My wife and I will be leaving March 1st and are looking forward to meeting all the great people on the trail.
Printable View
My wife and I will be leaving March 1st and are looking forward to meeting all the great people on the trail.
Welcome to WhiteBlaze!
Good luck on your hike.
Responding to your subject line:
My husband and I use one of the Big Agnes 3-person tents, I think one of the Copper Spur models. Whenever our daughter joins us, we switch to a 4-person tent. It would be awfully uncomfortable with all 3 of us in the Big Agnes. But my husband is a big guy, maybe other people would be alright with it.
I think the best possible feature in a 2-person tent for a long hike is having two separate doors on the sides. It's really nice to be able to get in or out without disturbing your partner. Also, it makes getting into the tent faster (helpful when it's buggy out) and getting out of the tent faster (helpful if you're in a rush to get going).
My wife and I used a Six Moon Designs Haven (+ the net tent) on our last hike, which we liked. There are others out there. Off the top of my head, there's the also Tarptent Stratospire 2 or Double Rainbow. The Copper Spur has 2 doors, too.
http://www.lightheartgear.com/index....1bcef5d9329d42
Check out the Lightheart Duo from Lightheart Gear. Listed weight is 2 pounds, with two doors and 101 inches by 55 inches, and two vestibules that amount to 5 sqft. I use to have the Solo and its a great tent. Anoth plus for many is that it comes from one of our cottage manufacturers and is made in the US.
We've really gotten attached to our MSR Hubba Hubba, watertight, fairly lightweight and separate doors each with its own vestibule. We also own a Mutha Hubba we've used for supported week long bike rides and have never had a problem with leakage or blow downs even in the strongest thunderstorms. I think it's a great product! One more thing, it's freestanding which is a real plus with some of the terrain you'll be encountering.
Do you have a budget in mind?
If you don't mind spending $500 (or $400 for the 2013 model), there's tents like the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3.
It is 70"x90" and weights about 4# (that's the 2014 model, the 2013 model is 4-3/4#).
If your budget is more like $200, there's tents like the Kelty Gunnisson 2.2.
It is 57"x93" (a two man tent that is REALLY a two man tent, compared to the Copper Spur UL2 @ 52"/42"x90" trapezoid), but weights about 6-1/4#.
Tarptent Double Rainbow, i absolutely love this American made two person tent.
The site shows that the current version weighs 41oz and costs $289
http://www.tarptent.com/double-rainbow.html
I can't say enough good about the Big Agnes CS UL3 as a two person tent. I have about 25 nights on mine. It has been through several rain storms, one of which sideways rain with gusts over 40 and we and our gear stayed completely dry. I have no long term use concerns.
the copper spur is a bit heavier than the fly creek 3 . It might be on sale at Rei or is that the 4 ?
We used a Marmot Limelight 4 on our first hike (for 3 people), and it was a very nice tent. Not too expensive, and not too heavy when split into 3 parts. They have a 3 person version that would probably be great for 2.
And since no one has mentioned it yet, I'll recommend the Tarptent Stratospire 2. Truly 2 person and about 43 oz if you use your hiking poles as the tent poles.
Seems like everyone has been having clearance sales on the copper spur and fly creek. At this point, they are all almost gone.
At REI, they only have the fly creek 4
At Sierra Trading Post, they have the fly creek 3 and 4
(google for coupons, they seem to always have anywhere from 20% to 35% off... changing daily)
(STP charges shipping charges, even when you spend $$$ unless you find a coupon that includes free shipping)
At Campsaver, they have the fly creek 3 and 4 was well as Copper Spur 1 (the just sold out of the 3 in the last week)
(google for coupons, they usually have 5% to 20% off... especially for new customer)
At Campmor, they have the fly creek 3 and 4
(google for coupons, there recently were some 10% discounts)
Also, check out local retailers. If they still have the 2013 models of the fly creek or copper spur in stock, they should be selling at 20% to 30% off.
I'm up on these deals because I've been watching online retailers since Christmas looking for some gear at clearance prices... picked up a Copper Spur UL2 for use as a 1-man tent and a Mountain Hardware Ultralamina sleeping bag, both at killer deals.
We've tried a lot of two person tents, and the Six Moons Designs Lunar Duo is our favorite.
You lose a lot of space with the A-frame shape of the Fly Creek (I have a FC UL2 and love it, but just for me) and also the front entry will be especially tough for 2 people--that is the only thing I don't like about the tent. I would highly recommend the CS3 if you can afford it. Tarp tent a close second.
Let me add this page, comparing three popular two-person lightweight shelters. One great feature is that you can click to see large photos of the shelters from the same viewpoint, and see any noticeable size or volume differences.
http://hikeitlikeit.com/2011/tale-of-three-duos/
You'll see one major reason we sold our Double Rainbow for a Lunar Duo.
yeah 200.00 was about my limit
Big Agnes Jackrabbit3. Lots of room for anything you need and want to do!
My mechanic has a sign on his wall that says "I can do things three ways, fast, right, and cheap...Pick two."
I think the same applies in this case, for a tent you can have light/roomy, well built, and cheap, but I don't know that you will find a fully enclosed UL tents for under $200
I you're on a Budget, you might want to consider a Eureka two person tent, they the excellent tents that have built their reputation based on decades of heavy use by the scouts, the military, backpackers and car campers. It is only in recent years that Eureka has stopped getting getting enough credit among backpackers, and that is strictly because of the new lighter weight tents that have entered the market.
Their two person backpacking tents are here, just make sure that the models you look at have aluminum poles (They still use fiberglass poles on some models. I really wish they'd stop using fiberglass poles altogether)
http://store.eurekatent.com/backpacking-tents-sleeps-2
Just as an example, the tent in the link below is a two person tent that weighs 4lbs 9oz, has an MSRP of $139, I'm sure you can find it for sale for cheaper. (This is similar to the discontinued model I bought 5 years ago that has seen 40+ nights of four season section hiking on the A.T. plus a good bit of car camping and is still bombproof.)
http://store.eurekatent.com/products...5/Amari_Pass_2
[QUOTE=Tuckahoe64;1842184]http://www.lightheartgear.com/index....1bcef5d9329d42
We use the lightheart Solong 6 works great.