Introduction
The REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent is a two-person hybrid single/double-wall shelter with dual entrances and vestibules. It is non-freestanding and can be pitched with two trekking poles to save weight or by using the included pole set. Its packaged weight is 40 oz (1,134 g), and its minimum weight is 31 oz (879 g). The MSRP of this model is $299. However, a solo model, the REI Co-op Flash Air 1 Tent (20 oz, 567 g) valued at $249, is also available. Backpacking Light has also published a review of the solo tent.
As a hybrid shelter, the REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent mixes and matches design components from traditional backpacking tents and single-wall shelters to create a product that features the best of both. The REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent provides reasonable livability for two persons and can also serve as a palatial single-person shelter.
Highlights
- Spacious interior, large vestibules, and ample headroom
- Small packed size and can be pitched using trekking poles
- Quick set-up and take-down
- Low weight and reasonable price
Where to Buy
Review Context
Although shelters really only have one job—to shelter you from the elements while backpacking—there is almost an endless permutation of criteria by which they can be evaluated on their overall value or quality. Protection from the elements, weight, livability, durability, ease of set-up, condensation, and a handful of other aspects of their performance, all factor into the overall quality of a shelter.
The importance with which each of these aspects is weighted (ultralight hikers, please pardon the pun), varies from person to person. Some people will choose a tent that requires a dozen stakes (titanium, of course), 100 feet (30 m) of 2 mm guyline cord, and a structural engineering degree to save a few ounces. Others will gladly haul around a two-person tent so they can stretch out inside, nevermind the extra weight. Some backpackers accept nothing less than a weatherproof reprieve, and cringe at the thought of spindrift blowing in under the vestibule. When it comes to shelters, one hiker’s DCF dream tent might be another hiker’s nightmare.
In over a decade of backpacking, I’ve spent hundreds of nights in a variety of shelters—bivy sacks, tarps, double-wall solo tents, single-wall solo tents (such as the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo which I reviewed in 2019 for Backpacking Light), and double-wall two-person tents. After passing through various stages of shelter preference, I’ve more or less arrived at a place where I value an easy to set up, fully enclosed, roomy, lightweight tent slightly more than other options. When I arrive at a subalpine lake and see cutthroat trout rising, I want to be spending my time casting to them rather than adjusting trekking pole height and fiddling with guyline tension to get the perfect pitch on a featherweight shelter.
For the purposes of this review, I’ve done my best to evaluate this shelter from an objective standpoint, but my preferences regarding shelters undoubtedly influenced my overall impressions regarding this tent. I’ve focused on what I believe to be the most important performance criteria for the average lightweight backpacker. By examining the weight, weather protection, interior space, design, and other fundamental characteristics of the REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent, this review will provide those considering this tent with the insight necessary to determine if, overall, it will be a suitable shelter for them or if their priorities make a different shelter a better option.
Features and Specifications
Features
- Non-freestanding (requires six stakes minimum) shelter for two persons
- Dual doors and vestibules
- Hybrid single-wall design minimizes weight
- Hubbed pole design (can be pitched with trekking poles) creates roomy interior
- Quick set-up time with intuitive adjustment points
- Roof vents and vestibule design create ample air flow
- Fly rolls up to roof to allow for increased visibility and ventilation
- Neutral color blends in well with most natural landscapes
Specifications
- Minimum trail weight 31 oz (879 g); packaged weight 40 oz (1,134 g)
- Floor dimensions: 88 x 55/42 inches (length x width at head/foot) (224 x 140/107 cm)
- Floor area: 28.7 sq ft (2.6 sq m)
- Vestibule area: 16.8 sq ft (1.56 m)
- Peak height: 42 in (107 cm)
- Fly and floor materials: Ripstop nylon
- Nylon no-see-um mesh
- DAC NFL aluminum poles (2 hubbed poles required for pitching, 2 poles that can be substituted with trekking poles, 1 foot-pole)
- Packed size: 16 x 7 in (41 x 18 cm)
Performance Assessment
Description of Field Testing
This tent was tested for a total of 17 nights. For eight of those nights, I shared the tent with my girlfriend and hiking partner, Andrea. The other nine nights, I was the sole occupant. Andrea and I used the tent for four consecutive nights in a late August trip in Yellowstone National Park, and I used the tent solo for a three-night trip in Montana’s Pioneer Mountains. All other trips were overnight trips.
Testing occurred between late June and early October in Montana and Wyoming. The Bitterroot Mountains were the most frequent testing ground, followed by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Yellowstone National Park. The tent was pitched in less than ideal sites—open meadows with limited tree cover—as well as textbook locations where it was sheltered from wind and dew.
During testing, the tent was exposed to moderate winds (15 to 20 mph / 24 to 32 kph), thunderstorms, and rain showers. The tent was not exposed to any snowfall, hail, or high winds. I pitched this tent using both the included support poles and trekking poles. I staked it out using the minimum stakes in certain instances and utilized the additional guylines in others to evaluate its stability in various conditions.
In mild conditions, I slept with the fly as open as possible to increase ventilation and reduce condensation. In cooler temperatures or stormy conditions, the fly was closed with some ventilation created by unzipping the dual zipper near the fly’s top. The roof vents were left open throughout testing, even in inclement conditions.
Performance Criteria
I judged the REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent based on four major factors:
- Livability and Ease of Use
- Weather Resistance
- Ventilation and Condensation Management
- Quality
Livability and Ease of Use
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Discussion
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Companion forum thread to: REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent Review
The REI Co-op Flash Air 2 Tent is a two-person hybrid single/double-wall shelter with dual entrances and vestibules. It is non-freestanding and can be pitched with two trekking poles to save weight or by using the included pole set.
“If I added the extra guy lines and stakes, would it have held up? Probably, but what’s the point then? If I’m having to maximize the guylines every time I set it, and carry all that extra weight, it’s defeating the point of a lightweight shelter.”
You mean having to add 4-5oz in stakes and guylines weigh you down?
Even a heavy tent requires sufficient guylines and pegs in very windy conditions so I find this comment odd. Maybe I have misinterpreted you.
That comment was from one of the reviews left on the REI website; I included it (along with other comments) in this review to show the experiences and expectations others had with the tent. I tried to put them into context in the review and offer my own opinions about their validity. I also thought that comment was odd and reflected an unrealistic expectation, my apologies if the rest of my review didn’t make that clear.
Yep, REI designs good gear.
I’ve had 2 REI FLASH UL backpacks and now own 2 FLASH air mattresses, 3 Season and All Season. Both work well and the valves are compatible with a Sea to Summit pump/dry bag, a wise move on REI’s part.
This FLASH tent is well designed and good for cooking under the vestibules in the rain, alway a consideration for tent design.
Thanks Mark. Sorry about that. Quarantine brain on my end.
I don’t understand why Tarptent is always left out of these comparisons. The Motrail is cheaper (normally $265 without poles and $286 with, currently on sale for less), weighs about 3oz more (that weight includes the stuff sack, it’s not clear if yours does), requires only four stakes, and has a much smaller packed size. Maybe the extra 3oz puts it in a different weight category in your mind–but then you compare it to the Lunar Duo which is much heavier than either.
I think it’s because all the tents in the comparison are side entry, like the Flash, whereas the Motrail is front entry.
“The quality of the mesh is perhaps the most prominent area where the quality lacked”
In REIs defense, what you’re seeing here are “pulls” or “snags” in the mesh which are misalignment of the strands but these are reversible and not really REIs fault.
The lightest (0.5oz) mesh forms pulls/snags substantially easier than heavier mesh (0.65-0.9oz). It’s an industry wide issue and not really a quality problem so much as a limitation of 0.5oz mesh. This mesh will form these cosmetic imperfections substantially more easily, but then heavier mesh adds a few ounces to the tent, so cosmetic (and reversible) imperfections are the price of saving those ounces. This occurs from strain on the mesh, such as contact with velcro, stress during stuffing, or if the vent struts or poles get jabbed into the mesh during pack up.
It’s affecting tents from all brands that use the lightest mesh, which is why many tent companies are now creating videos on how to reverse it, such these videos from MSR and SlingFin. Those videos do a good job showing how to reverse it. Basically you can hold the mesh tight and give it a scratch and those will reverse.
It would be nice if 0.5oz mesh was more resistant to this, but for now it’s an unavoidable trade-off with using 0.5oz mesh. I think it’s still worth using this mesh because it’s substantially lighter and the problems are only cosmetic and reversible.
Fair enough, but “cheapest side-entry tent in its class” is a much different claim than “cheapest tent in its class.” I understand that the preference for side-entry is common, but it’s hardly universal (the front-entry Protrail is Tarptent’s best-selling tent–I think by a significant margin). In a comprehensive review like this one, it seems strange to ignore the existence of end-entry tents altogether.
For a 2-person tent, I prefer a double-wall design. I have too many bad memories of wet tube tents from the 1960s and 70s. It is true that the double-wall tents are heavier than single-wall or hybrid designs, but the fact that the tent body, fly, poles, and stakes are all separate, makes it possible to distribute the weight between 2 people in a way that single-wall and hybrid designs cannot. With my current 2012 Big Sky Evolution tent, the weight distributes to 26 oz and 30 oz, not ultralight but light enough for a 70-year-old. It would be heavy for a solo trip, but my wife has vetoed any consideration of solo trips, so that limitation is not relevant to me. When double-wall, 2-person tents are reviewed, it would be nice if the reviewers could provide information on the weight distribution in a 2-person situation.
I have never understood why anyone even thinks about the weight distribution of a tent. Just balance the tent weight with the food.
We figure all this out at home with a spreadsheet. Works fine.
Cheers
Thanks for the review. After about 13 nights, my experiences with the Flash Air 2 are very similar to yours. Got it on sale in June for about $210 further increasing the value per $ ratio while shaving 3 lbs off my old double wall tent. So far only used in the Sierra for summer & early fall with only one night of moderate condensation with my son and I using it. Totally agree that a major, & unanticipated for me, benefit is the ease of setup & takedown as you describe. Handled a strong 3 hour August thunderstorm with 20+ mph wind, driving rain/hail, and had no issues at all. I had it staked with the basic six stakes (I did upgrade to TNH tri-beam stakes that I already had) and it had no problem with the wind. But have guyed it out as you describe since then just in case. The high bottom edge of the vestibule as you describe really does help with ventilation, but also means you will not have as much dry space underneath it during a storm as you might have with a vestibule fitted closer to the ground due to water spray. Also I am 5’11” as well and have read a review from someone 6’2″ saying that it did not work for him from a length perspective. So worth taking that into account. Alan Dixon also has an extensive set of video reviews as well on his site.
Roger, Point taken. I do the same thing at home with the spreadsheet. In fact all my trips in the last decade have been for 6-8 days with at least or more companions. In that scenario there are plenty of options for distributing the weight. Besides, when my pack starts out with ca. 10 pounds of food plus or minus 30 oz. is no big deal after a day or so.
At that price point and weight I would go with Dan’s 2p X-Mid all day long.
“We figure all this out at home with a spreadsheet.”
I neither have, nor use, spreadsheets at all. Ugh. Spreadsheets are for …….. geeks, for crying out loud…
I’m a GEEK!
The double top vents that Mark lauds in the REI Flash 2 are virtually a standard on Tarptents and one reason why Tarptents handle condensation so well. The other reason is the bottom vents Tarptent designs in. Bottom-to-top ventilation is the key.
Bottom-to-top ventilation is the key.
+1
Definitely agree that bottom-to-top ventilation is paramount in reducing condensation. I haven’t used any TarpTents but from the designs I’ve looked at it seems they have this down even better than the REI Flash shelters.
Hopefully REI will improve this on future models, as I feel like the bottom ventilation could maybe be improved if they included some mesh on the head and foot and extended the fabric out a bit to cover them (similar to the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo and many other shelters). But for general three-season backpacking in areas without high humidity the REI was certainly sufficient.
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