Ultralight 2 person tent

Posted by: Sedonaman

Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/06/11 10:41 PM

My Tarptent Cloudburst 2 is a great tent, but can someone recommend anything a bit lighter? I'm 60 years old now and every gram counts. I love the size of this tarp tent and would love the same but lighter.
Posted by: BrianLe

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 03:22 AM

The Lightheart Duo is a little lighter, but it's hard to go a whole lot lower than the Tarptent options without sacrificing space, or perhaps using Cuben fabric (I'm not sure if any Cuben two-person tents are being made ... ?).

Lightheart Duo info --- about 32 oz vs. 38 for the Tarptent Cloudburst 2.
Posted by: lori

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 11:46 AM

It's hard to beat a tarptent! Something in cuben, maybe.

Zpacks has a two person model - going to spend some $$ tho.

What about a two person tarp?
Posted by: wandering_daisy

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 12:05 PM

My "rule of thumb" is that I do not spend tons of money on new gear unless it can save me at least half a pound. I really think hard if it does not save me one pound. Look at all your gear and food. Eliminate some less critical 3 oz item and leave 3 oz food home and you have the same weight savings. You can actually eliminate 3 oz in food without sacraficing calories if you take more fats vs protein or carbs. Or just take a bit more freeze-dried. Or carry 6 oz less water on the trail.

On the other hand, if my old gear wears out and I HAVE to buy new gear then I will buy the lighter gear and pay for the reduced weight. The Cloudburst is HUGE! I actually bought one and returned it because the "footprint" was so big that I would not be able to camp in tighter spots that I encounter with all my off-trail travel. I have the Moment- it is plenty big- only down side is the condensation, which I am learning to live with.
Posted by: lori

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 12:11 PM

Hopefully he'll post a gear list and let folks make specific suggestions?

I like a roomy shelter, too. It's part of the reason I shaved ounces all over the place - so I can carry a little extra weight and take the hammock/tarp instead of a tent. My palace weighs a bit more than I'd ordinarily take with just a tarp and pad, but sometimes, a girl has gotta get some quality z's.
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 04:32 PM

Do you usually go with another person or do you normally backpack solo? If there are normally two of you, you can split the weight (one of you carries the tent while the other carries the equivalent weight of something else). With the Cloudburst, that gives each of you less than the weight of a solo tent! As mentioned, there are plenty of other ways to save pack weight. Have you read the articles on the home page of this site?

If you normally go solo, Tarptent's Rainbow, Contrail and Moment are examples of solo tents--the Contrail especially would be significant weight savings for you at a relatively low price. It has more floor space than the Moment. With the tendency of some lightweight backpackers always to want the latest model, there are quite a few used Contrails to be found for sale whose owners have bought the newer Moment.

I'd highly recommend my own tent, the Gossamer Gear Squall Classic, but Gossamer Gear recently decided to discotinue it. It sleeps two, although very cozily (only one can sit up at a time). It's the perfect size for me and my 80-lb. dog, with plenty of room for both of us plus gear. I suspect the demand dropped because most people want more room in a 2-person tent and are willing to pack the extra weight. It's very rare, though, to find a used model on sale, so I suspect I'm not the only satisfied owner.

For a 2-person tent, Tarptent's very similar Squall 2 is 4 ounces lighter than the Cloudburst--if you use trekking poles. If you have to buy the separate poles, though, there's no weight saving over the Cloudburst. Again, if you want a Tarptent you're better off keeping the Cloudburst and finding other ways to save weight, unless you have the budget for cuben fiber.

A number of the "cottage" manufacturers are now making what are really double wall tents, but with the fly and the net inner with bathtub floor sold separately. One advantage of these configurations, as opposed to the standard double-wall tent, is that in pouring rain you can set the tarp up first and then set up the inner tent under cover. These manufacturers include Mountain Laurel Designs, who sell pyramid ("Mid") tents plus inner nets with bathtub floors. Several of their "Mids," such as the popular DuoMid, come in either cuben fiber or silnylon. The DuoMid in cuben plus the Duo Inner tent total 25 oz (plus stakes and the inner pole) and $575 (cuben is NOT cheap!). With the silnylon Duomid, 29 oz., still a significant weight savings for you. Six Moon Designs has their two-person Haven tarp and net tent (listed separately under "tarps" and "net tents"). Hyperlite Mountain Gear has their Echo II system. Bearpaw Wilderness Designs and Alpinlite each have a variety of tarp + inner net models. (My apologies if I've left out any of the newer "cottage" manufacturers!) Many (not all) of the inner net tents can be combined with other manufacturers' tarps. An example is the Bearpaw Pyra net tent combined with the Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar, supposed to be an extremely wind-resistant shelter. Finally, since all Lightheart cuben tents are custom-made, I'm sure Judy would make you a Lightheart Duo in cuben--for a price!

The lightest two-person tent around is definitely the Z-Packs Hexamid Twin, to which you need to add a ground sheet since the netting forms the floor as well as the sides. Z-packs does make a cuben ground sheet with bathtub floor. As with anything else made of cuben, the Hexamid Twin will also considerably lighten your bank account!
Posted by: dkramalc

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 05:28 PM

I've been on the lookout for something to replace our older Cloudburst as well (used for the two of us). So far I haven't found anything I like as well - tried a Duomid (too cramped), a Six Moon Designs Refuge (doesn't handle wind anywhere near as well, otherwise I like it), and just picked up a used Lightheart Duo that has not arrived yet. I haven't tried the Double Rainbow, but that would be adding extra weight (our old Cloudburst is 32 oz.).

The Rainbow might be a good choice for a single hiker, or the Contrail (supposed to be 1+ person tents).
Posted by: Glenn

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 05:36 PM

Although I don't use it, and have only a small bit of experience with it, I'd heartily recommend the Tarptent Rainbow or Double Rainbow if you're looking for a single-wall tent. If you travel solo, but carry a two-person tent simply for the room, the Rainbow (solo version) is about half again as wide as other solo tents, which gives you a lot of room for gear and may save you some weight.
Posted by: phat

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/07/11 11:15 PM

Originally Posted By wandering_daisy
My "rule of thumb" is that I do not spend tons of money on new gear unless it can save me at least half a pound. I really think hard if it does not save me one pound.


A zpacks hexamid (10 oz) and tyvek or cuben groundsheet will save a pound over a 38 oz tarptent. Not to mention how much lighter your wallet will be wink - actually zpacks isn't *that* much more expensive - but cuben is indeed pricy

(I am secretly lusting over zpacks cuben stuff, but haven't yet decided to brave the piercing death gaze of the CFO to buy some wink )


Posted by: Sedonaman

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/09/11 09:33 PM

Thanks everybody,
No, I don't carry the tent when solo, and I don't count ounces either...I count grams, so the big remaining variable is the tent. The zpacks hexamid is something I will look into as both the weight and price are eye-opening.
Posted by: PDA

Re: Ultralight 2 person tent - 06/13/11 09:43 PM

Be sure to look at these also:
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/tents.html