Marmot Whips Up Another Orange Treat

Marmot found a few things to spruce up this year, and the Aura 2P tent made it on the list. I've got a special place in my heart for the original version, so let's hope they didn't ruin my favorite tent! Since I own the original, it makes sense that I point out all the little changes and features I found while watching Cliff set it up (thanks Cliff). First off, the pole clips are color coded, so there's no trouble figuring out where the long section goes. With this version the mesh inner tent clips directly into the two pole hubs...I imagine that change makes for a marginally more stable tent in the wind. The pole hub attachment points for the inner tent are those clear plastic pieces. You can kind of see them in the above and below photos as the fly goes up. The clip feels secure and requires no thinking to use, so we'll chalk that one up as an improvement. Check. I think we'd just passed the one minute mark at this point, and our tent was halfway up.

Every seam on the inner tent has a slight catenary curve to it (especially visible here). The end result is zero sag and satisfyingly taught mesh panels. With the inner tent pitched you can easily move it around to find the best spot. I don't usually stake mine down until I'm ready to put the fly on. One change that I'm not very excited about is the vestibule size. The vestibules on the older version were identical in size, but the new version has one large and one small. I guess they shrunk the vestibule to save weight, but now one of them is basically unusable. Another three ounces would have paid for itself in convenience.

The corner has changed a bit to save weight. The webbing is narrower, the fly clips to a cord loop (instead of plastic buckle), and the reinforced pole tab is altogether smaller. The old Aura had a long strip of webbing with multiple stake out points. This was a nice feature in rocky soil since you could easily change the stake's position without moving the tent. Even so, the new design is an improvement, so we'll mark down as such. Check.

I feel like a broken record, "The old Aura had this", "Old Aura never would have done that!", "old Aura would never go out dressed like that!". Manufacturers try to cut tent weight by shortening the length, but this can really be a problem for tall folks. No worries here. The Aura is 89" long. Working space has been maximized with vertical side walls: the Aura can easily accommodate two large adults. We have so many cool tents in stock that it's hard to settle on a favorite. The new Aura takes a hit with the vestibule changes, but it continues to secure a spot in my top five backpacking tents. Marmot, your score is 9/10! Nice work.