Mountain Hardwear Airjet 2 Review

"I read every review I could find on this tent before I bought one at REI in Phoenix. I was headed for a 4-night trip in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The problem was that even though it had been an extremely dry summer in the Estes Park area, the time of my trip (August 3-4) coincided with the heaviest rains of the season. I arrived at my campsite at 3 pm, just as it was starting to rain. I quickly set up the tent and sat in it for 2 hours until there was a break in the rain. I went to bed at 9 pm, and it started to rain - hard - at 2 am on August 4. It rained, and rained, and rained until 4 pm the next day. During that time, I spent almost all my time in the tent, waiting out the rain. Oh, and by the way, it was 42 degrees.

Summary - During my time in the tent, it rained heavily, for a long time, and at cold temperatures (low 40's). This is the worst-case scenario for a single-walled tent. The condensation on the interior surfaces of the tent continually splashed off (from the impact of the rain) all over me, my sleeping bag, and the rest of my gear in the tent. While Mountain Hardware has undoubtedly tried very hard to minimize this problem, it seems to me to be a fundamental problem of single-walled tents. While probably better than most in its class, it still falls far short of what I would consider acceptable. After 24 hours, I was soaked from the condensation splash. This tent is largely responsible for cutting my trip from 4 nights to 1. We hiked out the next day because I, and all my gear, was soaked. My brother, with a double-wall tent, was damp, but not wet. His condensation splashed off on the canopy, making it damp, but didn't hit him or his gear. If you plan to camp where there are warm temperatures and no rain, this tent may be for you. It's lighter than it's double-walled colleagues, and sets up faster. However, when you need a tent the most - in the rain - this tent fares very poorly. I flew back to Phx and immediately returned it to REI. If you buy this tent and you're camping in temperatures less than 50 degrees, pray it doesn't rain for long - you will be wet."

"A friend and I both purchased brand new Airjet 2 tents this year. His is a 2005 model and mine is a 2004. The only noticeable difference is the ’04’s have Easton Aluminum Poles (made in USA) and the ’05’s have Atlas Aluminum Poles. Other subtle differences like silk screening and guy line colors were noticed as well.

There are pro’s and con’s associated with this tent. I’ll list some of them here.

Pro’s
-Lightweight single wall tent
-Sets up quickly and easily
-Storage shelf and two storage pockets
-Rip stop waterproof material
-Taped floor seems
-Optional large storage shelf and footprint
-Guy lines included
-Functional vestibule
-Unique ventilation system
-Warranty
-Mountain Hardwear Brand

Con’s
-Lack of windows
-Hot when in direct sunlight
-Condensation in right conditions
-Vestibule awkward to open and close from inside tent

I have used this tent on a 4 day backpacking trip to California’s Desolation Wilderness. I was more than pleased with this tent. It is light and sets up fast. The conditions were very windy on day 2 and 3. The guy lines insured the tent was secure and stable. It did not rain this trip however I expected to stay dry if it did.

I like the convenience of a single wall tent. Having to set up a separate rain fly, to me, is an excess chore. You will not have the ability to enjoy the stars on mild summer nights with this tent however.

The tent comes with 8 aluminum V stakes (’04 Y stakes). It takes 13 stakes to stake out the corners, vents, guy lines and vestibule. Once staked out properly, it isn’t going anywhere. I highly recommend this tent."