Hyperlite Mountain Gear Crosspeak 2 Review: A UL Tent Worth the Price

Materials & Design

Pound for pound, Dyneema is roughly 15x stronger than steel, which makes it as functional for use in backpacks as shelters. To emphasize this, while packing up my tent on this recent review trip, I realized I had been sleeping on top of a rather sharp shard of granite for three nights. The Dyneema tent base fabric had effectively formed around the accorn sized rock, without puncturing it or my NeoAir sleeping pad. Imrpessive.

But the use of Dyneema also makes the tent very expensive—almost 2x the price of the popular Durston X-Dome 2 (check out our X-Dome 1 tent review here). But you get what you pay for. And in the case of the Crosspeak 2, that's a damn nice tent.

The x-pole design creates a rigid shell that offers plenty of headroom while sitting and moving around in the tent, and decently sized vestibules, too. Aluminum DAC poles (made by the same celebrated South Korean manufacturer that owns Helinox, btw) are super strong and reportedly outperform carbon poles.

Lastly, I really want to shout out the super fine No-See-Um Mesh used on the two outer door walls. During our mid August hike we encountered A LOT of mosquitos. Retreating to the tent was a bummer, but the extra-fine mesh made sitting in the tent feel less like being put in time-out by Mother Nature. After a few seconds the mesh sort of disappears from your vision, no longer registering in the way of the view—i.e. it didn't feel like looking out a sreened door.

Crosspeak 2 Pros & Cons

Pros

• Ultralight, as it claims
• Pitches extremely fast—like, 2-3 minutes—with two people
• One piece tent means rain fly is always on
• Small footprint means you can pitch in tight spaces
• Freestanding means no stakes are needed—I had no problem pitching on massive rock slabs
• DCF floor material is very durable and didn’t puncture even on sharp granite. So ground cloth not needed
• Extremely fine mesh doors make views easy to enjoy—you don’t feel like you’re looking out through a screen door
• Magnetic door ties work well and are fun to use
• Tent Sleeve and X-pole design means perfect tension every time. And plenty of headspace for folks sitting up in bed

Cons

• Single-wall Dyneema tent design accumulates moisture on inside easily, which proved more difficult to dry (on one occasion, even after it baked in the sun at the campsite for a while I still had to unpack and re-pitch at home to fully dry it out after the hike)
• One-person setup is difficult, and long tent poles mean poking hazards for nearby campers/dogs and if in tight brush, a generally annoying experience when pitching
• Pack size is never as small as when you first unpack it
• Would have been nice to have an overhead pocket or even a lash-on point to connect a headlamp to for reading/evening chilling when inside hiding from mosquitoes
• $950 is Priceyyyyy

Final Verdict

As a lifelong hiker with considerable experience with Hyperlite Mountain Gear products, I admit this tent is not perfect, but I would recommend the handsome Crosspeak 2-person tent to those looking for a lightweight, durable 3-season tent, that prioritizes trust, quality, and craftsmanship over price.

In other words, if you can afford a nearly $1,000 tent, then give it a go.

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