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

The urathane coating on the rainfly on my 12-year old Sierra Designs Half Moon has gotten gummed up from improper storage. (I loaned it to someone who put it away wet.) Sierra Designs does not currently have a replacement fly available for this tent, so I am now in the market for a new two-man tent and would like to hear what others use. My ideal tent would be less than six pounds when packed (closer to five preferred), three season functionality, and top quality construction (I will pay a premium for top quality because I tend to use gear for many years and feel that quality gear is cheaper over the long run). Two of my early favorites for a replacement tent are the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight CD and the Mountain Hardware Approach. Has anyone used these tents? Doe sanyone have any other favorite tents they recommend? Thanks in advance.

SpankyBob,

My wife bought me a MSR Zoid 2 for Xmas. It's light enough (a couple ounces under 5 lbs fully packed), quality construction, easy to pitch, held up very well through 3 days of rain on Whitney the first weekend of August. It's not freestanding, so you might have to get creative with rocks and guy lines if you set up in a place like Trail Camp.

On the topic of tents - educate me on the terms "free standing" and "non-free standing"

Thanks, mark

Free standing means that once the poles have been sucured to the tent it holds its intended shape without staking it down. Non free standing tents need stakes to keep it in it's intended shape. Even with a free standing tent you often need to stake it if you expect windy conditions.

Spanky Bob, check out this web sites forums, you would not believe the wealth of information. Do a search on tents and you will be overwhelmed with so much knowledge that you will have a hard time choosing. The liteweight forum probably has the most info. If you are willing to pay a premium you should be able to get even below 4#'s for a three season two person tent. There are so many great tents with so many varibles, one of the most important is double wall vs. single wall. They discuss this too on the site. Happy surfing
http://www.backpacking.net/bbs.html

checkout backpacker mag this month,lightweight tent reviews. Looks like lots of people like big agnes stuff.

best tent going if you have a few bucks is the bibler 2 man. under 4 pounds, free standing, 4 season. sets up in about 25 seconds. no fly. i have an older bibler two man and the eldorado. it will last a long time if you take care of it.

Paige... NICE SITE!!! I was really impressed with the info on constructing your own equipment, which I'd like to try this year. Thanks!!

Anyway...SpankyBob, I just replaced my old Quest 2-person tent with an R.E.I. Half Dome Plus 2 earlier this year. It's been thru some pretty good rainstorms and, so far, I'm pretty happy with it. It's free-standing, easy to set up, and only weights about 5.5 pounds. It has two doors which makes it easy for both people to get in and out; no-one has to climb over anyone else. Price is about $160.00.

I bought an REI Half Dome this year, for my Mt San Jacinto expedition and it worked great!

REI Half Dome Plus 2 ..
Light weight, very functional ...great in the wind ... Handled rain & hail very well last week.
...tg...

If you want the best and cost is not a big issue, get the Bibler. It will probably be the last tent you ever buy and you could climb Everest with it. I slept in one for 2 days on Rainier during a storm that sounded like a freight train coming through and it was warm (sort of) and solid. At the other end of the spectrum is the REI Half-dome plus - very inexpensive and very light. For Whitney in Summer or early Fall it should be fine.

Hey Tyler Turden how does an expedition to San Jacinto work? did u set up base camp and have sherpas carry all your gear for you, last time i was on san jacinto my little sister was with me and she wanted to know why there were so many old people on the trail.... one man's expedition is another man's day hike.

As for tents i really like the North Face slickrock, its also under 5 pounds but it is strctly 3 season.

we have the flashlight...........good tent......easy setup

peter

I have an REI Half Dome + which is a great tent for the money but it won't hold two linebackers comfortably. It don't think this on can be beat for the money. I was looking at the Marmot Hypno the other day at A16 and this look like a great tent, I have no idea on the price but it's under 6 pounds.

Since you are looking at a Clip Flashlight I'd also give the MH PCT 2 and MSR Zoid 2.0 a look-see. I own a Zoid 1 and like the look of the MH tent.

Bill

I have to agree with wbtravis5152 that the REI Halfdome + is a great tent for your money. It was backpackers 2003 editors choice gold for tents ratings.

Matt

Half Dome Plus 2...great tent. Got it on sale. Did I mention it was a great tent? Cuz it is.

I bought (thanks to REI gift certificate) an REI clipper. Self standing, light, less than 5 pounds, and it worked fine for me during good weather August Whitney trip. BUT,, it is not a two person tent (in my opinion) unless you are sleeping with your spouse. In fact I think most '2 person' tents are lying. I went with five other folks, two who brought 1 person tents, and the other of us brought 'two' person, we all agreed 2 person equals 1.5 person at best. I'm considering downsizing to one person tent to save the '2' person weight, but I have not found a free standing one person tent, any ideas?

Last year I searched out the best lightweight free-standing tent I could find, which at the time was the Mountain Hardwear Trilight 1.

But they don't make that anymore. Perhaps you could find one still for sale somewhere out there.

Looking in my 2003 Backpacker magazine Gear Guide, I see these single-person free-standing tents (there may be lighter-weight 2 person, though):

Cabela's XBG Solo
Coleman Inyo Solo
Diamond Brand Litehouse
Eureka Zeus 1 EXO
Eureka Backcountry 1
Hilleberg Unna
Marmot Eclipse
MSR Sentinel

It strikes me that most of the tents mentioned on this thread are real heavy. People looking to save weight can do lots better (Henry Shire's tarp tents, Six Moons Design Europa, silnylon tarps, etc.).

Bill Law

Would "3-season" mean not for winter weather?

I have an older Sierra Designs Flashlight - with sleeves versus the "clip" design. It weighs in at about 3.5 pounds and is a terrific ONE person tent but has been used on many trips, including longer trips as a two person. The very low foot end can make it feel a bit claustrophobic but nonetheless it works well. It has been through some very good wind storms and some 4 inch snow falls. And it was with me on Whitney at Trail Camp in mid-july. I did have to line it inside with rocks in very high winds and rocked out its fly. But its floor is starting to show its age (guessimate of 15 years???).

Last year I also acquired the REI Half Dome Plus as a "free-standing" tent. I think it weighs in between 5 and 6 pounds or just over. So my old Flashlight is still my preferred choice when going LIGHT. The two doors are very nice. But its fly is really not "free-standing" as it needs to be staked a distance from the walls or there is a lot of fabric to deal with in some other fashion. I would prefer a slightly redesigned version that really was free-standing and I think that comes closer to the REI Clipper????