The Marmot Tungsten 2 is in a word—a tent. There isn’t anything that exciting about it, but that isn’t a bad thing. With a traditional three-pole setup and a large fly, it is easy for any camper to erect. The interior is spacious, and the two doors make it easy for campers to enter and exit without bugging their partner. The vestibules aren’t huge and have different sizes, so you’ll have to rock-paper-scissors for who gets the larger one. At $214, it is a very budget-friendly tent for anyone looking to experience the great outdoors.

Compare to Similar Products

See Our Best Backpacking Tent Review 2021 HERE!

Updated from the 2018 model, the Marmot Tungsten 2P is now lighter but still carries some of the flaws from its previous version. The Tungsten is a value-driven tent that should help anyone get outside. It uses a traditional pole setup and comes with a spacious interior to create a comfortable sleep for beginners or experienced campers. The tent comes with a footprint, which is always a win in our books, and for $214, it won’t wear out—or empty out—your wallet.

Comfort

Tall campers rejoice! The Marmot Tungsten 2P comes with 42in of headroom, enough space for just about everyone to sit up comfortably. The overall interior space is 32 square feet, which is just three square feet smaller than the REI Half Dome SL 2+, but it’s still second on our list for floorspace (the Half Dome is also $65 more expensive).

The vestibules created when the rainfly is attached are two different sizes. There is a 9.5 sq ft vestibule and a 6.5 sq ft vestibule, so whoever over-packed will have a little extra room to store their gear if needed. The poles are pre-bent near the bottom to create a more vertical interior wall for increased headroom when lying down. It is great to see small design features like that in an inexpensive tent.

There are some handy features throughout the interior for your convenience, such as the lampshade pocket to help diffuse light and create a more ambient glow with a headlamp. Along the interior walls, there are interior pockets to help with small gear organization as well. ​

Ease of Setup

Using a traditional pole setup of three poles, the tent is very intuitive to erect. The two larger poles intersect at the middle to create the main structure, and a crossbar pole then goes across to the doors, expanding the interior space to give the walls a more vertical angle.

The fly is where the setup runs into some trouble. There are red tabs on the fly to ensure it is oriented properly on the outside of the tent. However, it is a tricky fly to tension properly. If areas are left saggy or bunched up, they can be very noisy on a windy night. Ensuring proper fly tension will make a difference between a peaceful night and a nightmarish one. The tent body won’t be able to “breathe” as well if the fly is making contact with mesh, creating major condensation issues.

Weatherproofing

Durability

There is polyester taffeta throughout the Marmot Tungsten 2P. Polyester, in general, is slightly heavier and weaker than nylon, but Marmot has used some thicker deniers (fabric weight) to improve durability without significantly hindering the weight of the tent. The floor is a 70D polyester taffeta, with the side walls being 68D, like the fly. Marmot has included a footprint that also uses a 68D polyester taffeta fabric, helping to increase the tent’s overall life.

Weight

The Marmot Tungsten 2P weighs in at 5lbs 4oz (2.38kg) and is the second heaviest tent behind the feature-packed REI Co-op Trail Hut 2 (5lbs 15oz). While it is not a lightweight tent, it would still work quite well as a weekend adventure companion or for a paddling expedition where you want some strong weather protection and don’t care too much about weight.

The Bottom Line

The Marmot Tungsten 2P is a fairly basic tent. It’s perfect for new campers or people looking for an easy car-camping tent at a reasonable price. The $214 price tag makes it a very budget-friendly option if you are looking to start getting outside more. With a traditional setup style that will be familiar to any outdoors person and good weather protection, the Tungsten does a fine job. However, the fly setup can be a little touchy, and you’ll want to make sure you have it tensioned well in case of a windy night. There are also only two interior pockets and a headlamp pocket. We wish there were a few more interior features, but there is enough space for two to sleep comfortably. Frankly, that’s a very valuable feature in and of itself.

^ Back to Top ^