MSR Elixir 2 Two Person Tent Review 2015/10/23
A tent should always be your home away from home. I
own expedition tents, bivis and premium one-man tents but
it's the MSR Elixir 2 that I call on for my working tent. I
use it out on camps and low-level expeditions here in the UK when out
instructing.
Introduction
When out on expedition its essential you get a good nights sleep
and have a secure shelter to store important equipment. The MSR Elixir 2
is a tent I can rely on to protect me as well as provide a very liveable
space which can even be used to do photography editing in the field,
something I do often.
Opening both porch doors and rolling
the material back you can clip it open to create a lovely open feeling
tent. The tent is a roomy one man and a very comfortable two man. There
is plenty of space for two large Neo Air Thermarests.
Pitching
Pitching the tent is done as an inner first and then putting the
flysheet on top second. The inner is pegged to the ground and then the
large pole is constructed and slotted into to all 4 corners, now
you can raise the inner and via clips attach it to the poles themselves.
It works very well and creates a free standing inner which can be used
for a midge net only in warmer climates. The second pole goes across the
middle of the tent to make the inner totally taught.
The fly goes over the top and again
uses clips to attach to all 4 corners. The last step is to drive a
couple of pegs into the ground to hold each of the two porch segments
under tension.
Use
Pitching on the whole is quick and logical. It’s an inner first tent its
weakness is pitching in heavy rain which may result in a wet and soggy
inner. The poles and clips are all colour coded which makes pitching
very easy. At 2.6kg the tent is light enough to use as a one man or
even better when travelling as a pair one can take the inner and pegs
while the other takes the poles and the fly. This way the tent becomes
very easy to hike with.
The tents liveability which for me
includes storage, layout of pockets, venting and usable internal
space are all top notch for the Elixir 2. At each end of the tent on the
inside there is a large mesh pocket, which is great for phones and head
torches etc.
Design
Suspended from the ceiling there is an option to attach another storage
solution. As of yet I have not yet purchased this as its an optional
extra. I feel it would be a great addition if you wanted to use the tent
more as a base camp option as then you could suspend a head torch and
have it illuminate the entire internal space.
Fabrics
The nylon fabric of the inner is white with plenty of mesh panels for
ventilation and the colour lends itself to creating a pleasant
atmosphere inside. It helps brighten the interior even on a grey day
when not much light from outside is shining through. The interior
ventilation is linked to an outside vent on the flysheet at each end.
Condensation is very well managed in this tent and I have never had a
problem.
I’m 185cm and the tent is tall enough
to sit up without hitting my head.
Poles and components are top quality. With 7000 series aluminium being
utilised. Yes the same stuff you get in the new iPhone!
Groundsheet is 3000mm hydrostatic head and the fly is 1500mm. These have
been enough to see me through very heavy rain in windy conditions with
out issue. The coating is polyurethane with rip stop polyester for added
protection.
