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Gear Review: Golite Cave 2 Shelter

If you’ve been looking to lower your pack weight, you’ve probably heard of Golite. If not, have you seen Andrew Skurka’s new book? That pack on the front is made by them. As their name insinuates, they sell lightweight backpacking gear that helps you go… light. Last year for my birthday my wife agreed to let me buy a second hand shelter setup, a Golite Cave 2 silnylon tarp and a Golite Lair Nest mesh-tent.



As a family man now, I was looking for something we could take out and use that didn’t weigh a lot. For a small group, this is it. Using the mesh tent, I can get 3 adults at a tight squeeze. With just the tarp, I’ve fit two adults and our three kids with space to spare. And weight?  The tarp weighs in at 19.5 ounces and the mesh tent at just under 26 ounces. That’s under 3 lbs for the set. To help keep the weight down it relies on trekking poles or sticks found in the area to set it up.

Golite Cave 2 Specs
  •  SilLite™ silicone-impregnated ripstop nylon: ultra-lite, ultra-tough, ultra-waterproof
  •  2 beaks
  •  Lots of tie-out points
  • Compatible with both Lair Nest and Lair Nest 2
  •  3-season, 3-person
  • Area: 89 sq ft / 8.3m2
  • 19.5 ounces

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My Thoughts – the Good
  • It’s a really light and super compressible.
  • It takes up almost no space in my pack.
  • It can be set up in a whole bunch of ways to suit the weather and group size.
  • The tie-out points on the sides really allow for a nice cave-like setup that gives a lot of space to move, even while pitched right to the ground.
  • Being able to pitch flat to the ground is a huge bonus
Pitched with poles underneath on a trip this summer. We had 3 guys inside with the nest.
My thoughts – the not so good
  • Trying to pitch it by one’s self is a real pain.
    • I found it easiest to peg out the sides first and then set up the poles for the ridge.
  • The tie-out points are small and weak. Mine was used and the corner points are worn half through.
  • The beaks can only be pitched tight at one angle, otherwise they flap. Not a big deal, but when it is advertised as having any type of setup that you want, it makes it a draw back.
  • It says it is compatible with the Lair 2 Nest, but I find the Lair 2 Nest is a bit too wide at one end to use when pegging the tarp near the ground.
  • Too many tie out points!
Again, pitched with poles inside on a trip last summer with my daughter.
As you can see, here it was pitched right to the ground because of wind and cold.
Overall Thoughts


I honestly really like this shelter a lot. It is my first tarp setup and I find the flexibility of using it solo or with the Nest great. The two take up very little space and using the trekking poles is a great way to save weight that otherwise would have been wasted on tent poles. It’s frustrating to have to carry so many tie out points, but I’m probably going to go Titanium in the next little while and cut down some weight there.

I’ve taken it out a few times and as a 3 – season shelter for 2+ people it’s great. I definitely recommend the nest if you’re going to be hiking where there are mosquitos.


All in all I’d give a strong recommendation to Golite shelters, especially this setup.

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About Paul

A guy trying to get away from his desk so that he can fish, hike, play and just plain be in the outdoors.

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