Bessport 2P Basic 3-Season Tent Review

Detailed In-Depth Review

I purchased the Bessport Basic two-person, three-season tent a few months ago, in January 2020. I needed a new two-person tent for overnight camping in the local forests, and I wanted it to be somewhat lightweight, compact, and as affordable as possible.

The Bessport tent ticked all three boxes right away, and it also was one of the most popular and well-reviewed options on Amazon. Another option was the Alps Mountaineering Lynx, but I couldn’t get it shipped to Latvia at the time, so I went with Bessport, as they both seemed incredibly similar.

Right now, I’ve staid in this tent for three nights – one in a rainstorm, one below freezing, and one was a regular, dry night with 41 F / 5 C temperature. So at this point, I’d say that I know most of the good and the bad about this tent. At least, enough to review it.

Packaged Size and Weight

Bessport is clearly advertising this tent as a lightweight option. And although it’s nowhere close to ultralight 400$+ tents, it’s not that far off either. In total, the Bessport 2-person tent weighs 2.3 kg / 5.2 lbs. The 1-person option is even lighter, weighing at 2 kg / 4.4 lbs. For an entry-level hiker, the Bessport tent is as lightweight as you’ll get, while still being on a budget.

In a packed state, the Bessport 2-person tent measures at 43 cm / 17 inches in length, and 17 cm / 7 inches in diameter. It isn’t the most compact tent on the market, but it’s not too large either, especially compared to all the cheap Walmart options. For this tent, I’d say that you’ll need at least a 50 l backpack if you’ll be staying one or two nights.

Setting up and Taking Down the Bessport Tent

What I love about the Bessport tent, is that it’s very easy to set up and take down. It needs only two poles for the inner tent, which attach with easy-to-use clips, and the rainfly cover attaches to the inner tent with four buckles, one in each corner.

Although Bessport states that it’s a freestanding tent, it’s really not, because you still need to use, at minimum, six stakes for the construction. One in each corner, and one for each vestibule.

In the video part of this review, I recorded how long it took me to set-up and take down the Bessport tent. I managed to set it up in 05:45 minutes, and take it down in 05:30 minutes. Nowhere close to their advertised 02:30 minute set-up, but I wasn’t rushing, so I could see how one could potentially set it up that fast.

The tent bag itself is pretty loose, so it’s very easy to squeeze the tent into the bag. And to make the disassembling process even easier, they’ve also added an adjustable strap that keeps the tent from unwinding.

Set-Up Dimensions & Interior Liveability

When it’s set up, the Bessport tent measures at 2.2 m / 86 inches in length, 1.2 m / 48 inches in width, and 1.1 m / 43 inches in height. Compared to other two-person tents, that’s pretty spacious, especially in height. The 1-person option is basically identical, except it’s narrower – 85 cm / 33 inches in width.

Now how does this translate to real-life use? I’m 1.84 m / 6 ft in height. When I’m in there, my feet and my head don’t touch the tent fabric, which is great, because they don’t get wet from the condensation. Also, the 1.1 m / 43 in height is roomy enough for me to easily change my clothes without going outside. The 2-person option is wide enough to fit two regular 62 cm / 24 in wide sleeping pads, without any space left at the sides or in the middle.

Storage and Organization

If you’re sleeping alone in the 2-person option, you can keep most of your stuff in the inside of the tent. But if not, there are two identical vestibules with entrances, one on each side. I usually leave my backpack in one of them, and in the other, I keep all of my cooking stuff and my boots.

Other than the two vestibules, you can organize your stuff in the four fabric-mesh pockets, one in each corner. I usually put my sleeping bag, tent, and sleeping pad packaging bags in there, in addition to a few other smaller things.

There’s also a detachable fabric mesh shelf on the top of the inner tent, where you can dry your gloves or socks overnight. At the top, there’s also a small hook for hanging your headlamp or lantern.

Weather Resistance

I’ve slept in this tent once during a rainstorm, and I can confirm that the Bessport 3-season tent is fully waterproof. They’ve used 68D for the rainfly cover and the top part of the inner tent, and welded oxford cloth for the bottom waterproof part of the inner tent.

All of the seams are thermally sealed, and so far I haven’t noticed any leaks. The bottom part of the inner tent is lifted up pretty high above the ground, about 20 cm / 8 in, which means that water won’t come in through the sides unless you’ve built it in a puddle. The bottom oxford fabric seems to be quite thick, but as with all lightweight tents, it’s still very easy to puncture, so I’d recommend using a footprint underneath (Bessport sells it separately.)

Ventilation

This 3-season tent is very well-ventilated, and I haven’t noticed any condensation buildup so far. For additional ventilation, there are also two ventilation holes on the sides, which you can open and close depending on the temperature.

The top half of the inner tent is made from a mesh fabric. On hot summer nights, I’d imagine that it might be too hot to stay in this tent because the mesh starts too high. However, it’s perfectly ventilated for spring and autumn nights, when the temperature is at about 5 C – 20 C / 40 F – 70 F.

One thing that I’d like to point out is that this is a three-season tent, which means that it’s not supposed to be used in the winter. Four season tents usually have less mesh on the inner tent, and more space between the two walls, so that there’s some heat trapped between both walls.

I learned this the hard way because I slept in this tent once when it was below freezing. I also didn’t bring a thick-enough sleeping pad, so as you’d probably guess, it was a very cold night. I woke up three or four times to re-light the fire and exercise. What made things a little bit better, was when I disassembled both vestibules, closed both ventilation holes, and put some pine tree branches below the tent, which made things manageable. If you’d bring a really thick sleeping pad and a good sleeping bag for below-freezing temperatures, then you could probably sleep in the Bessport 3-season tent in the winter.

Stakes & Poles

As you’d expect for a lightweight tent, the Bessport three-season tent comes with aluminum poles and stakes. In total, you get 12 aluminum stakes and two aluminum poles.

The poles are really easy to assemble because they snap in place with magnets. On both ends, they also have these mechanisms that lock into place, when attached to the corners of the tent. This makes it easy to set everything up by yourself because the poles aren’t snapping out while you’re on the other side.

Even though you get 12 stakes, you don’t really need to use all of them. The tent holds up just fine with just six stakes (four stakes for the corners, and two for the vestibules. ) Another two are needed to secure the sides of the tent, but they aren’t really that necessary, and four for securing the guylines.

Unfortunately, I already managed to bend one of the twelve stakes. It was probably my own fault because I used my foot for securing the stake, which you should never do. Nevertheless, the stakes seem to be very fragile, so keep that in mind.

The Competition

Between all the affordable 2-person backpacking tents, Bessport is one of the cheapest ones. At the time of writing this article, out of all six tents mentioned above, Bessport is the cheapest one and has received the best review rating on Amazon.

It’s also one of the lightest options, weighing just 8 oz behind the Naturehike Cloud-Up 2P 3-season tent. That said, the Naturehike tent is slightly smaller in dimensions and it comes with only one vestibule, not two, so in reality, they’re very similar in weight. Of course, the Bessport tent is much heavier compared to ultralight backpacking tents, such as the Zpacks Duplex, which weighs just 1 lbs 3 oz. But ultralight tents usually start at 500$+, and instead of using aluminum poles, they stand up with trekking poles. Also, the stakes usually aren’t included with ultralight tents and you have to get them separately.

Another factor that needs to be considered is the interior dimensions. If you’re shorter than 1.90 m / 6′ 3 feet, and if you’re fine with leaving your backpack in the vestibules when there are two people sleeping in the tent, then the Bessport tent will be perfect. However, if you want something wider or longer, then you should probably choose something else, like the Alps Mountaineering Lynx.

And lastly, we should talk about the brands themselves. Essentially, Bessport, similar to Naturehike and Featherstone, are all Chinese manufacturers, so their support, durability, and warranty will likely lack behind Alps Mountaineering, Marmot, or Rei.

Warranty

Supposedly, the Bessport 2P 3-Season tent also comes with a limited lifetime warranty. And I’ll put emphasis on “supposedly” because outside of Amazon, you can’t really find any information about their warranty or their brand.

Bessport is essentially a Chinese manufacturer, with a non-existing website, so I wouldn’t really trust their warranty. At the time of writing this article, they offer two different models of tents, various sleeping pads, and a few different models of sleeping bags. All of their products seem to be very cheap and well-reviewed. I also own a Bessport sleeping pad, and although I wouldn’t say that it’s the best sleeping pad that I’ve owned, it does the job just fine.

Value

In terms of value, the Bessport 2P Basic tent is one of the best options for affordable two-person backpacking tents. Tents like these are usually priced between 70$-200$, and Bessport is near the lower end. In fact, all six tents that we mentioned in the table above are more expensive than Bessport.

Now you might think that because the REI Co-Op Passage 2P is twice as expensive as Bessport 2P Basic, it’s twice as durable. In my opinion, that’s not necessarily the case here. Of course, the build quality isn’t as good as REI, and it isn’t made by a reputable brand. But is it worth paying double the amount for an almost identical tent?

Final Verdict

I’ve stayed in the Bessport two-person three-season tent for three nights now and so far, I have only a few things to complain about. First of all, I don’t like that the stakes are so fragile – I already managed to bend one of them. Secondly, it’s advertised as a freestanding tent, but in reality, you need to use at least six stakes to set it up. Another thing that could be improved is the width of the tent. For two people, this tent is pretty narrow – it can barely fit two sleeping pads. And lastly, the setup and takedown is pretty quick, about five minutes, but it’s nowhere close to the advertised two and a half minutes.

But other than that, I have only good things to say about the Bessport tent. For me, (1.84 m / 6 ft) it’s long enough for my feet to not touch the tent fabric, and it’s high enough to get dressed without feeling cramped. It’s fully waterproof, it’s well-ventilated, and best of all, it’s pretty light and compact, which is great when I’m hiking longer distances. There are a few loose threads here and there, but overall the build quality seems to be very good, especially for a tent that’s so affordable.

I’d say that the Bessport 2-Person Basic 3-Season tent is a rock-solid choice for a backpacking tent if you’re on a tight budget.