Morrison 2

We bought this tent a couple months ago and have already backpacked in Vermont and Colorado with it. We did a lot of research and were looking for something light and easy to use. However, found so many more features that we love and we'll list out below.. because people love lists. Pros: - Super Easy to set up. Between my wife and I it takes about 3 minutes. - It's intuitive and everything is color coded so it's easy to know what goes where. - The set up directions are written out on the tent sack. - Fits perfectly in my backpack. I've got an Osprey Atmos and it's basically made for this bag. I keep it at the very bottom - Spacious. My wife and I have enough room to keep our packs at the base. Granted, I'm 5'8 and she's 5'2. - Well ventilated. There is netting on all sides of the tent which allows plenty of airflow (when you want it) - Continued ^^ The vents on the sides of the tent can be zippered opened and closed. So when it gets colder or it's raining, you'll be able to close those up. - The rain cover is great. We got caught in the rain on 2 nights when backpacking. We were completely dry inside the tent. - Dual entryway. Great so you don't wake up your wife (guys you know the consequences of this). - Interior pockets. Well thought out pockets in both corners of the tent. Perfect to hold glasses, sleeping masks, beanies, etc. At the top, there's also a net which is where we put our lantern. - Color. We just really dig the green color as well. - Illuminated ropes. The light ropes that come with it light up like Christmas lights when you shine your headlamp on it. Makes it really easy to spot the tent from far away. We realized this on our last trip. Great feature. Cons: - The stakes. We ended up buying MSR groundhog stakes. The ones it came with didn't have anything attached to make it easy to remove from the ground. They also didn't go into rocky terrain very well. - Wish it was a bit lighter. Says it's under 5 lbs. I've got a scale on the way and will be double checking in the next couple days. I want to eventually go ultra light with my backpacking.

We just returned from a week of backpacking in northern Arizona and used the tent 6 of 7 nights (got a hotel one night for proper showering and for the purposes of sleeping on something other than a Z Lite "egg crate" for a night). This is a great 2-person tent and served our purposes very well. As other reviewers have noted, it's a little on the heavy side for true lightweight backpacking, but it's certainly not the heaviest tent I've lugged around the wilderness. The vestibules did a good job of sheltering our footwear, and while we were able to fit our packs inside the tent, if you're a little more than average height you'll probably want to cram them under the vestibule or otherwise keep it outside of the tent. I'm 5'6" and was just barely able to fully stretch out without my feet bumping the packs (she's 5'4" and was fine), but in a pinch you could certainly stow all your gear inside if you needed to (we opted to vestibule, tree-hang, or when we car camped, trunk store the packs, aside from me sleeping with a pack in the tent a couple nights just to test the viability of it. We really loved having doors on either side of the tent - great for not having to crawl over your mate when entering/exiting. Pitching and breaking down the tent is very straightforward and quick, and we were able to accomplish both tasks in less than 2 minutes. The poles are color coded and match up to the pole holes on the tent, which doesn't really seem to matter since all corners on the tent are the same, so I'm assuming they just to make things easier for people not used to pitching tents. Pockets on the inside are plentiful at the corners, and the detachable hanging ceiling pocket has a slit in the middle, perfect for sticking a head lamp in to provide light. With the rain fly attached and the flaps fully zipped it did get a bit warm, even with the air vents "open," but not much you can do about that. One day while out on a day hike we left the fly fully zipped in anticipation of rain and also had the tent "screens" open on the inside for some air circulation. When we returned to the tent, there had indeed been rainfall and the fly kept everything inside nice and dry, but there was sand inside the tent on the sleeping bags. We surmised that with the screens exposed and the wind blowing, a nice little wind tunnel was created, sending sand under the fly and up through the screen into the tent. Not a big deal really since we'd rather be shaking out sand than drying out our gear! All in all a really nice tent for the money, we were impressed. For a single camper it's very spacious and it works quite comfortably for two people.

I had a two-night beach backpacking trip coming up and no backpacking tent, so after a great deal of deliberating and comparing tents, I decided to take a gamble on this one. Glad I did! This tent performed like a champ and I have no complaints. We bought additional, longer stakes just because we were camping in sand, but the ones included also did a fine job in the sand. The tent I received was slightly different from the one pictured (nothing that would affect functionality)...mine does not have the semi-circular mesh cutouts at the bottoms of the doors, the two side guy points are lower on the fly (closer to halfway down), and mine has an additional stake loop on each of the non-door sides of the fly. My model may be slightly newer or older than the one pictured...no big deal. What I loved about it: 1) For the weight and price, I had a hard time finding a tent with more floor space (35 square feet). Two of us shared this tent (average-height women) head-to-foot, and we had plenty of space without anyone getting kicked in the head, with some extra room for clothing, water bottles, books and pillows. Also plenty of room to sit up straight. 2) As opposed to an all-mesh body, having the extra fabric on the walls and the zip-close windows does add a few ounces--but I think they're well worth it. Unzip the windows for increased ventilation, or zip them for privacy, shade, or warmth. It got into the low 50s at night, and with the windows and fly zipped, we were toasty warm. I would gladly shoulder a few more ounces for the versatility this tent offers. 3) Setup was a snap. I didn't bring the instructions, and I didn't need them. 4) Good ventilation and no condensation in the morning. 5) It was windy on the beach (as per usual), but with everything staked out, the tent barely flapped. Certainly not enough noise to be distracting or keep us awake. 6) It didn't rain and we weren't on wet ground, so I can't say too much about the waterproofing of the tent...but I can say that when I spilled my water bottle INSIDE the tent, it sure didn't leak out. 7) The vestibules were a good size to cover our packs, shoes and a few random items. You'd be cramped trying to cook beneath one, but you're not really supposed to be cooking near your tent anyway, so... The bottom line: this isn't the lightest tent you'll find, but it's light enough, and the versatility is well worth it. Spacious, sound, and a great value.

This is a somewhat a long term review of this tent. I got it in 2014 and have been using it since then. The tent is still going strong and shows almost no signs of wear minus a couple of small tears in a mesh that I made myself. I didn't even bother to patch them they are so small. We use it for camping trips for 2 people. It fits two 25" wide pads easily with some room to spare. The footprint is not large which makes finding a good spot easy. It is very easy to put together and I usually do it under 3 minutes. Since it is a freestanding tent, I don't even pitch it sometimes when the weather is calm and we're staying only 1 night. Interior pockets are huge for a tent of this size. We used this tent in almost all conditions except in heavy snow. It's been in the Death Valley heat, no problem whatsoever. It stood strong in Alaska when it was raining non stop for 3 days, didn't even get a drop of water inside. We used it to camp in a rainforest with 100% humidity for days and condensation was never an issue. It saw some snow in Yosemite in late September. It is a true 3 season tent, it is not very tall which makes it warmer on colder nights. Now to the negatives. It is pretty heavy for a 2 person tent. That's the single reason why I recently got a different tent for backpacking. We still love and use our Morrison for car camping all the time though. Also stock tent stakes are pretty weak, I broke almost all of the stakes it came with. This is easily fixed by getting a pack of MSR groundhogs. All in all, this tent is a masterpiece considering its price!

I recently started backpacking again after a brief hiatus (3 kids) and realized I needed to update some of my gear. One piece of which was to replace my 22 year old Moss two person 4 season tent (12 lbs). I narrowed my selection down to 4 tent brands (Big Agnes, Sierra Design, MSR and REI) based on size, weight and price. I came across the Morrison tent as a suggested option from Amazon and the sale price caught my eye. I have bought Mountainsmith gear in the past and always liked their quality. Looking at online reviews (found about 40-50, Backpacker Magazine called it the "killer deal for 2011"), most people were very positive about it. Photos and specs gave the impression that it was constructed equivalent to other brands and wasn't a bargain basement, off-brand, big box store cheapo tent. The tent comes in at 4 lb 11 oz, which is about 3/4 lb more than the Big Agnes Copper Spur ($400-$500) and a little less than a half pound more than the REI Quarter Dome ($190) and Sierra Design HT ($279). I have always had a discriminating taste for outdoor gear (paid $500+ for Moss tent in 92) and most of my buddies don't spare the expense either. So, upon arriving I opened the tent and was still impressed by the quality of the fabric and construction. The tent has two doors and with the fly on it has two vestibules. The tent has a lot of mesh to allow for good airflow on hot nights. However, there is a layer of fabric behind the mesh on both doors. I am not sure why the included it because the fabric and zippers together probably weigh 4-8 oz. I spoke to Mountainsmith and they said the fabric was not structural and could be removed (I am considering). Overall the tent is easy to assemble and has color coded poles to speed up assembly. The tent also uses clips to attach the poles which will help airflow on warm nights. The footprint of the tent is also a whopping 56" x 92" compared to the Copper Spur (52x90), Quarter Dome (52 x 85) and the SD H2 (50 x 83). Other tents of comparable sized footprints made my MSR, Mountain Hardwear, North Face and Big Agnes were much heavier (+5lbs) than this tent. I expect to strictly use this as a two person tent for backpacking and splitting up the gear to ease the weight. Although heavier than some of its competitors, you cannot match the quality, size and price of this tent. I finally had this tent out in a massive thunderstorm that blew up and dumped 1-2 inches of rain in 1 hour. I was at a shelter away from the camp when it hit. Apparently a 2-3 inch sheet flow of rain went right to the tent (I believe it based on the debris) and stayed around it for the entire hour. Everyone at camp that saw it thought there would be 2 inches of water inside. When I got back to camp and saw the debris and heard the story I knew my gear would be soaked. However, I was completely surprised and pleased to see it was bone dry. There was some splash up on the sidewalls (It seriously rained like crazy), but it did not affect the inside. I think if I had cranked down the fly a little more it would not have been a problem.

I can't say enough good things about this tent. It's size and quality are fantastic. The value is unbeatable. It's way more than I expected from a $130 dollar tent, when most of the competitors I was looking at were in the $400-$500 range. I'm so glad I didn't spend that much. This tent is awesome, and I love spending nights in it. I've been over 10 nights out in it now, and I'm really happy with it. It has vents in the rain fly, which keep out rain but allow air to circulate. The rainfly is really, really, waterproof. The bottom is reinforced, and is incredibly waterproof. One of my nights out in this tent was a real Oahu downpour, where I had a few inches of water outside my tent-- the inside stayed totally dry. See my product photos for an image from that night-- inches of water outside my tent, my shoes trying to float away, dry on the inside. Pretty amazing. The inside is really roomy. In this tent it's always just been me, but it would fit another person comfortably. The vestibules are large, giving a good place to stow your gear. The seams are solid. There are two nice, large doors. Its really, really, easy to set up. I regularly set it up in the dark, and it takes me about five minutes. There are two poles that set up in an x-fashion. The tent comes with stakes, but they're not that great; plan on buying replacements eventually. There are plastic clips to fasten the frame. They're made of really high quality plastic and seem like they'll last a long time. There are fasteners for a net in the top of the tent, and also to fasten back the doors and rain fly doors. They're in convenient locations. The tent weights about five pounds so it's a little much for ounce-counters, and not really ideal for backpacking. But for short-distance backpacking or car camping, it's really great.

I found this tent and decided to try it out. My dad looked at and decided he like it so much he wanted one too. We used our tent for backpacking in Yellowstone for three months and then our three week road trip after we were finished working in Yellowstone. I used the tent at least 12 or more times during the summer. The tent is great for backpacking. It is fairly light and fits in a pack well either using the stuff sack or just stuffing it into your pack and keeping your poles elsewhere in the pack. I'm 5'8" and my dad is 5'10". We both comfortable fit in the tent with some room to spare at one end to put some clothes, water bottle or anything else we might need during the night. I love the double vestibules and dual doors. It was terrific for when one person wanted to get out without disturbing the other. It is very easy to set up and doesn't take long at all. I found it to be very sturdy and well built. After putting up with our abuse over the summer and fall it is still in great condition. The only thing that happened is my dad got the rain flap caught in one of the zippers resulting in a small tear which was easily fixed. I would highly recommend this tent to anyone looking for a lightweight tent for backpacking. We had this in many rain storms as well and there were never any problems. It definitely cuts the wind and keeps the rain out. I love this tent and I'm glad we bought ours.

I bought this tent in 2014!! I'm still using it. Once it blew away in a Colorado wind storm and suffered a tear in the side, which I've patched. This is a GREAT tent in general, but even best for older folks like me (I'm in my 70s). Why? I can roll off the sleeping mat, get near the door, and then get to my knees and STAND UP through the door while still inside the tent. That may sound like small stuff to you 20-somethings, but it's a HUGE deal for an older person. No crawling out of a tent. Lots of designs make it impossible to step out of the tent in a standing position. This one does. In the first image, a friend's packing away her tent, and it is one with the brace across the top to give you a bit of shelter as you exit. No standing on that one. Nope. You have to crawl or frog-walk out of it. MY tent, on the other hand, lets you stand up and step out of it, even with the vestibule/rain fly half open. I'm back on the road with it in 2022, and looking forward to many more nights of comfort and ease of setup. You cannot go wrong with this tent.