Wild Country Zephyros 2 – Gear Review

The Zephyros 2 is a great tent for those who are getting more serious about their camping and hiking pursuits. This tent offers a light-weight, affordable option, for both backpackers and hikers, and can stand up to most weather conditions.

Having owned a Wild Country Zephyros 2 for over 8 months I have finally got around to reviewing its performance. The Wild Country Zephyros 2 is based on the Terra Nova Laser Competition design and is very similar, which is no surprise when you take into consideration the fact that Wild Country tents are the little sister company of Terra Nova.

Marketed at lightweight hikers or backpackers, the tent weighs in at a very light 1.79 kilograms (3lbs 9oz). Wild Country advertise the Zephyros 2 as a two man tent, but personally, I found it fitted me perfect as a “one camper with his kit” tent. Even though I am not lightweight myself, I find it hard to imagine two campers and their camping gear fitting in the tent and porch comfortably – it can be done, but it may involve compromising sleeping bag loft, particularly if using down bags.

Pitching time

The Zephyros 2 specifications boast a 5 minute pitching time, which I found possible after practicing pitching the tent a number of times. In terms of pitching the tent, I found it isn’t quite as easy as others, but once mastered, can be done easily.

I recommend practicing putting the tent up in your garden a number of times until you are confident you can pitch the tent in bad weather.

As a tunnel tent, it is aerodynamic when pitched properly and offers great protection against the elements.

Recently when camping in the Mourne Mountains, we encountered heavy winds and rain. I was using the Zephyros 2 that night and it provided with me with a comfortable dry nights sleep. Although I could hear the wind howling outside, I felt very secure under its protection.

I have heard some advice from another Zephyros 2 owner, that suggests pitching the tent with the porch facing into the wind. The theory behind this idea is that the space of the porch has the greatest distance between the outer and inner flysheet and therefore the least chance of the rain coming through if the two fabrics do touch.

Tent structure

The tents gets its structure from its main alloy pole which bends over the central tent, giving it its headroom. It also has two smaller black fiber glass poles at each end, which create tension when pegged down, and gives the tent its shape. I found the porch to be quite spacious: ideal for boots, backpacks and wet gear, although I personally felt it was a little bit small for cooking in.

Pitching

The tent pitches all in one, or in other terms fly sheet and inner together. I feel that this is the best way to pitch a tent, as it saves time and ensures that your inner will not get wet if setting up in the rain. The inner is attached by a number of clips running down from the fly sheet, which are easy to connect, but can be left connected to save time and effort when pitching the next time.

There are set up instructions printed onto the stuff sac of the tent, but I found myself scratching my head at them, as I found them a bit confusing. This can be quickly fixed simply by practicing the set-up. Once pegged down at either end using the two main secure straps, you simply slide the main alloy pole along the guide sleeve on the flysheet and into the metal ringed loop, pegging down the other metal ring to fix into place.

The Zephyros 2 is provided with 10 v- angle pegs which I binned after the first use, I found them to to be very sore on my hands when pushing them into the ground. I replaced them with 14 longer alloy pegs as needed to secure the storm guides as well.

The Zephyros 2 has a two way large zipper on both the inner and flysheet which are both robust and easy to use. The tent inner has a number of handy pocket allowing for storage for such things as mobiles or a head torch, which I think is a great feature.

Sleeping space

The inner of the tent is around 230 cm in length x 100 cm high x 92 cm tall which as I’ve previously mentioned I found it too be a bit cramped for me.

From the outside the Zephyros 2 looks very spacious from the outside but the inner sleeping compartment can be up to 10 inches apart from the flysheet in places. For me, this is a good feature as the distance between the inner and outer minimizes the chance of the two fabrics touching, and transferring moisture. On the other hand it can also be seen as a bad feature, as this reduces the room you have to sleep in inside the tent.

I found the tents stuff sack to be too long and awkward to attach to either the bottom of my rucksack or to the side. A a result I now use a stuff sack for the tent while the poles and pegs get strapped to the side of my pack.

Weather conditions

I have not yet used the tent in extreme winter conditions, but I have used the it in different weather conditions in varied terrains over the last 8 months and I must say how pleased I was with it performance. It’s stood up to strong winds and torrential rain, it’s poles have been shook and held their own. I have summit camped with the Zephyros 2 but ideally would prefer to use a more suited geodetic style design tent as it offers the maximum chance of protection under it canopy.

What I like:

• Simple design
• Good sized porch
• Weatherproof

What I don’t like:

• The sharp pegs supplied
• Tent pack size

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If you like the look of this gear, please consider purchasing from Amazon via the link below. We receive a small referral fee at no cost to you if you do. Please also be assured that this in no way affects the content of our reviews, you’ll see these purchase links in the products we hated too, just in case you disagree with us!

Find a bargain on eBay

The Zephyros II is frequently available at low prices on eBay.