I need a good(and cheap) tent that will compress reasonably into an average sized BOB/GHB. It only needs to be a 1-2 person. Any ideas?
What season tent. My one man four season is an older Walrus that works well. Very lite and has a smal vestibul ? On it for stowing kit. The tent is a true one person tent, but very lite.
My other favorite tent is a four season TRANGO from Mtn hardwear I’ve live in some serious wind and snow storms in this one. Not cheap but worth every penny.
Plenty of room with an attic inside, vestibul front and back. Gear in back dogs in front. Been thru some serious storms in this one snug as a bug.
Neither is cheap. You get what you pay for. If your not in cold weather country a decent. Three season tent will serve you well.
DW
Looking for a three season tent. Price is a big deal to me too. I’m looking to keep it around $100 or less.
Unfortunately I teach survival classes & in all my years I have yet to see a Good & Cheap combo.
I know what’s good but they are not cheap as in inexpensive etc. Good & Cheap are Non sequitur’s.
Good luck on your quest.
+1.
Name recognition does not equal good. I’ve had a handful of mass-market tents fall apart, I’ve never had any problems with any of my Hilleberg tents. The latter costs more than the former at the cash register but in the long term ends up being more economical.
You’ll pay for it but Kirafu tents look awesome! Between 2 or 3 people packing it with one of their stoves would be a cinch!
Have you thought about just going for a silnylon tarp and a backpacking hammock?
Tapatalk ate my spelling and grammar.
i have used a hubba hubba from MSR for 2 years. it is 4 lbs and packs away very nicely in my eberlestock phantom. the poles go in the side pocket. the tent goes in a compression sack which i cinch down to about a 6" ball.
sleeps 2 comfortably. for whatever reason, it seems to rain on me every time i go camping, which is ok by me. tent always keeps my stuff dry. fly is well made as it creates 2 vestibules. i use one for an entrance, and lay my pack and boots in the other one. run the hose from the water bladder in my pack in through the zipper and i can get a drink without even getting out of the sleeping bag.
Have you considered a decent bivy bag and setting a poncho low over the bag. Not a tent but when it’s pissing rain very effective. Don’t forget to trench uphill for rain removal.
Ultra lite tricks.
DW
“You get what you pay for” . . .
Shop around and watch for sales. I picked up a Marmot Limelight 2P in hatch/dark cedar (gray and green) during an REI sale for half price. Stay away from the big box stores and brands like Coleman. You will find good deals from time to time on quality tents at places like Moosejaw, Sierra Trading Post, and or Campor.
Ill second the tarp/ poncho and bivy combo. You can get a used woodland camo goretex ECWS system fore roughly $100. A GI poncho for $25. The combo is a lightweight 3 season shelter for cheap. It works for everything short of a deep winter blizzard. Even then you could make do.
I carry a GI poncho and surplus ECWS bivy in my Jeep from spring to fall. In the winter, I throw in a Marmot Sawtooth +20 sleeping bag, which makes for a very comfy combo.
You don’t NEED a full out tent, altough they are nice to have. My combo, minus sleeping bag, weighs in at roughly 4 lbs. With the sleeping bag, 7 lbs… thats less than most tents.
If you are dead set on a tent, I have had very good experience with the REI half dome. Its a 2 man tent that weighs in at 5.5 lbs. I have used mine since 2003 with excellent results. It has a light tan rainfly, which blends in to most surroundings well. 2 vestibules, sets up in 5 minutes, and only uses 6 tent stakes. I think they are roughly $150…
I’m all about the GI bivy/tarp-poncho combo. With a decent ground pad it’s a four season proposition. add a insect net if it gets buggy.
IF, you get that one, I’d consider replacing the poles with aluminum vs glass.
Like this. Bungee cords help out alot and I would definitely recommend carrying some kind of stakes…
Well you didn’t say light so, go for it. I have two poblems with it, 6.5#s and it’s dayglo orange. I like this one
Huh. Funny, I was thinking about this very topic just the other day. I am in campgrounds on a frequent basis and I worked for for 6 years for the third largest outdoor retailer (at the time) in the US when I was in HS & college. I see a lot of tests. I’d like to think I have a pretty good idea of what makes a good one. And I am simply amazed at the volume of craptastic tents i see on nearly a daily basis. Those tents that have the little (think 1/3 coverage) rain fly, or the gigantor “family tents”… why even bother??? They are basically an overly complicated privacy screen in even a light drizzle you’ll be swimming.
I have several stellar Mountain Hardware 3 & 4 season tents. Terrific but kind of pricey.
The Eureka Apex 2XT Tent mentioned above caught my eye the other day. Solid design. Didn’t take too close a look but if you upgraded the poles w/ Easton aluminum you might have a pretty sweet deal. The color does kind of suck for keeping a low profile though.
The Marmot Limelight 2 looks about perfect. If you could find it for near $100, don’t walk run!
Also a huge fan of tarps. I’ve got a fancy smanchy MH tarp that cost WAY too much. I also have a sweet 8X12 green nylon tarp strung up w/ some accessory cord that is about perfect. That some trekking poles, some quality Easton aluminum v-stakes and you are good to go. The whole package should cost around $100 but w/ a little know how can be bomber and sleep 4+ I’d even say ditch the bivi. I’ve used a tarp w/ a synthetic sleeping bag along the coast and in the rain forest up here in WA in the winter time and been perfectly dry.
Spent one of my best and most memorable Thanksgiving’s under a tarp like that. Good times.
Went ahead and bought the Apex 2XT since i’m on a budget. Would spray painting it eat away at the material? Just brainstorming.
Can’t say from personal experience but I would assume that spray painting lightweight performance fabric us a bad idea. Maybe research dyeing it?
Spray paint will add weight and break and flake off.
Tapatalk ate my spelling and grammar.
An interesting company making some ultralight tarps and tents from high performance fabric is O-ware. Check them out, they have some cutting edge stuff with great designs.
also check out thier bivvy sacks. might be more than you wanna pay, but at ~7-12oz they weigh less than half what a USGI weighs coming in at 35.2oz or 2.2#. it’d be a great way to shave a massive 1.5# off your pack.
Oh, a USGI poncho weighs 1.34#, one of their tarps weighs 8 oz. or about 3/4 pound difference.
put the two together and that means you can carry almost two more mags of ammo or two more days of food with no weight penalty.
another option to reduce weight and combine function… http://www.equinoxltd.com/the-gear/ultralite-gear/terrapin-ultralite-poncho-shelter.cfm