REI Half Dome 2 HC

After more than 10 years of use, I finally feel confident in offering a review on this tent... Ha ha.

Purchased new over ten years ago for use with my wife. We have taken it on overnight backpacks, week-long backpacks, multi-week car camping trips, in heat, cold, thunder, and snow. And after ten years use, perhaps 120 nights sleeping in it, we finally need to apply new waterproofing to the fly. I take very good care of my gear, but this is extraordinary.

Setup is a snap, solo or otherwise. We've never used any additional guy-lines, and have never suffered from adverse conditions. Some condensation, but that's normal for the Pacific Northwest under any conditions, and never impacted our comfort.

We are short and small, and this tent feels pretty darn palatial—lots of storage and good-sized vestibules. The only ding I can give it is the weight—6.5 pounds with all the bells and whistles. But it's old and never claimed to be an ultralight. It's doubtful that you'll find this model anywhere anytime soon, but if REI keeps this design strategy up the newer iterations are definitely worth a look.

Background

40 years of hiking, backpacking, and car camping, from antique Sears A-frames and fiberglass-pole domes to modern freestanding and hammocks.

I've had this same tent for over 10 years. It's still the best of all my tents and I love camping in it, especially in cooler weather—nice and cozy!

Fast to set up and take down, water tight—I've been through days-long deluges in this tent.

The older models, like this one, have two-way zippers on the rain fly. Great for ventilation and I like that I can unzip from the top down and see out without having to completely open the rain fly. They discontinued this option on the newer models. I had purchased a newer/larger one several years ago, but returned it after I discovered that it didn't have the two-way zip.

Plenty of room for one person and gear. Would be tight for two. Easy to throw in the car and go, doesn't take up much room. I also like the old crossed poles versus the hubbed poles on newer models.

Background

I've used this extensively before I purchased larger tents, all REI.

I have 3 of them and have been using them regularly with my boy scout sons for 5 years now. Two are the previous model with independent poles (no Hub/Combi) and one the HC model.

I've slept in this tent during great weather, and during really nasty rainy weather (in Texas). They've all held up really nice even in the rain. Just make sure you set up the tent in an area which sheds water away from the tent, and use the guy lines to keep the rainfly stretched out to provide maximum coverage! I have never had an issue with water getting into my tent on week long campouts where it rained for multiple days or nights in a row.

It's not the lightest tent in the world, but certainly back packable. I've used it on many a hike-in campout. I know there are lighter ones, but you'll have to pay more than $119 for them!

It's pretty easy to set up. I set mine up all the time by myself, and with my headlamp at night. My sons (10 years old +) set theirs up by themselves and at night with only their headlamp for light. If they can do it, you can do it!

With the rainfly on, it's not the easiest tent to get into for a guy in his 40's like myself. Although, I wouldn't give up the coverage with that this rainfly gives!

It's exactly the right size for me, my backpack, stinky boots, and accoutrements to fit into. I'm 5'11" and about 180 - 185 lbs. It will fit 2 kids with no problem, but 2 adults would be a tight squeeze.

I wouldn't recommend storing this in the garage in Texas. Store it inside an air conditioned house. The heat and humidity will ruin the rainfly. I know, because I stored my first one that way and the rainfly got all sticky. But good news, REI will replace the whole tent with no questions asked, even after many years of use!

My main complaint is that it doesn't come with an Air Conditioner for the hot Texas summers...

I would highly recommend this tent for Boy Scout camping in Texas! :-)

Used about 4 times so far. Condensation can really collect along the lower tent wall, but minimized if you use guy lines on the far walls. Hard to say if this will be a long-term issue (I hadn't originally used guy-lines), but something to keep in mind. Haven't used in rainy weather yet.

Great tent. I've used it about five times so far. I've only used it in light rain and it held up fine. It's nice to have a rainfly that covers the ground a little way outside the exit of the tent so I can leave things outside without having them get soaked.

Nice tent, till it rains for two days. It was fine for the first day, but by the second day we were dealing with wet sleeping bags and small puddels. The tent's rain fly had been seam sealed, but it will still leak right through the fabric. Not worth the money.

This is a nice tent for a great price. That is until it starts to rain. After one night of light rain the rainfly appeared to just soak up the rain water then drip it onto the tent. Needless to say, I'm returning the tent to REI.

I used it in the BWCA Sept. 10 and rained most of the two days we were there. The fly leaked water in the tent when you opened it so be careful.

Overall I like the setup.