Radiant 2

 

Radiant 2
Page Type Gear Review
Object Title Radiant 2
Manufacturer Kelty
Page By Drunkcaballo
Page Type Apr 6, 2008 / Apr 6, 2008
Object ID 5223
Hits 4365
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Product Description

What they say

"The Radiant 2 is a well-ventilated, freestanding, three-pole mountaineering tent that is designed to open up internal space for comfort, a welcome feature when waiting out the elements."

My Thoughts

For the price it is definately a stable 4 season tent that is quite a bit warmer than any other tent I have used. This is the first 4 season tent I have owned and am content with it. It comfortably sleeps 2, you could cram a 3rd if you had to. There are large vesitibules on each door. I have used a vestibule to store a 50L pack and still had plenty of room to cook in the remaing space during some bad weather. It also offers a lot of ventilation if desired.

Features

What they say

Body Features

ArcEdge floor
Taped floor seams
Continuous pole sleeves
Vaulted pole sleeves
Closable mesh panels
Internal storage pockets
Gear loft loops
Sidewall vents
Freestanding

Fly Features

WebForce™ technology
Clear window
Side-release buckle tent-fly connection
Noiseless zipper pulls
Taped seams
Fly vents
Guyout points
FlyBoy™ technology


My Thoughts

A very simple, and sturdy 3 pole design. @ poles are identical and a shorter 3rd middle pole is provided. The poles have a few segments that are shapen to accomidate the sharp angles the poles make. The fully sleeved pole guides are great and make this tent easy to set up solo, even in heavy winds and the dark.

The fly is nice and thick, and is where most of the warmth comes from. It clips into the tent pole pockets by a regular buckle system. The webbing is color coordinated making it simple to orientate the fly and get it setup quickly which is great. I have never seen anything quite like the FlyBoy system. Check out the images for a closeup of these. They seem to work well. I am a bit concerned about the small piece of fabric that they are attached to the fly with may fail after a few years of use and Ill lose one of the FlyBoys. The FlyBoys are also the attachement points for your guy rope. I have never used the guy rope in nature since I normally setup my tent and throw my gear in it and am normally quick to follow. That said, they provide some guy cord, but the length is too short to do the "optimal" setup they reccomend in the manual, and would also require the purchase of additional stakes. I would reccomend to pick up some extra stakes and some additional guy cord if you plan to setup the tent and leave it in windy conditions. Even without the guy system the tent is incredibly stable in windy conditions thanks to the nice buckle system and fly tightening system.

Other great features include being able to make a light weight shelter out of the the fly and footprint with the use of 2 of the poles. This allows you to lighten your load on those warmer expeditions. I have never done this out in the field, but set it up at home this way. It is a bit more work to set this up since I found I had to balance the poles while I got the fly over the top and tied everything together, but in good conditions where this setup is likely, it wouldn't be hard to do after a practice setup or two.


*Note* Footprint is not included in the tent...but I reccomend the extra purchase to protect your tent and to give the above option (plus it works great as a belay tarp to help keep your rope out of the dirt.) :)

Final Thoughts

Its a great tent at a great price. If you are looking for a 4 season tent under 300 bucks look no further. Be sure to grab the footprint and some extra stakes if you intend to use the guy system. Consider getting longer guy cables as well if you will use this for extended periods in strong windy conditions. Overall its a great tent and has stood up to the abuses of me and my 2 dogs for over a year now in all sorts of conditions. I would not hesitate to make this purchase again.

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imzadi - Sep 9, 2008 1:24 pm - Hasn't voted

Weight?
What is the weight on the total package? I am a newbie to backpacking...would this be an appropriate tent for backpacking...probably NOT in the Winter (yet, anyway :))

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