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View Full Version : Tent Help!!! Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 vs. SD Lightning



ATWillow
03-17-2009, 12:55
I have only 19 days before I start my 2nd thruhike and have yet to make a final choice on a tent!!! At the suggestion of a friend at EMS I bought a Sierra Designs Lightning. It is spacious, sturdy, simple to set up(all things I love) BUT relatively heavy and hard to compress. Ditching the stakes and with no ground sheet it weighs in at just over 4 lbs w/compression sack. I have several SD tents and know them to be very reliable. This was a bargain at $140.00.

I have also looked at the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 at REI and have set it up in the store. The hub pole design seems tricky though many people have raved about it here. It is a smaller tent, lacks the big vestibule, has front entry, but it is lighter (3lbs 6) and packs much smaller which I like. It is $310.00.

I like a small 2 person tent for the privacy and want to be able to keep my pack inside. Since I have hiked the AT before, I feel that I should know better than to make a bad choice.

I would greatly appreciate some help as I am down to the wire and want to make a good choice.

Thanks,

Willow

gearfreak
03-17-2009, 13:16
I use a BA Seedhouse SL2 and absoulutely love it. The dog house door is not a big deal, it has plenty of head room (I'm 6'3") and the vestibule offers sufficient space. I have taken everything but my boots inside on many occasions. I did not care at all for the stakes that came with the tent so I picked up some of these (http://www.rei.com/product/627482). The pole system is a snap and the whole thing goes up in a minute. I use this 20L stuff sack (http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/ultralight_stuff_sacks.html) so it spreads out and lays flatter in my pack. Good luck! :cool: