1-2 person tents can sometimes have an unexpected hefty bulk and considerable weight attached to them. Snugpak make a conscious effort to snip this out of their products and from our past experience with the Snugpak Bunker tent, they do an excellent job. The Snugpak Scorpion 2 Tent is priced at £249 within the UK and $359 within the USA. It's an all season tent that really helps hikers to travel light; weighing just 2.65kg in its compact carry bag, it is easily small enough (43cm x 19cm) to store within a medium to large backpack comfortably.

Pitching & Design

Instructions supplied were clear and colour coded poles that correspond with colours on the tent makes pitching a breeze. Our first pitch of the Snugpak Scorpion 2 took a little longer than other attempts, clocking in at around eighteen minutes. We managed to achieve pitching this tent in half that time later on - partially because of familiarity with the process, but also because of a shortcut we used. As the Scorpion 2 tent is a fly first pitch design, it means the outer 210t polyester RipStop fly sheet coated in polyurethane is pitched first via three remarkably light and top quality DAC® anodised poles made from TH72M aluminium, and following this the inner 190t nylon sheet, with 190t nylon PU 5000mm groundsheet is attached. The process of attaching both sheets together via toggles and rings is much easier than similarly tested designs such as the knot system on the Skandika Drammen 4 tent. But we see no benefit in detaching and reattaching the inner tent each time we pack up, so we just keep them both attached after the first pitch. When like this it means it only takes about nine minutes to pitch and fully peg the whole tent, including the two guy ropes. As the name suggests, this tent vaguely looks like a scorpion, so we're led to assume the name has been given after the animal's versatility. Its olive green exterior appears clean and its tight low body gives it a serious look.

Performance In Severe Weather

Specs are great to read, but you can't guarantee how well a tent performs until you pitch it and use it in different weather conditions over a good chunk of time like we did. And from our testing this tent has clearly shown us that Snugpak truly believe in longevity. The quality of the poles, stakes and sheets are top notch and should all last a lifetime of frequent camping, because the hard wearing pegs and poles won't need to be changed from rust or disintegration. Even though we pitched the Snugpak Scorpion 2 tent at the end of June, the summer weather kept abruptly disappearing, leaving us with seriously heavy rain, lightning, thunder and harsh winds that went on for days. This actually pleased us as it truly allowed us to test the all season design. We even subsequently tested just how waterproof and versatile the sealed and taped seams and exterior polyester material were, by spraying powerful jet pressured water at the tent and it didn’t let a drop through. Intriguingly, the Scorpion 2 tent's aerodynamic design directs heavy winds of 60mph+ to quite literally glide off its body without causing any stability issues. If you’re serious about trekking and hiking in far out open areas, the Scorpion 2 will confidently protect two people from traumatic wind and rain.

Interior

When we step, or more appropriately crawl, inside the Snugpak Scorpion 2 tent via the easy to undo zipped entrances within both the flysheet and inner tent, we discover a very compressed area. Two people in relatively good shape and who are less than 6ft can sleep alongside each other. The three vents and the optional privacy 50D mesh within the inner tent kept the airflow of the tent chilled through hot summer nights, so we didn’t get fidgety or irritated when two people slept within the Scorpion 2.

Also the tent's material blocks sunlight amazingly, so we even needed to use a flashlight in early mornings to find the zipper to unzip the internal entrance, meaning we can confidently say you won’t be disturbed upon sunrise. On colder nights, when the mesh door isn’t in use, the ventilation is still good and the climate is much warmer in the tent than out. It lives up to its suitability claim for use within all seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter, also known as a British summer!

Storage

The only downfall of the compact design is the lack of ground space, particularly when two people are occupying the tent, with no substantial storage space for equipment. There is, though, a front porch area between the fly sheet and inner tent entrance doors which is great for keeping bags and backpacks. There are also eight mesh pockets sewn along the inside of the tent, adequate for storing items you will want immediate access to, such as books, flashlights, smartphones, etc. If one person is using this tent on a hike, they could probably adequately store their belongings inside, but two people will definitely make storage a squeeze.

Overall

If you set out to design a tent for 1-2 people that had to cope with dreadfully severe rain and wind and then worked to make sure it’s well ventilated and insulated for all four seasons, you’d no doubt have a tent that is very similar to the Snugpak Scorpion 2. It's a tent designed and engineered for enthusiastic campers, who want want to travel light, pitch quickly and rely on it to shelter them from really severe weather.