Sea to Summit Telos TR2 Review: The Perfect Camping Tent for Adventure Cycling?

In the world of multi-day trips to the great outdoors, one of the biggest decisions you need to make is how you're going to sleep. This involves weighted considerations about relative comfort, weight, pack size, budget, climate, and even flexibility. During multi-day trips on foot or bike I've slept in almost every option: huts (can be full, or old and ugly), bivy bags (ever had that nightmare of being buried alive?), ice shelves (desert), tarps (hello mosquitoes), pitching fly tents only (mosquitoes?), snow caves (must not build under the bed a helipad), piles of grass near the station, luxury hotels, standard hotels, hostels, and of course – a variety of tents.

When it comes to bikepacking, or multi-day cycling in an era before the term bikepacking was coined, I erred on the side of minimalism. If I'm there to ride, I'd rather carry less and ride more. That led me to use high altitude huts, hotels, flyovers – and I only used a tent once. It was very compact, weighing less than 2kg, and it was still difficult to carry.

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With bikepacking and two-wheeled travel on the rise, it's no surprise that the outdoor gear market has exploded with gear specifically for bikepacking. Thanks to the many hikers, mountaineers, and backcountry ski bums who have been looking for the lightest gear for decades, many brands have been taking existing, high-quality designs and refining them to suit the bikepacking market. The Sea to Summit Telos TR2 is one such product, based on the popular Telos backpacking tent.

A closer look at the Sea to Summit Telos TR2

The Telos Bikepacking TR2 comes with two roll-top bags that can be attached to your bike thanks to straps and webbing. One bag holds the body of the tent, and the other has the fly, poles and pegs. The handlebars are shortened compared to the original Telos unit, which means the pack is shorter in length: a big bonus for the size of the bike.

The Telos is a 3-season tent, meaning it has a mesh interior with a seam-sealed tub bottom, and the fly is low enough to protect from the wind – but not too low to block blowing snow during a hot storm. Here in Australia, this is almost the same unless you plan on fat biking from Jindabyne to Khancoban via Schlink Pass in the middle of winter.

There are 8 very light pegs included and 4 ultralight guy wires. The tent comes with a repair kit and instructions printed on the bag – although they're pretty self-explanatory if you've pitched the tent before. I weighed this tent at 2142g with all cables and fixings included, not far from the claimed 1914g when you consider what you'll be carrying.

Installing Telos TR2

The Telos TR2 doesn't come with a stand, but the Sea to Summit does. I would recommend investing in one so that the lightweight floor will have a long life. This is a freestanding tent but it is suggested that you mark the corners of the inside of the tent to start. The pole is a single unit that attaches together with the inner shock cord, and there is a cross member in the middle that bows slightly upwards. The ends are color coded where they attach to the tent, so it's easy to set up, and attach the inside to the pole. The fly is best connected to the ridge pole first, then connected to each corner, and then connected to the vestibules. Small cinch straps mean you can make it nice and cute, and there are boy bands to attach.

There is a door on each side, a large zippered exit on the fly, and two large vestibules. A split-joint pole (or Tension Ridge) does wonders for increasing not only the length of the entrance door but also the toilet in the tent – much larger than you'd expect from a simple low-track tent.

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Inside, there's an open mesh pocket on each side, and attachment points for some of Sea to Summit's accessories – including a light tube diffuser, which is part of the packaging.

Sea to Summit Telos TR2 is used

The Telos TR2 has a new way of packing, with the tent being packed into two bags that can be strapped to your frame or fork with the provided straps and webbing. The bags seemed really sturdy, with roll-top closures and an open strap length, which added a lot of flexibility when carrying them. The design has shorter packing poles to work with bags – or other bike packing loads.

I chose to mount them on my fork legs, but you can easily split the load with your bikepacking buddy, using one of your frame tubes or a rear rack like those from Tailfin or Aeroe. I needed to turn off the rubber bands a lot, as when I put the bags on for the first time they were 'comfortable' and wandered south – most noticeable on the Fox Step Cast fork where the bottom comes in. I just got used to the hard dip, which was better than any fork in the end.

With a tent weighing less than 2kg, I was impressed with the room not only inside, but also in the vestibules. Because of what Sea to Summit calls the Tension Ridge, the tent has extra head. But this not only helps to sit, it also means that the height of the door is a little higher, and it makes the vestibule more useful as well, creating more interior space than if the fly was not far from the interior of the mesh. I think this is important so you have enough storage space for things you don't want in your tent but don't want left outside.

At over 2m tall, my 178cm height had no problems pushing anywhere. It's still a comfortable two-person tent but with two people in mom's sleeping bags, there's plenty of room. Not all light tents have two doors and two vestibules, so that's great for comfort, especially given the breeze you can get in warm weather. This is great for one person, but if you're really tall and need a lot of space, I suspect you might prefer to use this guy alone.

The decision at Sea to the Telos TR2 Summit

Sea to Summit has modified the most popular tent to be better for cyclists. There's a lot to like about the design which creates a lot of space in a small package while delivering great comfort, flexibility, and suitability for the Australian market. I really like the design it is divided into two very functional bags that are easy to mount on your bike; however, those were the only things where I had minor niggles. They must be removed to repack the tent, and repacking is more difficult than necessary. But the tent itself is a winner, and if you already have your luggage system worked out, you'll love the short poles that fit into most bags. Weighty tents can melt as there are incredibly light tents, but this one is fully visible with luggage, and can be stripped back to 1500g when using your luggage. I am impressed.

RRP: $1099.99
From: seatosummit.com.au

Top Marine to Summit Telos TR2:

– Design specific to bike packaging
– Light weight with plenty of space
– Fully equipped

Misses of Sea to Summit Telos TR2:

– The integrated luggage system may not be compatible with all