MSR Freelite Backpacking Tent Review: Ultralight and Comfortable

My backpacking life is an limitless wrestle between my need to hold as little weight as potential and my need for consolation.

Lately, consolation has come to imply good meals. That is: actual meals, not the standard dehydrated, boil-in-pouch, backpacking meals. If I can carve just a little weight out of my fundamental equipment—tent, sleeping bag, pad, garments, and such—I can carry bacon and eggs with out overloading myself. This is why the MSR Freelite piqued my curiosity.

At simply 2 kilos for the two-person model, the brand new Freelite shaves 9 ounces off the earlier mannequin, however stays surprisingly spacious. It’s well-ventilated, options loads of storage pockets and gear lofts, and in contrast to many tents at this weight, provides two doorways with two vestibules.

Ultralight But Not Too Tight

There are three Freelite fashions obtainable: a one-person, the two-person I examined, and a three-person. All are manufactured from 15D ripstop nylon with MSR’s 1200-mm Durashield polyurethane and sturdy water repellency (DWR). The 15-denier (15D) polyurethane and silicone-coated nylon isn’t fairly as heavy because the 20D utilized in MSR’s common Hubba Hubba tent (see our information to the Best Tents for extra comparisons). As with any light-weight tent, you’ll wish to deal with it with care. I’d strongly counsel choosing up a footprint to increase the lifetime of the tent. The mesh higher portion of the tent is 10D micro mesh, which is fairly typical for a well-made light-weight tent.

MSR payments the 2-person mannequin I examined as a “semi-freestanding tent for backpacking pairs.” I feel what MSR means by that’s that this tent is nice for 2 individuals who don’t thoughts being, nicely, shut.

At 50 inches vast, the Freelite provides room to your customary 25-inch vast inflatable pad. I examined it utilizing a pad from Sea to Summit, and the Tensor pad from Nemo.

One of my favourite features of the Freelight is that there’s no taper. The Freelite is actually rectangular: the width on the ft is similar on the width on the head. The tent is 82 inches lengthy, and the internal partitions are steep, making it good selection for taller of us. I’m 5’ 11”, so it’s just a little powerful to actually take a look at, however I’d assume it will be snug for folks as much as 6’ 3”.

While it’s simply vast sufficient to accommodate two, there isn’t a lot room left over. For {couples}, or if, like me, you’re backpacking with youngsters, that is the proper quantity of sleeping house. I shared it with my 10-year-old and discovered it to be lots roomy. If you don’t wish to be proper subsequent to your mountain climbing associate, you may wish to have a look at the three-person mannequin ($480), which provides 12 ounces however is over a foot wider.