MSR Fusion 2 Review

"I have taken several trips with this tent in N.Wisc and the U.P. of Michigan. I sat in 24 hours of cold hard rain, the type where you do not want to leave the tent, and I had not a drop of water inside. I have also used this tent snowshoe backpacking in single digit temps. and it was great. Easy to setup and self standing which is important in winter. The only complaint I have is that it can be tough to get the poles to fit into place on the tent, but this may just be a function of the material needing to stretch a little more over time. I assume this because there are two different pole fixture options (warm weather and cold weather)."

"Let me not beat around the bush. This is one sweet tent. I've owned and still have several tents. In no particular order, I currently own a Marmot Swallow 3, REI Quarter Dome, Mountain Hardware Hammerhead 3, Marmot Thor 2, North Face Bedrock and a Mountain Hardware Airjet 2. So why do I not have the right tent yet? Well, all I wanted was a REAL 3 season tent for 2 people that would work well in the desert and at high elevations. It needs to be roomy for 2 people, have a vestibule, be freestanding, heavy duty materials, very good ventilation, not be completely made of mesh, not have mesh close to the ground to let sand in (when camping in the desert in dunes), strong construction that stands up to high winds, So why didn't any of my tents work, but the MSR Fusion 2 does? Marmot Swallow 3 - big, heavy with just 3 poles and such a large tent it is not very stable. The new 2 person version is not as stout, only average construction. Mountain HArdware Hammerhead - no rainfly tensioners, doors did not have vents through doors but only through one side, the Airjet has vents near the very floor which allows the wind to blow right into your face as you sleep and if your in the desert near sand dunes you will have sand all over your face. Marmot Thor...well with 6 poles the setup time is too long, and the vents are fair. REI quarterdome, is pretty close, but has a fair amount of mesh which means you can't completely close it up and it's not really a 2 person tent, it's a roomy 1 person, let's be honest REI. So the MSR Fusion 2 meets all of my needs where all these other tents fall short. It has very good ventilation, the materials are heavy duty, the size is right, the fly has tensioners. The design has only 3 poles so the setup is pretty easy and quick, the door is big, the color is not drab...well you get the idea. In my two trips so far I've been very impressed with what it is and what it isn't. Highly recommended!"