abaya

So ktspktsp and I are in the market for a good tent, especially one that will stand up to the rigors of camping in Iceland (that means all manner of wind and rain, if not snow/hail). However, we'd like to keep it to a 3-season tent, hopefully under $300, and ideally under/around 5 lbs. total weight.

Problem is, all the quality tents we've seen (REI, etc) are for EITHER 2 person or 3 person. With a 2-person, you're supposed to put your backpacks/gear in the "vestibule" outside, but we don't understand that... bugs and rain and all kinds of shit can get in there, even if it's covered. We want our gear INSIDE the tent with us, so it's handy during the night and when we need to escape from bugs.

Which brings us to a 3-person tent... but those are too damn big and/or heavy to be much different in quality and price than a Coleman $40 tent (which is what we currently own).

Are there any "2.5 person" tents out there that we are missing? We just want enough space for our two bodies and a couple of backpacks. We also want to keep weight at a minimum. Are we aiming too high here?

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spindles

Are you really worried about the backpacks being outside? These tents still have a "cover" over the vestibule. It won't keep bugs out of your bags, but will definitely keep them dry.

My brother has one of these (a Macpac Olympus) :
http://www.macpac.co.nz/catalogue/pr...9-2f661f9fcc79

The vestibule area is quite sizable and easily has room for two packs and inside it is still spacious enough for two thermarests.

Personally, I have a dome tent which is 3 person size (my wife and I have this huge inflatable mattress that easily fits inside - but it is not a 'name' brand tent and I wouldn't recommend it for hiking - we did lug both tents with us around California, Alaska, Idaho and Nevada a few years ago (we really only took mine because my brother had a friend join us for the Alaska part of our vacation...)

Anyway - if weight is an option, I'd recommend the 2 person ones, if you can get over the "bags outside" issue.

Looking at the macpac site, maybe something like this (Macpac Citadel):
http://www.macpac.co.nz/catalogue/pr...8-b3e5bbb090d1

This is only 3.7kg (the olympus is 3.4).

The macpac site has a retail locator too:
http://www.macpac.co.nz/public/retail_locator/

Be warned - macpac ain't cheap - Paddy Pallin (one of the bigger outdoor retailers in Oz) has the citadel listed as $949 AUD

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kurty[B]

I'm a big fan of Mountain Hardwear Tents. Their superlight three person tent seems like a good fit for you (room for two, packs, and just under 5 lbs). It's on the higher end of your price $320 MSRP, but my experience with any Mountain Hardwear gear is that it's worth the little extra you spend for it (especially their windproof jackets).

I personally have the REI Half Dome 2 tent, and for my purposes it suits me well. I have a cover for my backpack, and everything I need direct access to in the tent gets stuffed into a pillow case that I use as a pillow (flashlight, clothes for the morning, and such). I NEVER bring food into the tent due to bears and other wildlife. I've had 6 inches of snow fall on my Half Dome and been perfectly warm and comfy the next morning (aside from not wanting to get out of the tent).

eribrav

I haven't bought a tent in a while but I always found Eureka to have no frills high quality products at reasonable prices. Check them out at Campmor.

My wife and I usually prefer the 3 person, because there's plenty of room for 2 to sleep and being some gear inside.

Also to consider: Are you always going to be moving point to point, or are you going to set up a camp somewhere and use it as a base for exploring? If you're making a base camp you may want to carry a tarp, and set that up as a rain shelter, and you can stash stuff under there. Also carry waterproof covers for your packs if possible. I have a Gregory with a waterproof cover; I have left it out all night in driving rain and wind with no wetness inside in the morning.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

shakran

You're lookin' at the wrong tents. I have a 4 person tent that weighs probably 3 pounds and goes into a bag about the size of 3 coffee cans stacked up - - -not quite as big around either.

I am a BIG fan of Eureka tents. I've had my latest one for 10 years now, I beat the hell out of it, and it looks brand new. Never even replaced the poles. Look at the Tetragon 8. It's a 4 person tent (which means 2 people + gear can sleep comfortably) loosely based on one of the best tents ever - the Eureka Rainer. Shouldn't cost you more than 150 or so.

fresnelly

Put your bags in the car - Problem solved.

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shakran

Abaya strikes me as the kind of camper that does what I do. Walk several miles into the middle of nowhere and then set up camp. Kinda inconvenient to take everything back to the car

amonkie

I second the Mountain Hardware - definitely worth EVERY Penny.

I bought a 2 person no name brand tent that weighs about 3.5 pounds, and it had enough room for two people, and we threw our bags at our feet - not backpacking bags, but there was enough room for two duffel bags. I think I paid $30 on Ebay

But for your purposes, I would definitely check out Mountain hardware or Eureka - don't have any personal experience wtih Eureka though.

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JStrider

a vestibule will keep your stuff dry if your on level ground and not in a torrential downpour...

I'm a fan of just a tarp under the bag and stars above

but have a northface tadpole tent, 2 person pretty easily, and you can fit some gear in there if your sleepin really close to the other person in there. and it has a vestibule as well.

check out http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ they always have some stuff on clearance and good prices on most of their non clearence stuff.

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abaya

Holy crap, are you serious?? 3 lbs? I am definitely checking it out.

Thanks to everyone else for your advice, too... if we're car camping, sure we can throw most of our stuff in the trunk, but if we're backpacking around Iceland or Europe or something (or the Cascades, if we ever get back West )... no car. Plus we already have a heavy-ass Coleman tent for car camping... we want a light tent that can fit a coupla backpacks inside at night, basically.

Currently I was starting to sell myself on this one: http://www.rei.com/product/745955 (REI Quarter Dome 3 UL) but Eureka is sounding damn good and cheap right now. Will look around and get back to you all.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

kurty[B]

I'd throw in a vote for the REI Quarter Dome. I do not have personal experience with Eureka though.

I'm the jerk who goes to an outdoor store with the intention of buying a tent, and ask if I can set them up in the store (outside in the grass if they happen to have any). Most sales reps want to help you, but I ask them to leave. Any tent I purchase I want to make sense in assembly and tear down, and also want to crawl in and see how easy it is to get in and out if you're trying to take off your boots and all.

I'd suggest going to an outdoor store, and doing this, in case you were planning to buy online.

abaya

Well, that's why we love REI... they're all about that. They already have plenty of tents set up when we get there, usually, so we've crawled into the Quarter Dome and checked it out. Our only concern at this point is weight... I want to see if it's noticeable lighter than my Coleman $40 car-camping tent. If it's only a couple of pounds, is it really worth spending $300 more??

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

shakran

also keep in mind that if you're really insane about the weight, you can get carbon fibre poles that weigh next to nothing. But really, with the standard aluminum poles it doesn't weigh all that much anyway. And since the tent should be carried on the bottom side of your pack between the pack and the sleeping bag, all the weight will be on your hips anyway so you won't notice it A 3-4 day backpacking trip, my wife and I each carry about 40 lbs, but we carry crap we don't need too. We could go lighter by bringing MRE's since we wouldn't have to carry cookware then, but who wants to eat that crap for 4 days?

snowy

Backpacker magazine frequently has gear reviews, and it looks as if their online site does too: http://www.backpacker.com/gear/0,3436,,00.html

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StanT

It depends how on far you are hiking, the weight of your other equipment, and the ramifications if your gear fails.

Eureka makes very good tents and has excellent customer service. I used them for years. However, their tents are a bit heavy by backpacking standards. For a shorter trip, they are fine, but I replaced mine when I started going on longer (3+) day trips. I replaced them with a pair of tents from Walrus that held up very nicely on a few 8-12 day hikes in Montana and Alaska. There's a big difference between being 3-4hrs from the nearest road and 3-4 days. While Walrus got bought by someone (MSR, maybe), Sierra Design, Mountain Hardware, and North Face make similar quality equipment.

abaya

Cool, thanks Snowy!

Btw, does anyone have experience with the Big Agnes brand? I've never really heard of them before, but I'm currently hovering over this apparent deal on REI-Outlet.com... (sorry for the long link):

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...t=OUTLET_HP_PP

__________________
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for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Bossnass

I've heard really good things about Big Agnes, but until recently I've never seen them for sale in Canada. I've seen a few people virtually live out of them during the summer in Fernie BC, where I downhill bike.

It looks like you can buy them at MEC (mec.ca), which is a strong indicator of a quality product. That is to say if they are for sale at Mountain Equipment Coop, they are a solid product, and all the better if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

In fact, I was initially going to recommend a MEC tent; I have a 4-season largish 2 person MEC tent, about 10 years old, that I have nothing but good things to say about. It was about $320 canadian back then and weighs 7 lbs. I think closest thing to it now is the 'lightfield' http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1170973409518

abaya

Thanks, Bossnass. I'm really leaning towards that Big Agnes Sunnyside 2... I called Big Agnes today and apparently they only made this tent for REI (i.e. it's not anywhere on their website/catalog), and the material's a bit heavier than their usual tent but otherwise it's high quality. At 5 lbs 6 oz and a very reasonable price, I'm pretty tempted to go with this one.

Sidenote: What is with outdoor companies and three letter abbreviations??? REI, EMS, and now MEC...

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

ASU2003

I'm actually looking for a tent now as well. I need to get my check from REI for the past year first, and I should have enough to get a decent tent.

I'm looking for one that is small enough to be carried on a bike or backpack and that a neutral color that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb from a mile away.

I have a decent 4-person tent I am borrowing from my parents right now. I used it when I hiked down to the Colorado river at the Grand Canyon. (The river is loud, bring earplugs). It wasn't designed with a daypack in mind. It worked out much better when I camped at a campground in California.

I like this tent, and will probably get this one.
http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/47...PING_HIKING_SA

This would be a good choice for me as well.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4500457

I like your Sunnyside tent as well though.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...t=OUTLET_HP_PP

It is a tough decision. Have you found a tent yet?

abaya

Nope, we haven't bought one yet, though we should do it very soon. I think we are leaning towards the Sunnyside 2 at the moment, since it is nice and long at 90" and relatively wide (58"). The only issue I see is that there is no footprint on the website, so I'd have to get a footprint for the Big Agnes Parkview 2 tent (same floor dimensions, so I assume it would fit just the same).

Does anyone not use footprints? Or use a blue tarp instead? Just curious about whether we really have to spend $40 for a big piece of nylon...

__________________
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for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
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kurty[B]

I have two lightweight gray tarps (not sure what exactly they are called). One is just big enough to go under my tent. They are extremely light, cost maybe $8, and do their job well. The only problem I could see is because they are lightweight they could be punctured easily and tear from there if you don't take care of them. I've layed my on twigs, and normal camping wear and tear (tossing rocks on them to hold them down and such), and they are still doing well after a year of use.

ASU2003

I asked the REI guy this week, and they said that the checks are usually sent out the last week in February. So, it looks like I'll be making my choice then.

Have you found the tent for you yet?

abaya

Well, we are leaving for Iceland in about 10 days, so we are on the cusp of buying the Big Agnes Sunnyside 2 right now. The main issue is the weight... I mean, our old Coleman car camping tent (which has gone with me to Zambia and back, albeit not backpacking) weighs around 8 lbs, so we could drag it along with us... it's in otherwise good condition. The Big Agnes weights 5 lbs 6 oz.

So is it worth $150 for a new tent to save us 3 lbs, basically? Thoughts?

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

ASU2003

What is the size of your current tent? And are you planning on backpacking with a lot of stuff? Or are you going to be climbing up steep hills and going back down?

When I went backpacking for 10 days in New Mexico, my pack weighed just under 40lbs. So 36-37lbs won't make a lot of difference (if you would have asked me on the last day, my answer might be different). When I went to the Grand Canyon last summer for 2 days, my pack weighed less than 20 lbs. I was going for speed and had to hike all the way down to the river and back (10 miles each way, 4000ft elevation change). 3lbs would make a difference in this case. I'm also looking for a tent I can easily take on a bicycle, so 3 lbs will make it easier to petal long distances.

abaya

Well, our current Coleman tent is 7 x 7 (49 square feet), which is obviously very spacious for the two of us and all our gear inside. We usually just bring a big blue tarp for the groundcloth.

The backpacking, IF we do it (big IF), would be in utterly remote Iceland for a solid week with a group of people, so I assume we would all share the load of food and living gear. I don't really know the terrain, though some hillclimbing wouldn't surprise me. But we don't even know if we'll be going on this trip yet... it's speculation.

See, we are not professional (or even amateur) backpackers... we've just always wanted to get started doing it, but haven't built up the experience to know what kind of gear would be best. I've always heard that every pound counts when it comes to loading your pack, but then again... are 3 lbs really worth $150 when our current tent serves us well otherwise?

Eh, maybe we should just buck up and carry the extra 3 lbs...

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

ASU2003

How many miles per day would this trip consist of? I would guess that you might be .25 mph slower carring those extra three pounds. You will be just as sore and tired either way.

You will find that you are carring other stuff that you don't need, so it would be best to trim down your pack before you go. That will save each of you 1.5 lbs.

And you already have practice setting up this tent. Can you set it up in the dark? In the rain? That will mean more than spending $150 for a lightweight tent that you have to learn how to put together on the first day.

7 days is a long trip though, so I can see why it could be worth $25/day to save 3 pounds. Hiking with a lightweight pack is much more enjoyable.

abaya

$25 a day to save 3 lbs, interesting view. I suppose, taking that into consideration, it would also be worth it over the long run (if we really get into backpacking)... hmph. Damn, why are tents so expensive.

EDIT: Btw, yeah we could set up this tent blindfolded, if we had to. We've set it and disassembled it so many times, we know it very well. For what that's worth... which is apparently a lot! Although, in an Icelandic summer, there's no shortage of sunlight (even at 2am, it's nice and bright)... so not a huge issue.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

hrandani

The philosophy of backpacking is not, is this 3lb or 5lb tent better, but to eliminate consistently all weight from all items. Besides, the usual practice again is to split up carrying a tent, poles to one person and the tent to the other. If you're in shape, your pack is good and fits well, and snugs to your body, and your shoes are broken in and fit well (extremely important) the difference between 40 and 50 isn't really felt. However as you might notice at this point, that's quite a lot of ifs.

Frequently people forget how much water they're going to be carrying, and how incredibly heavy enough water for a long hike + cooking a meal is, despite the reminder from the Fremen that the best place for water is inside your body. Same goes for food, which I also don't recommend skimping on. What you really discover while backpacking is how little stuff you actually need to live, (silverware = pfff!) and when it comes down to having a clean change of clothes or staying dirty and having a snugger pack, it's not a difficult choice to make at all. With that in mind, never, ever skimp on socks or boots. (also make sure your tent is, in fact, waterproof )

The rule I used when buying tents was like shakran mentioned, 4 person tent = tent for two people plus their gear.

Then again, I went backpacking for 14 days at 10,000 feet with a 60lb pack, so what do I know ;p (I was appointed group pack-burro)

oh! and most importantly, don't forget toilet paper.

good luck and have fun!