Snow Peak Entry 2 Room Elfield Tent

The Snow Peak Entry 2 Room Elfield is a huge and tall freestanding tunnel-type tent for all seasons, with 4 double-layer doors, a great fabric, and aluminum poles.

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Key features & benefits

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Overview

This Snow Peak Entry 2 Room Elfield tent is a tunnel-shaped structure and it is freestanding. So yes, you are reading this correctly, there are several tunnel tents currently on the market that are with such a design. This is all due to a ridge pole that crosses the usual loops (see the picture below). 

This ridge pole attaches on two ends of the ceiling, directly above the doors, the picture below shows one attachment point. The tension created in the fabric makes the structure self-supporting and freestanding. But you have a full set of stakes and ropes to secure tent properly.

Do not be fooled with the word Entry in the name, this is a strong and nicely built tent for a year-around use. On their site they write that this is “specifically designed for simple and efficient setup for those new to the camping experience.”, This explains the word Entry, so the setup is easy and one person can do this, but it is far easier for two people.

You have a huge shell/fly and an inner floored tent. The floor plan and some important dimensions are shown in the picture:

The inner tent area is the gray zone on the right. The rest is a living space. Note that the living area is floorless, so formally this could be described as a porch, or as a second room if you wish. It may be convenient to have such a space without a floor so that you can use all your camping furniture without thinking of floor damages.

There is also a vestibule on the left side in the picture. On the opposite side the tent’s fly is also angled (see the picture below) but here you do not have a vestibule. On this side you have a true 2-layer fly door, plus a 2-layer inner tent door. This means 4 separate zippered doors one above another, simply incredible.  

The tent is very tall, you have a standing height in the bigger part of it. The peak height is 82.68 in (210 cm).

The doors

The full coverage fly has no less than 4 doors. Three of them are visible in the top picture above. Those on the narrow sides are true double layer type, with full size zippered mesh doors and zippered panels. The panels are with dual zippers on the sides, so you can roll them up and fix above the entry.

The two side doors have large mesh sections on 2/3 of their upper body, one is visible above, and this mesh is accompanied by a zippered panel for privacy and protection. All in all, with such doors, you have full protection from flying insects under the shell.

On the other hand, the inner tent also has two huge double-layer D-shaped doors on the opposite sides.  Both are visible in the picture below.

The inner tent attaches at the base through loops that you pass under the shell and fix with the shell stakes, see the picture:

Under the roof, the inner tent is attached with toggles, one is shown below. There is a large gap between two layers for ventilation:

The tent is with poles from outside, so this is a dry-setup construction. This means that the inner tent will not get wet if you are forced to pitch the tent when it is raining. But there is also a roof protector and you can see it below. You can use it because it is included, but you do not have to. 

So the part of the roof covered by the protector is essentially a 3-layer area of the tent, again something amazing. The role of the protector is:

• To prevent tent damages from UV rays, it is easier to replace the protector than the tent.
• It adds a bit of rain protection as well.
• It also creates shade for the tent’s roof. There is a wide gap between the roof (fly) and the protector, see the picture below. So this is an effective way to reduce the heat in the tent.

Materials

The poles & stakes: You have 4 shock-corded poles that create the loops, and they are color-coded as shown in the picture below. Observe also the fifth ridge pole that crosses them all. This is a 6061 aluminum alloy, and the diameters of the poles are 16 mm and 14.5 mm.

All necessary pegs are included and this is duralumin material. The ropes are included, 2.5 m x 8, and 1.5 m x 8. The picture below shows where you place them.

Here are some details related to the poles and ropes. You also see one of the hooks that attach the protector to the frame.

They use a very clever system for tent connection to the poles and guylines, the picture below shows one element. With this, stress on the fabric is considerably reduced.

The fabric: The fly is a 75D polyester taffeta with an inner PU coating that gives water pressure resistance of minimum 1800 mm, and UV protection. On the outer side you have a Teflon water repellent finish. So this is something really special here, and you realize there is nothing of “entry” level here.

The roof protector is also a 75D polyester taffeta with the same waterproof rating and finish. The skirt shown in the picture below is a durable 210D polyester Oxford with a PU coating.

The inner tent is a 68D polyester taffeta, and its floor is a 210D polyester Oxford with a PU coating and a minimum 1800 mm waterproof rating.

Ventilation

You have already seen its incredibly large doors and realize that you have plenty of mesh for ventilation. The inner tent’s doors can always be used with mesh only, so you can have as much air circulation as you want.

But I do think that the tent would be better with some roof vents that would let vapor escape. Pity they have not added them here. Though this is really not a big deal, the inner tent is a full taffeta.

You can see how to set this tent up in the video, note that it is is Japanese, but you will see what you need:

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Who is this Tent for

Regarding the area, one thing that I dislike with this brand is that they do not give the area. This is with almost all the tents they have on the market.

So the tent is officially for 4 – 8 people, and my rough estimate of the inner floored area is around 68 ft² (6.3 m²).  The number 8 they mention means in the case when the shell would be used alone as a shelter, without the inner tent.

In the case of 4 users this would mean around 17 ft² (1.57 m²) per person. The dimensions are such that you can certainly place 4 sleeping pads on the floor. No doubt even 5 can fit in. But I see it as a great 4 person tent, and this is only bearing in mind its inner space.

On the other hand, the porch (or living room) is huge. The total area under the porch and vestibule, and this is again my rough estimate, is around 129 ft² (12 m²). So the total covered area is around 197 ft² (18.3 m²). This is enormous, and for 4 people this is a camping castle.

Clearly, the porch is so large that you can easily install a freestanding tent inside (without a fly), and this would increase the capacity for several more people. 

Regarding seasons & climate, the tent is suitable for any season and for any weather conditions. If you use it for summer camping, you have optimal ventilation through its gigantic full-size mesh doors. 

In the case of cold weather camping, you can close all the openings because they are double-layer. The inner tent is far under the full fly, the materials are strong and durable, so you will be protected in any weather.

They have made the shape oval to better deal with winds, and the two sides are strongly angled, so if you orient the tent properly, it will work great in windy conditions in spite of its height.

Regarding the weight, the tent looks heavy with its 34.2 lb (15.5 kg). But you have seen its overall dimensions and the covered space, so the weight is fully justified.

The packed size is 32.7 x 13.4 x 11.8 inches (83 x 34 x 30 cm), and no doubt this is reasonable when you see its overall dimensions.

So this is a car camping tent, and you are not supposed to carry it anywhere far from the car.

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Specifications

• Weight: 34.2 lb (15.5 kg).
• Official capacity: 4-8 people.
• Dimensions: 19.68 x 12.47 ft (600 x 380 cm).
• Inner area: around 68 ft² (6.3 m²)
• Inner area per person: 17 ft² (1.57 m²).
• Porch area: around 129 ft² (12 m²).
• Total protected area: around 197 ft² (18.3 m²).
• Peak height: 82.68 in (210 cm).
• Packed size: 32.7 x 13.4 x 11.8 in (83 x 34 x 30 cm).

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Accessories

This is an expensive tent, and it may be a good idea to use a footprint under the inner tent. They have it built specifically for it.

They also have an insulating mat that you can use in the inner tent, it is soft and padded.

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Final thoughts, rating, pros & cons

Below you can see how this tent stands against my standard rating criteria that I apply consistently to all the tents here in the site so that you can easily compare:

 

BEST PLACEs TO BUY:

Snow Peak

Camping World UK

For more tents of this shape please check in the category Tunnel Tents. Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below.

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