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REI Co-Op Trailmade 2 Tent Review (Bought & Tested!)

Hours Updated

This is my review of my REI Trailmade 2-Person Tent.

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Quick Summary

While the REI Co-Op Trailmade 2 is not the absolute best budget tent I’ve tested, but it is a decent budget pick, especially during one of REI’s sales.

You can use it in the off season (spring/fall) as well (I love that it comes with a footprint too, making it even better value for money.)

The author beside her REI Trailmade 2.
I tested REI’s cheapest tent – Is it worth it? Let’s find out.

REI Trailmade 2 V.S. Other $200 Tents
9.5
Ease of Use
6.3
Spaciousness
5.5
Comfort & Features
6.5
Ventilation
9
Rain Protection
8
Quality
9
Portability
Overall Score 7.6 / 10

RELATED: (1) Best Tents Under $200, (2) Best REI Tents

Pros: Affordable, comes with footprint, great waterproofing
Cons: Short warranty, no guy-out point at widths, materials aren’t the best

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Check out the REI Trailmade 2:

Check price on REI Co-Op

Table Of Contents
  1. Quick Summary
  2. 1. In the Box
  3. 2. Set Up & Pack Away
  4. 3. Footprint
  5. 4. Peak Height
  6. 5. Base Area
  7. 6. Pad Sizing
  8. 7. Vestibules
  9. 8. Doors
  10. 9. Storage
  11. 10. Seam Taping
  12. 11. Tub Floor
  13. 12. Vents
  14. 13. Rainfly
  15. 14. Rain Test
  16. 15. Mesh
  17. 16. Materials
  18. 17. Portability
  19. 18. Pros, Cons, Recommendations
  20. 19. Bonus – MUST Read!

1. In the Box

Out of the box, this is what I got:

  • Carry bag
  • Rainfly
  • Tent body
  • Footprint (pre-attached to tent body)
  • Guylines x 4
  • Poles x 2
  • Pole repair splint
  • Stakes x 10
What you get in the box when you purchase the REI Trailmade 2.
From left to right, top to bottom: Carry bag, rainfly, tent body + footprint, poles, guylines, repair splint, stakes.

2. Set Up & Pack Away

Here’s how to set up the REI Trailmade 2:

  1. Lay tent body (and pre-attached footprint) on the ground.
  2. Secure the 2 long poles into the 4 corner grommets.
  3. Secure the 13 pole clips.
  4. Secure rainfly with 4 pole wraps and 4 corner easy-clip buckles.
  5. Stake down entire tent (4 corner stakes, 2 vestibule stakes, 4 guylines).

For more details, I have a separate video with loads of instructions and tips to help you set up your tent more easily.

Altogether, the entire setup takes only about 5.5 minutes. The pack away takes slightly longer, coming in at 6 minutes.

3. Footprint

The REI Trailmade 2 comes with a footprint, which is pre-attached to the tent body via toggles at the four corners.

The author is setting up the tent body with the pre-attached footprint.
The footprint is pre-attached to the tent body.
The pre-attached footprint doesn’t take any extra time to set up at all.
The lack of grommets on the footprint doesn’t allow for footprint-only setup.

4. Peak Height

The peak height inside the REI Trailmade 2 is 40 inches.

The author is sitting under the peak height of the REI Trailmade 2.
I’m about 5’3/160cm, and I’m sitting on a 4-inch pad under the peak height. I found that there was still plenty of headroom left for me.
What the REI Trailmade 2 looks like from the outside.
The peak height is only at the center and the walls slope downwards for the rest of the tent

5. Base Area

Here are all the base area dimensions you might need:

  • Length: 86 inches
  • Width: 49 inches
  • Base area: 29.3 square feet

6. Pad Sizing

Now, here’s my Exped MegaMat Duo – it fit quite nicely, with quite a bit of leftover space (dimensions of excess space given below).

What 2 regular pads looks like in the REI Trailmade 2.
My Exped MegaMat Duo is the size of 2 regular pads put together (74 x 43in), and here’s what it looks like right in the middle of the tent.
  • Regular 20-inch pads fit best.
  • Wide 25-inch pads touches sides.
  • Extra wide 30-inch pads won’t fit.

7. Vestibules

The REI Trailmade 2 comes with 2 vestibules, both are exactly the same size, and here are all the dimensions:

  • Width: 26.5 inches
  • Length: 86 inches
  • Area of 1 vestibule: 7.92 sq. ft.
  • Area of 2 vestibules: 15.8 sq. ft.
The size of the vestibule in the REI Trailmade 2.
This is the space you get in each vestibule.
The vestibule webbing of the REI Trailmade 2.
Only one side of the vestibule has this webbing, so that allows only the right side to be opened and closed.
The closed vestibule configuration of the REI Trailmade 2.
The vestibule closed. You can also see the only webbing loop near the bottom of this picture.
The opened vestibule configuration of the REI Trailmade 2.
To keep the vestibule open, you can use the 1 toggle by the right to bunch up all the fabric.
The author is tying up the vestibule of the REI Trailmade 2.
You can’t tie up this side of the vestibule, because there is no toggle there.
The vestibule zipper of the REI Trailmade 2.
Each vestibule has 2 YKK zippers, and they are not snaggy at all.

8. Doors

Under each vestibule, you’ll find one door each, so 2 doors altogether. And to keep the doors open, there’s a toggle by the side to hold the fabric out of the way.

The doors of the REI Trailmade 2.
The doors are pretty big, measuring about 37 by 34 inches each.
The door zippers of the REI Trailmade 2.
Each door has 2 YKK zippers, also completely snag-free.

9. Storage

Here are the storage options in the REI Trailmade 2:

  • Pockets: 2 (rectangle 14 x 5 inches)
  • Loops: 1
One of the pocket of the REI Trailmade 2.
One of the 2 pockets, and it is not big at all.

10. Seam Taping

Here are all the seams that are taped:

  • All rainfly seams
  • All flooring seams (corners, lengths, etc.), up to 6in
  • Gap in tent body that isn’t covered by rainfly
The corner seam taping in the REI Trailmade 2.
The corner seam is taped nicely as you can see in this picture.

11. Tub Floor

The REI Trailmade 2 also has a tub floor that runs all around the entire tent with minimal seams on it.

The tub floor of the REI Trailmade 2.
The tub floor comes up to about 6 inches throughout the tent.

12. Vents

The REI Trailmade has 2 vents – both at the top – and each can be held open with a Velcro kickstand.

The top vent of the REI Trailmade 2.
One of the vents of the Trailmade. This vent’s angle faces sideways instead of downwards, which isn’t great and tends to leak in the heavy rain.

13. Rainfly

Moving into rainfly protection, it’s a full-coverage rainfly, extending almost all the way to the ground for max rain protection.

What I didn’t like about this rainfly though, is that it cannot be pulled away at the widths of the tent, only the lengths (where the vestibules are).

The author is pulling away the tent width of the REI Trailmade 2.
No guy-out point at the width to pull the rainfly away.

14. Rain Test

I put the REI Trailmade 2 through a heavy rain test, and here were my results:

  • Rain condition: 12 hours moderate rain + 12 hours heavy rain
  • Results: Vents leaked, minimal leakage in corner, no other major leaks

15. Mesh

This is what the REI Trailmade 2 looks like without its rainfly:

The REI Trailmade 2 without the rainfly.
I estimate this to be about 50% mesh, and 50% fabric.
The mesh of the REI Trailmade 2.
You can still stargaze or look at views when you lie down though.

16. Materials

Here are all the materials of REI Trailmade 2:

  • Flooring: 75D polyester taffeta (polyurethane-coated)
  • Rainfly: 75D polyester (polyurethane-coated)
  • Tent body/canopy: 75D polyester taffeta
  • Poles: Aluminum
  • Mesh: 40D nylon no-see-um mesh
  • Guylines: Shockcord (with tensioner)
  • Stakes: Shepherd-hook stakes

17. Portability

Here are the packed dimensions of the 2-person REI Trailmade:

  • Packed size: 21 x 9 x 6.5in
  • Pole length: 18 inches

As for weight, here’s a breakdown of all the components:

  • Poles: 16.2oz
  • Stakes: 4.5oz (for 10)
  • Rainfly: 24.1oz
  • Tent body: 25.5oz
  • Footprint: 6.6oz
  • Carry bag: 3.7oz
  • Total: 80.6oz/5.04lbs/2.28kg
  • Minimum trail weight: 65.8oz/4.11lbs/1.86kg

18. Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the REI Trailmade 2?

Pro #1 – Footprint

It comes with a pre-attached footprint (most tents don’t), making it good value for money.

Pro #2 – Easy to setup

Because the footprint is pre-attached, there’s no extra setup timing at all.

Pro #3 – Affordable price tag

So, looking at the price tag, you get a really good tent brand for a really low price, on-par with some other budget tents that I’ve tested before:

Budget 2-Person TentPrice I Paid
REI Trailmade 2$140
Teton Mountain Ultra 2$120
Kelty Late Start 2$120
Alps Lynx 2$110

Pro #4 – Good waterproofing

The REI Trailmade 2 also did surprisingly well in the rain for such an inexpensive tent. The seam taping was perfect and the waterproof coating kept 24 hours of rain out.

Pro #5 – Pretty lightweight

It’s also more lightweight compared to other budget tents (although it’s not ultralight).

Con #1 – Short warranty

However, the warranty is only 1 year.

Con #2 – Quality not the best

As time went on, I started noticing more mesh runs on the doors.

Also, the rainfly isn’t a fantastic fit and I found it difficult to get to fully taut without any creases.

But luckily, even though I read lots of reviews talking about their pole tips falling out, I didn’t have any of those issues.

Con #3 – No footprint-only setup

There’s no footprint-only setup, because there are no grommets on the REI Trailmade’s footprint.

Overall, while the REI Trailmade 2 beats out some of the other budget tents I’ve tested in the past, I wouldn’t say it’s the best one I’ve tested, though it’s certainly good value for money because I managed to get mine on sale.

19. Bonus – MUST Read!

I know this because I tested the Trailmade against a bunch of other tents under $200, so do check that article out.

Or, check out the REI Trailmade 2:

Check price on REI Co-Op

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