REI Half Dome Plus 2

Review Date
December 21, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
2.25 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by: hikerchap ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $120.00 at REI, duh, morons

Summary:
I've used this at Mt. Hood, backyards, assorted places, nothing extreme. A little tight for two, but for just me it's sweet. I LOVE the two doors and 2 big vestibules. I can set it up any which way and there's always a door and vestibule facing me. Zippers seem a little weak but no problems, everything works great. Love the window, free gear loft (which MHW charges 30 bucks for!!!)
it's really quite perfect. kinda ugly colors. that's the worst thing I can think of.

Customer Service:
outstanding. REI and LLBean have everlasting props from me. I just returned a pair of 10-month old boots to REi that leaked. they were special order, but they took 'em back no problem. THe sales chick looked at me kinda funny-like, though. I think she was grumpy on account of the Christmas traffic.

Similar Products Used:
smelly old Jansport, really stinky North face, great REI Taj. (and I mean smelly literally: 20-year old nylon REALLY REEKS!!!)

Review Date
January 12, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: jason(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $149.00 at REI (where else?)

Summary:
It has been a year since i had this tent shipped to my front door, and it's about high time that i gave this thing a decent evaluation.

Let's get the cons out of the way. During my first use, one of the pole segments developed a crack about an half an inch long starting from the tip. Chalk one up for beginner's negligence. On the next consecutive uses, i found that the vestibules could not be tautly staked out unless one uses the maximum length of the adjustalbe stake loops (not very adjustable then, huh?). I also had to buy some cord for a couple of guy out points on the front and rear of the fly that would've otherwise been unusable. On desolate, sandy peaks, the no-see-um mesh acted like a filter, only allowing the finest (oh yes, just the finest) dust to settle on my gear and my face. Not a very good night's sleep. When fully (and I mean fully) guyed out, the half dome uses 12 stakes. This set-up withstood winds of exposed campsites on ridges, 3000M peaks, and typhoons. The guy line tensioners, however, would loosen after a few hours, and I had to get wet anyway just to tighten them again. Rain never seeped into the tent, it just dripped freely from the opening in the fly vent when strong winds would push water up the vertical faces of the fly up and over the vent opening.

BUT! A little duct tape fixed the poles, who needs adjustable stake loops, cord is cheap, a little sand never killed anybody, 12 pegs won't break your back, good knots keep the guy lines in check and a few drops of water on your face can be refreshing.

No other tent can be this light, this cheap and this easy to set-up and still offer the vast floor space, cavernous vestibules and over-all conveniece that the half dome is known for.

Customer Service:
haven't bothered

Similar Products Used:
TNF Talus
TNF Peregrine
MSR Velo
MSR Ventana

Review Date
November 20, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: lex(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $150.00 at REI

Summary:
Overall a great tent at an excellent value. Tent pitches very nice and taut when guyed out and I've had no problems with rain (for the first few uses I also didn't have the tent seam-sealed). Condensation is a bit of a problem; the tent body itself gets great ventilation when the fly is opened, but the fly has a tendency to collect quite a bit of condensation even with the roof vent open. On the other hand I've never had a tent that didn't have problems with condensation so this is not a new problem.

Tent packs about as light as youre gonna get for $150 though the advertised 5lb weight is really more like 7lb with all the stakes etc.

Overall a great pack though. I would highly recommend it.

Review Date
September 25, 2003

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: jessie bartolac(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $150.00 at REI

Summary:
My boyfriend and I backpacked 12mi up 2000ft so the light weight was a plus. The fabric is sooo thin, almost seems too thin, but it was a pleasent surprise that (w/ the fly) the wind and rain didn't penetrate. And it rained like hell so we were nervous to use it for the first time- vest. don't touch the ground everything close to the edge (shoes) never dried out. Wind was not a problem, and the openness at the top relieved condensation. Ground was dry w/ footprint but some rain entered at the seams. I am young and so it was pricy for me- I am going to give Peak 1 Mantis(Galelio) a try.

Customer Service:
love it- these boys know what they are talking about. a little too salesman-ie though

Review Date
July 10, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by: benmelnugent(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker , from Fort Collins, CO

Price Paid:  $149.00 at REI

Summary:
REI half dome plus 2 is a great deal. I am 6'3" and my wife is 5'11" and we fit perfectly with some room to spare at the foot of the tent. We recently took a trip to the Boundary waters Canoe area and it rained 2 different times for a few hours each! We stayed perfectly dry the whole time. Not one drop through the footprint or the bottom of the tent! A great buy for the money!

Customer Service:
I have never dealt with CS at REI yet.