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See the 8 tests

1. In the Box
2. Set Up & Pack Away
3. Spaciousness
4. Comfort & Features
5. Ventilation
6. Rain Protection
7. Quality
8. Portability
9. Pros, Cons, Recommendation
10. Bonus – MUST Read!

In the Box

Out of the box, this is what I got:

• Tent body
• Rainfly, with 4 pre-attached guylines
• Poles × 2
• Stakes × 10
• Pole repair splint
• Carry bag
• Instructions

Set Up & Pack Away

• Set-up time (1 person) 5.25 minfaster than most other 2-person tents
• Pack away 6 min

The entire set-up is pretty straightforward:

1. Lay the tent body on the ground.
2. Stake down the 4 corners.
3. Secure the 2 pre-bent poles into the Quick Corner sleeves.
4. Secure the 9 pole clips.
5. Secure the color-coded rainfly buckles.
6. Stake the vestibule and the back vent.
7. Guy out the 4 guylines.

Spaciousness

• Peak height 41.5inonly at the center — the walls slope down from there

• Length 87.5in
• Head width 52.5in
• Foot width 44in
• Base area 29.3 sq ft

Pro Tip 25-inch pads or wider will not fit — the foot of the tent is too narrow (only 44in).

• Vestibules 1 (25.5in wide, 87.5in long)
• Area 7.7 sq ft
• Zippers 2unbranded, but pretty smooth

Comfort & Features

• Doors 1most 2-person tents come with 2
• Door size 41 × 32in
• Zippers 2unbranded, but very snag-free
• Held open by A toggle by the side

• Pockets 32 rectangles at the bottom (9 × 7in), 1 trapezoid at the top (13 × 7in)
• Loops 5 loops

Ventilation

• Mesh ~80% of the tent body
• Fabric ~20%strictly a 3-season tent, for summer
• Vents Noneno extra vents in the rainfly or the tent body, which really limits ventilation on rainy days

Rain Protection

• 1 hour light rain No leaks
• 1 hour moderate rain No leaks
• 1 hour heavy rain No leaksthough the rainfly was getting slightly damp

• Seam taping All rainfly and flooring seamsplus the gaps in the tent body the rainfly doesn’t cover
• Tub floor 10.5in at the widths, 7in at the lengths

The rainfly is full coverage and extends almost all the way to the ground. What I didn’t like is that it can’t be pulled away at the widths of the tent, only at the lengths where the vestibule is.

• Guylines 4with guyline pockets to stuff them into for pack away

Quality

• Flooring 68D polyester
• Rainfly 68D polyester
• Poles Aluminum
• Mesh Micro mesh

• Guylines Shockcordwith tensioner
• Stakes Shepherd-hook

Portability

• Packed size 18 × 8.5 × 7in
• Pole length 14in

• Total weight 4.87 lbs (77.9oz)
  • Tent body 26.9oz
  • Rainfly 23.9oz
  • Poles 19.9oz
  • Stakes (10) 5.8oz
  • Carry bag 1.4oz

Pros, Cons, Recommendation

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the Kelty Late Start 2?

Very inexpensive

I liked how affordable this tent is, especially at the price point I paid during Amazon’s Black Friday sale.

Lifetime warranty

And you even get a limited lifetime warranty.

Easy setup process

The entire tent took only about 5 minutes to set up; it’s faster than most other 2-person tents.

Insane amount of mesh

This is a perfect budget tent for summer, with loads of almost transparent mesh on all four sides of the tent.

Overall good quality

There are no loose threads, the seam taping is perfect, you get all sorts of little details like guyline pockets.

Waterproofing is not premium

While the waterproofing is better than budget tents like Coleman, it’s not as good as more premium brands like REI and The North Face. Here’s the breakdown:

Brand	Rain Test
REI / The North Face	>12 hours
Kelty	~2 hours
Coleman	<1 hour

My recommendation is that without extra waterproofing, the Kelty Late Start 2 is great for the occasional heavy rain, but not persistent downpours.

Needs more vents

There are no extra vents in the rainfly or the tent body, which really limits ventilation on rainy days.

1 door & 1 vestibule only

There’s also only 1 door and 1 vestibule. Most two-person tents come with 2 doors and 2 vestibules.

Not a very roomy tent

This tent has only a very simple 2-pole structure (with no extra ridge pole), so you don’t get as much headroom inside.

Bonus – MUST Read!

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