Nordisk Telemark 2 Review: A Four-Season Two-Person Tent Built for Bad Weather

Introduction

The Nordisk Telemark 2 is a four-season, two-person backpacking tent that puts weather resistance and interior space ahead of low weight. It shares its construction approach with the solo Telemark 1, a tent that has already been used in genuinely severe conditions, including summit camping at around 1,000 m in Snowdonia when storm winds arrived far stronger than forecast. On that occasion the poles stayed straight and the fabric came through without a tear.

That background matters, because the two-person version is not a simplified or softened take on the same idea. The build is the same in character, scaled up to sleep two.

This review covers what the Telemark 2 is made from, how much room it actually offers inside, what it weighs and how it packs, and who gets the most value from it. The short version is that strength and space are the priorities here, and the trade-offs are weight and packed size.

Who This Tent Is For

The Telemark 2 makes most sense for two people who want a shelter that holds its shape when the forecast turns. Because the total weight is split between two packs, each person carries roughly 2.1 kg, which is a reasonable figure for a four-season tent of this strength.

It also suits campers who dislike cramped tents. The inner is a true rectangle rather than a tapered shape, and it can take two long, wide sleeping pads with space left over at the head or foot end. Storage is generous on both sides, which matters when you are waiting out a long, wet evening.

Solo backpackers are a different story. At 4.2 kg, this is a lot of tent for one person, and the packed size is large enough to shape how you load a pack. For short trips, such as a one-night wild camp or a summit camp where the reward is a stable shelter in bad weather, that trade can still make sense. For long solo routes, it is a hard case to argue.

Build Quality and Weather Protection

The strength is in the details. The tent comes with 20 heavy-duty pegs and 16 guy lines, and it uses four 10.25 mm DAC poles. The fly is covered in clips with very little distance between them, which keeps the fabric taut across the whole structure, and the guy lines let you lock the shape down when the wind builds.

Fabric and hardware follow the same logic. The fly is 30D silnylon with a hydrostatic head rating of 3,000 mm and a high tenacity weave, so it is fully waterproof and has real substance to it. The pole sleeves are thick, the ribbon wraps around the poles are wide, the pole clips are heavy duty, and the base is reinforced. Even the line locks feel like they were specified with bad weather in mind.

The inner floor is 70D with a hydrostatic head rating of 10,000 mm, and the bathtub floor rises high around the edges. The doors carry wide storm flaps with dual zippers, and each door has two toggles, which helps keep them shut when conditions are rough. Both sides can also be pitched as a canopy, creating covered viewing space while adding protection to the tent itself.

Interior Space and Storage

Measured with a tape measure, the interior comes to 250 cm at its longest point, 125 cm wide, and 115 cm tall. The shape is a perfect rectangle, so the usable space runs right into the corners instead of tapering away.

For a user around 172 cm tall on an 11 cm sleeping mat, there is a large amount of headroom to spare, which makes a real difference when you are spending hours inside waiting for weather to pass. Two long, wide pads fit comfortably, with room left at the head or foot end. Getting changed and moving around inside is easy rather than a negotiation.

Each side has a fully covered vestibule. They are wide at the centre with steep walls and two pegging points, which leaves plenty of space for gear and for cooking under cover. Storage includes a drying line and a large ceiling pocket on each side, plus two large pockets at the foot end and two at the head end. The inner is cut tight and has adjusters so it does not flap. As a four-season design, much of the inner is solid fabric, and the large inner door can be run as full mesh or closed off with a solid zippable cover.

Weight and Pack Size

The Telemark 2 weighs 4.2 kg, with the poles and pegs accounting for roughly 1.5 kg of that. The packed size is 20 cm by 45 cm, and that figure is arguably conservative.

Shared between two people, the load works out at about 2.1 kg each. Carried alone, the poles need to go down the side of the backpack, and the tent body benefits from being compressed into a dry bag to push out as much air as possible. Anyone planning to carry this solo should assume it will influence both the pack and the route.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Pitching takes longer than a simple two-pole shelter. The process starts with eight stakes: all four corners plus two on either side. The black poles go in first, then the blue poles over the top, working around the tent from there. The dense clips and the guy lines are exactly what make the structure so rigid, and they are also what make the pitch slower.

Price is the other consideration. The Telemark 2 sits at around £700 including VAT, duty, and delivery when ordered directly from Nordisk. That is a serious outlay, although the build quality and the amount of weather it can absorb are the reasons the price sits where it does.

Buying Advice

If you camp with a partner, a dog, or a child, the Telemark 2 is easy to recommend for one and two night wild camps, and for summit camps where a stable shelter matters more than a light pack. The interior is big enough that the effort of carrying it is repaid once it is pitched, and splitting the load makes it manageable.

If you backpack solo, be honest about your priorities. The 4.2 kg weight and the large pack size are the two factors that decide whether this tent suits you. Campers who value strength above all else will accept that trade, while anyone covering long distances alone will find it difficult to justify.

It also works across the year. The full mesh door options and the canopies keep it comfortable in warm weather, while the solid inner fabric, the high bathtub floor, and the storm flaps handle cold and wet conditions.

Conclusion

The Nordisk Telemark 2 does not pretend to be light. What it offers instead is a very rigid structure, four doors, two large fully covered vestibules, and an interior that measures 250 cm long, 125 cm wide, and 115 cm tall. For two people who want a tent that stays put when the weather turns, that combination is worth the weight.