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A lightweight, freestanding 2-person tent with two large side doors and plenty of headroom. Slingfin has balanced comfort, durability and weight, resulting in a fantastic tent.
SlingFin says:
The Portal is our lightest freestanding tent at 2lbs 14oz. It's our statement piece saying you don't need to sacrifice strength, features, or durability to make an ultralight freestanding tent.
If there's a stronger sub three-pound tent out there, we have yet to find it. By incorporating several technologies from our Expedition Series tents, we were able to give the Portal a degree of stability and weather resistance previously reserved for dedicated "four-season", or more accurately, "one season" tents.
We designed the Portal with an eye for long-term durability. This means using premium fabrics with excellent UV and mildew resistance, eliminating PU coatings that break down over time, and adding extra zipper sliders to double the zippers' lifespan. The Portal can be set up fly-first to keep the inner tent dry in rainy conditions.
Want even more strength out of your Portal? Pick up our Heavy Duty Portal pole set. This replaces the stock 8.7mm poles with extra wide 10.65mm poles to provide additional wind and snow loading resistance.
To prolong the life of your Portal's floor, pick up a Portal footprint. For ultralight weather protection in non-buggy conditions, check out the Portal Tub Floor. The Portal is now available in a muted green/brown colorway without reflective trim for those who like to keep a lower profile.
Seam Sealing Note: The seams on your Portal's flysheet are highly water-resistant and will handle light rain just fine without being seam sealed. However, the three seams directly beneath the tent poles should be seam sealed for maximum waterproofness in extended, heavy rains.
Our Verdict
I'm a big fan of this tent. It has many hidden features that make it stand out from other tents at this price point.
Consideration had been given to the livability and durability of the tent.
It's a very quick and straightforward setup. If incorporated with the footprint, the tent can be set up fly-first, but predominantly it's an inner-first set-up. The two attached poles cross over one another and slide into the grommets at each corner of the tent. The inner is clipped onto the poles with sturdy, well-built clips, and the volumising bar is attached across the middle of the tent, which creates internal space. The fly attaches at each corner with a simple cord loop. There are no pre-attached guy lines, but ten guy-out points can be used in bad weather, and in terrible conditions, trekking poles can be incorporated to add stability at the volumising bar, turning this into a 3.5-season tent that sheds bad wind and rain.
The two internal doors are generous and lead to two roomie vestibules. Internally lots of consideration has been given to keeping the tent homely and organised. There are seven pockets in total, including a large pocket at your feet, which is large enough to store clothes, and smaller, more discreet pockets that are perfect for storing medication or glassesare located at the head end of the tent.
The inner tent is almost completely made from a lightweight mesh (not the bathtub). This means the inner tent is very well-ventilated. This is aided by two guy-out points at the foot and the head end of the tent. The Portal Two also has two kickstands that prop the door open to allow more airflow; these can be removed and reattached when needed.
- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear
Features
- Two doors and two vestibules increase livability for two.
- Two pre-installed internal guylines give the Portal great lateral stability for almost no weight increase.
- Our new KickStand vents make ventilation a breeze. Opposing struts on the vestibule doors provide unrestricted cross-tent airflow for excellent condensation management without sacrificing weather protection.
- Short pole package is perfect for bikepacking
- High-volume pole structure with a swivel provides well-distributed headroom without the weakness of hubs.
- Pole swivel connects long poles for easy setup
- All the pockets you could ever want (two ceiling, two head, two side, one foot).
- Offset vestibule design eases entry and exit.
- 10 external guy points and 2 perimeter pull-outs provide ample reinforcement.
- External guy points are matched to toggles to attach the fly directly to the poles, increasing stability.
- Matching reflective tabs on fly and tent body simplify setup.
- Color coordinated stake loops for easy flysheet orientation
- Can be pitched with footprint (not included) and fly for a minimalist weather shelter.
- 2-Side silicone impregnated flysheet and PE floor fabric are mildew-resistant and have excellent hydrolytic stability, and will last significantly longer than traditional PU-coated fabrics.
- Pre-installed spare zipper sliders on every zipper double your zippers' lifespan.
- Includes 10 DAC J-Stakes and 6 additional external guylines (not including 2 pre-installed internal guylines)
Specifications
Our weights
- Flysheet weighs: 370g
- Inner weighs: 543g
- Poles weigh: 383g
- Total weight: 1296g (excludes pegs & bags)
- Pegs x10 weigh: 109
Brands specs
- Minimum weight: 1.3kg
- Packaged weight: 1.5kg
- Floor area: 27.45 sq ft (2.55 sq m)
- Vestibule area: 2 x 8.4 sq ft (2 x 0.78 sq m)
- Interior height: 44" (111cm)
- Pole package length: 13.5" (34cm)
- Packed size: 14" x 5" (35cm x 13cm)
- Floor dimensions:85" x 51" (head) x 42" (foot)
- Capacity: 2
- Number of poles: 3
- Number of doors: 2
- Guyout loops: 10
- Perimeter pull out loops: 2
Material & Construction
- Tent body fabric: 15D Nylon no-see-um mesh
- Floor fabric: 20D Nylon Ripstop PE 1800mm
- Fly fabric: 10D Nylon 66 Ripstop Sil/Sil 1200mm
- Poles: 2 DAC Featherlite NFL 8.7mm, 1 NFL 9.3mm
- Included guylines: 6 (+2 pre-installed internal guylines)
