While it IS true that we tend to do a lot of overland style camping, whereas we sleep inside our vehicles, it is also true that we do love backpacking as well.

However, most of the tents we have ever carried were designed for standard campground styled outings. While still packable, they were a little too bulky and definitely heavier than we would like.

With us getting increasingly serious about doing some ultra-lighting, we decided it was time to try out something a bit easier to carry.

We did quite a bit of looking around at many name brands and models but for this season, we decided to go with the REI Co-op Flash Air 2!

The Flash Air 2 from REI is a non-freestanding backpacking tent, meaning that it will not stay up with using the guy lines. While this may sound a bit inconvenient in some locations, it helps to save weight. In fact, this compact 2-person tent comes in at less than 2 pounds if you take advantage of the ability to use your own hiking poles as tent poles. This actually works out very well since you don’t have to carry the poles in your pack. And if you are already using hiking sticks…why not have a use for them once you select a campsite as well.

As this IS a tent aimed right at the lightweight-ultra lightweight backpacking crowd, you can imagine it is fairly tight on space. But even so, the design is quite ingenious for making space where it can.

The Flash Air 2 is also single walled. Being single walled, the tent fly is sewn right into the rest of the tent structure. In other words, it does not come with a separate fly. The walls of the tent are made of a very fine mesh with the “fly” portion extending to either side to make a sort of vestibule for each person. There are doors on both sides with more than adequate zippered access for each individual. Under the vestibule, each person has enough space to leave their backpack within reach and it provides a great space for those boots you just spent hours walking in.

Measuring 88” long, the tent is more than enough for my 69” body to sleep comfortably. There is a small pole holding up the foot box which helps to add a little space as well. The tent does have a scaled shaped to the width. (Think mummy bag here) The head/ shoulder area is 52” while the foot area tappers in by 10” to 42” across (this is inside the main portion of the tent, the vestibules add a bit more space to the width. We found that this width while seemingly cramped is also more than enough for us to be happy in. We can fit both sleeping pads with enough room that they actually slide around a bit. We also found that the head space was good for us. With a 42” peak, you clearly aren’t standing up but it IS enough room to sit up to do whatever tasks are at hand.

We spent quite a few nights with this tent already, making sure to move to new locations each day to set it up and break it down over and over. We experienced forested areas, established campgrounds and a bit of desert. We even got to experience it the rain through one night. (Greatest night rest with the sound of the rain on the tent, by the way)

What we liked: It is small and compact yet gives us just enough room to be happy inside. We liked all the guy line loops that allow you to customize your staking to the particular site. We liked that our hiking poles found a new use as tent poles once we got to a camp site with the bonus of not needing to carry or fit actual poles inside our pack (The tent DOES come with lightweight poles if you prefer). We liked that the rain fly portion rolled up to provide 2 fully screened sides with a little shade overhead and that they gave a little bonus space to keep essentials close by.

What we did not like as much: lots of little guy lines. Yes, we knew it was not freestanding. And while that is not an issue setting up, it does lend to lots of little trip hazards right around the tent if your not thinking of it. (The lines are fully reflective though which is really nice!) The floor of the tent is quite thin. That helps very much in keeping the weight down, which is the whole goal of an ultra-light tent! However, it also necessitates a thicker ground cloth which could add the weight right back in. Although, with 2 people you can now spread that weight better if needed. We loved the vestibule area but thought it odd that it does not go all the way down to the ground. We are sure though that this aids in ventilation and to keep condensation down.

Overall, we really do love this tent so far and plan to do a lot of lengthier “testing” as time goes by! And, while this isn’t meant to be an overly technical article, we hope that you have a bit of a real world take on this excellent tent. Enjoy and see you on the trail!