Tent suggestions

[ibigler5]

Im in the market for a new tent. I'm starting my hike in early June. It will be me and my buddy and we'd like to have room for our gear. I was looking at the Marmot Limelight 3P. is this a good choice or is it to heavy?

http://www.rei.com/product/779020?preferredSku=7790200013&cm_mmc=vl_marmot-_-datafeed-_-product-_-na&mr:referralID=23ac45bc-fed4-11dd-9f5b-000423c27407

[skinewmexico]

Looks heavy to me, my heavy tent is a Quarterdome T3 (normally use a Tarptent Double Rainbow). But you're splitting it 2 ways, so that helps. Unless one of you leaves the trail. The near vertical walls of the T3 give it a lot more usable width than most tents, and it's not that hard to catch on sale. Make your own footprint out of tyvek, and you'll save a ton of weight too.

[q-tip]

I am using the henry shires cloudburst II, might be a little tight for two but a great tent. what are your plans if you split up or miss each other for a night or two?

[Tipi Walter]

I took a look at the Marmot and it seems to be a near perfect tent for your needs, although it may be a bit narrow(66 inches)for two people side by side, but on second thought that gives 30 inches for each person to put their pads and bags, plenty. I wouldn't worry about the weight, most everybody wants everybody else to carry less and so a long line of people will recommend something lighter.

The beauty of the Marmot is the two pole wedge design, simple to set up and one of the most popular tent designs used today. I would prefer 10mm poles instead of the 9, but everything else looks good. 93 inches long is perfect as the foot of your sleeping bag won't touch the tent unless you're really tall. Is 43 sq ft big enough for two people? Hmm . . . just barely in my opinion, I'd go with something around 50, but you can make it work or get two smaller tents. Marmot makes pretty good stuff.

[mountain squid]

You have a 'Thru-Hiker in Planning' avatar, so I am 'assuming' this tent will be for a 'thru-hike'.

Echoing q-tip's thought, before spending money on a piece of shared gear, be absolutely certain that will work for you and then be prepared for when it won't.

If one of you has to get off the trail, for whatever reason, or hikes faster than the other, what will the other do? Either carry a heavier piece of gear, buy new gear for one (can your budget support such an added expense?) or also get off the trail.

I would suggest looking at one person tents for each of you.

Just something to consider...

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[ibigler5]

both my buddy and I plan on staying together. we dont plan on leaving the trail for any reason (except maybe an injury). I understand that having separate tents would be a good idea, but i figured that we'd have more room with one bigger tent.
If anyone has backpacked with a buddy and had single person tents, can you explain how that effected your experience?

[BrianLe]

Separate vs. shared tent:
(1) you might get bloody sick of each other, such close contact all the time --- snoring, body odor, fairly allocating shared space, intermingling your gear, etc
(2) one of you might choose to or have to quit the trail, so make sure you're happy with the weight of a two-person tent as a solo

It's partly an issue of priorities. Is staying together a higher priority (for both of you) than the chance of just you finishing the hike? If that's really true (and stays true), then there's less risk in sharing a tent.

You mention wanting to share a tent in order to have more room. If a lightweight yet roomy tent is your desire, consider the tarptent Contrail, www.tarptent.com (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/www.tarptent.com), something like 26 oz I think, note that this is a single-wall tent. It's just nice having your *own* roomy castle at the end of a tough day of hiking.

My own experience with my own friends is that we're all a lot happier when we have our own space. But my wife and I share a tent and we get along too. Only you can say for sure what's going to be best for you.