Pop up tents · Vs review
Quechua 2 Seconds Regular V.S. Fresh & Black (I Bought & Tested Both!)
Two Quechua pop-up tents, side by side in my yard, across 8 head-to-head tests.
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Discontinued: Decathlon has stopped selling the regular green 2 Seconds. Everything I measured on it below still stands, and I've left the whole comparison up as a record. But the only one of these two you can buy today is the Fresh & Black.
Quechua 2 SecondsDecathlon no longer sells it
- Setup2.5 min
- Peak39 in
- Base area29.6 sq ft
- Weight5.4 lbs
Quechua 2 Seconds Fresh & BlackThe one Decathlon sells now
- Setup3 min
- Peak38 in
- Base area28.7 sq ft
- Weight7.2 lbs
The short answer
Buy the Fresh & Black. It is the only one of the two Decathlon still sells, and it was the better tent to sleep in anyway: blackout fabric, two big side vents, and no condensation overnight.
The Fresh & Black 2 Seconds costs about 30% more, weighs 7.2 lbs against 5.4, and takes 30 seconds longer to put up and take down. What that buys is blackout fabric rated SPF 50+, 5 vents you can use in the rain instead of 3, pockets at 21 by 8 inches instead of 7 by 6, and a night with no condensation on the roof. The regular 2 Seconds is lighter, packs smaller and goes up faster, and both tents are equally storm-proof. But you can't buy the regular any more, so this one is settled for you.
Side by side
Where they actually differ
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Full set up (staked and guyed) | 2.5 min | 3 min2 side vents to stake out |
| Pack away | 2.5 min | 3 min |
| Base length | 82 inches | 81 inches |
| Base width | 52 inches | 51 inches |
| Floor area | 29.6 sq ft | 28.7 sq ft |
| Peak height (front) | 39 inches | 38 inches |
| Lowest height (back) | 30 inches | 29 inches |
| Blackout fabric | No | Yes, SPF 50+ |
| Vents usable in the rain | 3 | 5 |
| Large side vents | None | 2, and I can open them from inside |
| Window (inner mesh) | 31 × 8 in | 33 × 11 in |
| Door size | 36 × 41 in | 38 × 39 in |
| Eave over the door | No | Yes |
| Pockets | 2, at 7 × 6 in | 4, at 21 × 8 inTwo pockets, each split in two |
| Condensation overnight | A few drops on the roof | None |
| Guylines in the box | 7 | 5Takes 7 |
| Weight (tent + carry bag) | 5.4 lbs | 7.2 lbs |
| Packed size | 26 × 26 × 6 in | 27 × 27 × 7 in |
| Packed volume | 4,056 cu in | 5,103 cu in |
| What I paid | About 30% less | About 30% more |
✓ = the better result, from my own testing. Shared: both pop open in 30 seconds · both take 9 stakes and up to 7 guylines, none pre-attached · both have 1 door, 1 window, 1 lantern loop and no vestibule · both have the same 2,000 mm full-coverage rainfly and a 5-inch polyethylene bathtub floor · both stayed dry through an hour of rain and were rock solid fully guyed · both come with Decathlon's 2-year warranty. The Fresh & Black lists at $149 today; the regular is no longer sold.
Which applies to you?
Get this one if…
Hunt down a regular 2 Seconds if…
- You already own one, or you find a good second-hand one. It is a genuinely good tent and it scored 8.1.
- Weight matters most: 5.4 lbs against 7.2.
- Packed size matters most: 4,056 cu in against 5,103.
- Just know what you give up: no blackout fabric, no side vents, small pockets, and it was the stuffier of the two to sleep in.
Get the Fresh & Black if…
- You want to buy one today. It is the only one of the two Decathlon still sells.
- You want a dark, cool tent in the morning: blackout fabric with SPF 50+.
- You want air moving in the rain: 2 large side vents you can open from inside, and no condensation on my roof overnight.
- You want somewhere to put things: 21 by 8 inch pockets against 7 by 6.
Set Up & Pack Away
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Pop open | 30 sec | 30 sec |
| Full set up | 2.5 min | 3 min2 side vents to stake out |
| Pack away | 2.5 min | 3 min2 side vents to close up |
| Stake loops | 4 | 4 |
| Guy-out points | 7 | 7 |
Both pop open in 30 seconds and both stake down through 4 base loops with up to 7 guylines, which don't come pre-attached. Budget a few extra minutes the very first time you pitch either one.
The Fresh & Black costs 30 seconds at each end, and it's entirely the 2 side vents: one per length, each staked out and adjusted going up, each hooked back onto the poles coming down. 2.5 minutes against 3, both ways. Everything else (the red and yellow buckles, the fold) is identical.
Base Area & Height
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Base length | 82 inches | 81 inches |
| Base width | 52 inches | 51 inches |
| Floor area | 29.6 sq ft | 28.7 sq ft |
| Peak height (front) | 39 inches | 38 inches |
| Lowest height (back) | 30 inches | 29 inches |
| What fits | 2 regular pads, or a double pad | 2 regular pads, or a double pad |
The regular is about an inch bigger everywhere: an inch of length, an inch of width, an inch at the peak and an inch at the low end. I don't think that's a design decision; I think they're meant to be the same tent and mine just came out that way.
Either way you get the same thing inside: 2 regular pads or one double, and no more. A full-size mattress bulges out the sides of both. Decathlon recommends a maximum pad loft of 2.4 inches, which sounds stingy until you try an 8-inch mattress in there and feel the ceiling arrive.
Blackout & Sun Protection
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Blackout fabric | No | Yes |
| Sun protection | None stated | SPF 50+ |
This is the whole reason the Fresh & Black exists. The inner fabric blocks a serious amount of daylight and carries SPF 50+, so the tent stays dark and noticeably cooler in the morning. It doesn't hit the 99% Decathlon markets it at, but it is far darker than any other pop-up tent I own.
One thing to know if you live somewhere humid like I do: the blackout coating doesn't last forever. Mine faded, then went pinholed, then started flaking off on my hands in whole strips near the door after several years. The tent still works, it just stops being a blackout tent.
Ventilation & Condensation
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Vents usable in the rain | 3 | 5 |
| Large side vents | None | 2, operable from inside |
| Rear vent | 1, has to be guyed out to stay open | 1, plus a rear rainfly lift |
| Window (inner mesh) | 31 × 8 in | 33 × 11 in |
| Condensation overnight | A few drops on the roof | None |
Both tents have one small rear vent and 2 gaps in the rainfly, one per length, that open into the tent body. On the regular the rear vent has to be guyed out to stay open at all. No water has ever come through any of them, in either tent.
The Fresh & Black adds the 2 big side vents, and they change the tent. Leave them wide open in good weather, or hook them half open on their guylines when it's raining. The mesh behind them opens and closes too, and I can work both vents without leaving the tent. Its window is bigger as well, 33 by 11 inches against 31 by 8.
That shows up overnight. I slept in both on my own. The Fresh & Black, with both side vents open, was much less stuffy and had no condensation in the morning. The regular was stuffier, and I found a few drops on the roof.
Storage
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 2 | 42 pockets, each split in two |
| Pocket size | 7 × 6 in | 21 × 8 in |
| Lantern loop | 1 | 1 |
Two pockets each, but they're not comparable. The regular's are 7 by 6 inches: phone, headtorch, done. The Fresh & Black's are 21 by 8 and each one is split down the middle, so you get four usable compartments. Both have a lantern loop at the back.
Rain & Wind
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| An hour of rain | Dry | Dry |
| Rainfly | 2,000 mm, full coverage | 2,000 mm, full coverage |
| Bathtub floor | 5 inches | 5 inches |
| Eave over the door | No | Yes |
| Fully guyed in wind | Rock solid | Rock solid |
Both of these are storm tents, and it's the reason I keep recommending Quechua pop-ups. Full-coverage 2,000 mm rainflies, 5-inch polyethylene bathtub floors, 7 guy-out points each, and neither rainfly has ever let water through in any test I've run: light, moderate or heavy.
Both leaked a little at the floor seams, and that is about age, not design. The factory seam tape on my tents has degraded, and the Fresh & Black let in more simply because it's the older of the two. Re-seal the floor seams on an old one and it's fine. The only real difference here is the small eave the Fresh & Black has above its door, which the regular doesn't.
Weight & Packed Size
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| Weight (tent + carry bag) | 5.4 lbs | 7.2 lbs |
| Packed size | 26 × 26 × 6 in | 27 × 27 × 7 in |
| Packed volume | 4,056 cu in | 5,103 cu in |
| Stakes and guylines | About 0.7 lbs | About 0.7 lbs |
Packed they look almost the same, and the Fresh & Black is only fractionally bigger. Weight is the real gap: 5.4 lbs against 7.2 for the tent and carry bag, before you add the 0.7 lbs of stakes and guylines that both carry.
Price & What's In The Box
| Measured | Regular | Fresh & Black |
|---|---|---|
| What I paid | About 30% less | About 30% more |
| Stakes | 9 | 9 |
| Guylines in the box | 7 | 5Takes 7 |
| Warranty | 2 years | 2 years |
I paid about 30% more for the Fresh & Black, which is what the blackout fabric and the extra ventilation cost. Both come as the tent with rainfly and poles pre-attached, in a round carry bag, with 9 stakes. The regular includes all 7 guylines; the Fresh & Black only includes 5, even though it has 7 points to attach them to.
My recommendation
When I made this comparison you could buy either one, and my answer was: on a budget, the regular; a bit more to spend, the Fresh & Black. That branch is closed now. Decathlon dropped the regular green 2 Seconds, so the Fresh & Black is the one to buy.
It is the tent I'd have pointed most people at anyway. The blackout fabric keeps it dark and cooler in the morning, the 2 side vents move real air and can be worked from inside, its pockets are 21 by 8 inches against 7 by 6, and it was the only one of the two with no condensation after a night on my own in it. The cost is 1.8 lbs, 30 seconds at each end of the pitch, and about 30% more money.
If you already own a regular 2 Seconds, or you find a good second-hand one, keep it. It scored 8.1, it is lighter and smaller packed, and its rain and wind protection is identical. You're giving up the blackout and the ventilation, not the build.
Two more things worth knowing. Decathlon now also sells an updated Easy version of the Fresh & Black, and there is a 3-person Fresh & Black that I tested against this one too. And if you camp somewhere humid, expect the blackout coating to flake after several years. The tent keeps working, it just stops being a blackout tent.
Bonus: I bought and tested 7 pop-up tents against each other (set-up timings, rain tests, base areas, the lot), and both of these are in there. They also turn up in my best waterproof tents for heavy rain.
Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the tents I bought and tested in my own yard, not from a spec sheet.
