bonsai171

Hello,

I'm looking for a 2 person tent for bikepacking that's not too heavy and a decent price. Looked at the Naturehike cloud up 2 on Amazon for $109. Any other decent tents at this price point or less?

Dave

mstateglfr 

Odd that the light gray version is lighter and uses different materials than the green and orange versions.

And based on a video review, a person on a regular length sleep pad is pushing the max for available length inside the tent.

I would definitely consider this for one of my kids- light and the video shows some good materials used(and weak vent tab).

bonsai171

That is kind of wierd about the light gray version. Might be tempted to buy that due to the lower weight, but probably won't as there is so much other bikepacking stuff to buy. The sleeping pad should be ok, been looking at the Outdoorsman lab ultralights (73" vs. the 84" tent length). Will have to look for that video, what is the vent tab?

Dave

Brian25

You have to be really careful about shopping for a tent. There are no regulations on what manufacturers claim on sizing. I have this one tent that measures (from the staking points) 1 meter by 2 meters. 40" x 80", and it has a little picture with four stick figures of people in the tent. I suppose this is legitimate as long as the people are under 36" tall, and have 2" extra space for head and foot room. I recommend discounting the number of claimed potential occupants in specifications for tents. I am actually short (5'-6") I am using a 80 x 80" tent (2 meter by 2 meter tent, and have to sleep in it diagonally.) Trying out some different tents is a good idea. Also I recommend skipping end entry tents. Once you try a side entry tent, there is no going back to an end entry one.

veloz

REI half dome plus. The vestibules are ideal for shoes & panniers. We’ve toured with one for 2+ seasons and it’s been great. Backpacked 80 miles on the AT with it too. A pinch heavy at ~5lbs w/ground cloth but fine for bike tours. $200ish but the best money we’ve spent for tents and we’ve had a few.

Baboo

There’re are a couple of things I find objectionable to me.
1- no footprint seems available so you would have to come up with something homemade. Usually people use a tarp larger than the tent floor, that result in water from rainfly being directed back under tent. With no footprint it’s really difficult to keep from damaging tent floor.
2- the entry from the end instead of side makes it difficult to enter and exit, also very little vestibule are for storage of gear.
Tent sleeping bag and air mattress are 3 items that may be best to buy once cry once on. In other words maybe spend all llittle,more

gus6464

One thing I learned about tents very early on is to go to REI and try them out first. Online it doesn't tell you how easy or a pain they are to put up and if they have quirks when doing so.

Also you think you might be saving some cash with a no name tent but they end up costing you more in the long run because of quality. This is something that you are going to bring up and down constantly so you want something that will hold up the abuse and a company that will stand by it in case something goes wrong.

Elvo

Kelty Salida 2

Marcus_Ti

At that pricepoint...I'm honestly surprised you get what you do. Seriously I was expecting fiberglass poles. Not seeing stakes, I'm curious what kind of stakes they give and how bendy they are....also how badly weather-sealed the seams are. Not familiar with the brand--so I'm thinking out loud.

In terms of size I'll 3rd or 4th the warning about size. 2-person tents have room for two people, and not 2-people with stuff.

Elvo

Also keep in mind the Naturehike 2 says it's not freestanding so include the weight of a trekking pole or two

genrlz

I agree on the post about occupancy/size. I've always found that yeah, you might be able to put the number of bodies in it that the manufacturer says you can, but zero gear. For example, my two person tent, is one and gear. My 4 person tent is 2 and gear. That being said, I have an old Sierra Designs Lightning, that I LOVE, but it's not $109 either. The current equivalent would be the Summer Moon 2. I can't post a link, due to being new and not having 10 posts yet.

bonsai171

This does look like a nice tent. I like the compartments it has for storage and a place for a light too. Got an REI membership too, will probably check this one out. As far as the size, most likely it will be me plus gear in the tent, or me and my son plus gear. Hopefully not too cramped with 2 people + gear. He is 6 so not as big, and could probably only carry a backpack.

Dave

MPE

I think a quality tent and sleeping bag are key. I like the Kerry Gunnison 2 tent. My dad has one, I have one and my sons each have one. They have a good footprint, dual doors and vestibules and are very water tight in a storm. They are a little longer, but narrower than some others, but I am tall, so that is good. The only downside is they are a little heavy. REI has sales on them.

veloz

Re: REI Half Dome Plus 2, I've spent a lot of nights with my gal pal in this. Nights with guy buddies too. It's fine for 2 people and the vestibules are great - you each have your own door and vestibule area. We keep Ortlieb rollers just outside and they're easy to access from inside. If no rain or heavy dew, we roll the fly half way back to watch stars. The footprint is worth the purchase. I'm not a huge fan of REI but this is a really nice product.

gus6464

Funny enough if you go check out the half dome plus on the rei website on the reviews shows someone using it for bikepacking and a pic of it loaded on the bike.

dwmckee

Having found myself soking wet after a heavy rain night in a bargain tent, all I can say is I'd have paid an extra $200 that night easy just to be dry again... Check reviews for testing in high winds and extreme rain conditions...

gequiroga

cloud up series?

KC8QVO

I've been backpacking for a lot of years (before I got in to biking by quite a while) and started with a cheap A frame kids tent and tarp as an extra fly on top. For one person it worked, but was pretty small and didn't seal well (bugs or breeze). When I went on the hunt for a "good" tent I considered a lot of things. If you look at tent ratings you'll likely find the "seasons" they are rated to. A 3 season tent vs a 4 season tent basically comes down to how much mesh there is on the inside part of the tent (the actual "tent" - under the fly). A 4 season tent doesn't have much mesh, aside from some vents/windows maybe. A 3 season tent will have a large portion of mesh, or entirely mesh.

Not saying this is the OP's environment, but if you will camp in cooler weather only having mesh on the inside of your tent, I think, is a big drawback. Having solid fabric adds a great extra layer of keeping warm - and keeping the breeze out.

I haven't been in the tent market for quite a long time (I actually switched to a hammock several years back) so I am not sure what the current market offerings are. However, the tent I got was a Mountain Hardwear Hammerhead 2. It has a LOT of mesh - but it has the added ability to zip in full fabric panels over all of the mesh, not just some of it. The tent has been awesome.

Last thoughts - if you are a normal size person and you intend on sharing your tent with another normal size person - get a 3 person tent, not a 2 person. Trust me on this one... If you cram 2 normal size people in my "2 person" tent you end up sleeping on top of each other - been there, done that, and got out of the tent and slept on the dirt by the fire pit that night. For 1 person with elbow room a 2 person is good.

I know weight always comes up and zip-in paneling covering up mesh and a 3 person tent over a 2 person "adds weight" - it does. I'm on the side of the fence of wanting to have more comfort in my gear - and options. As always, your mileage may vary.