MSR Carbon Reflex 2 Tent Review

@Ashley: You're not missing anything. Also, Backpacker mag (trust them if you will) said the tent had durability problems due to its lightweight fabrics.

Once again, I'm waiting for this tent to flop simply due to price. If I'm going to drop $500 on a tent, it's going to be a Hilleberg or Stephenson or some other extreme-conditions tent.

Henry Shires should also be tee'd off; the tent is essentially an expensive take on his Rainbow/Double Rainbows. Also, DR setup time wins v. this tent.

The floor width discrepancy bothers me. This tent appears suited for sleeping head-to-foot. My MK1 has a 48" floor width and even that is probably too tight for the tent's use (winter camping). With 40" to play with, where is the room for anything else?

I second the video plugs. Great review, as always Will.

> Ashley, isn't this shelter lighter than the what the Scarp 2 is expected to be?

Oh, yep, I wasn't looking at the "trail" weight which is indeed lower than the Scarp 2. But it uses carbon poles and is only 40 inches wide (as opposed to 52 inches). Not sure whether there will be much more head room at the end. Maybe a bit. The Scarp 2 has a head height of 44 inches in the middle, and something like 18 inches at the end.

The price is nuts, but I guess not many people will be paying retail.

When you think about it, this tent bears most resemblance to the single-person rainbow, which is 38 inches wide in bathtub mode. It also has only one entry, but is less than half the price and only weighs 2 pounds 2 oz!

Not sure on the weights everyone is throwing around. My single person Rainbow after seam sealing is 38 oz. No way the Double is the same weight. In any event, this MSR will be heavily discounted at some point. I think if it was $300, it would be a viable alternative to big and tall folks who would use the shelter as a 1+ shelter.

I also think that we need to compare double wall to double wall. If you consider the more robust materials, perhaps the MSR is also more viable. The curved spine also provides much usable space for taller folks, especially over faces when sleeping.

Don't mistake my comments other than trying to engage discussion. I don't own nor will I be buying this tent but I find that many of us (me included) tend to instantly jump on a mainstream manufacturer without perhaps comparing like products. Just a thought.

What is this phantom Scarp 2 ? Is it real or imaginary?

I'm not really sure of this comparison between this tent and the Scarp 2 – Isn't the Scarp 2 supposed to be quite a bit larger, and heavier? The packaged weight of the MSR is only 52oz (Website spec). Granted it looks on the small (And expensive) side, but in that same weight class I would lean towards comparing it more with the Rainshadow 2, say. A couple oz lighter after seam-sealing and with two poles…And a lot bigger. (Even than the Scarp 2)

I was thinking with the crossing poles for the Scarp 2, I guess. I see now that the MSR is not free-standing so I suppose it might be better to compare it to the Scarp without the crossing poles. My bad. :P

This tent will sell. It won't sell like the new NeoAir, but it will sell, for one important reason: it is the lightest two person, double walled tent you can buy from REI. Actually, it is probably the lightest two person tent of any sort you can buy from REI (I think REI only sells the Bibler/Black Diamond single walled tent, which is just a bit heavier). Likewise, other retailers (mail order, etc.) don't carry tents from the smaller outfits. The $500 price tag is steep, but people will pay it (after all, compared to something like a car, $500 is not that much).

As this excellent article mentioned, this tent, like so many others, are hamstrung by the flame retardant standards. I wonder what this tent would weigh if it was made from silnylon, or better yet, Cuben fiber?

Ineresting.

Will, thanks for the review!

As a retailer with a conscience I've been struggling with reported dimensions of tents. The trend keeps slipping more toward over-stating actual floor area–my pet peeve was the Mountain Hardwear Helion 2, reported at 28 square feet with actual area of ~19 square feet. Not really a 2-person tent! I've found this erroneous reporting to be pretty standard from manufacturers. Even measuring pole tip to pole tip I still can't ususally come up with the same area as the reporters.

PU coated rainflys aren't a bad thing. They are generally more waterproof than a straight sil-coated fly, and the weight difference is realistically insignificant. Big Sky is now using a PU coated, fire retardant sil with negligible weight difference (an ounce or less, I think) from their earlier models. Should be shipping any time soon. Richard's point on degree of waterproofness is key.

Well I bit the bullet and bought one of these for $355 on eBay.

Based on my initial setup in the yard and two 1 night trips, I find the BPL review to be accurate.

As BPL recommends, access to the rear vestibule would be improved with an L shaped zipper. As it is now, you're passing stuff through a slit that spreads to maybe 16" at the widest point. I haven't measured the max width, but it sure looks tough to pass a medium sized pack through here which is too bad. It would also be very awkward to cook in here. Overall, the second vestibule seems pretty much useless except for tossing my packs under here from outside the fly. You could pass footwear through the tent into this area.

Regarding the 40" width, my CR2 measures around 42" in the middle, but it still certainly isn't close to 50". My tent is 46-47" wide at the corners.

Essentially what's going on here is that the top strut pulls the floor of the tent up in the center when the tent is empty. The tent is a very taut unit and the carbon fibre top strut (cross pole) is quite stiff, so when you don't have anything holding down the floor the edges are lifted up in the center. A stakeout point in the center of the tent would add a few inches to the tents midsection width.

The lack of peg out spots really isn't a problem though….the floor is adequately wide for two averaged sized people. I would share this tent with people who aren't my spouse.

Overall, the tent has a very high quality feel to it. I really like the mesh storage pockets. They are very well placed. In the pitch dark, you can just reach out and they are exactly where you imagine they'd be. This is very handy when you need to find your headlamp so you can relieve yourself.

I have been interested in a light tent that my 6yo daughter, my 65lb Belgian Sheepdog (with nails, ie tough floor material appreciated) and I can sleep. This seemed to be just the tent! Mind you, the dog and I did quite well in my Scarp I, although in a rainstorm, enough moisture collected on the floor to fry my itouch (ouch).
I've notice that backcountrygear.com has put this tent on sale for $399, effectively $100 off MSR. I've taken advantage at this price point, and will use it this weekend with my crew!
Don