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 1800 mm 68D floor and 30.6 square feet is the cheapest serious backpacking tent in this catalog. 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
40 in
Approx. price
~$160
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
- 40 in
- Minimum trail weight
- 4 lb 5 oz
- Weight per person(estimated)
- 34.5 oz (trail weight)
- Doors
- 1
- Vestibules
- 1
- Freestanding
- freestanding
- Poles
- aluminum
- Wall type
- double wall
- Season rating
- 3-season
- Fly fabric
- 68D polyester, 1800 mm
- Floor fabric
- 68D polyester, 1800 mm
- Floor denier
- 68D
- Floor hydrostatic head
- 1,800 mm
- 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 1800 mm
- Aluminium poles at this price
- Also sold in 1, 4 and 6 person
In its favour
- Aluminium poles and a 1800 mm floor at $160, where rivals 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
- Kelty publishes no packed size or interior dimensions for this model
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.