Marmot Fuse 2 Person Backpacking Tent Review

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When it comes to tents, both backpacking and car camping, Marmot is one of the brands you look to for high end quality tents.  The Marmot Fuse 2 is a lightweight and durable 2 person tent that is designed for backpacking, yet should meet the needs of most car campers.

Marmot Fuse 2 Structure

When it comes to tents, the structure is one of the most important elements one should consider when making a purchase. You can have the lightest tent on the market, but if it can’t hold up to a rain storm or gust of wind from time to time, it’s not worth all that much in my mind.  Yes, some of the ultralight lovers out there might be puking in their mouths, but let’s face it, most of us want something that can stand up to the elements.

Marmot Fuse 2p Tent Pole Structure

For the structure of the Marmot Fuse 2 backpacking tent, the designers decided to go against the traditional 2 person tent criss cross pole structure and instead use a 4 pole structure. As you can see in the picture, the main pole that goes down the center is connected to the orange pole that pushes the tent out to the sides. There are two smaller poles on each end of the tent.  The larger of the 2 semi circles provides a little more room and it’s best to put your head in this direction.  The poles used in the Marmot Fuse 2 are DAC poles which are extremely durable and will hold up against some of the strongest winds and gusts while camping.

Tent bowing in when not staked into the ground

One downside to the Marmot Fuse 2 is that it’s not the best free standing tent. When not staked in, this tent tends to bunch up and the ends gravitate to the middle.  If you find yourself where you can’t stake your Marmot Fuse 2 in, the tent won’t be your best friend.

Tent space on inside

For height, I found the Marmot Fuse 2 backpacking tent to be plenty tall for me to get up and move around.  I’m 6’0 tall and never really hit my head on the dome of the tent.  This partially due to the orange pole that runs across the top of the tent.

Storage in the Tent

For storage in the Marmot Fuse 2 backpacking tent, there is just enough room for two sleeping bags, and a couple packs on the outside of the tent.  Having two packs on the inside of the tent gets a little snug with two people, but is doable if you are trying to protect your gear.   For storing smaller items such as phones, glasses, camera’s, headlamps, etc, there are a 2 small pockets on the inside of the Marmot Fuse 2p tent.  I personally would like another pocket or two, but to be honest it wasn’t a big deal to have only two pockets.

Staying Dry

To stay dry, the Marmot Fuse 2 backpacking tent is seam sealed on the bottom of the tent to prevent standing water from getting in.  I found this worked for the most part, but I found that water eventually gets in on the floor of the tent over an extended period of time in the rain.  I was out in a storm with consistent rain overnight and found the bottom starting to get damp in the morning.  During the storm, the fly of the Marmot Fuse 2 tent held up great with no leakage points to be found.

To help with the tent floor getting wet,  you can use a footprint which creates two layers the water needs to get through. Footprints are also a great way to keep sticks, broken glass, pickers, and other sharp objects from sticking through the floor.  I did not have a footprint while testing out the Marmot Fuse 2p.

Marmot Fuse 2p Tent Specs – Courtesy of REI

Is it worth the Price?

What is expensive is very subjective, so you’ll have to take what I say with a grain of salt.  Marmot also provided this tent to me for the review, similar to most magazines, blogs and websites with a decent following. Comparing the Marmot Fuse 2 to other 2 person backpacking tents I’ve used and reviewed, I find that its price point of $329 sits right in the middle of both the high and low points on the price scale. Can you get away with a less expensive 2 person backpacking tent?  Sure.  Would a cheaper 2 person backpacking tent hold up like the the Fuse 2?  Yes, for the most part, but if you think you’ll ever get out into high winds and heavy rain, it’s nice to have the confidence of a nice quality tent.  So, is it worth the price?  My answer is yes if you find that you’ll be using this tent a lot or if you think you’ll get into bad weather from time to time.

Color that Stands Out

Bright orange tent fly sticks out well against forest backgrounds at Curt Gowdy State Park in WY

One of the most noticeable features on the Marmot Fuse 2 person backpacking tent is the color of the fly.  It’s a bright Florissant orange color that can be seen from extremely long distances away.  I personally like the loud color pops as I always can find my tent assuming there isn’t anything obstructing my view.

Final Thoughts

The Marmot Fuse 2 backpacking tent sits in a crowded space among high end backpacking tents.  This tent won’t necessarily make you say WOW! compared to comparable tents, but overall it’s a good quality tent and the price is reasonable for what you are getting.  For more information, please visit www.marmot.com or www.rei.com/marmot.