Gossamer Gear The Two Review

Best Value Ultralight Trekking Pole Tent

Weighing only 1.5 lbs and costing $320, Gossamer Gear The Two is the best deal on an ultralight tent, and nothing else even comes close in terms of price-to-weight-ratio. Unlike more expensive ultralight tents made with Dyneema, The Two utilizes classic ripstop sil-nylon to save cost and reduce packed volume.

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• Price: $320
• Weight: 23.5 oz
• Material: Sil-Nylon
• Area: 26.25 ft² | Vestibule: 20.0 ft² | Area/Pound: 30.8
• Length: 84″ Width: 48/42″ Height: 43″
• Pros: Ultralight. Exceptional value. Large vestibules. Packs down small. Comes with own stakes.
• Cons: Small floor plan. Non-freestanding. Single-wall condensation/can sag when wet.

Construction & Features

The Two is your classic dual-apex ridgeline trekking pole shelter. Tension ‘er off properly and it will give you sturdy protection in harsh conditions; poor staking and loose guylines will yield saggy, flappy results.

The interior is approximately a 7’x4’ rectangle, narrowing by 6″ at the foot end. While that’s on the smaller end for a 2P tent, the fact that it can still fit a pair of wide tapered sleeping pads is nice, and the vestibules are larger than average for gear storage which helps compensate. Nonetheless, we recommend using it as a palace for solo camping, or for two-to-average sized campers. Taller/larger bodies should look elsewhere.

What makes The Two so appealing is its low price tag relative to its low weight, which is in part due to the use of cost-saving-but-still-good-performing 10d seam-taped sil-nylon fabric construction. While this fabric is the industry standard, many of The Two’s direct competitors are constructed with ultra-premium Dyneema, which performs a bit better but is significantly more expensive.

Both doors on both sides can open and close independently without giving up tension on the ridgeline. This helps immensely with ventilation, and we recommend keeping at least one door open as frequently as possible. A ridgeline clothesline and two interior pockets round out the feature set.

Gossamer Gear The Two Review Verdict

All in all, this is a great ultralight tent at a great price, and an excellent entry point into reducing carried weight. We recommend Gossamer Gear The Two as the best value among all ultralight tents, and it easily outperforms significantly more expensive freestanding backpacking tents. No wonder it has 100+ 5 star reviews.