John: "I also like that the scarp is free standing. I wonder if I can use my trekking poles to make the MSR freestanding ..."
The CR2 is only 'not free standing' in the sense that it requires the 4 corners staked down. Since you would stake the 4 corners of any tent anyways, it's a non-issue. You do not have to start roping the tent to things to keep it up like a tarp.
Timothy: "Second, as far as keeping gear in the tent. I am going to have to disagree with Dan on this one. Well maybe/maybe not. If Dan means storing your backpack in the tent or any large items, I definitely disagree. However, I could see how a couple of small items could fit at the heels of your feet. In other words, something along the lines of a flashlight or something."
I store larger items (pack, footwear) under the vestibules and smaller items (headlamp, phone etc) inside the tent in the mesh pockets. The CR2 has really nice mesh pockets. They are very easy to find in the pitch dark.
Chris: "“If you took a door off the Scarp, gave it a carbon main pole, removed the top vents, etc. it would undoubtedly be lighter than the Carbon Reflex 2.”"
That's a lot of 'ifs'. If you made the Carbon Reflex out of SilNylon like the Scarp 2 and it would be even lighter still :)
Ashley: "It beats me why MSR didn't add another L shaped zipper to the other side. Seriously -- it would only add one or two ounces extra at most (there is already a vertical zipper in place) and add enormously to the usability of the tent."
I agree, this is silly. It would add like 0.25oz and make the rear vestibule significantly more usable. I rarely use the rear vestibule because of the poor access but the front vestible is large enough that I can get 2 packs and 2 pair of footwear in there. Sometimes I toss one pack in the rear vestibule by slipping it under the fly.
Ashley: "The idea of having a single door on the side seems ridiculous to me. My GF would shoot me if I bought a tent for us to share like that! One person has to climb over the other one to get out, which is annoying for both people. So even if I'm willing to put up with someone climbing over me during the night, my GF certainly isn't willing to be trapped on the opposite side!"
Having a single side door is somewhat of a compromise in livability, but I see it as a fairly minor one. Prior to falling asleep, it is easy for the person closest to the door to sit up so the other person can walk behind and out the door. In the middle of the night, you would have to step over the other sleeping person if you happen to be the person away from the door (or you could wake them up) but how often does this happen? Unless both of you are frequent nightime washroom users, it's not a big deal. If one person commonly wakes up in the night to use the washroom (or lack there of) just put them by the door. My wife and I have spent several nights in the CR2 and never have we had a situation where someone was stepping over the other.
Consider how much weight having a single door saves (2-3oz???) and then think what cost there is to that (having to step over a person once in a while). I think it's a debate-able trade off.
Timothy: "I think it would cause it to collapse though if you decided to open both doors at one time though. Just a thought, could be completely wrong."
I don't think so. The CR2 would only collapse if you broke or unclipped the main pole OR if you pulled out the stakes at multiple locations. With the fly on, you'd need to remove at least 3 stakes to cause it to collapse. The doors are not a stressed area.