Review : Terra Nova Laser Compact 2
I have spent 20 years living in Spain, adventuring in Europe, climbing mountains, walking old mule tracks, scrambling up hills and bouldering huge sandstone rock. On overnight adventures I have simply hunkered down in my sleeping bag and slipped inside a bivvy bag, I rarely had the need for anything else. I’ve been living back in the UK for just over two years now. After lockdown I began to rediscover the beauty and wildness of the UK moors and mountains. The unpredictable weather and the sometimes fierceness of the cold winds and rain has necessitated the need for something a little more substantial than a bivvy bag! I needed a tent, not just any tent, one that would stand up to the battering UK weather, small enough to fit in my backpack but big enough and warm enough to be comfy. Good tents aren’t cheap, so I needed to pick carefully and ensure it would fit my requirements. It had to be big enough for two but simple enough for one to put up, it needed a quick pitch time, if it’s raining and cold you just want shelter quickly, finally it needed to have enough space so I could fit in my gear and sit up in it. Too much to ask?
I trawled through the internet looking at the options and reading reviews. I finally decided on the Laser Compact 2. It seemed to fit all my requirements, reviews were good and there was one in stock! Click and bought, direct from Terra Nova!
So a bit about the Laser Compact 2:
It is a more compact version of the Laser Competition and from the moment it was released it started to impress, winning the UK Outdoor Industry Awards 2019 for Tents and Awnings.
It has a pack weight of 1.23Kg (2lb 11oz), (less than one of my sleeping bags) and its pack size is just 30x15cm. It promises a pitch time of just 5 minutes. It sleeps 2, has a porch, doors on both sides and high quality materials used throughout.
Excitement! It had arrived and I took it straight out into the garden to pitch it! I took everything out, read through and followed the simple directions stitched into the bag and before I knew it, it was up! Never have I ever put up a new tent so quickly. Everything slotted into place perfectly, the light weight pegs went into the ground easily and the whole thing looked and felt sturdy. It took me 6 minutes! The next step was putting it down and packing it back into the bag. I reversed the pitch procedure, the pegs came out easily with mini sling loops to help to pull them out, the tent collapsed down, I folded it, rolled it and slid it back into its bag. Incredible. I was impressed.
Of course I was in my garden on a beautiful sunny day with no rain and wind. How would it go pitching in wind and rain?
Fast forward a week and I am trudging up Beacon Batch on the Mendips to test the tent properly before using it ‘for real’ in the mountains. It was late, very dark, a strong cold easterly wind, with heavy rain forecast. Perfect!
I purposely picked a very exposed spot on the very top, laid out the tent and weighed it down with my walking poles to stop it blowing away in the wind. First I fix the poles then start pegging it out as I had practised. Despite the difficult conditions and having no one to help keep the tent in place it was up within ten minutes.
The space inside the tent was impressive. I had enough room to sit up. I sat just inside the tent, to get out of most of the wind, dangled my legs out and set up the stove just outside. There is space between the inner and the fly sheet to store gear and the door can be propped up with a walking pole to create a porch area. When tucked up in bed the wind increased and there were several hours of heavy rain. The tent withstood and I felt secure, dry and happy. As I was packing it away I noticed minimum condensation, only a little on the inside of the fly sheet, again it slipped easily into the bag.
For one person it is very comfy but for two people it is snug, but just about big enough. What is good about the design is that there is a door and vestibule on both sides, this maximises the areas and comfort especially if there are two of you. Also it is symmetrical and the same height on both ends so you don’t feel as if you’re in a coffin and you don’t get cold wet feet from the tent resting on them! The tent is supplied with Terra Nova Mini Pegs (P78). They have a Y profile for a more secure firmer pitching and a little loop on top to help pull them out, they are alloy so supper light weight and I love them! There is a spare in the pack but I may get a couple more just in case.
There were a few niggles; You can make a kind of porch by propping up the door with a walking pole. The only thing is there is no extra guy rope so with wind it didn’t really work, but I will remedy this by packing a small length of cord next time. The zipper on the fly sheet door kept getting jammed when zipping from the outside, it was easily freed but this means you do need to use extra care. That really was about it. I was impressed!
PROS
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CONS
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I have since been out for multiple nights wild camping in the mountains, lots of strong cold winds and heavy rain. The tent performed really well. It did feel a bit small when sharing it with another person, especially with our kit but we organised everything in the vestibule. In the rain I was really grateful for the ease and speed of the pitch time, we were cooking while others were still pitching. I stayed dry and warm. I was really glad of the light pack weight especially as the weight increased when the tent got wet.
CONCLUSION
The ease and speed of the pitch was impressive, even in windy conditions. It has an excellent weight to space ratio and it is sturdy and roomy.
It is expensive, but if you can afford it, it’s well worth it!
Overall I would give this tent 5 stars.
