REI Co-op Flash Air 2

We don't stock this shelter and haven't slept in it. What we hold is the measurements its maker published, and the one question those answer that a spec sheet never does.

Will it go on your bars?

The folded pole set is 455mm — a packed-bag length rather than a stated pole figure, so treat it as an upper bound, the 26th shortest of the 29 shelters we hold a pole length for. At 1091g it is 26th lightest of 37.

On drop bars
455mm poles — too long for drop bars

Beyond the usable span on drop bars. Carry it on the frame, in a seat pack, or strapped to a fork cage instead. This figure is the packed bag's long dimension, not a pole length REI Co-op publishes — for this style of tent the two are the same thing, but measure before you commit.

On flat bars
455mm poles — tight on flat bars

Workable on some flat-bar setups but not universally. Check the span between your hoods and allow for cable routing before you rely on it. This figure is the packed bag's long dimension, not a pole length REI Co-op publishes — for this style of tent the two are the same thing, but measure before you commit.

A pole set clears drop bars under 350mm and is marginal to 380mm; on flat bars those figures are 450mm and 500mm. Those are usable span between the hoods, not measured bar width. Check the clear run on your own bike before committing — hoods, cables and light mounts all eat into it.

What the maker publishes

Folded pole length455mm (packed-bag length, used as a proxy)
Packed size6.9 x 17.9 in
Minimum weight1091g
Packed weight1294g
Sleeps2
Inner floor2235 × 1321 cm

Blank fields stay blank. Where a maker doesn't publish a figure we say so rather than estimating one.

Shorter poles and lighter, same capacity

The only unambiguous comparison: shelters sleeping the same number that pack shorter poles and weigh less. Anything else is a trade rather than a win.

Tarptent Double Rainbow Short Pole Option
305mm poles · 1018g

How this figure is held at all

29 of the 43 shelters we track publish a folded pole length. It is the number that decides handlebar carry and the one most makers leave out, which is why the tent finder filters on it and reports how many shelters it had to exclude for missing it. The shortest set we hold is the Nordisk Lofoten 1 ULW at 220mm.

by Brian Williams · 6 years bikepacking