Naturehike Opalus 2/3 Person Lightweight Tunnel Tent for Camping

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1. Steve Verified Buyer – 26 March 2025

   I used the original Opalus 2 for a few years and loved it, so when I saw this one I just had to have it. It’s not necessarily a better version, though some things are better (and some are worse). It’s a whole different beast meant for a different application, so depending on what kind of tent you need, the original Opalus is by no means obsolete. This is more of a winter tent while the original is more of a 3 season. You can use it in the winter, though. I did. A lot! That said, I have not used this UL yet at all, other than pitched it in the yard half a dozen times to inspect it and make a Tyvek groundsheet for it, but I don’t foresee any issues that will make themselves apparent only in the field. WHAT I LIKE: * The aesthetics. It’s a wicked looking tent, like some kind of mean as hell insect or something, and the color is perfect. *But it’s not all just aesthetics. The pole angle is different from the original and should increase wind resistance. The vestibule door is also taller and narrower. It’s wide enough and the increased height is a welcome change because the door on the original is very low, but to it’s credit probably performs better in the rain than this one will. * The size. It’s a little taller and a little shorter (lengthwise) than the original. I think the angle of the end walls is steeper, too, which should actually increase usable space while still allowing for a more compact footprint, slightly smaller pack size and maybe a tiny bit of weight reduction. * The weight. The weight is accurate and very good for this much tent. My scale reads exactly 4.5lbs with everything included. * Fly construction. The UL has fewer seams and fewer seams = fewer failure and potential leak points. Also, the way the material wraps up and over the poles isn’t just stronger than the original. It’s also very visually appealing. * The inner. It’s like a very, very finely woven mesh, almost solid fabric, but not quite. This kind of material is rare to see and it’s good for stopping drafts and staying a couple degrees warmer than mesh while also remaining more breathable than solid fabric. It’s good stuff. It’s also grey, while it appears closer to white in the pictures. * Zipper vents and the door window. Each end of the vestibule has a vent that can be zipped shut. There is no mesh here, but it doesn’t matter. The vestibule door also has a window with a solid zippered covering and a mesh panel. You can also unzip the high side of the door for a meshless window. The inner has a mesh window in the door and at the foot. Both can be zipped closed. The rear vent also has a zipper underneath so you can reach through and shut the rear vestibule vent. * Fully opening front end. It’s funny because I said they would do something like this one day. I mean, it was such a no-brainer. It’s really REALLY nice, too. Undoing the center guyline and corner stakes to make it work is a bit of a hassle, but it’s worth it. * Reduced weight. Considering the sheer size of the original Opalus, it’s weight was impressive. This one is even lighter. They’ve achieved that partly by reducing the waterproof rating on the vestibule by half. 1500mm is plenty on the fly that always sheds water, though. More weight is probably saved by the inner material. * Solid straps instead of elastic. The original has elastic straps holding the inner in the vestibule. They do keep it a little tighter, but are also prone to failure. The straps on the UL are not elastic and far less likely to fail, but they don’t pull tension on the inner like elastic does. It’s tight enough, just not “self-adjusting”. That’s a fair trade for better durability. WHAT I DON’T LIKE: * Poles only go in from one side. I’ve been told by Naturehike that this is to reduce pitching time by removing a step in the pole insertion. Good in theory, but bad in practice because it doesn’t work. You still have to go to the other side and pull the fly back so the poles will spring into the final third of the pole sleeves. This design also makes it more difficult to get the poles back out and you have to be real careful how you do it or else the poles will separate and might pinch the fabric if they spring back together. * No toggles on the fly vents. They really need toggles or else they flap around loudly in a strong wind. The vestibule door window has a toggle and the inner door has a toggle. It’s a mystery to me why they didn’t also add them to the fly vents.Weight, probably, but this isn’t where I’d have shaved it and they need to address this. I guess I’ll just take a couple clothes pins. * No supports on the fly vents. The original doesn’t have them either and it’s okay, but they will sometimes close when you don’t want them to. At least the UL has a guy line there to keep them open, but I’d honestly rather have little support rods and scratch the lines. I bet it’d be a tiny bit lighter, too. * The mesh window on the inner door should be twice as big as it is. * Flimsy inner pockets. The inner is so flimsy that any weight in the pockets just drags it down. Not a big deal, but it is a thing. * The stakes. They’re V-stakes. The original had Y-stakes and not just any ol’ generic Y-stake, but like the curved MSR mini groundhogs that really bite. THINGS TO KNOW: * Following the pitching directions is critically important. When I first got this I thought the poles were too long. I was convinced of it. Turns out that you have to adjust the grey straps on the door side of the fly BEFORE you tighten the guy lines. If you don’t do this you can’t do it later. The straps won’t budge and this puts a dangerous amount of stress on the stitching at the bottom corners of the door where some straps all come together. * The tent has 19 stakes and 8 guy lines. None are extras and to get the best pitch you’ll need to use all or nearly all of them, unlike the original Opalus where you could just guy and stake the corners and you were good to go in clear weather. I guess that’s okay because most of your use of this tent will probably be in conditions where you’d do that even with the original Opalus. * No groundsheet. I don’t care, myself. I use Tyvek because all the holly leaves will destroy anything less, anyway. Like the inner, you can permanently attach a groundsheet so it all pitches together. * The tent is not silnylon like so many people call it. The silicone coating is like Nikwax Solarproof type stuff. You want this because the tent is nylon and vulnerable to UV damage without it. It also makes the water bead and run off which does help reduce dry time somewhat. On my original Opalus it would last about a year depending on how much use the tent got before it wore off and needed to be reapplied. No problem and Naturehike doesn’t claim that it’s silnylon. People like to call it that, though, and it’s not. * Nylon tents sag and need adjusting when they get wet. Even high humidity is enough to do it. This is normal, just make sure you leave enough line to do it, particularly on the fly corners where it’s very easy to run out of enough line to pull it any tighter later. * Do not store this or any other tent in it’s carry sack. That’s the best way to ruin the waterproofing. Store it in a laundry bag so it can vent and make sure it’s dry before you do. Only put it in the carry sack when you’re going to use it. FINAL THOUGHTS: I’m pretty notorious for seeking out the nastiest weather I can find and I’m looking forward to putting this tent through the wringer, but it’s got to get a lot cooler before I do. The original has survived tropical storms without a scratch and I expect this one to do even better. Barring any surprises during actual use, they really knocked this one out of the park. The build quality and features are excellent and demonstrate that Naturehike has moved beyond simply copying it’s betters and is becoming a legitimate and respectable outdoor gear brand. An intimidating one, too, if they keep this up. I’m impressed they even made this thing. HOWEVER, while the Opalus has been around for a while, this UL is very different and a first iteration. Improvements will come, things like vent flap toggles, larger inner door window…. Maybe they’ll even do something about the annoying pole sleeve design. It’s worth the money now, but it’ll probably be even more worth it if you wait a year or so for them to iron out the kinks.