This 2p backpacking tent weighs a very credible and perhaps even ultralight 1.8kg, and the size is just as impressive - about the same dimensions as a small rolled up picnic blanket.
It achieves this in the way most ultralight tents do, through the use of expensive, but thin and light materials. The funny thing with the Jaran though is that it isn't all that expensive compared to the competition.
For £300 we were expecting corners to have been cut, ultimately resulting in a compromised tent, but were pleasantly surprised when we rolled out the Jaran and started putting it together, finding only premium materials and clever construction.
The Jaran uses a DAC pole system called the featherlight and it is ridiculously so, the combined weight of the poles in the hand is barely perceptible.
Pitching is inner first, giving a freestanding setup. This allows you to forego the flysheet in dry weather for a glorious bivvy like night under the stars (but with protection from bugs). Being inner first you have to be quick to get the flysheet over though if it's persisting down.
The DAC pole system is ingenious, with a knuckle for connecting the pole ends into the corners of the inner tent and cleats for hooking over the flysheet corners. It is intuitive, neat, and secure and we wish more tents would use it.
The inner hangs from the flysheet with more clever little connectors and some good old-fashioned Velcro to stop the flysheet from moving around on the poles.
Altogether the Jaran is foolproof and quick to pitch and the result is secure and stable.
The Jaran 2 benefits from a very spacious and airy inner with big swathes of mesh. You can easily fit two lightweight mats side by side, the sleeping area is a tad smaller than the similar MSR Hubba Hubba NX in width but gains a few cm in length to compensate. In the middle you can sit up comfortably, even if you're tall too.
We were chuffed to see dual doors in the Jaran 2 which not only gives you easy access when you're sleeping as a pair, with a door each, but also two usable vestibules when you're using the tent solo - which is my preferred setup.
These vestibules are both generous, with a backpacking pack able to go down each side.
Being a largely mesh inner tent, the Jaran is lovely on balmy summer nights but not so good if the wind picks up, as you feel it whipping under the flysheet and over your body. Although billed as a 3-season tent make sure you use a warm sleeping bag and possibly even a bivvy bag for wind protection on particularly cold nights.
The shape is fairly stable, it does get blown about a bit in strong winds but no more than we would expect from a tent of this design.
Obviously being a lightweight tent the materials are on the thin side, not alarmingly so but you do need to consider your tent floor when choosing your camp spot and make sure you kick away any sharp twigs before setting the tent down.
You can also opt to add the Jaran footprint which affords you a little extra protection for woodland camps.
All in all the Jaran 2 is, in our opinion one of the best lightweight 2 person backpacking tents for the money.
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