REI Half Dome 2 Tent
The Half Dome has been a sensible, affordable, well-ventilated three-season tent for about as long as this blog existed, and it is still in production, which makes this one of the few reviews here you can act on directly.
Why it kept working. Two doors and two vestibules, near-vertical walls that give real sitting room rather than the coffin shape of most two-person tents, colour-coded pole hubs that make pitching it obvious in the dark, and a price well under the ultralight brands.
What has changed since this review. It has been revised several times and got lighter, though it was never the lightest option and is not now. Current versions sit a little over 2kg for the two-person; the ultralight crowd will do that in under 1.2kg, at three times the price and with half the interior space.
Who it is right for: almost anyone whose camping involves carrying a tent from a car or over a weekend rather than counting grams on a thru-hike. It is the tent to buy if you are not sure what kind of camper you are yet, because it is good at everything and bad at nothing.
Who should look elsewhere: long-distance hikers, where every 100g compounds, and anyone needing a genuine four-season shelter.
One practical note that applies to any tent: pitch it in the garden before the trip. The first pitch is always the slow one, and doing it in daylight and dry is how you find the missing peg.
Part of the guide to tents and shelter.