Take a look at solo tents from the following manufacturers:
Tarptent.com
Sixmoondesigns.com
Lightheartgear.com

All these have great solo tents weighing 2 lbs. or less including stakes and guy lines. Some are double-wall. If you don't use trekking poles, you can buy poles from these manufacturers, which will add about 2-5 oz. to the tent weight. The relatively new Tarptent Moment DW, now a double-wall tent, does have its own pole so doesn't require trekking poles or extra poles. It's probably the most wind-resistant. Now that it has doors and vestibules on both sides, it's also more versatile for ventilation.

Even the so-called freeestanding tents have to be staked down, or they'll fly away in a light breeze. IMHO, the so-called freestanding feature is greatly overrated. Most "popup" tents are quite fragile and will soon disintegrate.

Will you be following the American Discovery Trail? If so, be sure to check out some journals of successful hikers on trailjournals.com or postholer.com. Many of these journals include gear lists which will help you. You might particularly want to check the 2012 journal of "Boston and Cubby" on trailjournals.com. They had problems with water caches in the Nevada desert because so many of the plastic water jugs sprung leaks. And that is an area where there are many, many miles between water sources, so advance caching of water is essential.


Edited by OregonMouse (02/02/14 05:06 PM)
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey