Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Tent Advice

Tent Advice

Hi all. I am in the market for a new tent and having not bought one in well over a decade, thought I would seek the advice
of the experts (that's you!)

I'm looking for a 3-season, tent for two people (I am 5.8" She is 5.6"). Use would primarily be in the Sierras and Colorado Rockies from Spring through to late fall.

Key considerations are ease of set-up, weight and ability to withstand the weather. Other features such as # and size of vestibules, # doors, are less important.


One question I have is: Single-Wall vs Double.

I've been in a few different newer double walls by Marmot and NorthFace, including the Expedition VE25 (which although was good in the rain and wind, is a bit too heavy to consider a 10+lbs ). They have been fine with varying levels of noise with flapping and ease of setup.

I also had a chance to see, setup and be in the Black Diamond Lighthouse (not actually sleep in it). This is a very light single wall tent but seems very flimsy whose poles do not inspire confidence. I feel as though it could collapse at any moment. The interior pole support does not seem it would be stable.

I would love to hear comments (good or bad) from those who have some thoughts on a choice or any other thoughts.

Models I have been looking at include the ones below, though I am not wedded to any of them:

Mountain Hardwear (Lightwedge, Spire 2, Skywedge, maybe Ev2)
Big Agnes (Copper Spur 2)
Bibler (Eldorado)

Thanks in advance.

Rob

hi rob, check out the north face tadpole. fits 2 people, nice extra room out front, weighs in at about 4.5 lbs total. it also has the feature that you can set it up with just the ground cloth and the fly with out the actual tent for those bug less nights. i had it up at tuckermans just below mt. washington in february last year just to try it out and it held up fine. also been in some nasty rainstorms in it and so far so good. i have a 4 season north face also, weighs close to 9 lbs that i only use now for the hard core winter stuff, the tadpole will work 9 months out of the year, hope this helps.

I have a Bibler I tent and BD Lighthouse. The Bibler Eldo is a slightly longer version of the I tent. The Bibler is really designed as a winter tent although can be used in other seasons. It doesn't breath all that well and I would not want to spend a rainy summer day or evening in it. I have used it in the summer but prefer to use it when it's cold and windy.... that is the conditions where it excels.

The Lighthouse is suppose to be the same footprint as the Bibler Eldo. I find it roomy and the side door is nice and it ventilates wells. I have found it to be fairly stable in winds and pitching it correctly based on the wind direction will help... although I've not slept in it in a bad storm yet. So, can't personally recommend it as a true 3 season tent yet.

If you want a 3 season tent IMHO the Bibler's are too heavy for a single wall tent, too pricey, and don't breath well enough... although I do love mine in the winter.

I hope this helps.

Thanks guys,

Rhody, what is the floor area of the Tadpole? I've seen varying sizes from 27ft-45ft??

Tim, have you ever had problems with the poles coming undone? Perhaps it's me, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of support inside the way the poles go in?

RAC,

You seem to be all over the place tents. Some 3 season, some 4 season.

I think you should sit down with you significant other and figure out what is important in a tent for the two of you.

Personally, I want two doors and vestibules so, that special someone doesn't have to climb over me in the middle of the night go get outside for whatever reason. A lot of the newer tents are very narrow...too narrow for two people IMHO. Therefore, my criteria is a minimum of 54" wide. The last of my wants, is enough tent height to sit up...for me that is 42".

You need to define your needs and then narrow your focus to tents that meet your specs.

BTW, our group has six Black Diamond tents...mostly Lighthouses and First Lights. They are great one person tents.

Take a look at the Sierra Designs. I have two of them, a Tiros ( 4 season)and Clip Flashlight (3 season)and they are light and easy to erect. I've never had a failure or collapse. The others you are looking at are relatively heavy and in my humble opinion, overkill for the season you're going to use them.

The poles do not come undone. In fact they are sometimes hard to fit in and sometime hard to get out once set up. They create a very tight and sturdy tent. The Bibler I-tent and BD Lighthouse have reinforced areas with metal grommet type things that accept the ends of the poles. Be careful setting it up so that the pole ends are properly seated in those grommet pockets. I had a friend that put a tent pole thru a BD Firstlight sidewall by not paying attention to where the pole end was. I've not had a problem as I alway pay attention to this. BD has a video on their website somewhere showing proper pole setup for these types of tents and offer helpful hints.

The I-tent and Firstlight are good one person shelters for smaller people (5'8" and below) and if you use it as a two person shelter you will become good friends with them ... so hopefully take a spouse/significant other with you

The Eldo and Lighthouse are a little more roomier and are acceptable 2 person shelters.

an outstanding place to look, to help you narrow your search, is
gearfinder
It has about everything on the market in many gear categories, and it is easy to narrow the search. I think a good tent for your needs would be an REI quarterdome:

under 4 lbs, tested technology, two doors, two vestibules.

Quarterdome



You might also check the specials on REI Outlet, lotsa good deals

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the input.

Being the ultimate gear head I've been through far too many tents in my 30-plus year backpacking career. I've got to say the choices are much better now than they have ever been. When I hiked the JMT back in '71, my tent was a bright orange, army surplus A-frame that kept mosquitos out, but leaked like a sieve. Since then, I've been through three North Face tents, one Sierra Designs, a Bibler, and a Black Diamond. Each has something to recommend it and some features I didn't care for.

My current tent, the Black Diamond skylight, replaced a 10 year old, Bibler Ahwanee (it looks like a green or yellow version of the skylight.) The Bibler was a great tent, but did leak a little, had a problem zipper, and weighed in at around 6 pounds with ground cloth and stakes.

The lighthouse is a nice tent and I replaced the DAC poles with carbon fiber dropping the weight to just over 4 pounds with a tyvek ground cloth. It is incredibly roomy and pulling back the attached vestibule allows great open air sleeping with full bug protection. The tent is quite stable in high winds, but very breezy inside which can make sleeping cold during shoulder seasons. I've used it in deep snow, pelting rain, high altitude, ect. It passed all of those tests well, but only after I thoroughly sealed, and re-sealed the seams (there was some leaking at first.) The other thing to note about this tent and all of the newest ultra-light-weight tents is the use of very thin silicone impregnated fabric means you must be very careful when the tent is near abrasive surfaces (think Sierra granite) We've worn some small holes in the tent. Luckily, it is easy to smear a little seam grip on the offending abrasion and fix it.

I'd recommend the tent highly. We hiked the HST last summer and the tent did everything we could have asked of it, but since we bought it, some really good looking tents from Big Agnes, REI, and others have come on the market.

Good Luck!

I do love a good gear chat...

I think the advice stated is important...sit down and figure out what is really key in your search.

My priorities geared toward warmer needs- I HATE a stuffy tent...
and I also will carry an extra half pound to pound for a little more room- even with a significant other, tight tents after two nights is too much for me.

Hubba Hubba or REI quarterdome..3! SPACIOUS!!

I recently spent a few nights in a hilleberg Jannu and was very impressed. 5.5 lbs for a 4 season double wall tent. It went up pretty quick and easy as well.
Plusses: weight. ease of setup, uniqueness, interior stash pockets were nice.
Minuses: ripped stuff sack somehow while it was on the sled. a non-silnylon stuff sack would be a benefit.



I myself am moving on to a tarp tent. If the sewing machine would only be a little nicer to me.

I moved to a tarptent two years ago. I love it. I've done a lot of nights in it, and it's surprising how tough it is. We built the two man version, and it weighs next to nothing. I think the total weight is about 28 ozs.

I definitely couldn't have made it without my mom helping with the sewing. That was a chore, trying to sew that slick tarptent material. My mom suggested that next time, I'm on my own with my crazy tent ideas.

But now that it's done, I love it. I have a back-up clip/flashlight two man tent that I use if there's a serious storm/wind forecast, just to be careful.

But I've had the tarptent out in sorta-bad weather, and it's worked fine. (light rain, wind, and even a light snow dusting...) Mostly I use it from April to October.

Which Tarptent do you have? Here's the Tarptent link.

I am thinking of getting one of them, especially since you report being ok in foul weather.

But wait... I didn't know you could get it as a kit to sew together! Do they not come already sewn together???

They come fully assembled, but Henry has posted plans for the original at http://tarptent.com/projects/tarpdesign.html . While that is a nice design, the ones he sells are more refined.

Besides Tarptents, I would give consideration to the Six Moon Designs' Lunar Duo for a two man tent (39 ounces) http://sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=47 .

Glen has a new 17-ounce one-man tent http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/The_One.html . I saw the prototype last year. Very cool.

AsABat

Based on what you're describing, I would recommend something like the North Face Roadrunner. The BDEL tents (Firstlight, Lighthouse, etc) are fantastic, but do require some thought & effort in use. A Roadrunner will get you through lots of rain in relative comfort, has tons of room for gear, and is very reasonable, in terms of weight, when split between two people.

My choice for light weight and adequate room for two is the MSR "Zoid 2." Mostly mosquito net with a full-coverage fly, two doors, two vestibules. Long enough that my 6'2" son fits easily, wide enough that we don't feel cramped in it. We have used it on two Philmont treks and numerous shorter trips. 4# packed weight, not bad for a 2-person tent. It has kept us dry through some pretty serious t-storms. One nice detail is a high vent in the rain fly with a little sewn-in fiberglass prop, so you get some flow-through ventilation even when it's raining.

I also have an older Walrus "Swift" 1.5-person tent. When my son was young, it was adequate for the two of us. Now that he's grown up, no way. It would do for two only if you're cozy but it weighs in at only about 3# and is my solo backpacking tent. Similar overall construction, 'skeeter net and rain fly, but just a single door and tiny vestibule. Great for just me...

I've also used a Sierra Designs "Clip Flashlight." I was glad it was borrowed, not mine. The ends are sloped so steeply that both my toes and my head were touching the roof of the tent and I'm only 5'8", so it would be a poor choice if you're tall.

The main problem with the Zoid...and I am talking about my experience with a Zoid 1.0, is the seam across the floor of the tent. This is poor design work on the part of MSR, most likely to save money. I had this seam leak rather profusely during a trip two years ago. MSR replaced the tent which, I immediately sold on eBay and purchased a BD Lighthouse to replace it.

My wife didn't like the Zoid 2.0 because she felt confined in it...and she is 5'2". I loved the weight of that tent.

Think about your needs first. Alone i use a bivy sack, with my GF or daughter we use a tent short trips in good weather a small tent. some times a 3 man tent for 2 people, room for gear in bad weather. I have 6 tents and each has its time in the mountains. spending a few days holed up in a larger tent is sometimes worth it. I think wind is the biggest threat to tents above treeline.