A member on another site I belong to is looking for a 3 season, freestanding tent, probably two person. Not something I would be using at the moment, so I'm not sure what all is out there, especially from the cottage companies. Recommendations?

Not many freestanders in the cottage industry world, due to the extra weight (using trekking poles for both hiking and shelter support saves a lot of weight). Tarptent.com has four models, and I believe they are the only free standers:
--Double Rainbow
--Cloudburst 3 (a 3-person tent, palatial for 2)
--Scarp 2 (with the extra pole for winter use)
--The just announced 2-person Moment double wall, available this summer. It may also require the extra (4 season) pole to be freestanding--I only took a quick look at it.

Do remind your friend that there actually is no such thing as a true "freestanding" tent--most models require stakes to attach the fly and any unstaked tent can and will become a kite and sail off in the breezes.

I'm familiar with the Big Agnes Copper Spur 2, MSR Hubba Hubba (the old one, not this year's model, which has a few differences), and the MSR Carbon Reflex 2. All three are functionally about even - the decision would come down to how much your friend is willing to pay for how little weight.

The Copper Spur 2 and Hubba Hubba are considered freestanding; the Carbon Reflex 2 is not. As pointed out, none of these are truly free-standing, since the only way to deploy the vestibule is to stake it out. Also, with the rainfly on, they ventilate better if staked out. However, without the rainfly, both are freestanding.

I'm not familiar with the cottage offerings. I would think TarpTent would be a good place to start (Their old Rainbow 2 was not inherently freestanding, but as I recall could be made so using hiking poles.

I was just looking at a new "semi-freestanding" one from REI, the Dash 2. It got good reviews in Backpacker mag, supposedly weighs 2 lb 7 oz, or something like that, minus a footprint (anyone have experience with one?). I've been using an REI Quarter Dome T2, which I like ok and use to seem pretty light to me, but is starting to seem heavy I'd still say that for the size, it's pretty light. For solo trips I use a Big Agnes Fly Creek 1, which I like. But as Oregon Mouse points out, they all definitely needing staking to truly stand well. I know, I know...I'm a dinosaur for not going with a tarp tent, but I'm just not sold on the idea yet. I'm always afraid it'll collapse on me or something. I wish I knew someone who would lend me one so I could try one out, but I don't

“… is looking for a 3 season, freestanding tent, probably two person…”

Good models given. I’ll add Golite’s Imogene 2 (2.5lbs) and Imogene 3 (3.1lb). However, it took me longer to set these up and down vs my non-freestanding hexamid.

-Barry
-The mountains were made for Tevas

You can go with Quechua T2 Tents Made for occasional Backpacking Hikers or Campers who need a light waterproof shelter to carry along in their treks so that they can sleep warm at night.

BD Hilight and Firstlight? They're what I think of as pitch-and-place-anywhere freestanding tents, at they don't rely on stakeouts or guylines to achieve their shape. Internal poles, too.

Cheers,

As an addendum, BA calls many of their tents "free standing" but IMHO they're not, at least from my yardstick of "can I set up the tent and fly then easily move it to another location?"

With that out of the way, they've made big strides in whittling away the weight of their lightest double-wall tents, which I appreciate. Just imagine what could happen if REI had their BA tents on sale and one had a significant annual membership rebate plus store credit from a returned gift. Just imagine....

Cheers,

I can set up my BA Seedhouse like this without staking it down... I don't have experience with any other models. The only way it be difficult move it to another location is during very high wind.

Got the Dash 2 about a month ago. I like it a lot. Nice features, well built, space enough for a couple and lightweight for a full double wall. Did a mod on it to fix the high cut of the vestibules. You can see at www.raisedbyraccoons.blogspot.com where I review and show detail for mod. I've only had it out once but it seems great so far.
I got a killer deal on it. If it was full price it might be a toss up between the Dash and a few others in the price range but it would still be in top 5 choices. One of my favorite pieces of gear right now.

Tarptent Double Rainbow is my favorite gear piece. I love this tent!

Tell him to get a hammock.