REI half dome 2 plus tents
 

Is it as good as it looks ?

This is what we have. Great tent, light & easy to set up. Enough space for 2 plus helmets, tank bag, etc...only issue we have had was one of the poles breaking. It comes with a section of pole to "fix" it so it's not a problem. Still using it after our RTW, no leaks. Be sure to get a footprint with it.

I just got one and set it up right away to see how easy it is. SIMPLE setup and comes with stakes and a rainfly. Buy a good foot print and you are in business. Good tent for the money.

YEs it is - I have just placed a for sale notice for one - interested?

What do you guys call a "footprint" ?

Footprint is a separate groundsheet that goes under the tent to protect the built-in groundsheet. It’s called a footprint as it’s the same size as the bottom of the tent.

I suppose the argument is that if it gets damaged by stones or thorns etc you can buy another one and not ruin the tent but it seems to me more like a way of reducing the sticker weight (lighter built in groundsheet) and selling you something extra at the same time. Kind of win-win for the manufacturers.

I've never used a groundsheet/footprint. In the Good Olde Days (tm) they weren't necessary, since tents were made to be installed on the ground without suffering unduly. In the modern era they're purported to be essential, but in my limited experience with other people's tents they're at least as likely to collect, trap, then channel water through your tent floor as they are to do any good. Pitching your tent on thorns, kitchen knives or roofing nails? You'll end up with holes in both footprint and tent floor.

I do make a habit of buying high-class tents, not cheap ones. Typically, they wear out from the top down due to UV degradation, not from the ground up. Because I try to buy only the best, this takes a long time--measured in decades, not years. YMMV

Mark

Fully agree with that. Footprints are just a means of getting away with a cheap groundsheet. How a manufacturer can make a groundsheet out of the same material as the flysheet and expect it to stay waterproof long term is beyond me. The answer is they don't, they expect you to buy a footprint but as you say heavy rain gets between the two layers and then soaks through. Use it without something protective underneath and it's so fragile it never lasts long. That never happened with old skool tents.

I have a old Vango Force Ten from the mid 70's that I still use fairly regularly that has a PVC (or something like it) groundsheet. In over 40yrs its collected one (easily patched) small hole and is still waterproof. The groundsheet on my 2018 Vango is not suitable for anything rougher than lawn grass and I'm lucky it's survived this year without a puncture. The new tent is a lot lighter on its own but add the footprint and - surprise surprise - they're not far off the same weight. What price progress.