Mantis UL II Hiking Tent

Good all round tent for budget UL backpacking

I travelled 3 weeks around Norway in this tent through grassy damp fields to rocky mountain tops. Weighed only 1.8kg which is pretty good for a 2 person (really a 1.5 person tent). It's a great tent for both summer and dare I say winter but have not tested in deep snow conditions.

The 2 door vents out the tent nicely in heat but you can feel quite warm and well ventilated in overnight drop of -2'c. I hanged a shawl across one of the doors which added protection from wind on one side which considerably increased the temperature inside the tent. Toes and head area were never cold though, just the body from the side door breeze but if have a decent sleeping bag, you won't be bothered by this. It's a welcome breeze during summer camping though.

In terms of rainfall, it held up pretty well up to 3 days of solid rain before a few drops were found inside the tent (most likely condensation) and I was able to shake most of the rain drops off because of the shape of the tent. The outside veranda areas were mostly dry though I kept my bag inside always to ensure dryness but also it kept my toes warm. I only left my cookware/gas/shoes outside.

The way the door is designed is a bit awkward to get out of without getting droplets of rain inside on the netting so you'll need a handy rag with you to dry up any drops each time you exit/enter the tent. Would be better if the outer fly was made so that it had a slight roof but the inner fly stretches outwards in a curved shape, so bound to catch a bit of rain. Another thing that was a bit annoying was that the upper body roof would sag after heavy rain so if you got up and brushed your head on it, the inner tent would get instantly wet. Again I had to get a rag to mop it up. No matter how much I tried to increase the tension of the fly, I couldn't get the sag to go away. You can see it in the photo. Also, the floor of the tent is quite thin. It wasn't coping well under small rocks and sticks. It created stretch marks/dents in the tent floor where it would almost puncture but not quite. It definitely needs a tarp or footprint underneath if you want it to last long.

Otherwise, it's a decent tent for the price but improvements needed for durability and rain proofing.

Response from Nov 26 2018

Fantastic review, thanks Anna!

I hope your trip around Norway was as good as they say. Laine :)

Great tent

Was searching for a lightweight tent for a while and this one is great for the price!! It sets up really easily I didn't have the problem with the tent poles as I had extra poles anyway but after setting it up you can see how it work. We camped on a really windy night and the tent held up well and was warm inside about 5 degress out. Size is great for the price, me and gf fit in easily in 6foot and she's 5'9 so we're not small and the widest part is the size of a double bed so it's good to sleep in for the night!! Really happy with snowys delivery speed and service. I have blacwolf bad as well and would definitely recommend their products and snowys

Hiking tent for the boys

Super fast delivery and tent is awesome for the boys 10 and 9yo and might get one for myself

Good value equipment

Bought this a while back with awesome service from Snowy's, but i really wanted to test it before offering a review. For the extra 400g I went the 2 man because I love having my pack in my tent especially on these cold, short days. Put this to the test on the Cape to Cape (In WA) in June, was really lucky with the weather so I only really had one night of real wind and rain, this tent set up and held up in the wind on a sand dune. As can be seen by the photo the 2 man does take a bit of ground space so won't be going up the Stirling Ridge with me but after 7 nights with this tent on the Cape 2 Cape it would have my trust. The issue I see on other reviews with pegs I didn't have, but I did hook the fly to the inner pegs, also the guy ropes aren't necessary if there's no wind. For the price this tent is a great piece of solid equipment, and super light for the size.

Cosy!

Hiked with this tent. Easy to put up with great poles and stakes. Compression bag it comes in is great.