SlingFin Portal 2 Review

Livability

The Portal 2 is ample for one person and gear, and while two people are a bit tight, it's still comfortable enough. Even though it's slightly below average, at just over 7 feet long, there's enough room for even the tallest backpackers to stretch out. While it's more than 4 feet across at the top, it cuts down on weight by tapering to 3.5 feet wide at the foot. That's just enough to lay down two standard, 20-inch-wide sleeping pads, but not quite enough if either of those pads is a wide version.

The 44-inch peak in the center of the ceiling lends the tent an airy feel. With a cross pole that expands the ceiling space laterally, the tent offers a generous 13.2 square feet of floor area with enough headroom to actually sit up in all of that space. This design makes all the difference when you and your partner need to sit up and move around at the same time.

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The two side doors are wide enough to make getting in and out easy, and the pockets inside the Portal 2 are dynamite. With seven in total, it has more storage space than most other 2-person tents we tested. They are evenly distributed throughout the tent, making it easy to store small items within arm's reach.

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This tent comes with two kickstand vents that prop open the fly zipper on the door while keeping the fly in place. These are fairly standard vents that help reduce condensation when you're stuck in bad weather, but the unique feature is that they're fully detachable. Although you could certainly keep them attached, we appreciate having the option, especially if we're going on a trip to the desert where we don't necessarily need the extra ventilation.

Weather Resistance

The Portal 2 has a fairly standard geometry with a triangle-shaped vestibule, but its unique design includes outrigger attachments at each end of the cross pole. This lets you stabilize the whole structure with two trekking poles, improving its ability to resist wind and snow.

In addition to its impressive ten external guy points and two tabs to pull the rainfly taut at either end, this tent has pre-attached interior guylines at the foot. In windy conditions, you can use these guylines to take up slack to minimize the rainfly whipping in the wind. Additional loops let you rig the same system by the head of the tent if needed.

There are two orange tabs on the fly to attach guylines. Inner connections help them support the poles in strong winds.   Credit: Clark Tate

There's plenty of storage under the vestibules.   Credit: Clark Tate

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Like many high-end tents, the Portal 2 can be pitched fly-first so the interior doesn't get soaked in the rain. It's a great idea, but in practice, it's more cumbersome to set up a tent underneath the fly than to set it up normally and move quickly. The tent interior and underside of the fly stayed dry during three days of rain, even after being set up on wet grass.

Weight

At 3.34 pounds, the Portal 2 is more than worth its weight – for just a few ounces more than other top tents, it offers far more weather protection and seems very durable. If you split the weight between two people, you will be hard-pressed to find a lighter tent explicitly equipped to stand up to snowfall.

Packed Size

The included stuff sack is one of the smallest we've ever come across, yet it's not difficult to get the whole thing back in the bag.

Similarly, the 10D fly and 15D tent are both very thin (though not too delicate) and stuff easily into the bottom of a backpack.

Durability

This tent is very well-made and has proven durable. Though the fly and floor are relatively thin 10-denier and 20-denier ripstop nylon, respectively, a complement of additional features makes its quality stand out.

Unlike many other tents, we never had to wrestle with the cross-pole sleeves or pull excessive tension to secure the second side – it always feels like we're going to break a tent at this point during setup. Some elements, like the thin paracord loops to tie back the doors and attach the fly, are simple but sturdy.

SlingFin uses plastic ring and toggle connection points instead of the more common hook and loop closure straps.   Credit: Clark Tate

You can easily replace the simple paracord loop that holds back the doors.   Credit: Clark Tate

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The Portal 2 also comes with a second set of zipper pulls already installed so that, if the main set fails, you can slide them out of the way and deploy the second set. Fortunately, we didn't need to use these during testing, but they are ready to go when needed.

You can also upgrade to heavy-duty, 9.3 mm poles if the standard 8.7mm isn't burly enough – even though they're sold separately, this is a fairly unique option among brands we tested. And, though it seems like a small thing, the Portal 2 comes with ten stakes, which is enough to batten down the hatches when you need to put out the extra guy lines.

Should You Buy the Slingfin Portal 2?

The Portal 2 is a lightweight and comfortable two-person tent. It offers ample space for one person, and just enough space for two people and their gear. It's expensive, but it's well worth the investment for dedicated backpackers – it's a well-built tent that saves weight without sacrificing comfort or storm protection.

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