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Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 Review

Proven on countless expeditions around the globe, whether climbing Denali, Everest, or being used as a base camping tent just about anywhere
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mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review
Credit: Brian Smith
Price:  $900 List
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Manufacturer:   Mountain Hardwear
By Brian Smith ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Dec 6, 2023
80
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#6 of 15
  • Weather and Storm Resistance - 30% 9.0
  • Ease of Use - 30% 9.0
  • Weight - 20% 5.8
  • Quality of Construction - 10% 8.0
  • Versatility - 10% 6.0

Our Verdict

From Antarctica to Mt. Everest, the Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 has been used on remote expeditions worldwide and taken to the ends of the earth. More at home in the world's most extreme environments, it's overkill for summertime mountaineering and a bit too heavy for multi-day ski touring. But if you want a top-tier mountaineering tent for trips where a bombproof design and spacious interior dimensions take priority over low weight, this one is hard to beat. See it ranked against other top products in our full article on the best 4-season tents.
REASONS TO BUY
Strong
Spacious
Great storage pockets
Easy to take down and set up
REASONS TO AVOID
Heavy
Bulky
Could handle condensation better
Low ceiling
Editor's Note: We retested this tent and updated this review with our findings on December 6, 2023.

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards Top Pick Award Editors' Choice Award Best Buy Award Top Pick Award Editors' Choice Award 
Price Check Price at Backcountry
Compare at 2 sellers
$1,125 List$690 List
Check Price at REI
$699 List
$699.00 at Hyperlite Mountain Gear
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$1,100 at Backcountry
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Bottom Line A spacious option that is tried and true on expeditions around the world; built for harsh conditions and comfy livingWhen you know you're in for crummy weather and want an exceptionally high performance model, choose this oneNot as expensive as some other models, this option is a popular choice to bring on climbing adventuresIf you're looking for a simple, waterproof shelter, this one is ultralight and easy to packThis ultralight 4-season, single-wall tent will keep you warm and dry even in severe conditions
Rating Categories Mountain Hardwear T... Hilleberg Jannu The North Face Moun... Hyperlite Mountain... Samaya2.0
Weather and Storm Resistance (30%)
9.0
9.0
9.0
7.0
8.0
Ease of Use (30%)
9.0
8.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
Weight (20%)
5.8
7.0
6.1
10.0
8.8
Quality of Construction (10%)
8.0
9.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
Versatility (10%)
6.0
8.0
7.0
7.0
7.0
Specs Mountain Hardwear T... Hilleberg Jannu The North Face Moun... Hyperlite Mountain... Samaya2.0
Minimum Weight (only tent, fly, poles) 8.60 lbs 6.17 lbs 7.87 lbs 1.20 lbs (fly only, Ultamid Insert would add 1.4 more lbs) 2.94 lbs (no vestibule)
Floor Dimensions 85 x 64 in 93 x 57 in 86 x 54 in 83 x 107 in 87 x 43 in
Peak Height 38 in 40 in 41 in 64 in 39 in
Measured weight (tent, stakes, guylines, pole bag, stuff sacks) 9.09 lbs 6.87 lbs 8.50 lbs 1.49 lbs (without insert/tent body, stakes, or pole) 3.61 lbs (without optional vestibule)
Type Double wall Double wall Double wall Single wall Single wall
Packed Size 8 x 24 in 6 x 20 in 7 x 24 in 8.5 x 6 x 5.5 in 6 x 8 in
Floor Area 40.0 sq ft 34.5 sq ft 32.0 sq ft 63 sq ft 26.9 sq ft
Vestibule Area 12.0 sq ft 13.0 sq ft 11.0 sq ft N/A 20.5 sq ft (sold separately)
Number of Doors 2 1 2 1 1
Number of Poles 5 3 4 0 (use own trekking poles strapped together or tent pole sold separately) 3
Pole Diameter 10 mm 9 mm 9.5 - 13 mm N/A 8.7mm
Number of Pockets Side: 6, ceiling: 2 Side: 4, ceiling: 0 Side: 6, ceiling: 2 0 Side: 1, ceiling 1 (removable)
Pole Material DAC Featherlight NSL DAC Featherlite NSL Green DAC Featherlite NSL N/A DAC Featherlite NFL
Rainfly Fabric 70D Nylon Taffeta 2000mm Kerlon 1200 40D PU coated polyester Dyneema composite (DCF 8) Nanovent 3-layer with removable Dyneema Composite roof cover
Floor Fabric 70D nylon taffeta, 10000mm 70D PU coated nylon 70D PU coated nylon None Dyneema composite fabric

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 is built for long trips in the harshest of environments. It has a great deal of interior floor space and an enormous vestibule. The vestibule was recently enlarged, making it ideal for spending time with another person and storing large amounts of gear. This combination of factors makes it an excellent choice for mountaineering guide services and other expedition-oriented individuals, thanks to its solid performance and value.

Performance Comparison


mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - continuing to improve, the latest trango 2 is built with...
Continuing to improve, the latest Trango 2 is built with expeditions, long-term living, and some of the world's fiercest weather in mind. Though slightly heavy for weekend trips in your local mountain range, it's perfect for extended trips where strength and livability supersede weight in level of importance.
Credit: Brian Smith

Weather and Storm Resistance


This tent is rock solid and incredibly weather-resistant in the most extreme conditions. Its stormworthiness and ability to shed heavy snow and resist strong wind are hard to beat. Heck, it's even good in the pouring rain of Patagonia or the coast of British Columbia, where you can pitch it in a puddle and remain dry.


The Trango has a strong design, quality poles, bomber construction, excellent guyline points, and a solid fly-to-pole connection method that only increases its strength. There is only a single vent at the peak of the main tent body, but we had no issues with condensation. Moisture beads up nicely on the rainfly, and eight stakeout points and guylines make for bombproof anchoring. Our testers have experience with this tent going back as far as 15 years, and not much has changed in the design — which says a lot. Rain or shine, this is an excellent 4-season tent.

One of the biggest changes to the current Trango 2 is its large...
One of the biggest changes to the current Trango 2 is its large hooped vestibule. This space easily fits two packs while still having just enough room for a person to squeeze past them.
This fly is covered in reinforced guyline points, giving you plenty...
This fly is covered in reinforced guyline points, giving you plenty of options and opportunities to secure it in preparation for an incoming storm. The middle three guy points are pre-equalized to help further strengthen it and it has a slick, low profile design.

Ease of Use


The Trango 2 is one of the easiest models to pitch. Its inner tent has two identical doors and a large zippered vent on one side of the ceiling. When pitching the fly, line up the inner tent's vent with the corresponding polyurethane window on the fly. You can put all the ends of the poles in their respective grommet holes and then quickly attach all the pole clips to the body.


If you start at the bottom and work up, the tent stays relatively well protected, even if pitching in high winds. This is one of its most significant advantages over pole sleeves.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - one of our favorite design aspects of the trango's clip-up design is...
One of our favorite design aspects of the Trango's clip-up design is it protects the poles more effectively if pitching the tent in windy conditions.
Credit: Ian Nicholson

The Trango 2 also has several locations to attach the poles to both the fly and the body. While we don't use them when camping in more protected areas, we clip the fly onto the poles when on multi-day adventures in harsh conditions. It's relatively easy and quick to pitch, regardless of conditions.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - these clips don't spread out the force quite as effectively as a...
These clips don't spread out the force quite as effectively as a pole sleeve but are still very strong and this difference is minor. On the plus side, all of the clips completely close, meaning a pole won't come unclipped even in the middle of a rowdy storm.
Credit: Ian Nicholson

The Trango 2 is tremendously spacious inside and has an enormous amount of floor space. Three people can squeeze inside, and it's not even that cramped. There are three large pockets on each side and four in the ceiling, which all provide a decent amount of storage space.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - with 40 square feet of interior space, this is the biggest...
With 40 square feet of interior space, this is the biggest two-person tent in our review. Heck, it is so big you can squeeze three people in with three full-sized Therm-a-Rest pads - just barely fitting without overlapping. This makes it ideal for extended trips or for cold weather expeditions where its occupants are likely to have bulkier sleeping bags and jackets.
Credit: Ian Nicholson

Many loops in the ceiling make it easy to rig up a custom clothesline. The large and improved hooped vestibule is great for cooking but also easily stores two full backpacks, leaving enough room for its occupants to sneak by. One thing to note is that this tent doesn't have a particularly high ceiling, which allows it to function well in high winds. While it hardly feels cramped, it is a bit lower than comparable models. If you're six feet tall, you'll be able to sit up with no problem; if you are taller than six feet, you can sit up in the very middle and will have to slouch if you're facing your buddy and playing cards.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - the trango is covered with internal pockets. both of the inner walls...
The Trango is covered with internal pockets. Both of the inner walls are covered with several deep mesh ones, which help you stay organized on extended trips. One of our favorites are the twin roof pockets, which are an extra easy place to keep frequently wanted items close at hand.
Credit: Ian Nicholson

Weight


One word: Heavy. At just over 9 pounds, this tent is a bit of a beast, but it is designed to be used as a burly, basecamp-style tent. You just wouldn't want to pack it up into the high alpine — for that, you'd want something much lighter.


If you're not going to Alaska anytime soon and want something for routes on Mt. Rainier, Shasta, or other similar locations, we'd recommend looking for something that's lighter-weight or more packable.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - when you're horse-packing into the wind river wilderness, the weight...
When you're horse-packing into the Wind River Wilderness, the weight of the Trango 2 doesn't matter - and when it performs well in a 2-day September storm, the features that make it heavy do matter and you'll be glad to have them.
Credit: Brian Smith

Quality of Construction


The Trango 2 is super tough. It's proven itself time and time again on expeditions around the world, from Alaska to the Himalayas. Companies like Mountain Trip, a longtime Denali guide service that retires their tents with plenty of life left in them, still gets 8-12 Denali expeditions (which can last twenty-two days) out of each Trango 2. To say this tent is durable is an understatement.


The last round of updates this tent received significantly upgraded the materials, making them lighter and more fire-resistant while also making the doors larger. Mountain Hardwear also increased the vestibule size while dropping the weight. This basically makes the world's most popular expedition tent even better.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - this model is unquestionably built for expedition use where your...
This model is unquestionably built for expedition use where your shelter is an integral part of your lifeline. It's built with longevity and durability in mind. The vestibule zipper is protected by a plastic buckle to keep it from getting blown open in the wind, where it could potentially become a sail or risk filling the interior with snow.
Credit: Ian Nicholson

Versatility


If you don't mind the weight of the Trango, this tent is versatile in its own way. It performs better than most 4-season tents in warm, wet conditions, so you won't have to shelf it during the spring and summer months. However, it is also 2-3 times the weight of your average 3-season backpacking tent and 2-3 times the packed volume.


Because this is one of the heavier tents we tested, it is not ideally suited for lightweight backpacking or light and fast alpinism. It is meant for basecamping and car camping. We would happily bring it along (and have) with a horse, porter, or burro to carry it in for us. Otherwise, we'd want to be pulling it on a sled so it can glide across a frozen lake or glacier to a snowy basecamp. Just think expedition-style when considering the Trango unless you don't care how heavy your pack is.

The Trango 2 is a long-time trustworthy expedition tent with plenty of room to hunker down and wait out any storm, anywhere!
Credit: Brian Smith

Should You Buy the Mountain Hardwear Trango 2?


There are several good options to choose from when searching for the best expedition tent. But after extensive group deliberation, we settled on the Trango 2 as our top choice. It has spacious interior floor dimensions, is easy to set up, has a huge vestibule, and can handle a wide range of conditions due to its burly design. It excels on expeditions and expedition-style mountaineering, where a little extra weight is well worth it for top-notch comfort and livability. It is decent for mountaineering in the lower 48, though it is certainly on the heavy side. The primary advantages of this tent are the extra space and the use of pole clips, making it easier to pitch and safer in high winds. Thanks to its livability and space, the Trango is just plain nice to hang out in for extended periods of time.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - this tent is hardly cheap but is 1000% worth the money for extreme...
This tent is hardly cheap but is 1000% worth the money for extreme trips.
Credit: Ian Nicholson

What Other 4-Season Tents Should You Consider?


If you love the idea of a super burly, double-wall tent but want to step it up a notch, the Hilleberg Jannu can't be missed. Another great option for an expedition tent is The North Face Mountain 25. Both of these tents are just as weatherproof but a bit lighter. If you'd rather go fast and light in a single-wall tent, we really like the Samaya2.0. And for the ultimate in customizable ultralight shelters, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 is one you'll barely feel in your pack.

mountain hardwear trango 2 4 season tent review - will you choose the trango 2?
Will you choose the Trango 2?
Credit: Brian Smith

Brian Smith