Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 2P Review

Introduction

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 2P Shelter is a single-wall, Dyneema Composite Fabric, 2-person, 2-trekking-pole-supported tent with two vestibules, two side-entry doors, a weight of about 24 oz (g), and an MSRP of USD $699.

Watch a video summary of this review:

Review Context

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 2P Shelter embodies a single-wall design, ultralight fabrics, and shallow sloping sidewalls. In addition, its structure depends primarily on guylines and trekking poles providing tension to large fabric panels. These design features make it relatively sensitive to environmental stress including wind and snow loading and condensation. Therefore, it’s more apt for summer use below the treeline (e.g., thru-hiking) than as a 3- or 4-season alpine shelter.

Features

• Loops: 3 internal ridgeline gear attachment loops
• Seams: Fully taped seams
• Door: Two #3 YKK Aquaguard zippered vestibule doors with magnetic toggles. Two opposing No-See-Um Mesh doors with #3 Uncoated YKK zippers and large mesh pockets
• Side: 3-D side-walls for additional head and foot room and weather protection
• Tie-Outs: 10 reinforced tie-outs; 4 corner tie-outs, 2 peak tie-outs, 2 vestibule tie-outs, 2 mid side-panel tie-outs
• Guy Lines: Eight 2mm Lawson high-visibility Ironwire
• Water Resistant: Yes
• Includes: X-Large Drawstring Stuff Sack (Ultralight Stake Kit sold separately; trekking poles not included)

Specifications

• Materials: DCF5, DCF8, No-See-Um Mesh
• Weight: 1.5 lbs | 24.0 oz | 680g
• Capacity: 1-2 People
• Packed Dimensions: 8.5″ x 6.0″ x 5.5″ | 22cm x 15cm x 14cm
• Area: 28 sq. ft.
• Width: 48.0″ | 122cm
• Length: 90.0″ | 229cm
• Height: 48.0″ | 122cm
• Made In: Mexico

Product Category Overview

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 2P Shelter fits somewhat neatly into the category of “2-person single-wall tents with canopies made from Dyneema Composite Fabrics” that are pitched with two trekking poles, and have dual entrances, dual vestibules, and a side-entry design. Other tents in this category include:

• ZPacks Duplex (and Duplex Zip)
• Gossamer Gear The Two DCF (currently unavailable)
• Durston Gear X-Mid Pro 2P
• Tarptent Dipole 2 Li
• Bonfus Duos 2P

The following table summarizes each of these shelters and compares their weight (not including stakes and storage bags) and cost.

* The Gosssamer Gear The Two DCF pricing was current as of fall 2022. However, that model is currently unavailable.

Design/Technology Overview

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 2P Shelter is a so-called “six-panel” trekking pole tent, a design popularized by the ZPacks Duplex. This design is characterized by two vestibules, each comprised of two panels of fabric (each one being a door), and two large fabric panels that make up the sloping roof ends of each side of the shelter.

The primary design feature of a six-panel tent is its ability to minimize the square footage (and weight) of fabric while providing a reasonable amount of sleeping and vestibule space. Consequently, most six-panel tents are differentiated by their dimensions rather than their structural components and stability. However, I’ll explore both aspects in this review.

Of note, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 2P Shelter does not (technically) use flat panels for its roof panels. In fact, the roof panels are comprised of three distinct panels that provide a minor amount of dimensionality that’s assisted by pulling side panel guylines attached to the intersection of seams of the three panels. In this review, I’ll discuss the impacts of this design and whether or not it has a meaningful impact on livability and weather performance.