UL Granite 2P Featherstone tent: Best budget backpacking tent

The first thing you’ll notice when you start looking for backpacking tents is how very expensive they are. However, that’s the best feature about this Featherstone tent. The UL Granite 2P by Featherstone Outdoor Products may not be the flashiest tent you’ll find, but it’s affordable and can hold it’s own in the elements.

Quick review

A quality tent for car campers or beginners looking for a cheap tent to explore backpacking with. The UL Granite 2P Featherstone tent will hold its own against the elements, is spacious and roomy, and affordable.

It is weighty and has some minor flaws, but these are easily overlookable for the price of the tent and its durability for me so far.

Review policy

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The Technical Details

What I like about the UL Granite 2P Featherstone tent

The first time I tried this tent out, we got hit with gusts of wind up to 50 mph. I spent that night listening to the UL Granite 2P flapping and swaying, but it held its ground without any issues or collapsing.

It feels roomy inside despite the small space. My sister and I, when we took it on a weekend trip near us, were both able to sit up simultaneously without bumping into one another or feeling crowded.

On another one of my favorite trips with this tent, I and a friend visited Utah for a car camping trip to see the National Parks. Each night, we’d arrive at our campsite after dark and were setting up the tent in unfamiliar desert. Yet we never had issues setting the tent up and were able to quickly and efficiently get our campsites set up each night.

It’s actually affordable. One of Featherstone Outdoor Products key values is that the outdoors welcomes all. With that, they strive to make affordable, accessible backpacking gear, like the Granite or their Moondance 25 sleeping quit. It’s why they’re gear is a consistent favorite on my budget backpacking gear list.

What I don’t like:

It’s weight. For a backpacking tent, it’s weighty, coming in at twice the weight of the Big Agnes or the Duplex. However, the lower price does even out the weight of it.

Additionally, there’s no pocket or other type of fastener on the rainfly to put the cross pole in. As such, as the wind blew or the tent poles naturally shifted, this pole was usually off of the reinforced fabric. I’m sure that, eventually, it will need a patch there.

Another pet peeve of mine: the tent is set up with the heads and feet of each person on opposite sides. That means that if each person has their head next to their door’s zipper and stash pocket, their head will be next to their tentmate’s feet. After a long day of hiking? Ew, gross. If you both sleep with heads the same direction, it means one person’s zipper and pocket is by their feet rather than their head, which can be a bit annoying.

Where to buy the UL Granite 2P Featherstone backpacking tent

If you’re looking for something budget-friendly you can use to get into backpacking or something you can easily throw in the car without worrying about an expensive tent getting shredded, I’d recommend this Featherstone tent. It’s one of the best budget backpacking tents I’ve found and will make an excellent addition to your backpacking gear. Plus, get 10% of your purchase by using the code SPARKS10 when checking out!

Like the Granite 2P tent? You’ll love these other Featherstone products.