A Complete Evaluate of the Telos Tr2 Plus Tent

The Sea to Summit Telos TR2 Plus is a two-person freestanding backpacking tent with a large number of pitching choices. The “Plus” model differs from the Same old Telos TR2 model by way of the use of a forged internal tent as a substitute of a mesh one to dam the wind and lengthen its use into shoulder seasons. We in the past reviewed the Same old (non-Plus) model of the TR2 with a mesh as a substitute of a forged internal (see evaluation). Sea-to-Summit additionally sells a bikepacking model of the Telos TR2 with compact poles which are more uncomplicated to move by way of bicycle.

Whilst Sea-to-Summit sells all 3 variations of the Telos TR2 one by one, they percentage a commonplace design structure and can also be transformed into each and every different by way of changing person elements. For instance, you’ll substitute the forged internal at the Telos TR2 Plus reviewed right here with a mesh internal to be used in hotter climate. You’ll be able to additionally purchase the compact poles of the bikepacking model one by one and substitute the usual poles that include the Telos TR2 or Telos TR2 Plus to lead them to more uncomplicated to hold at the body of a bicycle.

Sadly, Sea-to-Summit has buried this modular capacity, which might be a key promoting level for four-season or multi-sport customers. Why? Shops lack the experience to give an explanation for modular merchandise to customers. Then again, if you have an interest, you’ll purchase the person elements from the spare portions segment of the Sea-to-Summit site. 

For the rest of this evaluation, we’ll center of attention at the Telos TR2 Plus model of the tent.

Specifications at a Look

• Minimal Path Weight (producer): 3 kilos, 9.7 oz.
• Minimal Path Weight (examined): 3 kilos, 7.2 oz.
• Overall Packed Weight (producer): 3 kilos, 12 oz.
• Overall Packed Weight (examined): 3 kilos, 14.9 ounces.
• Fabrics: Fly: 15 denier ripstop nylon, Silicone / Polyether Polyurethane (PeU)-coated, 1200mm hydrostatic head, Internal: 20 denier ripstop nylon, Flooring: 30 denier ripstop nylon, 4000mm hydrostatic head, 6 inch tall bath 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)
• Height top (producer): 43.5 inches
• Height top (examined): 41 inches on the doorways, 38 inches within the middle (36 inches if the Lightbar is put in)
• Incorporated: 8x 7075-T6 aluminum Y-stakes in a stuff sack; restore patches; pole restore sleeve; 4x guylines with toggles for added wind resistance and Hangout Mode pitch; 3x multi-use connectable stuff sacks for the poles, internal and fly.
• Footprint offered one by one

Forged Internal Tent

The Telos TR2 Plus is a freestanding double-wall tent with a forged internal tent to forestall breezes from chilling you. It’s optimized to be used in cooler temperatures, comparable to early spring and past due fall sooner than it snows. A forged internal tent is a good way to increase a tent’s use into chillier temperatures. The aspect panels are made with a forged, however breathable cloth, with mesh screening on the best to vent moisture. Then again, whilst a forged internal tent is superb within the chilly, you wouldn’t wish to use it in the midst of summer time or anyplace heat and muggy, restricting the application of the TR2 Plus, except you buy the further mesh internal tent.

The Rigidity Ridge

The TR2 Plus contains 3 items, each and every with their very own stuff sack: a pole set, a forged cloth internal tent, and the tent fly. The hubbed pole set is formed like two Ys hooked up to one another at their toes, with an extra crossbar pole known as the Rigidity Ridge. The Rigidity Ridge is a key design characteristic of the tent; it paperwork a V form, which lifts up the internal tent close to each and every door to extend headroom. On this method, the tallest a part of the tent isn’t within the center however moderately above the heads of each and every consumer. The poles are all hooked up to one another in a single piece to forestall shedding any of them.

A couple of Setup Choices

The Telos TR2 Plus can also be arrange in six other ways, together with a fly-first mode, which turns out to be useful if it’s raining as it assists in keeping the internal tent dry. All six of those modes also are to be had with the all-mesh model of the tent and the bikepacking variations.

• Vintage Mode
• Fly-Most effective Mode
• Dry Setup Mode
• Internal Most effective Mode
• Partial Fly Mode
• Hangout Mode

Vintage Mode can be acquainted to somebody who has arrange a US-made freestanding tent that units up internal first, fly final. This pitch is normally absolute best for gentle climate as it leaves the internal tent uncovered to precipitation sooner than the fly is going on.

The Fly-Most effective Mode is inconspicuous to arrange and does now not require a tent footprint. You bring together the poles, stake them out, after which attach the fly’s corners to the poles. When insect coverage is not sensible, you want to use the rainfly as a freestanding tarp.

The Dry Setup is a commonplace design of Eu 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 does now not want one, as a substitute the use of {hardware} that can be utilized in quite a lot of tactics for various pitches. The Fast Attach Toes are C-shaped steel items that may both hook directly to the Jakes toes of the internal tent while you arrange the internal first or can serve as as a grommet for the pole guidelines while you arrange fly first whilst nonetheless leaving sufficient of the pole tip uncovered to insert into the jakes toes at the internal tent. Whilst it’s an overly inventive design, it’s time-consuming to pitch, and I discovered the Vintage Mode a lot quicker.

The Partial Fly Mode is a neat characteristic 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 strikes a chord in my memory of snakeskins on a hammock tarp and serves the similar serve as; it means that you can stargaze and feature most air flow in calm climate however supplies the power to briefly deploy the fly and batten down the hatches if the elements turns.

Hangout Mode is a fly-only pitch staked down at one finish and lifted up 45 levels to create a cover to take a seat underneath. You connect the lifted finish to trekking poles and man them out, and also you man out the vestibules, too. Then again, it’s beautiful wobbly, and the tent handbook guide explicitly says to not use this pitch when it’s windy.

Apex Vent

The Apex Vent is any other key design characteristic of the Telos Sequence, in keeping with the concept that heat, humid air rises to the highest of the tent, so striking a vent in that spot must cut back condensation. In our earlier evaluation, we discovered that the usual Telos TR2 let in rain via 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 that you’ll open and shut the Apex vent from throughout the tent–however that is deceptive. The internal tent additionally has an Apex Vent–however its two layers are nylon cloth over mesh, so unzipping the internal Apex Vent simply unearths the mesh. You can not get admission to the Apex Vent at the fly in the course of the Apex Vent at the internal.

To open or shut the exterior Apex Vent from the interior, you must kneel throughout the tent, achieve your hand out the tent door over the internal tent, and grasp the zipper pull of the Apex vent at the fly. If this sounds awkward, it’s; very a lot so. In case your hands are quick, you could possibly open or shut the Apex Vent simply midway sooner than you must open the opposite aspect door and repeat the method at the reverse aspect.

Packing

The Telos sequence makes use of 3 stuff sacks that are compatible in combination and feature a couple of makes use of. The fly and internal stuff sacks convert into “tools buckets”–cavernous wallet that snap into the corners of the tent and will grasp a water bottle upright– is a smart thought and the most efficient resolution I’ve observed for containing a water bottle upright in a tent and preserving stuff sacks from getting misplaced.

The pole sack has a inflexible piece of plastic within that provides 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 internal. It gives the look of a fluorescent mild tube. Then again, I discovered that the Lightbar steadily disconnected from the snaps when including or casting off headlamps, and it reduce into the headroom of the tent, which is the principle good thing about the Rigidity Ridge Design. Moreover, when you love to learn or test maps whilst mendacity down on your tent, your studying subject material can be darkish since the Lightbar is on the tent’s height as a substitute of at the back of or above your head.

Further Considerations

The stakes are light-weight and powerful, made out of 7075-T6 anodized aluminum, however the tops are sharp and harm your hand, and the three tooth really feel too small for the webbing stake loops. I’ve had the loops slip off the stakes a large number of occasions.

The vestibule cloth many times stuck at the zipper when opening and shutting the tent, and the zipper chewed up the seam tape at the vestibule within the first couple of makes use of. Many free threads of frayed cloth alongside the zipper weren’t cleanly reduce sooner than the zipper used to be added.

Evaluation

Whilst the Sea-to-Summit Telos TR2 sequence tents, together with the Telos TR2 Plus reviewed right here, be offering many leading edge design concepts and contours, they’re overshadowed by way of the leaky Apex Vent, sloppy production high quality, and an arguably fussy setup. We had was hoping that Sea-to-Summit would have addressed the problems we raised in our previous evaluation 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’t suggest any of the tents within the Telos TR2 product line.

Store at SeaToSummit

 Likes

• The forged internal tent cloth successfully cuts the wind, making the interior of the tent a lot more delightful on chilly and windy nights.
• Dry setup mode assists in keeping the internal tent dry in wet climate.
• The fly and internal stuff sacks as “tools buckets” paintings nice.
• The stake loops are sufficiently big to just accept SMC-style snow stakes.
• Freestanding design makes it more uncomplicated to search out excellent campsites.
• In case you use two 20-inch huge pads, there’s excellent head and shoulder room for 2 folks with abundant tools protection underneath the vestibules.

Dislikes

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

Disclosure: Sea to Summit donated a tent for evaluation.

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