MEC Camper 2-Person Tent

Full fly, 6" bathtub floor, room for two, lightweight and reliable.

Hands down, the best REAL two-man tent going. Better than the Hubba Hubba in many ways and a LOT cheaper.

Weight 2.1 - 2.4 kg or about 4-5 lbs. Two doors, two vestibules, full fly good to 2000mm. 6" bathtub floor good to 10,000mm. Enough room for two, plus gear in the vestibules.

I bought one three years ago when they first came out for $125 and they sold out in a few weeks. A second shipment that year disappeared even faster. The following year the price jumped to $149 and they sold out again. This year, after a redesign, they're up to $159, but you can expect them to sail out the door just as fast. One big change was the use of a much lighter footprint, which trimmed off a few unnecessary ounces. 

Setup is very easy, taking just a couple of  minutes. The clipping system on the fly and body eliminates the need to thread the poles through narrow, binding sleeves, and means that proper fly tension tension is easy to get. On group trips, I am always the first one to get the tent up when we arrive and the first one ready to go again in the morning. If it rains, you can take the tent down from the inside out, keeping the body dry.

As a free-standing dome tent, the only pegs that are really needed are the two that stake out the vestibules, but the extras help hold the fly away from the tent body for better weather protection.

I've never been wet inside my Camper 2 in conditions ranging from steady drizzle to heavy downpour to early season snowstorms, and this is the first tent I've owned where I'm confident about bringing a down sleeping bag.

There is less mesh in the tent body than in American designs which, while making the Camper 2 bit less breathable, helps keep it warmer for cool mountain nights. Since I rarely camp at lower elevations, this is a big plus. In fact, while I've sometimes been a bit warm in it, I've never had a cold night. This is a true 3-season tent. I've run into occasional condensation issues, but those are easily solved by propping the top vents open with a twig.

While neither the lightest tent nor the largest, the Camper 2 is a perfect little tent, good for backpacking and even car-camping, and one of those pieces of gear you can count on to deliver every time. 

My girlfriend and her sister used the MEC Camper 2 for three and a half months bicycling across Canada. The tent is a bit small for me, but being both 5 ft 4" they had no problems. The vestibules are also a bit small, but they covered their panniers just fine.

The sage green color of the tent was ideal for stealth camping, but there is some reflective tape on the tent. Not too much mesh in the body, so not too cold but still kept the weight reasonable. They also used the foot print which left the tent in really good condition after using it for the entire summer.

Also, it is really easy and quick to setup. It is a bit heavy at 5.3 lbs, but split two ways, it was very reasonable, especially for the price. They would totally recommend the MEC camper 2.