Backpacking~$160Kelty
Kelty Late Start 2
No citable rating — see why we hide some.
A hundred and sixty dollars for a freestanding two-person tent with aluminium poles, a 1200 mm 68D floor and 30.6 square feet is $10 more than Kelty's own Grand Mesa 2 and buys four more inches of floor length. Kelty's Quick-Corner system means the pole tips seat in the corners without threading, which is the bit that goes wrong in the dark. One door, one small 7.4-square-foot vestibule, and pre-bent poles that push the walls out more than the floor area suggests.
Floor area per person
15.3 sq ft
Standard — 14 to 17 sq ft each — the normal two-pads-and-no-spare-room fit
Weight per person
34.5 oz
from the trail weight of 4 lb 5 oz
Peak height
42.5 in
Approx. price
~$160
Pads: 27.0 in of floor width each — 2 × 25 in pads fit.
Length: a 89 in floor leaves room for a sleeper up to about 6ft 11in once you allow six inches for a foot box and a pillow.
Best for
A first backpacking tent, or a spare that lives in the car for guests.
Specifications
- Type
- Backpacking
- Rated capacity
- 2-person
- Floor area per person(estimated)
- 15.3 sq ft (standard)
- Floor area
- 30.6 sq ft
- Vestibule area
- 7.4 sq ft
- Peak height
- 42.5 in
- Minimum trail weight
- 4 lb 5 oz
- Packed weight
- 4 lb 12 oz
- Weight per person(estimated)
- 34.5 oz (trail weight)
- Packed size
- 16 x 6.5 x 6.5 in
- Interior floor width
- 54 in
- Pad fit(estimated)
- 2 × 25 in pads fit
- Fits sleepers up to(estimated)
- 6ft 11in tall
- Doors
- 1
- Vestibules
- 1
- Freestanding
- freestanding
- Poles
- aluminum
- Wall type
- double wall
- Season rating
- 3-season
- Fly fabric
- 68D polyester, 1200 mm
- Floor fabric
- 68D polyester, 1200 mm
- Floor denier
- 68D
- Floor hydrostatic head
- 1,200 mm
- PFAS-free treatment
- stated PFAS-free
- Approx. price
- ~$160
Features
- Quick-Corner pole attachment, no threading in the dark
- Pre-bent poles for more usable wall space
- 68D polyester fly and floor at 1200 mm
- Aluminium poles at this price
- Also sold in 1, 4 and 6 person
In its favour
- Aluminium poles at $160, where rivals at this price use fibreglass
- 15.3 sq ft per person is better than several tents at three times the price
- Quick-Corner attachment is genuinely quicker in poor light
- Freestanding, which matters more at this price than at any other
Against it
- One door and a 7.4 sq ft vestibule for two people
- 69 oz is over four pounds
- Footprint sold separately, and a 1200 mm floor wants one on wet ground
Written from the published specification sheet, not from owner reports.
What owners report
No owner discussion has been collected for the Kelty Late Start 2 yet. Rather than summarise sentiment nobody expressed, this section stays empty until there is something real to read — the methodology page explains where these come from and why some tents have none.