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View Full Version : REI Dash 2 - REI's lightest 2 man tent yet



hikernutcasey
03-13-2014, 10:38
Has anyone seen one of these in person. Apparently it's brand new. I was all set to order a Copper Spur 2 with my dividend and coupon and now another option. It's actually lighter than the copper spur at 2 lbs 7 oz!

The only drawbacks I can see from the specs are the vestibules are quite a bit smaller and it lists it as "semi-freestanding"? What does that even mean? Does it stand up on it's own or not? I would think that would be a yes or no answer.

Pros

Lighter than Copper Spur
$50 cheaper

Cons

Smaller vestibule space
Possibly not free standing
Slightly less head room

Anybody seen one?

colorado_rob
03-13-2014, 10:50
Looks awesome to me, kinda like a BA Fly Creek UL2 in terms of floor space and weight, but with two side doors and vestibules. The end door in the Fly Creek is its major flaw to a lot of folks, this tent solves that plus has two doors and vestibules.

If I didn't already own PLENTY of tents, I'd look seriously into this one. If it's like my BA fly creek, "semi-freestanding" just means it works a lot better to stake out the rear two side to keep the back stretched out, because the pole in the rear is at the middle. I don't see this is any significant issue at all. I'd also keep the two front corners staked, and of course the two vestibules need stakes to keep them out, along with the rear center fly stake.

Nice job, REI. With the upcoming 20% off coupon, $280 price makes this look really attractive.

Starchild
03-13-2014, 10:57
Semi-free standing I have used to mean it can be moved set up and usually be made freestanding by use of trekking poles, it appears that this one has those qualities, also the semi free standing MSR Carbon 1. It really has the advantages of a free standing tent and is a fair term IMHO.

Have not seen one of these yet.

Just Bill
03-13-2014, 11:16
The only drawbacks I can see from the specs are the vestibules are quite a bit smaller and it lists it as "semi-freestanding"? What does that even mean? Does it stand up on it's own or not? I would think that would be a yes or no answer.

Haven't seen it- watched the video. The answer to your question is no- it is not free standing.

You can pick up the body and move it around- the free standing part.
The foot end of the tent though is only fully useable with two stakes to spread it out due to the center rear pole. In reality though on a nice night you could set it up and not need to stake it out, your feet/pad will fill in the corner and the tent won't fall down. It would be a nice "stargazer" tent and could be set up on a rocky overlook on a clear night with no stakes- cowboy camping with no bugs is always cool.

On a bad night- as in you need the rain fly- it's completely dependent on staking/guylines to make it work. The fly is a floating design and doesn't clip back to the body except for the very front of the tent.

When the some/all of the features are not available without stakes or lines it's not freestanding. Looks like seven stakes to get it to work. I would figure adding a few ounces to the trail weight, or a decent rule of thumb- average the packaged weight and trail weight to get carried weight.

YMMV but many find some of the newer hubbed poles a little aggravating to use.

For $350 and not freestanding I think you can do better.
Onsale or with the right combo of coupons/discounts/dividends though it's not a bad looking tent at all.

Just one example- http://www.lightheartgear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=25&zenid=2357e8d9fbf1a2f5507081dca839439a
If you use poles and add a second wedge this is a much bigger tent for the same price and weight- easier to pitch as well.

HooKooDooKu
03-13-2014, 11:41
In part, it looks like it's not fully free standing because the poles are set up sort of like the Fly Creek, where there is only one pole on the ground at the foot. There is a lateral pole to help hold the foot box open, but it looks like you've got to stake out the corners at the feet.

Sort of similar with the fly... it does look like it clips at the head, but then you have to have guy lines at the corners toward the feet.

So it looks like you need 6 stakes just to hold the tent "open"...
1 at the head (hold the rain fly off the wall of the tent.
3 at the foot (1 to hold the rain fly off the wall of the tent, two more to hold the fly down at the corners)
2 at the vestibules (1 for each vestibule).

Two more stakes to anchor the front feet if it's windy.

Venchka
03-13-2014, 12:10
Freestanding in calm weather. Freeflying if their is any breeze at all. All tents need to be anchored to terra firma.
Fiddly pole setup, like most tents I see these days. Not at all confident with the clips attached to nothing but mesh. The floor does come up high enough to be useful. Correction. The fly doesn't come close enough to the ground to stop wind driven water from following the lower walls right over the mesh.
Even with the 20% coupon on the way, there are more substantial and/or lighter tents around for the money.
Satisfied with my current inventory. Still looking.

Wayne

colorado_rob
03-13-2014, 13:12
What's really nice about REI products is the generous, no quibble return policy. If you're thinking about this tent and live close to an REI, why not give it a try, at least set it up and see if there are any quirks on the poles or anything else (like Wayne's concerns)? For $280 (assuming you use your 20% off coupon) for a 2.5 pound full 2-person tent seems like good value and worth a try. REI still has the 1-year guarantee (it used to be forever), so if there are weak spots on clips or weird clunky poles, simply return it.

REI = Return Every Item, or REI = Rental Equipment Incorporated !

(for the record, I do not abuse REI's policy, and I do think that their stuff is reasonable quality and value, for the most part, with exceptions, which is when I do use their return policy).

Venchka
03-13-2014, 13:22
Good points, Rob.
Give the tent a good test drive. Even if you just set it up in the yard. Turn the sprinkler on it. Etc.
There is no free lunch. Low weight comes at a price: Reduction in materials.

Wayne

Drybones
03-13-2014, 13:45
I'd compare the pole diameter/thickness on the two tents and gowith the stronger. After buying an REI 1/4 Dome that had broken poles which also put a large hole in the rain fly, repairing the damage, then breaking another pole setting it up, I'd be affraid to depend on a UL tent for an extended hike...lighter weight using traditional tent construction usually means more fragile, IMO, that's another reason I like tents that use my hiking poles, those suckers have saved me untold times from a fall which makes me feel pretty good about them supporting a tent. I still have the REI, I use as a loaner and it's okay for short hikes and float trips but I wouldn't trust it Springer to ME.

RedBeerd
03-13-2014, 14:06
I don't like how the head and foot area isn't covered by rain fly. That's the reason I returned a Nemo tent. On cold nights it would freeze up and seemed to get my head and feet wet..if I'm going to have a double wall tent I want the whole rain fly :)

colorado_rob
03-13-2014, 14:29
I don't like how the head and foot area isn't covered by rain fly. That's the reason I returned a Nemo tent. On cold nights it would freeze up and seemed to get my head and feet wet..if I'm going to have a double wall tent I want the whole rain fly :) Judging from the pics, I just plain don't see any concern here. The foot area looks completely covered to me, and at the head area, the fly is well away from the tent body and looks like plenty of coverage to me.

Again, my guess is just looking at the pics, hard to tell without setting it up.

HooKooDooKu
03-13-2014, 15:58
Judging from the pics, I just plain don't see any concern here. The foot area looks completely covered to me, and at the head area, the fly is well away from the tent body and looks like plenty of coverage to me.

Here's an example of what I think RedBeerd is talking about.
This is a screen grab of the REI zoom-in looking at the front far corner of the rain fly. You can see the mesh netting of the inner wall of the tent (and this is with a downward camera angle). So if the wind is blowing at about a 45º angle to the orientation of the tent, a driven rain or a blowing mist is coming inside the tent unimpeded.
26332

Starchild
03-13-2014, 16:10
Use the REI policy on returns to try it out, some may argue that this is abuse and causes a spacetime paradox but this is their very own product so no justification for that here.