After flying into Lower Ruth Gorge in early May—following a five-day wait while more than two feet of snow fell—I began to doubt my "dark horse decision" to bring along the Big Agnes Battle Mountain 2 tent. I've always had a soft spot for the dark horse, the little guy, and Big Agnes is certainly a David among a field of tenting Goliaths like Mountain Hardwear, MSR, and Sierra Designs. When we landed, I gazed across an endless sea of white and pondered the Ruth's reputation as a wind tunnel, and wondered how well the relatively lightweight (6 pounds, 3 ounces) Battle Mountain 2 would fare....
Read Kel Rossiter's review on the Alpinist website and let us know what you think!