There are lighter tents on the market but we would have to sacrifice head room, elbow room and leg room.

Things I like:

1. Roomy vestibules
2. No leaks, splatters
3. Roomy for tall spouse

Things I don't like:

1. Tent zippers can snag easily.

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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > REI Half Dome Plus 2 > Owner Review by Laurie Corbin

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