A Complete Overview of the Telos Tr2 Plus Tent

The Sea to Summit Telos TR2 Plus is a two-person freestanding backpacking tent with quite a few pitching choices. The “Plus” model differs from the Commonplace Telos TR2 model through the use of a strong internal tent as an alternative of a mesh one to dam the wind and lengthen its use into shoulder seasons. We beforehand reviewed the Commonplace (non-Plus) model of the TR2 with a mesh as an alternative of a strong internal (see evaluate). Sea-to-Summit additionally sells a bikepacking model of the Telos TR2 with compact poles which are simpler to move by bicycle.

Whereas Sea-to-Summit sells all three variations of the Telos TR2 individually, they share a typical design structure and could be transformed into one another by changing particular person elements. For instance, you possibly can change the strong internal on the Telos TR2 Plus reviewed right here with a mesh internal to be used in hotter climate. You may as well purchase the compact poles of the bikepacking model individually and change the usual poles that include the Telos TR2 or Telos TR2 Plus to make them simpler to hold on the body of a bicycle.

Sadly, Sea-to-Summit has buried this modular functionality, which might be a key promoting level for four-season or multi-sport customers. Why? Retailers lack the experience to clarify modular merchandise to customers. Nonetheless, if you’re , you should buy the person elements from the spare elements part of the Sea-to-Summit web site. 

For the rest of this evaluate, we’ll give attention to the Telos TR2 Plus model of the tent.

Specs at a Look

• Minimal Path Weight (producer): 3 kilos, 9.7 ounces
• Minimal Path Weight (examined): 3 kilos, 7.2 ounces
• Whole Packed Weight (producer): 3 kilos, 12 ounces
• Whole Packed Weight (examined): 3 kilos, 14.9 oz.
• Supplies: Fly: 15 denier ripstop nylon, Silicone / Polyether Polyurethane (PeU)-coated, 1200mm hydrostatic head, Inside: 20 denier ripstop nylon, Flooring: 30 denier ripstop nylon, 4000mm hydrostatic head, 6 inch tall bathtub design, Poles: DAC Featherlite NSL 8.5mm and NSL 9.0mm hubbed poles
• Flooring Dimensions (producer): 84.5 x 53/43 inches (tapering head to foot)
• Flooring Dimensions (examined): 85 X 52/42 inches (tapering head to foot)
• Peak top (producer): 43.5 inches
• Peak top (examined): 41 inches on the doorways, 38 inches within the middle (36 inches if the Lightbar is put in)
• Included: 8x 7075-T6 aluminum Y-stakes in a stuff sack; restore patches; pole restore sleeve; 4x guylines with toggles for additional wind resistance and Hangout Mode pitch; 3x multi-use connectable stuff sacks for the poles, internal and fly.
• Footprint bought individually

Stable Inside Tent

The Telos TR2 Plus is a freestanding double-wall tent with a strong internal tent to stop breezes from chilling you. It’s optimized to be used in cooler temperatures, comparable to early spring and late fall earlier than it snows. A strong internal tent is a good way to increase a tent’s use into colder temperatures. The aspect panels are made with a strong, however breathable material, with mesh screening on the prime to vent moisture. Nonetheless, whereas a strong internal tent is nice within the chilly, you wouldn’t need to use it in the midst of summer time or wherever heat and muggy, limiting the utility of the TR2 Plus, until you buy the extra mesh internal tent.

The Stress Ridge

The TR2 Plus includes three items, every with their very own stuff sack: a pole set, a strong material internal tent, and the tent fly. The hubbed pole set is formed like two Ys linked to one another at their ft, with an extra crossbar pole known as the Stress Ridge. The Stress Ridge is a key design function of the tent; it varieties a V form, which lifts up the internal tent close to every door to extend headroom. On this method, the tallest a part of the tent isn’t within the center however quite above the heads of every person. The poles are all linked to one another in a single piece to stop dropping any of them.

A number of Setup Choices

The Telos TR2 Plus could be arrange in six other ways, together with a fly-first mode, which is helpful if it’s raining as a result of it retains the internal tent dry. All six of those modes are additionally accessible with the all-mesh model of the tent and the bikepacking variations.

• Basic Mode
• Fly-Solely Mode
• Dry Setup Mode
• Inside Solely Mode
• Partial Fly Mode
• Hangout Mode

Basic Mode can be acquainted to anybody who has arrange a US-made freestanding tent that units up internal first, fly final. This pitch is often greatest for gentle climate as a result of it leaves the internal tent uncovered to precipitation earlier than the fly goes on.

The Fly-Solely Mode is easy to arrange and doesn’t require a tent footprint. You assemble the poles, stake them out, after which join the fly’s corners to the poles. When insect safety is pointless, you would use the rainfly as a freestanding tarp.

The Dry Setup is a typical design of European tents, permitting the rain fly to be arrange first and the internal tent to be added later. Some tents require a footprint to do that, however the TR2 doesn’t want one, as an alternative utilizing {hardware} that can be utilized in varied methods for various pitches. The Fast Join Toes are C-shaped metallic items that may both hook on to the Jakes ft of the internal tent whenever you arrange the internal first or can perform as a grommet for the pole ideas whenever you arrange fly first whereas nonetheless leaving sufficient of the pole tip uncovered to insert into the jakes ft on the internal tent. Whereas it’s a really inventive design, it’s time-consuming to pitch, and I discovered the Basic Mode a lot quicker.

The Partial Fly Mode is a neat function the place you stake out each vestibules, disconnect the remainder of the fly, and roll it up so that you simply have a small tube of the fly arcing horizontally excessive of the tent, from vestibule stake to vestibule stake. It jogs my memory of snakeskins on a hammock tarp and serves the identical perform; it lets you stargaze and have most air flow in calm climate however offers the power to shortly deploy the fly and batten down the hatches if the climate turns.

Hangout Mode is a fly-only pitch staked down at one finish and lifted up 45 levels to create a cover to sit down below. You connect the lifted finish to trekking poles and man them out, and also you man out the vestibules, too. Nonetheless, it’s fairly wobbly, and the tent handbook e-book explicitly says to not use this pitch when it’s windy.

Apex Vent

The Apex Vent is one other key design function of the Telos Collection, primarily based on the concept that heat, humid air rises to the highest of the tent, so placing a vent in that spot ought to cut back condensation. In our earlier evaluate, we discovered that the usual Telos TR2 let in rain by means of its Apex Vent. Sadly, on two separate wet days, water nonetheless made its method into the TR2 Plus reviewed right here

The instruction handbook says which you can open and shut the Apex vent from contained in the tent–however that is deceptive. The internal tent additionally has an Apex Vent–however its two layers are nylon material over mesh, so unzipping the internal Apex Vent simply reveals the mesh. You can’t entry the Apex Vent on the fly by means of the Apex Vent on the internal.

To open or shut the exterior Apex Vent from the within, it’s a must to kneel contained in the tent, attain your hand out the tent door over the internal tent, and seize the zipper pull of the Apex vent on the fly. If this sounds awkward, it’s; very a lot so. In case your arms are quick, you could possibly open or shut the Apex Vent simply midway earlier than it’s a must to open the opposite aspect door and repeat the method on the other aspect.

Packing

The Telos sequence makes use of three stuff sacks that match collectively and have a number of makes use of. The fly and internal stuff sacks convert into “gear buckets”–cavernous pockets that snap into the corners of the tent and may maintain a water bottle upright– is a good thought and one of the best resolution I’ve seen for holding a water bottle upright in a tent and conserving stuff sacks from getting misplaced.

The pole sack has a inflexible piece of plastic inside that offers it the form of a half-cylinder. Sea to Summit calls it the Lightbar as a result of it may be snapped to the tent’s ceiling and take two headlamps to light up the inside. It gives the look of a fluorescent gentle tube. Nonetheless, I discovered that the Lightbar ceaselessly disconnected from the snaps when including or eradicating headlamps, and it lower into the headroom of the tent, which is the principle good thing about the Stress Ridge Design. Moreover, for those who wish to learn or examine maps whereas mendacity down in your tent, your studying materials can be darkish as a result of the Lightbar is on the tent’s peak as an alternative of behind or above your head.

Extra Issues

The stakes are light-weight and robust, comprised of 7075-T6 anodized aluminum, however the tops are sharp and damage your hand, and the three enamel really feel too small for the webbing stake loops. I’ve had the loops slip off the stakes quite a few occasions.

The vestibule material repeatedly caught on the zipper when opening and shutting the tent, and the zipper chewed up the seam tape on the vestibule within the first couple of makes use of. Many unfastened threads of frayed material alongside the zipper weren’t cleanly lower earlier than the zipper was added.

Evaluation

Whereas the Sea-to-Summit Telos TR2 sequence tents, together with the Telos TR2 Plus reviewed right here, supply many revolutionary design concepts and options, they’re overshadowed by the leaky Apex Vent, sloppy manufacturing high quality, and an arguably fussy setup. We had hoped that Sea-to-Summit would have addressed the problems we raised in our earlier evaluate of the usual Telos TR2 tent, within the up to date Telos Tr2 Plus, however that doesn’t seem to have been the case. Till then, we can not advocate any of the tents within the Telos TR2 product line.

Store at SeaToSummit

 Likes

• The strong internal tent material successfully cuts the wind, making the within of the tent far more nice on chilly and windy nights.
• Dry setup mode retains the internal tent dry in wet climate.
• The fly and internal stuff sacks as “gear buckets” work nice.
• The stake loops are large enough to just accept SMC-style snow stakes.
• Freestanding design makes it simpler to seek out good campsites.
• If you happen to use two 20-inch vast pads, there may be good head and shoulder room for 2 folks with ample gear protection below the vestibules.

Dislikes

• Poor manufacturing high quality.
• Leaky and hard-to-open Apex vent.
• Tent stakes and man line loops are mismatched.
• The lightbar is insecure and reduces headroom when used.

Disclosure: Sea to Summit donated a tent for evaluate.

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