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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

I got my Marmot Crane Creek 2 from Amazon, and out of the box, this is what I got:

• Tent body
• Rainfly
• Poles × 2
• Stakes × 6
• Guylines × 4
• Tensioners × 4
• Pole repair splint
• Carry bag

Set Up & Pack Away

• Set-up time (1 person) 6.5 min
• Pack away 6.5 min

The entire set-up is pretty straightforward:

1. Secure the X-pole into the 4 corner grommets.
2. Secure the 12 pole clips.
3. Secure the brow pole on top of the X-pole.
4. Secure the color-coded rainfly with buckles.
5. Stake the whole tent down — 2 vestibules, 2 widths, 4 guylines, 4 corners.

• Poles 2an X-pole plus a brow pole on top
• Guylines 4 provided6 were needed
• Stakes 6 provided12 were needed

Pro Tip Only 4 guylines and 6 stakes were provided, but 6 guylines and 12 stakes were needed, so buy extras.

Spaciousness

• Peak height 43in
• Height at the left / right widths 43inthe brow pole carries the peak across the entire width

• Floor 86 × 49in
• Base area 29.3 sq ft

Pro Tip Wider 25-inch pads will not fit well — the ~49in width of the tent is the limitation.

• Vestibules 2 (34in wide, 86in long)
• Area 10.15 sq ft each, 20.3 sq ft for both
• Zippers 2 per vestibuleunbranded, but pretty smooth

Comfort & Features

• Doors 2one under each vestibule
• Door size 41 × 29in
• Zippers 2 per doorunbranded, but snag-free
• Held open by Toggles

• Pockets 2 (10 × 4.5in)
• Loops 5 loops1 plastic loop at the top, 4 felt loops

Ventilation

• Mesh ~60% of the tent body
• Fabric ~40%
• Vents 1the average good-quality 2-person tent has 2 to 4

Rain Protection

• 1 hour moderate rain No leaks
• 1 hour heavy rain No leaks
• Seam taping All rainfly and flooring seamsplus anything not covered by the rainfly

The Crane Creek comes with 4 main guylines for wind protection, and you can add 2 more at the widths of the tent.

Quality

• Flooring 68D polyester2,000mm
• Tent body / canopy 68D polyester1,500mm
• Rainfly 68D polyester

• Poles HD Velocity 7000-series aluminum
• Mesh Micro mesh
• Guylines Shockcordtensioner separated
• Stakes Shepherd-hook

Portability

• Packed size 21 × 9 × 6.5in
• Pole length 21in

• Total weight 5.6 lbs (89.6oz)
  • Tent body 31.9oz
  • Rainfly 29.4oz
  • Poles 21oz
  • Stakes (6) 3.9oz
  • Carry bag 1.7oz

Pros, Cons, Recommendation

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the Marmot Crane Creek 2?

Crazy value for money

I bought this tent because it was on sale for less than $150 during Amazon Prime Day, which is crazy value for money for a Marmot tent.

Limited lifetime warranty

And of course, it comes with Marmot’s limited lifetime warranty.

Good waterproofing

Waterproofing is also incredible for the price, complete with thorough seam taping, a full coverage rainfly, and it survived an hour of heavy rain no problem at all.

Overall a good tent with decent number of pros

• Comfortable peak height
• 2 vertical side walls
• Decently sized vestibules
• 2 vestibules, 2 doors

Don’t like the X-pole

When the X-pole isn’t broken in yet, it pops out of the grommets when setting up. The rotating swivel in the middle is also prone to breaking — more moving parts, more breaking.

Needs more vents

There’s only 1 vent, while the average good quality 2-person tent will have anywhere between 2 to 4 vents instead.

Not enough guylines and stakes

I needed 2 more guylines for the 2 widths, and I was short about 6 stakes once the guylines and widths were pegged out.

No footprint

There’s also no footprint. That’s a little bit concerning because the flooring isn’t very thick at all.

Bonus – MUST Read!

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