Last year I tested out three of Sea to Summit’s new range of tents for a project with We Are Explorers, but which of these tents would I actually choose for myself?
Sea to Summit Telos TR2 Bikepacking Tent
Discounting the three-person Ikos tent (because I already had something similar) I was left to choose between the Alto TR1 and the Telos TR2 bikepacking tent. The Sea to Summit Alto TR1 is a terrific, lightweight tent, and I was very close to choosing it over the Telos because it is a smaller, lighter one-person tent, as compared to the two-person Telos. However, I ultimately chose the Telos TR2 for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I wanted to get a two-person tent because I have high aspirations of going on more bikepacking and hiking trips with my family – either all four of us, or myself and one of the kids, or my wife. Next up, the Telos TR2 packs away into two super handy, tough and versatile dry bags. These dry bags have been designed with outer webbing to be strapped to fork cages on a bikepacking bike. However, they’ll also come in real handy for carrying other items if the tent was in a different bag, or if I was travelling solo and bringing a smaller one-person tent.
With the above in mind, I have found myself bringing a two-person tent with me on more of my bike camping trips, enjoying the extra room in the tent and spreading myself out. I even went one step further on a short hike recently where I also carried a double mattress just for me.
A Bikepacking Specific Tent
Yes the Telos TR2 is a bikepacking specific tent, but the ‘bikepacking specific’ features actually make it pretty versatile for hiking and other camping styles. The shorter pole segments, designed to fit between handlebars or within frame bags, are easier to pack in a hiking bag than longer poles and, likewise, the dual dry bags designed to go on your forks are handy for splitting the tent between two backpacks when hiking with someone else.
Another reason I like the dual dry bags is that you can pack the damp outer fly separately to the (usually) dry inner compartment, meaning you can pack away the tent without drenching the whole thing. However, if I was lightweight hiking I’d ditch these tough dry bags and pack the tent away in one, much lighter dry bag as it’d be inside my backpack anyway.
Family Camping
Well I’ve only managed to get away for one family camping trip in the Telos, and that was with my nine year old. The rest of the trips have been solo biking and hiking trips. The night that I had to share the sleeping space, I found that there was ample room for our two mats to lie side by side and the spacious headroom created by the tension ridge pole was even more noticeable.
The Telos TR2 has been an excellent addition to the gear shed and I look forward to seeing where else it will take me (or rather where I will be taking it).
Telos Accessories
I don’t tend to go in for extra accessories with my gear, but I recently invested in an accessory for the Telos TR2 which has elevated the camping experience. The Telos Gear Loft is a super lightweight addition, weighing only 28g, and it attaches to the inner fly to provide a bunch of extra storage space. It’s perfect for stashing clothes and jackets inside the tent, keeping gear off the ground.
