MSR Zoid 2 - 2-Person 3-Season Tent - 2007 BCS

I have had this tent for several years and it has served me well in pouring rain and heat. The materials are great and it's built very well. There are some major drawbacks though. One...it's not free standing and because of the shape is hard to set up taught. Consequently no matter how careful you are it always sags and flaps in a wind. Two......condensation seems to form on the ceiling in certain conditions. Three....if you are tall as I am there is not much room to sit up on the high end. Four......it's better as a one person tent than two. I only used it once with someone else and it was very cramped.

I bought this tent a few years back, to lighten my load. At the time, it was the longest 2 man tent I could find, less than 5 lbs. I am 6'9", but two people my size can easily fit into this tent. It has been with me through hellish wind on top of Boulder Mt. and early snow storms in the Uintas. Through it all it has never failed me. Having two doors and two vestibules is extra nice, and the way the doors are designed allow me to easily dress, store my boots, and get in and out without any hassle. By far this is the most admirable aspect of the tent, and despite limited space, each person has their own vestibule area to stick their crap. I appreciate that it breathes fairly well, but I think that it could improve if they used mesh for the whole of the inside of the tent, instead of that piece of fabric you see along the top. Often I wake in the morning and find that condensation has built up along this stretch and runs down to get the bottom of my bag wet. I have only found that I have this problem when it rains at night and the temperature is below 40 degrees. Otherwise it is dry inside. When it does get wet, seconds in some morning sunlight quickly dries the lightweight fabric, and it is packed away for the trail. The bent pole design allows for a more vertical wall shape inside and establishes more room. The only drawback is that this design allows a lot of flex in the tent. Make sure to guy it out well if the weather is really wet to prevent the rain fly from touching the inside of the tent, or if it is really windy. This will also keep your poles from bending or breaking. If you are shorter, look for a nice freestanding option that will provide you more headroom and stability in bad weather. But for taller people (7' sleeping bag) I am not sure there are many (or any) other options.

Great/good tent. light, easy, fast set up but...it does sag and thus water enters, cant really sit up, very noisy in the wind -enough that friends on the same camp pad at red rocks complained my tent kept them up.

This little stake-out tent is perfect for a solo hiker, a bit crowded for two. My 5'7" frame and expedition pack fit perfectly. Full coverage rainfly, decent vestibule, great ventilation and absurdly easy set-up make it a winner. The Zoid design is a copy of the tried and true Kelty Zen, with rainfly variations, which was a copy of the early tried and true Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight and that was no doubt a copy of something else. A good, basic design that works well in nearly all conditions. It does need a buffer when pitched where high winds are expected. Still, a very good value.

Good start for MSR.

Pros: Good ventilation, standard stakes are nice and light, two doors, it can be pitched with the fly and a ground sheet only to save weight.
Cons: Small vestibule areas, hard to keep it from sagging, not a lot of headroom, I can think of other free standing tents that are within a few ounces of weight, noisy in the wind.

This tent is lightweight and versatile. Great for overnight's. This had plenty of room for me and my backpack, large side doors with inside out zippers, so no problems getting in or out. This is not free standing so tighten the pegs down so there is no sagging.

My favourite tent is the Terra Nova Voyager. Yes, its British but, what a tent- bomb proof etc.However,in midnight sun conditions can be a furnace. Then along came the Zoid 2. Its lighter than the Voyager but, more importantly, the ability to open either side or both of the Zoid to provide subliminal ventilation is worth its weight in Gold.

This tent is not the most roomy but I can still squeeze in two adults, one large, and one small dog and sleep comfortably. There is room under the vestibule (which is on both sides) for gear storage of two people (plus two dog packs). It is easy to get in and out of as there is a door on both sides allowing great ventilation and convenience. It is very lightweight and easy to set up. I have been out in a rain storm twice in this tent and each time I have been kept dry and have had no condensation. The only thing I dislike about the tent is there is very little head room. Overall it is a very good product.

Light, very easy to pitch and to pack. Tends to sag a bit, but this doesn't seem to cause problems with stability or water penetration. Adequate room for two big men, but vestibule space could be bigger. Good ventilation. Sitting headroom seems OK to me and I'm six foot two inches - for those who don't do centimeters :-)

This tent sets up fast. 1 small pole, 1 big one. No confusion. It's not free standing (translation, you need to stake it or tie the strings to some small stones if you're on rock) but I guess that's the price you pay for the ultra light weight (for an overnight, my pack was just 13lbs - I literally ran up the trail). Good shaped footprint for minimum weight & maximum elbow room.

First, the stuff sack is nice and light—so light that it tore. This little tent is a pain to set up. It requires 8 stakes. My 8-man tent uses 9 stakes. The stakes are this aluminum. I hit one rock while setting the stake and it broke, so I had to use the red semi-bungy cords they include to tie that side to a branch. The tent isn't that light - I packed it 2 miles in to the Wasatch Front Mountains. The straps to tie back the fly are made of some funky material that likes to be tied but absolutely hates to be untied. I had to get out my tool to untie it and it wasn't even that tight. VELCRO wouldn't be much nicer. There was almost no room for my son and me. I'm 5'10", he's 5'2". Couldn't sit up in the 'fat' end and it was barely long enough to put gear near the feet on the bottom end (which is a real pain to get to later). Give me a 2-3 man dome. Even a lousy Wenzel tent is better than this. It costs way too much for what you get.