MSR Elixir 2 Tent Review

Whether camping on the other side of the world or in the back garden, everybody needs a good tent. Even if you’re planning your festival-laden summer or a family camping trip, it all starts with a good tent (you’ll remember the trip for all the wrong reasons with a poor tent!).

Today, we’re reviewing the MSR Elixir 2 to see whether it suits your needs this year!

Designed for two people, this backpacking tent is brilliant for those who don’t want any fuss after arriving at the destination. With the special MSR Elixir Footprint feature, the tent can be erected in a matter of minutes and the light nature of the tent means that anybody could pitch even in difficult conditions. Once you add the colour-coded poles, red vestibules, and the clips and webbing into consideration, it becomes even easier…as long as you know what you’re doing (more on this later!).

Once pitched, the tent has two large doors as well as vestibules which increase the capacity of the tent by around 35%. Of course, the two large doors allow for ventilation but we must also mention the breathable mesh fabric used. When paired with the solid canopy fabric, ventilation has been allowed but without sacrificing warmth for the colder months.

Key Features

With the clever and unique construction, there’s plenty of headroom in the Elixir 2 and this is one of the reasons why it’s proving to be so popular. With the rainfly on top, this can be held secure or it can be pulled back to look up at the night sky while camping. Whether you want a romantic evening or to teach your children about the stars, there’s no denying that this is a great feature.

Furthermore, we also love this model because of the two long pouches that run down the entire sides of the tent. As long as you aren’t weighing these pouches down with heavy items (this can make the mesh sag a little), they can be incredibly useful for phones, headlamps, torches, clothing, and other items.

At first, you climb into the tent and notice a distinct lack of mesh when compared to other tents. However, ventilation is surprisingly good and this comes from vents in the fly, the mesh roof, and two large doors. When reading through customer reviews, it was clear that users are enjoying no condensation despite the lack of obvious mesh on the sides.

Benefits

• With the Footprint and unique pole installation, it offers plenty of space inside and is easy to pitch. Although they can be difficult to navigate at first, pitching gets quicker and quicker as soon as you learn the system.
• The vestibules are brilliant additions for opening up the tent and providing more space.
• As we’ve just seen, ventilation is very good and very few people notice condensation or a lack of comfort.
• Finally, we should also mention that MSR is a reliable manufacturer and one that will answer your questions and provide support whenever it’s required.

Drawbacks

• Compared to others, the visibility through the top can be limited; this should never be a deal-breaker, however, because many have got along just fine.
• It can be a little difficult to pitch at first, but it’ll reward you if you learn how it all works; you’ll find some brilliant guides and videos online if you want to research before leaving (or you could practice, of course!).  

Summary

All in all, the MSR Elixir 2 is a great tent and one that boasts a plethora of useful features. With ventilation, lots of space, a unique pole design, and more, you’ll be good to go with this product!

Check out review of the MSR Hubba Hubba NX tent here.