Sea to Summit Telos TR2: One Tent, Multiple Configurations

The Telos TR2 showcases Sea to Summit’s debut line of tents with a unique design that offers several configurations.

Well-known for its array of camping and adventure essentials, Sea to Summit engaged two legendary designers — DAC Pole founder Jake Lah and Sea to Summit founder Roland Tyson — to create an innovative entry into the market. Key design elements let you prioritize how you use the tent depending on the climate and season, as well as share its load with a tentmate if you desire.

Below, we’ll take you through the Telos TR2 tent’s features and highlight how it differs from other three-season tents on the market.

Sea to Summit Tent: Tension Ridge Architecture

The TR2 (two-person) gets its name from the Tension Ridge architecture, where the poles bend upward. With this design, Sea to Summit intends to create steeper walls with more room for sitting upright inside, whether to wind down after a long day’s effort or to ride out foul weather. More mesh vents at the top allow for more airflow, which the brand says will reduce condensation inside the tent.

The tent prioritizes space and moderate comfort without adding the weight of more plush options. Additionally, its configurations allow lighter uses for the tent than its traditional three-season setup, which overlaps other tent styles on the market.

The tent spares the use of adding material weight on extra storage pockets (although it does have two). Instead, it adds weight for more backpacking-oriented features, like a fully seamed nylon bathtub floor to keep pooling rain outside the tent finding easy entry.

One standout feature here is the ability to set up the TR2’s rainfly before the actual tent (and vice versa after packing up) thanks to quick-connect feet and Tension Ridge hooks. That way, you and the inner tent aren’t exposed to as much rain.

Versatility

There are several setups for backpackers and car campers alike. The traditional setup includes the tent with the rainfly fully deployed. On warmer nights, the rainfly can be rolled up and stored along the Telos’s top ridge.

At its lightest, fast-and-light hikers can use just the rainfly for shelter, although they would likely use a tarp and pad to stay off the ground. In dry climates when airflow is most important, you can utilize “Hangout Mode,” which creates a shelter for up to four people to sit under. More on that below.

“Star-Gazing Mode” is a unique configuration of the tent’s rainfly so that it’s neither blocking your view of the night sky nor completely off the tent. It’s a rolled-up rainfly configuration that can be rapidly deployed from inside the tent in the middle of the night if it starts raining. When the rainfly rolled up, you’re left with just the mesh inner tent between you and your surroundings, allowing you to fall asleep under the stars.

Telos TR2 Tent: ‘Hangout Mode’

Hangout Mode: For midday hangouts or waiting out iffy weather, the rainfly can become a semi-open sun or rain shelter, so you’re not stuck peeking out from the tent door all day. This is what Sea to Summit calls Hangout Mode. Two poles (included) hoist the tent in this off-kilter mode. For ultralight trips, two trekking poles can work too.

Lightbar: The tent pole sack includes a plastic half-tube that slides into the roof to hold and diffuse light from a headlamp or other source. It forms half of the FairShare System, which lets users share the tent (and weight) between their two packs. Insert the lightbar to connect the stuff sacks into a single-carry option.

A Sea to Summit Debut

Overall, the Telos tent is meant for backpackers who may dabble in light-and-fast trips and travel to various climates.

Our editors recently weighed in with their first impression of the Telos TR2. Sea to Summit offers different sizes and construction fabrics of the Telos, as well as an Altos line.

You can preorder the Telos freestanding tents, as well as the related Altos semi-freestanding tents, online beginning March 15.

This article is sponsored by Sea to Summit. Find out more about Telos TR2 and other tents here.

Sea to Summit Launches Tents: First Look at the Telos TR2

Sea to Summit has a strong reputation for high-end sleeping pads, cook kits, and sleeping bags. But it has never manufactured camping tents — until now. We got our hands on the first Set to Summit tent, the Telos TR2, for a quick first look. Read more…