The Nordisk Telemark is one of the world’s lightest two-person tents for back- and bikepacking. Despite being made for two people, the Nordisk Telemark 2 comes in at a weight of only 950 gr  (including the footprint of 387 gr, the total weight is 1337 gr). The tent has won several awards for technical construction and being extremely low in weight. The tents is light and small when packed, but provides comfort and an easy setup after long days of hiking. It does a good job balancing weight and comfortability for one person. But it pushes the limits as a two-person option. For adventure races it might do the job, but for long hikes and weekend getaways it is better regarded as a one person tent. In this review of the Nordisk Telemark 2 tent, I will therefore review it as such.

The pro’s and cons

+

Spacious for one person

Easy pitch, flysheet option

Good in heavy rain & wind

–

One door

Vulnerable to punctures and rips

Quite some condentation

Corner poles slip

Hands-on review of the Nordisk Telemark 2

I bought the Nordisk Telemark 2 second-hand a couple of years ago and it has been with me ever since. I’ve used it on my solo hike through the Scottish Highlands, in the Dutch forest and in the mountains of Switzerland. I’ve used it both alone and with other people in mild and relatively rough conditions. Compared to other lightweight tents I’ve been more than satisfied, but there are two main things that annoyed me through all those trips, which is why I bought a new lightweight tent. Want to know what? Read the full review of the Nordisk Telemark 2 tent.

Weight & packed size

The nylon ensures that the tent is only 950 grams. It is one of the lightest two (but also one) person tents on the market. The tent only has one pole (and four small corner poles), but due to the design you still have quite some room in the middle of the innertent. The corner poles double as a stake to keep up the vestibule. It’s a nice extra, but I’ve never really used it.

Comfort

This Nordisk tent model was made to be lightweight and practical. For one person it is quite spacious and comfortable although it is difficult to sit up due to the relatively low design.

One nice feature is that the vestibule is adjustable! With the maximum size of the innertent, the vestibule is a little on the small side, with space for shoes and cooking utensils but not enough for cooking. With the inner space reduced and the porch expanded it does provide space for a wet (smaller) rucksack and other wet material. When it’s raining though, the rain will come inside unless you might use the corner poles to set up the vestibule. When you do this, however, the rest of the tent sags a bit and they are hard to put back.

For a two-person tent it lacks some, in my opinion standard, things such as space (quite important) and an extra door. The tent is asymmetrical, with only 75cm at the foot end of the tent. This means you will need mummy-shaped matrasses to fit with two people. Furthermore, while the tent has a nice design that ensures some space for sitting up, this is still too little for two.

Ease of set-up

The Telemark 2 is a double wall tent with a single hoop and four short corner poles. The tent is relatively easy to set up. The stake clicks together well, the corner poles are already in the corners and you only need four pegs to stake it. It can be pitched as a unit or flysheet first in only a couple of minutes!

While the tent is easy to set up, the tent is made of Nylon which sags in cold and rainy conditions. I’ve had to come out of the tent on multiple occasions to tighten the tent. Also, the corner poles keep poking out of the corners. This is extremely annoying and eventually I decided to just sew these corners shut, since I don’t use the corner poles for the vestibule anyway.

Weather resistance

The weather resistance of the tent is good! I’ve never had any issues in windy conditions or with rain getting into the tent. The outer tent pitches low, which ensures that the wind doesn’t pass through the tent. The water column of the tent is 2000 mm and that of the groundsheet 8000. More than enough to withstand quite some rain. The extra guy lines ensure that even in very windy conditions this tent will hold. It is a perfect three-season tent.

Durability

The tent is made from very thin nylon. While it’s quite sturdy, it is also prone to punctures and rips. After a couple of days I already had some tiny holes in the outer tent (might be my own clumsiness). Nevertheless, when you take good care of it, it provides the optimal weight to strength ratio in my opinion.

Condensation

Now, this was the biggest issue for me. On almost every night I woke up with a slightly wet sleeping bag at the foot end. The outer tent is always wet and saggy, and therefore touches the inner tent. The tent has little options for airing, only at the door, which is probably the main reason for this. Eventually it became too annoying for me so I decided to buy a new tent.

Overall

Overall the Nordisk Telemark 2 is a very good, lightweight and packable three-season tent for someone who doesn’t mind minor imperfections. I would only recommend it for two people for extremely lightweight adventure races and short trips. I think it’s a little on the pricy side for what you get, but then again there aren’t many tunnel tents with these specs.

I hope this review of the Nordisk Telemark 2 tent was useful to you. If you have any questions or want to read about any other reviews, let me know in the comments!

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