Portal 2 Footprint

Great Footprint, but would love a matching version for my Green/Brown Portal 2.

Very light weight and packable

Portal Footprint

Portal Footprint

Overall very happy with my new tent. Took it on an 8 day glacier travel trip and it kept us dry in the rain. The vestibules rattled a lot in the wind and maybe I need more practice staking them but there is slack when I pull them out taut and that slack gets caught in the wind. One night they came loose from their anchor. It would be nice to have the option to buy the parachute deadman anchor for staking in the snow.

The Sling Fin Portal is light but not a minimalists backpacking tent. The Portal is for the backpacker who wants a tent that is durable, will last & may push its envelope in winter conditions. I love the headroom, screened in open view & the modern design compared to tents that I have & owned. I look for more excuses now to use my Portal! My other tents are jealous.

Easy to use, perfect fit, packs with the tent. Very nice!

Ultra lightweight. Color is awesome—kind of like a habanero orange. Material is awesome, very durable.. when I set it up for the first time in my living room my cat decided to jump on it (and burn out with his back claws), no holes! Glad we purchased this to match our Portal 2 tent.

Portal Footprint

I was surprised that this didn't already come with a footprint, as most do. I ordered it and the only problem I has was setting up the tent then moving it around to get it in the right spot. The footprint would come off. It just took a little time to reattach it and all, but it fit well underneath. I guess it is not included because of the Super Ultra Light folks out there that sacrifice that extra weight.

Nice

To date I’ve only had the chance to do 'the backyard setup' of my new Portal tent. A thorough review would take a few seasons that included some serious weather and site conditions but for now I can share my first impressions.

When searching for a new tent I was looking for a reasonable balance between these 3 variables: weight, price and ‘strength’ (in which I would include ‘livability’). I think the Portal does a great job in striking the sweet-spot in this equation. There are lighter tents, cheaper tents, sturdier tents but, from my research, I couldn’t find one that hit the mark closer than the Portal on all three categories. I can see plainly that this tent was designed and crafted by people that know where a tent and it’s owner can find themself. There are so many thoughtful elements that I can literally feel: the tent nearly borders on the palatial due its max head height of 44” and the incorporation of a cross pole that makes the side walls close to vertical; the nearly ridiculous number (7!) of interior pockets; the internal guy-lines and hiking pole ‘outrigger’ attachments that increase the strength with barely any weight gain; the two generous D-shaped entry doors placed towards the foot-end of the tent with a continuous zipper and spare pulls for that ‘just in case’; the small packed size and the intuitive ease of setup. With this tent there isn’t that commonly found attempt to reduce perceived cost or weight by leaving out indispensable items like seam sealing, guy lines or tent stakes. Additionally, though this is not essential but is important to me, the Portal is simply a damn good looking tent!!!!!

I do nearly all of my rambling in the Eastern Sierra, camping at between 9,000 and 11,000 ft., from May through September. On more than one occasion my tent has made the difference between getting through a night or that night being my last one. I have been through blizzards and wind storms and three days straight penned in my tent and I’ll take the security and comfort I know I’ll have in the Portal over the ounces I might save. Perfect conditions for a featherlight tent would be the exception not the rule at most of my campsites. You can easily find a lighter or a cheaper tent but at the very real cost of safety, security and comfort .When you add it all up I doubt you’ll find a better balance of my 3 variables.

Let me come back in a few years after I’ve had this tent out during some precarious nights (and days) but so far I couldn’t be more pleased or excited to test it’s limits.

It is absurd that all retailers ask for reviews before you have any chance to put wear and tear on a product. With that being said, I view a footprint only as something to reduce the wear on your tent floor. Since good equipment isn't cheap I think he extra few ounces is worth it. If you are buying one to keep you dry, forget it. That opinion is not manufacturer specific. I have set up this SlingFin footprint and tent in my yard twice. It fits the 2P Portal really well & for as light as the material is it seems to be made quite well, but once again reviews should be done at the end of your first year when the glow of newness has worn off & you have had the chance to use the product in many conditions. Once the product is in your hands you can tell the manufacture has nice quality control in the manufacturing/assembly process. SlingFin has good pre-sale and post sale customer service. I didn't give it a five star rating because I would reserve that for something that I know stands the test of time. Too early to earn that, but I am hopeful.

Much of the same applies to the tent itself. Great design, light weight, high quality material and attention paid to the assembly. A couple of notes. There is not a guyline provided for each guy point on the tent. Not the end of the world but typically higher end equipment has that. There is also 2 stakes too few based on stake points. Once again I have a ton of extra stakes, but that is not the point. On the center of the head side of the tent rain fly it should have a tie down point. It only has a triangular tab that visually matches to the tent for orientation. I suspect in a windy night not being able to stake that down could result in a flapping noise. All these things are fairly minor, but the most significant thing I am anxious to see how it works out is I believe the rain fly should come down lower. I don't know if that is done to keep the weight down, but I sure hope it is low enough to keep the rain out of the tent in a gully washing downpour like we often get in this part of the country.

Otherwise the size and weight to feature ratio is top shelf.

I love my slingfin!

I cycle tour in farily remote, windy, cold, and awful places. By myself. And I am old. My previous tent did a yoeman's job of dealing with it all including a two day Force 10 storm. After five years it was showing signs of wear. I researched for months and ordered the Portal. Admittedly, I have not used it yet in the wild but the "dining room setup" has all the indications of this being a magnificent replacement. Roomy. Tub floor (no seams to leak). Well thought out simple pole and clip installation. The tent goesup quickly. Well reinforced points. And lightweight. I can't believe how light it is even with all the features, including two entrances and vestibules. My only concern is the little toggle attachments for the cross bar and fly. In the freezing cold and wind I am thinking these are going to be a bit of a challenge and would prefer something a little easier (like hooks). But, of course, toggles are not going to come unstuck so perhaps the reason. Also, the little hooks for they corners of the fly are awfully small to see in their blackness, even in daylight...especially since they need to be oriented away from the tent. At night it is going to be a braille exercise to figure out which direction is away. But all small potatoes at the moment. I can't wait for the wind and rain to give the tent a go. My observation at this point is that I couldn't be happier with my purchase.