With its easy setup, spacious interior, and reliable weather resistance, The North Face Trail Lite 2 is a reliable choice for hikers on a budget.
(Photo: Courtesy The North Face)
Published May 28, 2026 11:56PM
Not everyone needs a featherlight trekking pole tent. If your priorities run more toward durability and affordability, The North Face’s Trail Lite 2 is one of the best choices on the market. During testing in Maine’s Baxter State Park, the double-wall Trail Lite withstood wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour without so much as flinching. Credit the burly construction—9.5 millimeter aluminum poles, 20-denier ripstop nylon on the fly, and a bathtub floor made of tough 75-denier ripstop. Double doors and vestibules kept egress and exit simple and provided a place to stash gear out of the rain, while copious organization inside the tent body let our testers keep their necessities organized as they waited out the storm. (Tradeoff: At 5.1 pounds, it was one of the heavier tents we reviewed this year.)
