Coleman Avior X2

LIST PRICE:£99.99

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PRICE TODAY:£89.95

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The Coleman Avior X2 is an ultra compact, stable and lightweight tent suitable for two persons. The tent has 2 doors to provide greater flexibility. The groundsheet can be zipped on and off depending on the environment.This isn’t the cheapest tent but you would be hard pressed to find a tent of similar quality. The tent erects quickly and easily and packs down equally quickly into a small, lightweight, pack.

It’s a tight squeeze for two people, so you may prefer the Coleman Avior X3 for a little bit of extra space.

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Reviews

I won't comment on all of the minutiae as it's all been covered by the other reviewers. I just thought it was worth a comment on longevity and comfort.

Myself and two friends used 3 of these tents on a 3 month bike tour across the USA so I think between the 3 of us we have road-tested this tent.

The X2 is a good size for one person. It can sleep two but it's close quarters and I wouldn't want to do this for more than a few nights. We used the side-door exclusively to get in and out, only using the front to store bags. One nice little touch is that the guylines are partially reflective which worked well to avoid accidental demolitions.

Around the two-month mark the other guys managed to break their tent poles. I'm convinced that their tent poles broke because they were consistently very...vigorous... when they put their tents up. There is a metal tube included to slide round the break and this works well. If you pay attention and don't force the poles you would be very unlucky to break one.

There is a bit of a knack to pitching it correctly so that the outer doesn't sag and touch the inner in the middle, but it's really not very difficult.

Tip - make sure to pack the tent poles in their bag, and wrap the tent around this. This is fairly obvious but the other two guys didn't do this and ended up with small holes in their main tent bags.

I really hit it off with this one. Purchased a 2nd hand barely used model for £40 18 months ago and have since used it on numerous weekend trips and more importantly long hauls on Mallaig to Stonehaven Coast to Coast, Glasgow to Inverness (WH Way then Gt Glen Way) and Southern Upland Way. I am a solo hiker and wild camper mainly and like to have my freedom for 2 / 3 days at a time. Whereas I would like to be able to afford a lighter tent (to be able to carry more food!) I am really happy with this tent. Pitches like a dream - even in the wildest weather and has remained bone dry in the inner in some of the wettest Oct weather I've seen in Scotland for years! Front porch is excellent for setting up cooking gear / storage and the side entrance ideal for rolling in and out of. If you want a spacious, single pitch (reasonable weight and cost) 1 man backpacking tent, this is ideal.

Bought this as a light, small, quailty tent for putting in my motorcycle panniers. Not disappointed. With gear, only one person can fit into the tent and not much room for dressing or moving around. Impressed with the quaility and the side zip is very useful. At the price, it is highly recommended.

Bought this tent last year in order to complete the West Highland Way and it proved generally very capable. It poured every night and despite having to pack it up wet every morning, the interior was still comfortably dry when put up again at the end of the day.

The ground sheet is very thin and at first appears like it will not be very durable - but under usage it holds up well. On one occasion it let a small amount of water through, but to be fair I couldn't have been camping on wetter ground short of pitching in a puddle.

People who say that the space for 2 people is very tight are correct, and there isnt enough space for 2 peoples gear in the porch area (really this is best kept for boots), and it's necessary to leave bags outside. I use the tent out in the middle of nowhere so this isnt a problem, but this may be a consideration if your planning on using it in busier locations.

The side door is very useful as it is very tricky to climb in via the end door, especially if you have luggage in the porch area to clamber over. However, the side is not so useful in heavy rain when the tent does become pretty difficult to get into without allowing rainwater into the interior. You very soon get the hang of this though - just a bit frustrating at first!

In terms of stability thr tent is outstanding - multiple guy ropes, and a low wedge shape meaning that it will stand up to huge winds. The pitching system (which in gneral is ver straightforward and quick) should also make it far easier to pitch in high winds than most tents, especially with two people on hand.

Another impressive feature for me is the ventilation system - the roof of the inner skin is mesh while there are mesh openings at front and rear of the outer skin. This allows heat to escape keeping the tent reasonably cool in hot weather, while avoiding a draught through the sleeping compartment in cooler weather, and is very effective.

Although at 2.5kg this is by no means an exceptionally light tent, i get the impression this is because the fabric is of heavy duty quality, as the pegs, poles and groundsheet weight is kept to a minimum. Also, the pack size is very good - many people mistake it for my sleeping bag! Packing the tent away into it's bag is very easy as well, i have never once failed to roll it up to size first attempt and that's more than can be said for most tents i've come across.


Overall, this tent is excellent value and ideal if you are looking for a high quality, high performance, compact tent for backpacking.

I took this tent to eastern Europe as a one man for three weeks. Space inside for me and my 75litre backpack, however, I agree with the above review that two people (with luggage in the porch) might be a bit of a sqeeze.

I'm afraid I am not able to assess the technical features of a tent, but the zip on the inner side door could have been designed better. The two parts didn't quite meet at the corner (the gap was no larger than 1cm though). Also, I found that the two sheets nearly meet at one point along the spine of the tent, and I was happier having the inner sheet droop slightly, just in case.

Please bare in mind that I think these two flaws are small, and it did stand up extremely well to *very* heavy, constant rain, and the small gap in the zip did not have any consequences - I just happened to notice it.

Overall, I was very pleased with it, and I shall be using it on many more holidays. Hope this helps :)