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See the 8 tests

1. In the Box
2. Set Up & Take Down
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

Here’s everything that came in the bag with my REI Trailmade 2.

• Tent body, footprint already attached
• Rainfly
• Poles × 2
• Guylines × 4
• Stakes × 10
• Pole repair splint
• Carry bag

Set Up & Take Down

• Set-up time (1 person) 5.5 min
• Take-down + pack-up 6 min

The quickest pitch of any REI 2-person tent I’ve tested, in five steps:

1. Lay the tent body (footprint attached) down.
2. Slot the 2 long poles into the 4 corner grommets.
3. Clip on all 13 pole clips.
4. Secure the rainfly with 4 pole wraps and 4 corner buckles.
5. Stake it down — 4 corners, 2 vestibules, 4 guylines.

• Poles 2 aluminum
• Pole clips 13 pole clips
• Stakes / guylines 10 / 4enough to peg the whole tent out

• Footprint Pre-attachedadds no set-up time at all
• Footprint-only pitch Nothere are no grommets on it

Spaciousness

• Peak height 40inat the center only — the walls slope away

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

• Regular 20in pads fit best.
• Wide 25in pads touch the sides.
• Extra-wide 30in pads won’t fit.

• Vestibules 2 (26.5in wide, 7.92 sq ft each)
• Vestibule area 15.8 sq ftboth together

Both vestibules are the same size, but only one side of each has webbing, so only the right panel opens and closes.

Comfort & Features

• Doors 2one under each vestibule
• Door size 37 × 34in

• Zippers 2 YKK per door, 2 per vestibulecompletely snag-free

• Pockets 2 (14 × 5in)
• Loops 1
• Gear loft None

Storage is where this tent is weakest — 2 small pockets and a single loop is the lot.

Ventilation

• Vents 2both at the top, propped open on a Velcro kickstand
• Vent angle Sidewayswhich is what lets rain in during a downpour

• Mesh ~50% of the tent body
• Fabric ~50%

Rain Protection

• Rain test 12 hours moderate + 12 hours heavy
• Result No major leaksthe vents leaked and one corner seeped a little

The rainfly is full-coverage and reaches almost to the ground, but it can only be pulled away at the lengths.

• Seam taping All rainfly and flooring seamsplus the body gap the rainfly doesn’t cover
• Tub floor 6inall the way around the tent

Quality

• Flooring 75D polyester taffetapolyurethane-coated
• Rainfly 75D polyesterpolyurethane-coated
• Tent body 75D polyester taffeta

75D everywhere is a step up on REI’s cheaper tents, and the seam taping was faultless. Two things did show up over time though: mesh runs on the doors, and a rainfly I could never get fully taut without creases.

• Poles Aluminum
• Mesh 40D nylon no-see-um
• Guylines Shockcordwith a tensioner
• Stakes Shepherd-hook
• Warranty 1 year

I read plenty of reviews complaining about pole tips falling out, but I had no trouble with mine.

Portability

• Packed size 21 × 9 × 6.5in
• Pole length 18in

• Total weight 5.04 lbs (80.6oz, footprint included)
  • Tent body 25.5oz
  • Rainfly 24.1oz
  • Poles 16.2oz
  • Footprint 6.6oz
  • Stakes (10) 4.5oz
  • Carry bag 3.7oz
• Minimum trail weight 4.11 lbs (65.8oz)

At 5.04 lbs it’s the lightest of the budget tents I’ve weighed, and it drops to 4.11 lbs if you leave the footprint, bag and spare stakes at home.

Pros, Cons, Recommendation

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

Comes with a footprint

Pre-attached, which most tents don’t give you, making it good value for money.

Easy to set up

Because the footprint is already on, there’s no extra set-up time at all — 5.5 min start to finish.

Affordable price tag

You get a real tent brand for a low price, on par with the other budget tents I’ve tested:

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

Good waterproofing

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

Pretty lightweight

It’s lighter than the other budget tents I’ve tested, although it’s not ultralight.

Short warranty

Only 1 year.

Quality isn’t the best

Mesh runs appeared on the doors as time went on, and the rainfly never sat fully taut.

No footprint-only setup

There are no grommets on the footprint, so you can’t pitch it with the rainfly alone.

Bonus – MUST Read!

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