Kelty Salida 2 Person Backpacking Tent Review & Setup
Best Affordable Backpacking Tent
| We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. |
We recently had the opportunity to take out our Kelty Salida 2 Person Backpacking Tent to review and show setup. It’s one of the best affordable backpacking tents on the market, if your on a budget this might be the tent for you.
For our 14th anniversary we decided to take a kayaking trip out at Priest Lake. Last year we did the same thing, but we kayaked the thoroughfare, you can check out that amazing trip by clicking here or you can watch the videos below!
This year we decided to head out to Kalispell Island and take advantage of an amazing location for the Kelty Salida 2 person backpacking tent review and setup. If your in the market for a budget light weight backpacking tent, this might be the best affordable backpacking tent on the market. You get a really nice little 2 person tent for the money you spend. Let’s take a deeper look at the Kelty Salida 2 person backpacking tent below!
Kelty Salida 2 Person Backpacking Tent Video Review
If your more of a watch the video kind of person, check out our Kelty Salida 2 person backpacking tent video review below. We show you how to setup and our impressions of the tent, you also get to see the beautiful Kalispell Island on Priest Lake!
Best Affordable Backpacking Tent
Kelty Salida 2 Person Backpacking Tent Review And Setup
Kelty Salida 2 Person Backpacking Tent Setup
Also, if you already know this tent is right for you, click below to see user reviews, price and more information and photos!
User Reviews, Additional Details and Price Information CLICK BELOW!
- Backpack-friendly compact folding poles, Gearloft loops, Color coded clip and fly attachment.Wall material: 68D Polyester, 40D No-See-Um Mesh,Floor material: 68D Nylon, 1800 mm
- Roll top cube carry bag, Easy set up, Free standing, Fabric/mesh tent walls
- Kelty hug clip, Easy entry D door, Internal storage pockets, Fully seam taped construction
- Seasons: 3, Number of doors: 1, Number of vestibules: 1, Number of poles: 2, Capacity: 2
- Floor area: 30.5 ft² / 2.83 m², Vestibule area: 10 ft² / .93 m².Wall material: 68D Polyester, 40D No-See-Um Mesh,Floor material: 68D Nylon, 1800 mm
Last update on 2024-03-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Let’s start with setting up the Kelty Salida 2 person tent. It’s honestly one of the easiest tents I have ever setup. This is one of the things that makes it extremely attractive for backpacking and quick setup. No one wants to backpack into a destination and spend 20-30 minutes putting a tent up. This tent went up in about 4 minutes. That includes the time to take it out of the package. We show you the quick setup in the video above!
You simply cross the polls diagonally and hook them to the hooks at the top of the tent. You then attach the poles to the tent with the incredibly easy hooks on the tent itself. There is no sleeve to slip the poles into, so you just latch the poles to the tent. You turn the latch sideways, then slip the pole in and turn. It’s super easy and stays attached really well. This is SO much better than sleeves and so much easier. Once the poles are attached, you just slip the end of the pole into the holes at the 4 corners of the tent. You now have your tent based setup. If you don’t need the rain fly and want to sleep under the stars you can now stake it and be done!
Putting the rain fly on is very easy as well. You just drape it over the tent and use the Velcro straps to attach to the poles. Then it snaps into the corner of the tent with a simple latch. It went on in about 30 seconds. It may take a little longer if you need to tie the fly down. If your expecting a lot of rain, this step is probably for the best.
Kelty Salida 2 Person Backpacking Tent Review
We loved the tent. We had wind and rain on the island, nothing too crazy but enough to be a little concerned. The tent held up really well. I thought with the wind and rain we would have some rain water get through, but not a drop. It was completely dry in the morning. Keep in mind, we did not tie down the rain fly, just attached to the tent. Tying it down would have made it even more capable of standing up to wind and rain.
We have a Deuter 35 liter and another generic 35 liter backpack that we used for this kayaking trip. Both backpacks were housed under the front of the tent overnight along with our shoes and some other equipment. All of it stayed mostly dry. One part of the generic back was sticking out a bit (our fault) and got wet, but that wasn’t a big deal at all.
Our only real complaint about the tent was the lack of storage or hooks on the interior of the tent. We didn’t have anywhere to store phones or keys or hang a lantern. A truly minor inconvenience and a 1st world problem for sure, but I did want to mention it.
We tore the tent down in about 8 minutes. Everything fit nicely into the bag it came with. The bag worked great for kayaking, but for backpacking, I wish it compressed a little bit. You may want to consider putting the tent into a compression bag to store in your backpack as the bag it came with doesn’t really do that.
The Kelty Salida 2 person backpacking tent is pretty light. It comes at 4 pounds and 9 ounces but you can trim the fat and get it down to 3 pounds 14 ounces if necessary. I’m 6 foot 5 and fit in the tent nicely with a little room at the bottom. We have to pay attention to the length of tents due to my height. This one had plenty of room.
The official length of the tent is 88 inches. It’s 45 inches wide at the feet and 55 inches wide at the top where your head lays. It’s 43 inches in height.
It is a 3 season tent so it should do well in most camping conditions. I wouldn’t use this as a winter tent unless you had very warm clothing and sleeping bag. There are better winter tents out there though.
The Kelty Salida Backpacking Tent comes in 1 person, 2 person and 4 person. I would recommend it for any of those uses. If you just need a 1 person tent for yourself, it’s a great easy to use tent.
Like stated above, it’s one of the best affordable backpacking tents. You can get it right around $100. I think we bought ours for $120, but I just checked and it’s like $111 right now. Click below to see how much it is now, and to see more information and user reviews!
User Reviews, Additional Details and Price Information CLICK HERE!
Thank you for checking out the Kelty Salida 2 person backpacking tent review and setup. Feel free to check out our site for other great reviews and adventures. You can check out our trip to Kalispell Island at the link below. You can also check out our guide to larger family size tents under $200!
Check out our trip to Kalispell Island on Priest Lake, Idaho below!
Kalispell Island
