Access 2 Tent

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UOG TOP PICK – MSR Access tent series – One of the lightest 4 season tents available with MSR’s legendary performance and quality.

The Access tents have been updated making them more practical. This is an excellent tent for winter adventures and the impressively low weight makes it highly versatile. This four-season tent is warm enough for cold winter nights and strong enough for adverse winter weather. 

MSR says

Built to be the ultimate shelter for backcountry skiers, splitboarders and snowshoers, the Access 2 tent is lighter than a mountaineering tent, but warmer than our backpacking tents. Limited mesh on the tent body offers greater warmth on frigid nights, while the light and packable design saves you precious energy on the climb and descent. The interior is spacious for delayering, and the strong frame resists overnight snow loading. Quick to set up, the tent offers the protection needed for camping in less severe conditions, such as those near tree-line—making it perfect for accessing the bowls, ridges and powder fields above.

Our Verdict

MSR’s Access 2 Tent is a 4 season tent at a 3 season weight, MSR have achieved this by adding a transverse pole to their now traditional dual hub structure to create a very stable structure and by ‘beefing up’ the key areas of the tent that would be strained in bad weather. In addition to improving the pole structure MSR are also using tougher Easton Syclone poles, they flex more and are therefore able to bend with the wind. Weighing just over 1.6kg for a four season tent and coming in with an impressively small pack size the Access 2 is a great two person tent for year-round camping and can be relied upon in challenging conditions.

The flysheet isn’t cut as close to the ground as on other 4 season tents but in use this is manageable, the inner tent is made from a solid fabric with mesh only being use sparingly – this means that the inside is protected from wind and spindrift, though gear in the porches will get covered in snow. Importantly, MSR listened to feedback and have added vents to the fly to increase ventilation and reduce condensation build up which was a complaint about the older model.

– Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear

• UOG Review – MSR Access 2 Tent
• Cairngorm Treks Review – MSR Access 1&2 man tents

Features

• Ultralight Warmth: Limited mesh on the tent body keeps in all that hard-earned warmth on cold nights, while the light design keeps you nimble while skiing, riding or hiking.
• Easton® Syclone™ Poles: Cutting-edge composite materials resist breaking in challenging winter conditions.
• Robust Frame: Central-support frame optimizes interior space and resists snow loading.
• Quick Setup: Unified hubbed poles make tent quick to pitch in cold environments.
• Additional Features: Rainfly vents reduce condensation; Xtreme Shield™ waterproof coating for long-term durability; two doors; two internal pockets; multiple guy points.
• Includes: Tent body, rainfly, poles, stakes, guy lines, easy-load, wide-mouth stuff sack, setup instructions.

Specifications

Weights

• Flysheet weighs: 488g
• Inner tent weighs: 598g
• Poles weigh: 554g
• Total weight: 1640g (excluding pegs and bags)
• Pegs x8 weigh: 114g

Tech Specs

• Capacity: 2
• Doors: 2
• Pack size: 46cm X 15cm (18 x 6in)
• Floor + vestibule: 2.69+1.62 sq m (29+17.5 sq ft)
• Livable volume: 1586+481 L (56+17 cu ft)
• Interior peak height: 1.07m (42 in)

Materials & Construction

• Poles: 1 Easton Syclone
• Rainfly: 20D ripstop nylon 1200mm XtremeShield polyurethane & silicone
• Canopy: 20D ripstop nylon / 10D polyester micromesh
• Floor: 30D ripstop nylon 3000mm XtremeShield polyurethane & DWR

Help & advice:

• The Ultimate Guide to Ultralight Tents
• Time-Saver Guide to Choosing a Tent
• When pegs go bad – Everything you need to know about tent pegs
• Are Tent Footprints Worth It?
• About MSR
• MSR Tent Buying Guide