3F UL Gear, have a growing fan-base – their tents are well built and good value for money. Many backpackers and wild-campers use 3F’s trekking pole Lanshan tents, but perhaps slightly less familiar are their freestanding tents, so today we are doing a 3F UL Taiji 2 vs Floating Cloud 2 comparison. Hopefully if you like 3F’s gear and want to try one of their 2 person freestanding tents, then this article will help you decide which of these tents is the one you should go for.

What is a freestanding tent?

In case you’re new to the term, a freestanding tent is one that stands up by itself with just the poles… no need to peg out the guy-lines. Generally, the poles are clipped to the inner, popped into the corner grommets, and voila – your tent is up. This means you can erect the tent and then move it about. This can be really useful for a number of reasons: to locate that perfect, bump-free pitch; to line up the perfect view; or to show off by holding an erect tent above your head.

Freestanding tents are also great for pitching where it’s not easy to get pegs/stakes into the ground. They also come into their own in small awkward pitch locations where you perhaps don’t have a lot of room for long guy lines.

Non-freestanding tents, such as most tunnel tents and trekking pole tents, need the pole(s) and guy lines to be pegged out to erect the tent. This means that once you have put the tent up, it can be a real faff to move it.

The possible downside of freestanding tents is that most (not all, as you’ll see below) tend to be inner pitch first which means your inner/gear will get wet if it is raining, whilst you throw the flysheet over the top. Non-freestanding tents are often outer pitch first or pitch all in one.

So, back to the 3F UL Taiji 2 and Floating Cloud 2. Let’s get on with the comparison.

Notes:

The specs we have used are from 3F UL Gear. Other websites that are selling these tents may have differing specs. Since the ones we have used are directly from the manufacturer, we are assuming these to be the most accurate. We do recommend you check with 3F UL Gear though before you buy – especially if any particular spec is really important to you.

3F UL Gear refer to the Taiji and Floating Cloud as 3 and 4 season, depending on the inner you choose. We wouldn’t recommend these tents to be used as true 4 season tents, whatever inner you choose. The mesh inner has a bathtub floor and then all mesh above. The nylon inner comes with a bathtub floor, nylon sides up to about two thirds then mesh for ventilation. However, just because the nylon inner is mainly nylon doesn’t make this tent a 4 season tent. There’s a lot more to a true 4 season tent than simply having a mainly solid inner. Solid inners help keep the wind off you and keep you a bit warmer, but the tent structure/design/strength/materials play a huge part in the tent being able to stand up to wild winter weather. We reckon 3 season is about right for this tent for use in the UK.

3F UL Taiji 2 vs Floating Cloud 2 – spec comparison

3F UL Taiji 2 – a freestanding exoskeleton (poles on the outside of the tent) dome tent with a choice of two inners.

Dimensions in detail:
3F only provide the outer height; and the inner length and inner width.
Outer: L ?cm x W ?cm x H 120cm (?″ x ?″ x 47″)
Inner: L 215cm x W 135cm x H ?cm (84″ x 53″ x ?″). In reality, the inner height is more like 100cm and the inner length is more like 200cm.
Vestibule: 60cm / 24″

Weight breakdown:
Total weight excluding footprint: 1.95kg
Outer: 740g
3 season inner: 512g
4 season inner: 512g
Poles: 556g
Guy-lines and stakes/pegs: 144g
Footprint: 170g

Storage:
The Taiji 2 isn’t great in this respect. It only has one tiny inner pocket and one lantern hook meaning there’s no option for running a line to dry clothes.

Where can I buy the 3F UL Taiji 2?
ALIEXPRESS – CHECK PRICE

3F UL Floating Cloud 2 – a freestanding dome tent with a choice of two outers and a choice of two inners.

Dimensions in detail:
No outer dimensions provided by 3F UL.
Outer: L ?cm x W ?cm x H ?cm (?″ x ?″ x ?″)
Inner: L 210cm x W 120cm x H 110cm (83″ x 47″ x 43″). In reality, the inner height is more like 100cm and the inner length is more like 200cm.

Weight breakdown:

15D Floating Cloud 2:
Total weight excluding footprint: 1.84kg
Outer: 620g
3 season inner: 560g
4 season inner: 560g
Poles: 530g
Guy-lines and stakes/pegs: 130g
Footprint: 232g

210T Floating Cloud 2:
Total weight excluding footprint: 2.07kg
Outer: 800g
3 season inner: 610g
4 season inner: 610g
Poles: 530g
Guy-lines and stakes/pegs: 130g
Footprint: 232g

Storage:
Floating Cloud has much better storage inside with some huge mesh pockets. Plus it has a couple of hooks allowing you to not only hook up a lantern, but also string a line across to hang things on, such as wet clothes.

Where can I buy the 3F UL Floating Cloud 2?
ALIEXPRESS – CHECK PRICE

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3F UL Taiji 2 vs Floating Cloud 2 – key differences/similarities

We believe the key difference between the Taiji and the Floating Cloud is in the pole structure and design of the tents. The design of the Taiji means it can be pitched all in one.

These tents can comfortably fit two people. They have two entrances and two vestibules. Colours, dimensions, weight, fabrics and waterproof ratings are all pretty much the same too. The specs may be slightly different, but in use the tents will likely come out similar. There are a few key differences though:

Versions:
There are two versions of the Floating Cloud 2 available – one nylon and one polyester. There is only a nylon version of the Taiji available. Nylon has a better strength to weight ratio whereas polyester tents are typically cheaper. You may have noticed that most cheaper tents are made from polyester. In the case of the Floating Cloud 2 the nylon 15D version is lighter, more waterproof but slightly more expensive.

Pole structure and design:
The Taiji has 3 external poles that cross over in the centre – two longer poles and one shorter cross pole. The Floating Cloud has a single pole structure – a structure that has gained in popularity over the last few years. This difference in structure affects the pitching.

Pitching:
The 3F Taiji 2 is pitched all in one. The inner is attached. You simply lay the tent out, insert the poles in the grommets and clip the poles in. This a great design for wet weather as your inner won’t get wet.
The 3F Floating Cloud 2 has to be pitched inner first. You lay out the inner, insert the poles in the grommets and clip the poles in. You then need to throw over the outer flysheet and attach it to the structure.

Price:
There’s not a lot in it. For the nylon 15D tents, the Taiji is slightly more expensive than the Floating Cloud. However, the polyester version of the Floating Cloud will save you about $50 (£40).

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Is the 3F UL Taiji 2 or the 3F UL Floating Cloud 2 suitable for tall people?

We reckon not. They measure about 200cm long inside and about 100cm high and when you consider your sleeping pad and the slope of the end walls stealing a bit of length, you’ll be left touching the ends if you’re much over 6′. The Taiji 2 has quite a ‘saggy’ inner due to it being attached by clips, rather than being attached to the actual poles, so this makes it worse. As mentioned, both tents have a nice spacious rectangular inner so you could sleep diagonally. The length isn’t bad, but there are better tents out there for tall people, for sure.

RELATED: If you’re interested in the hugely popular Lanshan 1 or 2, check out our 3F UL Lanshan 1 Pro and 3F UL Lanshan 2 Pro article.

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3F UL Taiji 2 vs Floating Cloud 2 – summary

Rather like the 3F UL Lanshan tents, there’s a lot to like about the Taiji 2 and the Floating Cloud 2:

• We like how spacious and well made they are, especially for the price. Either of these tents will be a palace for one person, particularly if you’re under 6′. There is genuinely plenty of room for two people too.
• We like the colour choices.
• We like the large side opening bags – great for stuffing your tent away at the end of a camp, especially if it is wet (don’t forget to dry it all out properly when you get home though).
• We like the choice of inners with these two tents (though as mentioned, we don’t feel they are suitable as true 4 season tents).
• We like how well ventilated these tents are.
• Both tents come with a footprint… nice.

Both these tents should perform perfectly well for most of the year in the UK. However, the UK does increasingly experience much wilder conditions, so for example, if you’re planning to winter camp in locations such as the Scottish mountains, Snowdonia or Lake District, you should look at a more specialised 4 season tent. If a true 4 season tent is out of your budget it would be sensible to keep your camping in line with the level of gear you have by sticking to 3 season, lower level and nearer civilisation camping. The same applies to whatever your location around the world.

Which tent would we recommend? There really isn’t a lot in it, but if push came to shove then we’d go for the 3F UL Taiji 2. Mainly because it pitches all on one. In locations such as the UK where it can be sunny one minute and raining the next, having a tent that pitches outer first, or all in one, really is useful. Either way, if you’re in the market for a 2 person tent, then the Taiji 2 and the Floating Cloud 2 are certainly ones to consider. The idea behind this article was to highlight the key differences between the two tents, and hopefully this 3F UL Taiji 2 vs Floating Cloud 2 comparison has helped you choose which one to go for.