Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 Tent Review –

In Nine years of traveling around the world, Ryan Wilson has had a chance to test out a wide variety of tents across different continents and ever-changing conditions. Read on to find out Ryan’s thoughts after spending a year living out of Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s UltaMid 2 shelter (starting at $699/$729) in this in-depth review…

Of all of the pieces of gear that I get to nerd out on as a “professional bike traveler,” getting my hands on a new tent might be the most exciting of all. Over the last nine years, I’ve had a chance to test out eight different tents on the road and each has had its strengths and weaknesses. No single tent is perfect for every person or every trip, but there are many good options out there these days that try to strike a balance between the key aspects of a good tent— weight, packed size, stormworthiness, livability, and durability.

One that has always caught my eye is the Hyperlite Mountain Gear (HMG) pyramid-style tents and over the past year, I’ve had a chance to put a 2-person HMG UltaMid 2 to the test during my trip through Greece, Türkiye, and Georgia, to see if it lives up to the lofty pedigree and hefty price tag.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 Pyramid Tent Quick Hits

Pyramid Tent— White ($699), Spruce Green ($729) – 541g
1-2 Person, 4-season Tent
Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF8)
83” width, 107” length, 64” height
Configurable to run as a standalone tarp or with a variety of different inserts for 1 or 2 people
Dual Peak vents
Fully taped seams
2-way water resistant #5 zipper on the outer, #5 zipper for the inner
Eight 3ft, 2.8mm guy lines for perimeter tie-outs
Extra 100ft of 2.8mm guy wire
DCF Drawstring stuff sack
Made in Mexico

Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 Inserts and Accessories

Half Insert with DCF11 floor $249 – 420g
Full Insert with DCF11 floor $399 – 624g
Mesh insert with no floor $99 – 386g
Adjustable Carbon Tent Pole $79 – 266g
Ultralight Aluminum Stakes x8 $39 – 99g

As configured for this review, as a palace for one person and all of my gear, I used the Spruce Green Pyramid outer with the Half insert, a carbon pole, and stakes, which add up to 1.326 kg or 2.92 lb and a grand total of $1,096. The latter is an eye-popping number, to be sure, but more on that later.

I also carried along an extra six stakes and guy line for when I really needed to batten down the hatches for particularly stormy or windy conditions, which brought the total weight closer to 1.5kg (3.3 lbs). For many trips, you will be fine with a more pared-down setup, but it’s certainly nice to have the option.

Ultralight, Not Ultrafragile

All of Hyperlite’s tents, including the UltaMid 2, are made from Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF). You are probably familiar with DCF at this point, but just in case you aren’t, I will spare you the buzzword salad and simply say that it’s a fabric designed to have a superior strength-to-weight ratio and more water resistance compared to a similar tent made from SilNylon and SilPoly.

While the Ultamid 2 is certainly “ultralight,” I wouldn’t put it in the same category as many of the über gram counter DCF tents that you see on the market today. For this tent, HMG uses the thicker, more robust DCF8 fabric compared to some gram counter tents that use DCF5. There are no ticking time-bomb #3 zippers, or short, thin-gauge cordage, and noultra-mini line locks that become fiddly with cold hands. The lower guy lines that come pre-attached are extra long and glide smoothly through robust line locks.

The adjustable pole that Hyperlite sells for the tent is also the most confidence-inspiring, thick gauge tent pole that I’ve ever used on any tent, and since you only need one and it’s carbon fiber, the weight penalty isn’t too bad. The cone at the peak of the tent where the pole is inserted is super-reinforced and designed to be used with anything from paddles to sticks or even a camera tripod in a pinch. It’s nice knowing you’ll have options, even if something goes wrong.

Even the zipper door on the mesh inner is a solid #5 zip that should last a long time if you take decent care of it, something of a rarity in today’s age where so many tents are selling the lowest number on the scale first and foremost.

Everything feels like it’s made to last, and indeed after a solid year of heavy use, mine is still in great shape.

Storm-worthiness

The ultra gram-saving stuff has its place, but as a 4-season capable tent that you want to be able to confidently pitch above the tree line, that’s not what this one is about and it’s one of the main things that attracted me to it in the first place. I am admittedly someone who often leans toward pitching in the spot with the most majestic morning view rather than the most reasonable, wind-protected site, and the UltaMid suits that type of person very well.

With its sloped walls, the tried and true pyramid design sheds wind well from all directions, especially if you’ve got it all staked out from the 15 potential stake-points. There’s something incredibly satisfying about getting it all pitched out, grabbing the peak of the tent, and jostling it around in all directions just to have it not budge an inch. The center-pole design does have some disadvantages in terms of livability, which I’ll get into in a bit, but there’s no question that it’s extremely effective in the wind compared to other tents in a similar weight class.

While you probably wouldn’t want to intentionally pitch the front door into the wind, it doesn’t have a “weak side” in the way that most non-pyramid, ultralight tents have. It’s happened countless times for me in the past. I pitch my tent with the wind hitting the tent’s strongest angle, and then by 2 am those gusts shift 90 degrees to the weak side and suddenly it feels like the whole thing is going to come down on me like a deck of cards. No fun.

I can say that I had a couple of nights with gusts hitting above 80 km/h (50mp/h) in this tent in Greece and Türkiye where I would have been forced to pack up in the middle of the night and move sites with any of my previous tents out of fear that I wouldn’t be left with a functioning tent by the morning, which the UltaMid handled with relative ease.

In terms of wet weather, the Ultamid functioned perfectly. The Dyneema fabric sheds water very well, and I never saw any notable leakage from the water-resistant zipper. If you use the tent as a 2-person shelter, the main disadvantage you’ll have is that unzipping the door will result in the end of the interior being exposed on one side, so you may have to scramble in and out. However, for 1 person, I did not have any of these issues.

One of the nice parts about this style of tent is that you can pitch it higher or lower depending on the conditions. If you want a bit more airflow overnight, extend those corner lines and raise the pole a bit more to create a gap at the lower edge of the tent. If it’s stormy and you want to reduce the risk of splashback or you want to reduce drafts on a cold night, you can shorten them both up and get the bottom edge closer to the ground. You can also unzip the top of the 2-way zipper to get a bit more airflow going if the weather is suitable.

Dyneema vs. SilNylon vs. SilPoly

Ahh, the endless debate. Straight off the bat I will go ahead and eliminate SilNylon from the running for myself as SilPoly comes with most of the advantages of Nylon (price, packability), without being as prone to absorbing moisture and sagging throughout the night. No one wants to have to get out of their tent in the middle of the night in the rain to tension their tent back out, and Dyneema (and to a slightly lesser extent SilPoly) does an excellent job at maintaining a taut pitch in wet conditions.

Not absorbing water also makes Dyneema easier to pack in the morning if it has been raining overnight. I usually bring a lightweight towel to wipe down the tent before I pack it up, that way I don’t have to constantly pull the tent out throughout the day to dry it like I used to have to with SilNylon tents. With Dyneema, a quick wipe-down before I pack up the rest of my gear usually means packing a dry tent.

The laminated construction of the fabric also makes it easier to repair in the field when compared to other tent fabrics that I’ve dealt with. Just pack a bit of Dyneema tape and you’re good to go for most situations.

Of course, the primary advantage that Dyneema has over SilPoly is its strength-to-weight ratio. Those shaved grams come at a price, however, as raw Dyneema fabric is very costly, which is reflected in the eye-popping price of Dyneema tents. There is no question that the price will immediately remove a significant number of potential consumers, with the all-in cost of a pyramid, inner, and pole tipping the scales at over $1000. This is a huge investment, and likely not one that an occasional camper will be willing to fork over.

The other main disadvantage is the packed size. For a similarly sized tent, the Dyneema version is going to be bulkier, especially when it’s brand new and the fabric is stiffer. Over time, the fabric softens and becomes a bit more packable, but it can never match SilPoly or Nylon in that department. So, you have to factor in that to weight as well. If it takes up more space in your bags, does that mean you need to bring larger, heavier bags to hold all of your stuff, which may offset the weight difference of the Dyneema tent? All things to consider.

If I had one tiny other nit-pick about Dyneema it’s that it does feel a touch louder when it’s getting shaken on windy nights. Not a deal-breaker, but it is noticeable, particularly on gusty nights when the wind isn’t so steady.

Versatility

One of the most appealing aspects of these tents is their modularity. If the conditions are right, you can go super light and compact by leaving the inner at home and rocking the 541g outer, a ground sheet, a pole, and a handful of stakes for a super light and strong shelter. If you’re going on a solo mission in buggy areas, you can include the half-insert and have a fully protected palace for one with a massive vestibule space for gear storage. If you’re bringing along a friend, you can grab the full insert and have a massive, protected area for two. It scales up or down very easily depending on the trip.

While the 2-person insert sets up easily on its own on mild, dry nights for star-gazing, pitching the 1-person half-insert without the outer requires some extra effort. I used my camera tripod to rig it up, but you could also run a line from a tree branch. The insert for the newer, smaller UltaMid 1 can be pitched easily on its own with the normal pole, so I’d like to see that make its way to the UltaMid 2 half-insert in the future.

Ease of Setup

Getting a good pitch is relatively trouble-free. Just stake down the corners into a rectangle and give them a bit of tension, then insert the pole and stake out the rest. I kept my half-insert attached at all times and packed it away with the tent every morning to keep things streamlined, making it super quick to get pitched. Thankfully, the included Dyneema stuff-sack for the outer was just large enough to fit both the outer and the half-insert. If you’re going for the full insert you will likely need a larger stuff sack if you want to carry them together, or you’ll have to keep them apart in their separate bags and re-attach them when you get to camp.

With a footprint of 83”x 107” x 64”, the UltaMid 2 definitely requires some real estate to pitch, as is typical with pyramid tents. That is the trade-off of having the sloped walls which perform well in adverse weather and the simple pole design. You have to make the footprint larger to provide enough living space inside. Steep-walled dome-style tents may turn into sails in the wind, but they are a more efficient use of space. This will be a problem for some people and a non-issue for others, totally depending on a person’s specific camping habits and the terrain they spend the most time on.

One tip I’ve got for setting up is to position the front corner stakes by the door in such a way that they relieve a bit of tension on the main zip panel. Often I would set up a perfect rectangle, make it taut, and then move the front corner stakes very slightly toward each other and re-tension them so that the side of the tent with the zip on it has a touch less tension than the other 3 sides. Along with regular cleaning, this will prevent issues with the main zipper in the long run. After enough time, I was able to get this down without even re-staking it. Hyperlite includes a snap at the bottom of the zipper to relieve tension while operating it, which helps on its own, but this kept my zipper gliding smoothly all year.

Livability

For one person, the Ultamid 2 with the half-insert is very comfortable to spend time in night after night. The peak height gives plenty of headroom, with the pole extending to 64”. The half-insert height is lower, at 44”, but wasn’t an issue for me. The floor of the insert is wide enough at 33” to keep items stowed next to my sleeping pad with easy access, and the vestibule is large enough to fit any other gear you can imagine, with plenty of space left over for cooking or simply to keep door access easy. Hell, I could almost fit my whole bike in there, it’s so spacious. That vestibule space was also a favorite for Georgian dogs to curl up in at night.

At my height of 6’2” (188cm), I would say that the half-insert is just long enough. When I combine a thick sleeping pad like the 4” Big Agnes Rapide SL I’ve been using during this testing period and the angled walls of the tent, I do end up brushing against the mesh at the head and the foot a bit when I’m fully stretched out. This isn’t the end of the world, as there is still a significant gap between the mesh inner and the outer of the tent where condensation may build up on wet nights, but if you’re much taller than 6’2”, it might begin to feel restrictive inside the insert.

For two people, the center pole design of pyramid tents may be a turn-off since the pole is in the middle of the floor, right in the spot with the most headroom. If the majority of my tent use was going to be with 2 people, I would consider going for the Ultamid 4, which only weighs an extra 94 grams, and the 2-person half-insert actually weighs 85g less than than the 2-person full insert on the Ultamid 2, offsetting the weight difference.

With that, you lose the pole in the middle of the floor, add extra room at the head and foot, and gain a massive vestibule. You also reduce the chances of rain getting into the inner when you’re getting in and out of the tent in a storm. Of course, the footprint gets even larger, the price goes up, and someone has to crawl over the other occupant if they want to get out of the tent.

There is one area that I think could be easily improved with these tents in terms of everyday usage. For one, the door clips on the outer are a bit too loose and simplistic. You can’t tighten them down, so they often allow the fabric to start unraveling after you’ve rolled it back. I’m a magnetic toggle evangelist at this point, and Hyperlite uses them on some of their newer tent models, so I’d like to see them make their way to the UltaMids. At a minimum, I’d like an adjustable clip if there are concerns that magnets wouldn’t be strong enough in 4-season weather.

Also, some pockets on the insert could be handy to keep a few things off the ground that you don’t want to accidentally lay on like your phone or sunglasses. I added a small, stick-on pocket from Z-packs to mine. These are small nitpicks but things that could improve functionality without sacrificing much in terms of weight.

Alternatives

There are plenty of lighter tents on the market if gram counting is your priority, and certainly, there are many cheaper tents. A company like Mountain Laurel Designs makes some very nice-looking SilPoly pyramids for a bit cheaper if you want something similar but aren’t really on a Dyneema budget. They also make Dyneema pyramids at a comparable price tag to the Hyperlites if you want to compare configurations.

Looking beyond pyramids, there are plenty of interesting options on the market these days. From the Durston X-Mid and X-Dome tents, the first of which I reviewed and enjoyed last year, and the latter I’m testing as I type this. Tarptent also has a wide variety of options to suit just about every need. I also have a soft spot for the spacious yet ultra-packable and affordable Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo for those minimalist solo trips.

Closing Thoughts

The Hyperlite UltaMid tents are a big investment. It would be hard to recommend that someone who isn’t a serious camper with a serious budget drop $700 to $1200 on any Dyneema shelter, to be honest. Nor do you need something this fancy to get out and do big bike tours around the world. I’ve done multiple years touring in tents that cost about a quarter of this one, all-in. But for someone who likes to get out there in all kinds of adverse conditions and who doesn’t scoff at the notion of throwing down a big chunk of change for a super reliable, versatile, and spacious shelter that should last for many many years worth of trips, the UltaMid 2 from Hyperlite Mountain Gear checks a lot of boxes.

It’s not the lightest gram counter tent out there, but its pyramid design, robust materials, and solid construction all around make this the sturdiest “ultralight” shelter that I’ve had the pleasure to tour with to date, so if your needs and budget line up, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.