Coleman Expedition-Tents coleman Exponent Helios Tent

Very pleased with this tent purchase. I did a lot of research looking for a tent that could handle some different elements and not break the bank. I wanted something small and compact, but I don't need an ultra light. My main concern is rain. Hot or cold, rain is the worst. Luckily I've had good weather when I've taken this baby out. I imagine the rain aspect would be very good concidering the rain fly goes all the way down to the ground. Great feature there. The tent fits two people very comfortably for sleeping. Don't plan on using a cot or air mattress, too small for that. Might be able to play a card game okay in the seated postion. But don't plan on spending a ton of time in this tent. It is not a pleasure suite. It is very utilitarian. The two vestibules are nice for gear and entry. Although one needs to get in and out by crawling on hands and knees pretty much. I'm young so this does not bother me. If you have bad knees or back you might want to look elsewhere. The tent has 4 poles and makes for a very sturdy frame. I like that a lot. I don't want a tent that blows away. I also really like how the rain fly connects with clips that can be pulled to tighten. Great idea! Another great feature is the mesh storage on the interior sides of the tents. Perfect for flashlights, glasses, bottle of water, book, or anything else that you would want close at hand. One negative so far; It gets pretty hot if both vestibule doors are closed. This would be good for fall or winter, but in the summer it really holds heat. This can be fixed by opening up the doors to let air flow in. But if privacy is a big concern, keep this in mind. All in all this is a sturdy, well crafted tent in my opinion.

I've carried this tent on multiple backpacking trips and have used it in the rain. When the temperature drops you can definitely tell it's warmer in the tent, especially if there are two people in it. Easy to set up and can be stake down to be extremely solid. The rain fly has adjustable straps that help tighten everything up. There are multiple storage compartments inside the tent for small items and very large vestibules on both sides for your gear to stay dry. There are a neat little "skylights" on the rain fly that have corresponding flaps inside of the tent to cover or uncover as you please.I would like this tent more if it was lighter, it's on the heavy side. I also would like a footprint made specifically for it. I use a footprint from REI that is slightly bigger but works.I only use this tent for backpacking. I use other gear for the luxury of car camping.

at GO CAMPING CHEAP,I just purchased this (new) tent, and the sewn in label on it states it was made 10/26/2008. I believe this is illegal and falsely advertised. Its 4 years old and according to the coleman warranty label it is suppose to be stored in a cool location? Don't know? and the poles fully assembled, they werent, so before even opening it the warranty is void. I thought I was paying for a NEW tent, Not some old inventory at the new MSRP price,this is BS Coleman Exponent Helios X2 Tent

not field tested yet, but i set it up, and its pretty nice. super easy to set up, and bigger than i thought it would be. just wish it came in different colors. a good field test would get it more stars.

I've used this over the summer and for a few outings this winter in Co. I've done a lot of camping above treeline in this tent around 10k-13k feet elevation.Pros:- Bomber Construction.- Very roomy. (I've actually slept 3 people in it without any touching) Plenty of room for 2 people + backpacking + climbing gear- Warm. Stays a good deal warmer than outside. The coldest I've been in was about 15F.- Very sturdy. I've spent the night in this thing several times above treeline in stormy / windy conditions. 40+ mph winds won't budge it if it is properly staked and guided. I did break a connector in one of the silver poles when camping at 12k in 90-100mph gusts. The wind shifted directions in the middle of the night, so we were taking 90-100mph gusts broadside. The connector broke around 3am, but once we tightened up the guy lines and brought in two trekking poles for internal support it held up fairly well. We only needed to rest our heads up against the side, even then I managed to get several hours of sleep.- Simple tear-down. (After spending the night in 90-100 mph gusts we had to take the tent down in 70-80mph gusts. We managed to do so without shredding the thing, and only slightly bending one of the red poles. The wind was knocking us to the ground at this point and nearly took off with my buddy's 30lb pack.)Cons:- A bit on the heavy side. In summer I generally just use my bivy sac as the tent is on the heavy side for summer camping.- Setup time. With all the poles, clips, stakes, etc. this tent can be a bit of a pain to set up. I have done some partial set ups in order to save time, but in high winds, snowy and icy conditions, a full setup can take up to 30 minutes.- No internal guy points. Most high-end 4-season tents have loops inside that you can use paracord to tie together and make the tent more rigid, this tent does not have any.- Included stakes are pretty crappy.Overall a solid tent for roughly $200 it holds up extremely well in just about any condition you could ask of it. Not really a summer backpacking tent unless you're going to be doing stuff in windy conditions above treeline.