what's your favorite tent??

[Canoearoo]

I have to admit I collect tents lol. I have a Kelty vortex, a Marmett, a Northface, a Bibler Itent and a Bibler Awhee. My favorite is the Bibler Awhee because we can use it in the mts, bw, winter and my 2 biblers can be joined together to make a 2 room tent. Biblers are very lite also. So what is your favorite and why?

[GladesGuy]

Hey Red, would a hammock count? I have not used a tent in the last 6 years altough I own 4 of them. If I'm not using the hammock I use a Gortex bivy and sleep out under the stars. The hammock is a Hennesy.
GG

[azalea]

For non-winter camping, I want a tent that keeps me dry and as cool as possible. I want it to be light and convenient for two to get in/out.

For most of those reasons, I like tents with built in vestibules. A vestibule efficiently (weight wise) provides dry space and even separate from the space it provides helps keep the interior of the tent dry. But in most tents, ventilation is limited when rain requires the vestibule to be closed. Even tents with "venting" don't do much to keep you cool.

The roadrunner has two doors, each with its own vestibule. But the tent has an awning pole so the tent has awning over the doors in addition to the vestibules. The various combinations of how the vestibule is zipped allow you to create a configuration that allows a direct opening to the outside even in the rain. Much better for keeping cool during wet weather on warn summer nights.

[Old Scout]

I have 3 tents for the BWCA:

4-person Eureka Mt. Pass - nice tent, a little heavy and ventilation is not great in warm weather.

2-man North Face Nimbus - very nice 3 pole design - good ventilation and about right for 1 person. It is just a little heavy for soloing, but has kept me dry in many a storm.

I bought a 3-person North Face Roadrunner - this has become our 2 -man tent of choice.

I'm thinking about getting a real light 2-person tent for soloing. I have been looking a 2-man Roadrunner or REI Half-Dome Plus 2 or REI Quarter UL Dome.

[tugaloo]

Unfortunately, they stopped making my favorite. I am sure I would like some of high dollar Biblers and the like, but will probably never spend that much on a tent. We have an old Eureka Alpine Meadows, like a timberline with a big center hoop. Two doors, you can add two vestibules. This tent has stood the test of time and been through some horrendous weather. I repair it and baby it, but I know it won't last forever. It will probably be replaced with the mid-sized timberline. I really dislike the way tent design has gone. Zippers are not meant to go around curves, and they don't last as long when they do. Tent design has gone the way of shoe design. They look real cool, but are they functional? Usually not.

[TTC]

The "Tent Majal": Eureka 6-man Expedition Timberline.

We had a 4-man Timberline but we four fit in the tent like puzzle pieces with no room to move. the 6-man allows us more room plus the ability to stand up to put on one's pants!

[dentondoc]

Guest-Old said:

I'm thinking about getting a real light 2-person tent for soloing. I have been looking a 2-man Roadrunner or REI Half-Dome Plus 2 or REI Quarter UL Dome.

REI has the Half-Dome 2 on sale right now for about $110 (that's like $50 off). I lucked out and found a "new" Half-Dome Plus 2 (last year's model) for under $50 on the clearance table (with footprint for another $6.00). Very nice tent for my upcoming solo trip!

dd

[HowardSprague]

I have a LL Bean "Ultralight" which I purchased about 9 years ago. About 7 lbs, an excellent full coverage fly (albeit dark. Purple looks nice though.) Forms a nice vestibule. Three aluminum poles, easy to set up. Their newer verion is the "Light Stuff", which has a lighter-colored grey/blue fly with a small window. Nice thing is I can buy this fly to replace the one I have, if I choose. It will fit mine. I'm very happy with this tent.