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See the 13 tests

1. In the Box
2. Set Up & Take Down
3. Peak Height
4. Livable Space
5. Base Area
6. Vestibules
7. Doors
8. Storage
9. Footprint
10. Ventilation
11. Rain Protection
12. Quality
13. Portability
14. Pros, Cons, Recommendation
15. Bonus: Must Read!

In the Box

• Pole 1a single pole, in its own bag
• Stakes 12plus 4 guylines and a stake pusher, in another bag
• Footprint Includedin a smaller storage bag, free, and good quality
• Gear loft Included

Plus the carry bag, the tent body and the rainfly. Getting a footprint thrown in at this price is the single best thing about buying this tent.

Set Up & Take Down

Footprint down, body over it, the single pole into the grommets of both, then 12 pole clips, the short top pole onto its two grommets, and the rainfly over everything with tie-downs and buckles.

• Set-up (with footprint) 8-8.5 min
• Set-up (without footprint) 7.5 min
• Pack-away 6.5 minno issues, and the carry bag is big enough
• Pole clips 12
• Guylines provided 4you need 2 more to guy the widths out

There’s also an ultralight configuration: footprint, pole and rainfly only, with no tent body at all. That takes about 5 minutes.

Peak Height

• Peak height 41inOK, but not the tallest I’ve measured
• Max pad for a taller camper 4inif you want headroom left over
• What I use 6in mattressabout 2in of headroom left for me at 5’3

Livable Space

Two of the side walls are almost vertical, so the peak height carries across the whole width rather than only at the center. That’s the short pole at the top holding the body up on its two grommets.

Base Area

• Inner length 88infits 6ft and a bit more, or sleep diagonally on your own
• Inner width 54inI’d have liked more, because a Queen bed won’t fit
• Inner area 33.0 sq ft
• Sleeping pads 2 regularwith plenty left over at both the width and length

Vestibules

• Vestibules 2identical, 17.1 sq ft between them
• Vestibule width 28in eachflip flops and a tripod, with room over
• Vestibule toggles 2un-stake it and tie the fabric back

Doors

• Doors 2behind the two vestibules
• Door size 44 x 30in
• Door material All meshwhich is excellent for ventilation
• Door toggles 1 per doorat the side, to hold the fabric back

Storage

• Pockets 4one per corner, triangular, 9 x 6in each
• Lantern loop 1at the top, with 4 more loops around it

• Gear loft 16 x 16indiamond shaped, with a toggle at each corner
• Power port None

Footprint

The footprint deserves its own mention. It fits perfectly under the tent, keeps the base clean so there’s barely any cleaning afterwards, and it doubles as the floor of that ultralight configuration, which saves close to 2 lbs. That kind of versatility, thrown in free, is genuinely good value.

Ventilation

• Rainfly vents 2one at each side
• Vent access Outside only
• Leaked in the rain test Nothey face almost straight down, which is why

• Fly pull-away at the lengths 28inthanks to the vestibules
• Fly pull-away at the widths 11.5inusing guylines of my own
• Mesh coverage More than 80%by my own estimate

Ventilation is where this tent is at its best. It’s genuinely well set up for hot summer days.

Rain Protection

• Heavy rain 1 hr
• Light rain after that 3 hrs
• Result Leakedsmall droplets across both widths, and dirt with them

The cause is the bathtub floor. It’s too low, so rain hitting the ground splashes straight back up and over it.

• Tub floor at the length 6in
• Tub floor at the width 5in
• What actually works Up to 10inthe height on my other budget tents, which don’t back-splash

Quality

• Footprint 63D polyester5,000mm coating
• Rainfly 63D polyester5,000mm coating
• Floor 63D polyesterno PU coating
• Body 63D polyesterno PU coating
• Poles and V-stakes 7000 series aluminum

Zippers aren’t branded but they don’t snag. The mesh is micro mesh, though not as smooth and silky as I expected.

The materials aren’t the problem; the quality control is. Three things were wrong with mine out of the box:

1. A footprint on my rainfly. An actual footprint, someone’s shoe print. I honestly can’t tell whether this tent was even brand new.
2. The tensioner flew off the footprint carry bag the first time I pulled the footprint out.
3. I couldn’t get the rainfly properly taut, I think because the stake loops aren’t elastic enough, so the whole tent looked janky.

Portability

• Packed size 22 x 7.5 x 7in
• Full weight 6.0 lbsbody, footprint, stakes and guylines
• Ultralight configuration 4.3 lbsno tent body
• Carry bag Small hand strapthe only way to carry it

I wouldn’t call 6.0 lbs lightweight. It isn’t even a pound under a car camping tent like the Coleman Sundome 2, which weighs 6.4 lbs. Here’s where the ‘ultralight’ 4.3 lbs comes from:

Component	Weight
Rainfly (with all guylines)	2.1 lbs
Pole (with bag)	1.2 lbs
Footprint (alone, no bag)	10.05 oz / 0.63 lbs
12 stakes (with bag, no pusher)	5.6 oz / 0.35 lbs

For scale on those ‘ultralight aluminum stakes’: MSR Groundhogs weigh under 3 oz for six. These are roughly double.

Pros, Cons, Recommendation

So what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the Hyke and Byke Zion 2?

Vertical side walls

Increased livability compared to regular dome tents.

Huge base area

33.0 square feet of inner tent area, 2 vestibule areas totaling 17.1 square feet, total base area of 50.1 square feet.

Better than average storage options

4 pockets, 1 loop, 1 gear loft.

Inexpensive

Lifetime warranty, and also comes with provided footprint.

Not good in heavy rain

Tub floors are way too low, leaking in multiple places.

More quality control issues than I expected

3 issues, to be exact. All three are in the Quality section above.

Bonus: Must Read!

Every figure above is from my own testing. Measured by hand, bought with my own money.