Been prepping (purchasing) gear for a solo, NOBO thru hike in 2018. I bought a Big Agnes 1 person tent last year, and it seemed like as soon as I did, everything I read said that 1 person tents were falling out of favor for a two person tent because it wasn't much heavier and offered much more room. So I considered a two person tent for a while.
Fast forward to last weekend and REI's big sale...found a two person tent by The North Face that was going for a nice price and had great reviews, so I snagged it. Got it a couple days ago and my first thought when I pulled it out of the box was "Man, this feels heavy." With the bag it came with, it's about five pounds.
So now I have the two tents as options, but the two person tent means more than 1.5 pounds of weight. I can certainly get use out of both, so I'm not bummed about having two, but what is the experience out there on this for solo hikers? The North Face tent is sweet--room for me and gear, where the Big Agnes simply didn't offer that.
I've also heard a lot about tarp options. From what I gather, you take your rain cover, the frame and the "floor" so you get rain and some wind protection. Anyone go with this option?
Lastly, I'm also curious how often you actually use your tent on the AT, when shelters are encouraged. I understand that they are first come, first served, but out of an average of 10 days, how many of those are in a shelter vs in a tent?
Cheers and thanks, Meesh