Review: Slumberjack Nightfall 2
Traditionally I sleep in my vehicle for all camping, off-road, and overlanding excursions, but with an upcoming trip with my best friend, I jumped on the chance to try Slumberjack’s Nightfall 2 tent. I usually shy away from using a tent when not backpacking due set up and break down time, but it helps to have two sets of hands with the process to make it go by quickly for an easier camp breakdown.
Specifications:
- Capacity: 2
- Seasons: 3
- Number of Poles: 3
- Number of Doors: 1
- Number of Vestibules: 1
- Packed Weight: 5 lbs 10 oz
- Minimum Weight: 5 lbs 2 oz
- Fast-Pitch Weight: 3 lbs 9 oz
- Floor Area: 31.4 ft2
- Vestibule Area: 9.3 ft2
- Peak Height: 39.5 in
- Packed Size: 6.5 x 21 in
- Body Fabric: 40D Polyester No-See-Um Mesh
- Floor Fabric: 68D polyester / 1500 mm
- Fly Fabric: 66D polyester / 1200 mm
- Pole Type: 7001 Series Aluminum
Maggie's thoughts:
I first used the Nightfall 2 at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff after convincing my best friend to join me on the last day of the event. Set up was easy enough, we were in a forested area with soft ground. The tent was large enough to comfortably sleep the two of us and store some of our gear wonderfully, all with room to spare. Beyond use, while camping with another person, I could see myself using the tent if it was just myself and my pup as well.From Overland Expo, we headed east to New Mexico and camped at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park before heading to White Sands National Monument. Olive Lee posed us with some of the strongest winds I have ever experienced camping, not just strong gusts but sustained strong winds at 50mph. The tent performed well, it helped we positioned it behind my vehicle which acted as a wind break. The tent and us were still there in the morning, but many of the stakes had come undone due to the hard ground we were on, which prevented us from really getting them in the ground.
After a more difficult break down due to the wind, we were off to Big Bend National Park in Texas. We camped at the Rio Grande Village which had a lovely camp site, complete with soft ground to more quickly stake the tent down. Big Bend was much hotter compared to Flagstaff, AZ or New Mexico which is when having a non-integrated fly would have been nice to promote better air flow through the tent. That being said our last day in Big Bend we moved to higher elevation and the tent faced its first rain storm. Again the tent performed well, no leaks, and it remained put in some relatively strong winds. In this, having an integrated rain fly came in handy as this storm came as a bit of a surprise early in the morning.
Conclusion:
The Slumberjack Nightfall 2, is a good tent. I only have two complaints, the integrated rain fly and the tents reliance on stakes for setting up. As mentioned previously having a non-integrated fly would have made it easier to promote air circulation, and would have allowed for some cooler nights in Big Bend. I love not having to deal with that many tent poles, but the reliance on stakes made set up difficult in hard ground and the tent structure flimsy if the stakes were not set deep into the ground. The tent is good for an all around tent, my two complaints aside. I would still recommend the Nightfall 2 to anyone looking for a good 3 season tent which does not break the bank.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given the equipment used in this review in consideration for review publication.
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Author
Maggie McDermut is Land Cruiser enthusiast and adventurer based in Boulder, CO. You can follow Maggie, and her travels, on Instagram.
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