Black Diamond Firstlight 2 Person Dome Tent Review

While creating this review of the Firstlight 2, we compared data against two hundred and fifty-four other two person dome tents, checking more than sixty different facts. We also looked at the cost including shipping & discounts at thirteen different retailers online stores, to source the best price for you.

The Firstlight Fly Open
Black Diamond's Firstlight 2 With the Fly Open
In this review, we will show you:
  • A recap of the customer reviews we found.
  • A thorough examination of the features, materials and dimensions.
  • The Pros and Cons about the shelter.
  • The Best Value that we Found!

Here at optimumtents.com our reviews are produced from our individual database of more than 1,000 shelters, that are for sale in America. Our goal is to provide you an objective report and our own individual rating based on the statistics, along with the lowest price and best value we could find.

Best Value & Low Price

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Nemo Stargaze
  • Black Diamond Logo
  • Manufacturer: Black Diamond
  • Model: Firstlight
  • Year Introduced: 2015
  • MPN: BD8101543012ALL1
  • Sleeping Capacity: 2 Persons
  • Designed For: 4 Seasons
  • Best Use: Mountaineering and Backpacking
  • Type: Dome Tent
  • Available in: Other Sizes
  • MSRP: $449.95
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Firstlight 2 Pictures and Videos

Click on an image or video to enlarge them!


The Firstlight With the Fly Closed

Black Diamond Firstlight 2 With the Fly Closed
Fly Off on the Firstlight 2

Fly Off Firstlight 2

A video about the Firstlight 2 tent.

Another video about Black Diamond's tents.

QUICK OVERVIEW

Logo Representing the Features Section

Features


  • Freestanding: Yes
  • Color: Yellow Green, Black
  • Number of Rooms: 1
  • Number of Windows: 1
  • Number of Doors: 1
  • Zippers: N/A
  • Storage Pockets & Gear Loft: Yes, No
  • Mesh Roof & Walls: N/A, N/A
  • Footprint: Not Included
  • Firstlight 2 floor saver
Logo Representing the Materials Section

Materials and Extras


  • Inner Walls: NanoShield Single-wall Fabric
  • Fly: None
  • Floor Materials: 70-denier Polyester
  • Pole Material: Aluminum DAC Featherlite
  • Number Of Poles: 2
  • Pole Dimensions: N/A
  • Guy Lines & Guy Outs: Yes, Yes
  • Stakes: Yes
Logo Representing the Dimensions Section

Dimensions


  • Floor Area: 27 sq. ft.
  • Center Height: 3 foot. 6 inches.
  • Packed Weight: 3 Lbs 6 Oz
    Trail Weight: 2 Lbs. 9 Oz.
  • Packed Size: 6 x 9 inches.
  • Number of Vestibules: 1
  • Screened Areas: None
  • Awnings: None

Tent Set Up

With two equal length DAC Featherlite poles that fit inside the tent with hook-and-loop wraps, it's easy to set up-even from inside.

Green Thumbs Up Logo

Summary: Favorable Reviews

Some people who used it said: This tent is light in weight, good quality and packs in small when traveling. Setting up is fun and easy. It is more than enough for two people.


Teal Thumbs Down Logo

Summary: Unfavorable Reviews

Campers who used the tent noted a pretty decent tent for its price, but it's just so poor during rainy or cold conditions. Condensation is just too much.


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SPECS AND CONFIGURATIONS

The Firstlight 2 has one window and one door and a peak center height of 3' 6, which is a little bit less than the average height of the 240 different 2 person tents we have examined With 27 square feet of space inside, it is significantly smaller than some other 2-person tents, and it would be quite cramped for you and, another camper all through the 4-seasons, this tent is approved for use in, smaller tents like this one can make a very nice choice for campers that prefer spending lots of time outside of the tent enjoying the fresh air.

Some of the cool points about dome tents are, that they are for, the most part lightweight, making them simple to carry. In nearly all cases, tents used for backpacking are of the dome type. They are generally speaking, freestanding and very simple to set up. In good weather, you can do without securing the tent with stakes and ropes, not that this is suggested.

Dome tents are easily the most commonly seen of all the other types of tents you will find when camping. They tend to fair better in the rain than other types, allowing rain to easily slide off the slanted walls, unlike cabin tents that have flat tops, allowing the water to pool on the top. The most basic dome tent should have a square footprint, sloped walls a couple of poles which cross in the center of the roof. Because of their construction, it is typically considered that they are best for up to a maximum of 6 campers.

Down below, you can browse an account of the tent's strongest and weakest points.

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PROS

  1. Freestanding. The Firstlight can support its own weight on any terrain. It does not need to be staked down in most cases. But in case of strong winds, it is always best to secure it to the floor with the included steel stakes and guylines.
  2. Vestibule. Having one vestibule. Offers you somewhere to store shoes and other items that can get dirty, muddy, this is a huge plus.
  3. Internal storage. It is nice to see Black Diamond has added a gear loft and pockets in the interior to store some of your things.
  4. Other sizes are available. Black Diamond has also made this model available in Other Sizes.
  5. Low price. It is a great deal for a 2 person dome tent providing this much space. Not many tents available on the market provide this level of quality for only $449.95

CONS

  1. Not spacious. With a floor area of 27 square feet, the Firstlight 2 is smaller than quite a lot of the 251 other 2 person tents we have looked at.
  2. Lacking in Headroom. With 7% less headroom than similar sized tents, one can see how this could be a negative factor for some campers.
  3. Footprint not Included. There is no included footprint, there is one available separately specifically for the Firstlight 2 footprint Even though the floor may be made of 70-denier polyester, it is still better to protect it further with a footprint, especially on rough terrain.
  4. Out of Stock. Unfortunately this particular tent is not currently in stock. It is still on the manufactures site the last time we checked.
  5. Sloping walls. Even though Dome tents have lots of things to be positive about. The sloping walls do tend to make it all the more smaller inside.

CONCLUSION

4 Stars Logo

Our Ratings: 4.0 STARS

Black Diamond's Firstlight 2 tent is great for mountaineering and backpacking. There are a few other cool things not noted above which, were noticed and liked, while researching the model: Steep walls and a simple floor shape to optimize living space and increase headroom., Zippered mesh panels at rear and door for ventilation and The canopy is constructed with water resistant, breathable NanoShield fabric..

With nice ratings, a few reviews and a center height of 3' and 27 square feet of space to play with, this tent is like your very own miniature studio. It will enable you to spend some delightful moments exploring the great outdoors. We found a decent amount of positive points about the tent that you can study above.

If you found this website looking for an endorsement about this specific tent, our view is, it would make for an ok acquisition. If you simply happened to land on this page while looking for a new tent having not heard of this brand or this tent previously, it is possibly a good idea to look at a few other similar tents.

Value for money: When thinking about value for your dollar, this tent is more competitive than the usual cost of all the two hundred and fourty, two-person tents we have taken a look at, this by itself does not make it great value for money. One should also think about other things in detail, as we do with each tent.

When we measure the valuation of a single tent, we study a good deal of conditions, looking for points where the tent could beat out other similar tents and where it is not quite as good. On this occasion, with a total rating of 4.0 and the price statistics above, one can identify that with a price point of $449.95 Black Diamond's Firstlight 2 is a great buy and reasonably priced in comparison with similar tents.

Its overall score shows that the quality and dimensions the tent gives you could possibly have been lightly skimped on to arrive at a price well below the usual price for similar tents. It will make a good choice for most campers searching for a comfy four-season backpacking tent to go camping in, that will serve you well.

Best Value & Low Price

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Fast 2 Day Shipping Available to Most Locations
$449.95 info_outline
FREE SHIPPING
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COMPARE WITH OTHER SIMILAR TENTS

BLACK DIAMOND TENT MODELS

BACKPACKING TENTS || DOME TENTS

Other Sizes and Variations of the Black Diamond Firstlight Model

Model Headroom Sleeping Area

Black Diamond Firstlight 2
Firstlight 2

3' 6"27 sq ft

Black Diamond Firstlight 3
Firstlight 3

3' 8"33 sq ft
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