by RJ Barnes
It’s about that time of the year. The sun is starting to come out a bit more. The hills are green, the rivers are running high (well, we can hope) and for both backpackers and hunters, the urge to get out takes over. For any backpacking or back country hunting trip, lightweight equipment that can take a beating is paramount. Camping should be an enjoyable experience. Having to sleep in a wet tent, or carry one that weighs a ton is just plain no fun.
Two tents that we have found that will both keep you dry and won’t weigh you down needlessly are the Badlands Mirage and Snugpak Scorpion 2, and an added bonus: neither will break the bank. The Mirage is relatively new to the market, and the Snugpak is a brand that very few have heard of. With that in mind we thought a brief comparison was in order.
| Badlands Mirage | Snugpak Scorpion2 | |
| Trail weight | 5 lbs 9 oz. (includes footprint) | 5 lbs 13 oz. |
| Poles | T-6061 Aluma-Light | DAC® Featherlite NSL® |
| Person | 2 person | 2 person |
| Entrance/Vestibule | Single Side/ Yes | Single End/ Yes |
| Price | $299.95 | $249.00 |
Mirage Scorpion 2
Badlands Mirage
Badlands has been making backpacks for hunters for just over 20 years and in that time they have made quite a name for themselves. Famous for their “Unconditional Lifetime Warrantee” their products have been tested and tested by hunters. Badlands recently introduced their Accent line of tent and sleeping bags.
The Unboxing
The Badlands Mirage comes in a compression stuff sack with a floating lid, a nice touch when you’re tired and trying to stuff your tent back into the little bag it came in. The bag is just over 18 inches long as shipped.
The tent is a breeze to set up. It uses a clip design in which the tent attaches to the poles via clips instead of sleeves. The clips can often be a weak link, but Badlands beat that by reinforcing them with Hypalon. Hypalon is super strong, if you’ve ever been white water rafting and wondered what kept the raft from bursting each time it bounced off a rock…well…that was Hypalon. The floor of the tent is a tub style that is seam sealed. The side walls are made of weight saving mesh that is great for ventilation as well as a little star-gazing on warm clear nights.
The poles are about as easy as they could get. They are connected by a superlight aluminum hub that keeps them connected. They suspend the tent in a classic X giving the tent a self-standing rectangular shape. There is a lot of headroom in this tent, which is nice for those of use over 6’ tall. It’s not so nice for high winds. To keep the winds at bay, Badlands has place guy lines around the tent which will aid in stability.
The rain fly covers the tent nicely coming right down to the ground. There are vents at the top of the rain fly that can be set open or closed via a Velcro tab. The rain fly also provides a single zipper vestibule that also gives access to the single side door.
Opinion
The Mirage was really quick and easy to set up. Once person could complete the job before the other could have water boiling for tea. They have used lightweight and strong materials. I really like the interior height and the lighter colored material. The nearly vertical walls means using the guy lines is almost mandatory. The side door design is nice, but it would be even nicer if there were another door on the other side.
Snugpak Scorpion2
Hunters on this side of the Atlantic may have not heard of Snugpak before but they have been outfitting armies and expeditions for decades. Snugpak is best known in the tactical/military world. Their sleeping bags and tents have been issued to Special Forces groups from several countries and are also used on expeditions around the world, from the Antarctic to the Himalayas.
The Unboxing
The Snugpak Scorpion comes in a zip bag with compression straps. The zip was nice for getting the bag out, but it was kind of awkward to put it back in.
The Scorpion is what is called a fly first design. This means that instead of attaching the pole to the tent and then putting the fly over it, you attach the poles to the fly and then attach the tent inside the fly. There are two advantages by doing it this way. First, your tent body isn’t exposed to the elements as you put it up, and secondly, the fly can be used on its own as an ultralight floorless shelter.
There are 3 DAC Featherlite poles and you can tell them apart by the color coded tips. This is almost mandatory on a tent like this. The two poles that run the length of the tent are not reversible. There are webbing straps that run side to side on the fly. These give you the ability to set the fly up by itself and for it to be self-standing. I don’t know that I would want to set it up self-standing though; the slightest breeze could flip it.
Once the fly is up, the tent simply clips onto the inside of the fly (see photos). I was surprised how the inside of the tent was loose. The tent also clips to the corners with fastex style buckles that can be tightened (which I had forgotten to do). After tightening them up a bit the inside of the tent grew and tightened.
Opinion
The Scorpion is not the easiest tent to set up. I wouldn’t want to be that guy who gets into camp after dark and tries to set up his tent for the first time. I am a fan of fly first designs and this one works well. The 3 pole design is quite strong and I do like the more streamlined shape of the Scorpion, although you lose headroom. I also like the 2 zipper vestibule, it allows opening while keeping the elements outside the tent.
The Verdict
We picked two tents that were as close to an “apple to apple” comparison, and that’s what we got. Both these tents are made of high quality material with great designs. They nearly weigh the same as well. Which one will work best for you will depend on your priorities. Below I have tabulated what I think are the strengths of each of these tents:
| Badlands Mirage | Snugpak Scorpion2 |
| · Super easy set up· Comes with footprint
· More headroom · “see the stars” at night · Lighter colors · Badlands Unconditional Lifetime Warrantee |
· Stronger 3 pole system,· Streamlined shape/ lower profile
· Fly first lightweight option · Comes with repair kit · 2 zipper vestibule · Repair kit w/pole sleeve |
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