[spamfoote]

Best tent: Tarp Summer/Winter Not good in fall as no snow to build end walls unless stay below 6000 for setting up in shrub mountain hemlock/fir. Take 2 tarps in winter for double layer to kill condensation. Always have snow shovel anyways, so, just dig, make blocks, and viola, eats up darkness hours, and keeping the party or solo me warm with end result warm cozy home, quite often very spacious. Far easier/quicker than building snow cave and far nicer IMO. In emergency, cut slot trench in very hard snow, hold corners down with ice screws/pickets/extra ice axe. Very versatile and uber cheap. In lower country(rain) during winter is vastly superior to a tent as FAR larger, higher, allows one to stretch legs standing up and remain dry. Own: REI Dome forget exact name hexamid (Heavy, zippers died after couple uses... still requires storm fly). Did I say heavy? thankfully it was a gift... Ancient trapper tent(I think). Super heavy, super bomber in winter. Haven't used after going to tarps. Eureka square nameless POS, Heavy, leaked like a sieve, zippers died second day on trail. Tarptent Squall 2. Great for summer, 1 and a half pounds! but must bring extra stakes for mid point guy points as the wind absolutely destroys it even with stakes. can use rocks often so stakes not necessarily needed. Sets up super fast and more importantly can be set up in the wind FAST(thunderstorm). But hey, it is summer and rarely rains for multiple days on end and if your beeping bags get a bit wet from rubbing up against the walls it is fine. Super light as get to use Trecking pole for center pole. I have version without the floor. Why my stated is lighter than on website. I am sure Henry Shires will take the tub out to make it lighter. Tarptent Cloudburst 2: Not much better than TT Squal 2. Larger, more roomy, heavier. As sold not all that great. Front arch has issues in setup. Serious pain in der arse in da wind. Heavy Modified mine for fall/winter use. You will note it is NOT sold anymore. If buy second hand buy cheap. Plenty other tents out there superior. Many sold by tarptent etc.

[Dustin Gent]

Best tents I have used are the BA FlyCreek 3 and the Marmot Pulsar. I used the Pulsar at toroweap last spring in 40mph gusts (and in the enchantments in mid october) and it is a well designed tent. Happy with both!

[kbatku]

Current favorite tent is a Rainshadow 2 which weirdly enough sleeps three. But for two people it's a palace - and at 42 ounces I can't complain about the space/weight ratio.

[Backpacker Joe]

Depends on what you're looking for. I have a few Stephenson tents. Ultra high quality and lightweight. You pay for it, but they last a very long time too.

Camp

Stephenson 3R

Stephenson 2X anti bug hotel........

[faussett]

I've wanted a tarp tent statospire 2 for months now and read alot about and heard nothing but good stuff about it. 2 and a half pounds! And almost fits 3! I'll check back in when I have used it.

[mike]

Anyone have any experience with the StratoSpire 1 and could compare it to the StratoSpire 2? I'm shopping for a smaller tent. I have a 2-3 person tent but the StratoSpire 2 could perhaps do double duty for only a few ounces and $30 more??

[Franco]

I have used the SS2 as my solo tent, it is about the weight of many solo shelters (46oz) and packs pretty small too. (16"x4") However, unlike some doubles, it does work for two that are not a couple. (it can take 3 standard size mats)

[Backpacker Joe]

[Brucester]

Favorite tents: 1)Eureka 'Timberline (1990's car camping tent) 2)Tarp Tent 'Virga (taken on PCT through hikes twice and CDT one through hike and still use today) It's seen 6,000+ miles. Quality and then some. Rode out a violent thunderstorm in it while on CDT camping high on a pass in CO. Terrifying experience. Climb high, camp low.... Later in the San Juan's we encountered lots of snow, it held up but wasn't designed for holding heavy snow load. Just tap snow so it sluffs off. 3)Tarp Tent 'Double Rainbow (famous former owners Backpacker Joe and Quarky) Used once but really like it. It looks like it'd hold up in the snow better than the Virga.

[HitTheTrail]

You can also use a mix and match hybrid configuration with two completely different pieces of gear like I do sometimes. An example: I set my Cuben hammock rainfly between trees (or with trekking poles) and then get under it and set-up the bug net bathtub floor tent body of my freestanding Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2. You can stay dry doing that and the entire set-up is under 2 lbs.

[contour5]

Best tent ever was a cheap, Taiwanese 2 lb. solo mountaineering tent that I got at Berkeley Surplus for $29.95. It survived 15 summers in the Sierra before being eaten by pigs in Mexico. I replaced it with a 2.5 lb. REI Roadrunner which is now 14 years old, but still going strong. Worst tent ever is my giant 6 lb. Chinese-manufactured beach dome which has tons of room but leaks like a vegetable colander even in light fog. Can't decide whether to invest in some new technology or maybe just glue a bunch of hunnert dollar bills together edge-to-edge...

[Opus]

[drm]

A few added comments about Tarptents. They are not just light, they are roomy. I gave up on all those cocoon-like quarter dome designs because they were too crampt. If you want free-standing, Moment with the extra longthwise pole is the way to go. I think the Rainbow is probably is a bit more sturdy in the wind. Moment and Stratospires both come with inner mesh which can be used standalone. But note that unlike most conventional tents, it is not so easy converting between the two configurations. You cannot just toss the fly on easily in the middle of the night if it starts raining like convention double wall tents. You pretty much have to take it down and re-pitch, though for a light rain without wind, it might work. And converting the Moment is quite complex. The online video is really not adequate for re-combining them and you must practice at home. Although roominess is one of their big selling points, because the mesh is not held close to the outer, the Moment DW loses a lot of space with the mesh.

[RichP]

My favorite all around tent is the MSR Hubba Hubba. Not exactly lightweight though. The earlier models seem to be of higher quality in my view. I have two. I really like the option of using it without the rainfly. I have a tarptent double rainbow as well and have never been convinced with it. Condensation issues and a sweatbox after daybreak. It is light and roomy though.

[iron]