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Two person tent for solo tour?

Old 05-27-22, 08:41 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by headwind15
Beware: there is no regulation over what tent companies can claim/ as to what a tent company classifies their tent is suitable for how many people. For instance: I have a 2 meter x 2 meter (80" x 80") tent that claims to be for four people. Would you believe two short people.
Depending on the people I can see it working for 4 or being crowded for 2. Four people who don't toss and turn and have tapered pads could make it work by alternating direction head to foot if they leave their gear outside. I could manage with 3 like other minded folks for a total of four, but have seldom traveled with anyone that like minded.

I have also known folks who'd bring in their bike, unpack everything, have it all strew everywhere and barely have room to sleep with just them.

The plan views Road Fan mentioned are pretty useful in making a judgement of what will work for you.
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Old 05-27-22, 10:26 AM
  #27  
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Another vote for "2 person" tent for one person. You won't notice the extra pound or so while riding, but you'll definitely notice the difference in comfort when you sleep. I put all my bags inside the tent when I've bike camped, what manufacturers call a 1 person tent leaves no room but you and a sleeping bag.

As for cost, tents are one of those things you should consider buying used. Same goes for bike travel cases. Lots of people buy either of these for a trip, then decide it's not for them. Craigslist often has them. I bought my Big Agnes 2 person tent at an REI garage sale for less than half price of a new one. It had a small tear that was easily repaired.
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Old 05-27-22, 10:35 AM
  #28  
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I use a 3-person square dome tent so that I can remove the front wheel from my bicycle, bring the bike inside the tent with me and rest it on the front low-rider rack. I don't have to worry about someone stealing the bike or parts when I'm sleeping. A plus is that there's lots of room to sit if the weather is quite bad.

Cheers
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Old 05-27-22, 11:42 AM
  #29  
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I bought a 3 seasons 2-person tent many moons ago at REI. It's a tight fit for two people. Plenty long; I spent a lot of time in it with a 6'8 buddy in a hard Santa Cruz, CA rain but that other person is never far away! The tent is not light - maybe 4 1/2 pounds - but it has been a godsend more than a few times when weather has turned. Large enough for everything but the bike but small enough to keep warm with one body.

And thanks for the reminder - I need to take it to REI or wherever they recommend to get its waterproofing back up to par. It spent time in a cow pasture, then quarantined for years, run though the wash, taken on the last Cycle Oregon pre-CVOVID for the "driest week of the year" and leaked like a sieve when the week wasn't dry at all!
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Old 05-27-22, 12:05 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
...
And thanks for the reminder - I need to take it to REI or wherever they recommend to get its waterproofing back up to par. It spent time in a cow pasture, then quarantined for years, run though the wash, taken on the last Cycle Oregon pre-CVOVID for the "driest week of the year" and leaked like a sieve when the week wasn't dry at all!
Seam sealer is pretty easy to apply yourself, quite affordable. But if the coated fabric has lost some of the coating, you might be out of luck.

One of mine had taped seams, the "tape" was flaking off. I applied seam sealer to the other side and it stopped 99 percent of the water.

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Old 05-27-22, 12:21 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by base2
Another thread where everyone suggests what they already own.

I have an Altaplex & a Duplex for my ultralight backpacking adventures. My 7 day backpacking setup weighs 16lb total weight...with food! I even went on 1 trip where I spent 4 days in the Altaplex reading books next to my backpack & cooking in the vestibule while the wind & rainstorm raged on. Did not get wet. Not a single drip inside the tent.

I wouldn't hesitate to use any ultralight backpacking gear on a bike trip. The weight & build quality requirements are higher than anything intended to be carried by a vehicle.

4 pound tents made of nylon? Wow, you guys. Just wow.
Not everyone. I didn't. I actually suggested to go bigger than what I have. I went small. It all comes down to persona preference. You though are telling everyone that their choices are wrong, and that yours is vastly superior.
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Old 05-27-22, 12:53 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by phughes
Not everyone. I didn't. I actually suggested to go bigger than what I have. I went small. It all comes down to persona preference. You though are telling everyone that their choices are wrong, and that yours is vastly superior.
I too suggested a large/tall extra wide single & a double.

I expressed amazement at others choices. I did not render judgement at others choices. Reading comprehension...It's a thing. SJW, much?
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Old 05-27-22, 01:41 PM
  #33  
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I want to suggest considering these tents: The MoonLight Tents | TheTentLab
They have three different two-person models that they detail on the site.
I'm pointing these out because they're not found at the usual sporting good stores, Amazon or REI and only do direct sales, but I believe they are worth looking into. I don't have one myself so I can't personally recommend it. My recommendation is to check them out and compare them to the alternatives. If I were shopping, that is what I would do.

For solo trips, I avoid inclement weather and have an SOL bivvy sack as a contingency. It packs about the size of a tennis ball. This plan has worked great for years here in the megadrought-stricken west.

I do have and use tents for multi-person trips and when bad weather must be endured (esp. hunting when the dates are fixed by regulation). I also need a tent to contain my dog or else he goes super-vigilant, special-forces, recon-patrol at night and at his age, I actually need him to rest and save his energy for the big days. I use Eureka tents from their "Outfitter" product line. They're very tough and durable, but not especially light. Weight isn't an issue car camping, but even backpacking, when the weight is distributed among three or four people, the couple extra pounds isn't that bad. When one person is carrying it all, an ounce is an ounce.

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Old 05-27-22, 01:49 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by base2
I too suggested a large/tall extra wide single & a double.

I expressed amazement at others choices. I did not render judgement at others choices. Reading comprehension...It's a thing. SJW, much?
Right back atcha. You said everyone simply recommended what they already had, I didn't, others didn't, you did.

You recommended what you own, just as you said others did. Your suggestions are quite nice by the way, but you are doing just what you said others did, then mocked their choices by ridiculing the weight and construction. Irony much?
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Old 05-27-22, 06:52 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by phughes
Right back atcha. You said everyone simply recommended what they already had, I didn't, others didn't, you did.

You recommended what you own, just as you said others did. Your suggestions are quite nice by the way, but you are doing just what you said others did, then mocked their choices by ridiculing the weight and construction. Irony much?
Obviously I recommended what I had. That's what these threads usually are. Any reading of ridicule of others into what I wrote is strictly in your own head & I was calling you out on it. Sorry your feelings are hurt that I was amazed people use 4 pound nylon tents for anything other than car camping. I now & forevermore promise to take your feelings, insecurities & personal hang-ups into account before any expression of my own.

As if I'm not aware enough to know I was doing it & everyone else was doing it too. Or is it that I said so? Am I not allowed to express amazement on the internet?

Call the Whaa-mbulance.<===That is mockery, BTW.
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Old 05-27-22, 07:17 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by base2
Obviously I recommended what I had. That's what these threads usually are. Any reading of ridicule of others into what I wrote is strictly in your own head & I was calling you out on it. Sorry your feelings are hurt that I was amazed people use 4 pound nylon tents for anything other than car camping. .....
My feelings were not hurt, I have very thick skin.

It was not too long ago when a 6 or 7 pound tent for two people was considered a good weight for backpacking.

The one person tent I used less than a decade ago, photo below, was considered an ultra light weight tent, yet it weighs more than the two person sized tent that I started to use four years ago, a couple photos of that tent are above in my previous posts.



That said, I must congratulate you for carrying a full seven days of food in a backpack that weighs only 16 pounds with the rest of your camping gear. I would typically have over 10 pounds of food alone for seven days. That leaves less than six pounds for the pack, sleeping gear, shelter, food prep and cooking gear, rain gear, extra clothing, etc.
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Old 05-27-22, 08:46 PM
  #37  
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I don't own this tent, but I hear that it is an excellent 2 person tent - 5.5 lbs - https://eurekacamping.johnsonoutdoor...-2-person-tent
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Old 05-28-22, 12:01 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
That said, I must congratulate you for carrying a full seven days of food in a backpack that weighs only 16 pounds with the rest of your camping gear. I would typically have over 10 pounds of food alone for seven days. That leaves less than six pounds for the pack, sleeping gear, shelter, food prep and cooking gear, rain gear, extra clothing, etc.
Thanks!
I tend to pack really calorie dense things. Things like Jif peanut butter in the squeeze pouch. Honey in a squeeze bottle. Tortillas. 1/2-1 ounce of olive oil per day (careful!) Hard boiled eggs keep a day or two & hard/dry cheeses keep for many days more. Pre-portioned oats, cranberries/raisins/currents, & shaved almonds make for a hearty breakfast. Some basic produce like carrot or two for crunch, a potato or two to boil if the time is right or maybe a mid-day apple or two to gnaw on...& of course gummi-worms for emergencies () to break up the monotony of carb, oil, protein. Nothing glamorous. It's strictly a numbers game.

I busted out the sewing machine & sewed up a reusable steeping bag for coffee. 29 grams medium ground, plain, black 2x/day.

I'm not really a fan of Mountain House or freeze dried anything like you find at the local outdoors store on account of the sheer amount of single use package waste that has to then be dealt with & disposed of or carried around.

There really isn't a right or wrong way to do it. I find 3000-3500 calories per day tends to leave a more than comfortable margin for any contingencies & I work back from there. Surprisingly enough, I find I am rarely as hungry as I expect & always return home with a few days extra.

Though, I'd be remiss if I didn't also acknowledge the promise of a ginormous hearty ale, a juicy burger or giant slice of pizza on the way home is also it's own motivation & reward for a job well done.
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Old 05-28-22, 05:14 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
That said, I must congratulate you for carrying a full seven days of food in a backpack that weighs only 16 pounds with the rest of your camping gear. I would typically have over 10 pounds of food alone for seven days.
Interesting. I am impressed with both of your numbers. I don't think I ever got under 2 pounds per day for food. If I use you 10 pounds of food number, I could just get to his 16 pound number with my mostly low tech gear. It would be easier with the application of some high tech $$$ fabric and so on.

I guess that I could go lighter on the food with different choices, but I take real food and thing that I like to eat. I definitely can and do go much lighter on food in some places by relying on hiker boxes, or restocking by buying somewhere along the way, or setting up caches or mail drops, but that doesn't count.

That all said a 7 day food total for backpacking is moot for me because I never go 7 days without restock or supplementing of some sort. I some time ago set myself a pretty firm limit of 4 days beyond which I do some kind of resupply. At the same time I quit doing trips that required carrying water for very far. That all came at the same time my gear was trimmed to a nice low weight. I just got too old to be a pack mule. Maybe for short portages on a canoe trip, but beyond that no.

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Old 05-28-22, 05:43 AM
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Old 05-28-22, 07:09 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by base2
Thanks!
I tend to pack really calorie dense things. Things like Jif peanut butter in the squeeze pouch. Honey in a squeeze bottle. Tortillas. 1/2-1 ounce of olive oil per day (careful!) Hard boiled eggs keep a day or two & hard/dry cheeses keep for many days more. Pre-portioned oats, cranberries/raisins/currents, & shaved almonds make for a hearty breakfast. Some basic produce like carrot or two for crunch, a potato or two to boil if the time is right or maybe a mid-day apple or two to gnaw on...& of course gummi-worms for emergencies () to break up the monotony of carb, oil, protein. Nothing glamorous. It's strictly a numbers game.
...
I'm not really a fan of Mountain House or freeze dried anything like you find at the local outdoors store on account of the sheer amount of single use package waste that has to then be dealt with & disposed of or carried around.
....
Originally Posted by staehpj1
Interesting. I am impressed with both of your numbers. I don't think I ever got under 2 pounds per day for food. If I use you 10 pounds of food number, I could just get to his 16 pound number with my mostly low tech gear. It would be easier with the application of some high tech $$$ fabric and so on.
...
That all said a 7 day food total for backpacking is moot for me because I never go 7 days without restock or supplementing of some sort. I some time ago set myself a pretty firm limit of 4 days beyond which I do some kind of resupply. ...
I think I run a calorie deficit of maybe 500 to 1000 calories a day when bike touring in remote areas where food is difficult to find or when backpacking. I bring the same type of food when canoeing or kayaking, but that is a lower exertion activity so the deficit is smaller. But I have plenty of extra calories in body fat that I can afford to lose.

I was chatting with a couple of neighbors a few years ago, learned that they did the AT. I asked her what their packs weighed at the end, she started to say - we started with, ... you asked at the end? I said yeah, I don't really care what the start was, but I was curious about how little you had at the end. My memory of the exact numbers could be wrong but I think that she said hers was 12 pounds and her husband's was 16. I assumed that was without food or water. She said they did not have any extra clothes, wore the same clothes every day. (I suspect they had extra socks.) She said about once a week they would stay at a motel, one would put on his or her rain gear and sit at the laundromat while their clothes were getting washed, the other waited naked in the motel. And at the end, they would have had to have warm clothing, so that probably made the packs heavier.

Last summer when I was backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail, every through hiker I saw, I asked how many days of food they typically carried, ranged from 4 to 6 at the start of a segment.

Yesterday I spent a few more hours planning my backpacking trip this coming summer. My plan is to start with six days of food on each segment, but I plan to do each segment in five days, the sixth day of food is contingency if my knees blow out or for some other reason have to travel slower. A couple of the campsites are dry, will have to carry water a couple miles to each of those, was mapping out water spots as way points in my GPS route yesterday to make sure I have water when I get to the campsites. Planning for three segments, five or six days each, or a bit over two weeks in total.

Some months ago, someone asked what I carry if I am carrying over two weeks of food which I have done for biking in remote areas or kayaking where there are no stores. I am sure both of you have it all figured out for food, but if you are curious what I use, that write up is here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/21674202-post25.html

After my Iceland bike tour my Dr told me I was low on protein, so I specifically include counting grams of protein per day in my planning. And that in part is why some meat with lunches and suppers, along with plans for a protein bar each day.

And I have diabetes, need to run a low carb diet. Typical american diet is to get 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbs, when at home I try to average around 30 to 35 percent from carbs. Biking or backpacking for hours each day helps burn off excess carbs so I can eat more carbs on such trips than I can eat at home. That said, I still can't eat the typical american diet that is very carb heavy, even when biking or backpacking or whatever. The pasta noodles I bring are Dreamfields that somehow makes the glycemic index on their noodles lower, so even though pasta meals have lots of carbs, that brand of noodles does not mess with my blood sugar as much.

Backpacking, I carry the butane mix types of stoves to keep weight down. Backpacking last year burned 38 grams of fuel per day, bring 50 grams per day to make sure I have enough. Bike touring, kayaking and canoeing if I am bringing liquid fuel stoves, I am more wasteful in my fuel use, occasionally have some extra coffee or some hot cider, those trips range from 46 to 56 grams per day of fuel, plan for 65 to make sure I have enough.
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Old 05-28-22, 07:19 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by phughes
Not everyone. I didn't. I actually suggested to go bigger than what I have. I went small. It all comes down to persona preference. You though are telling everyone that their choices are wrong, and that yours is vastly superior.
4 pound nylon tent is so.....1975. Who wants to lug around a wet 6 pound tent. He wasn't saying everyone was wrong, merely expressing his opinion to which I agree 100%

My circa 1985 single goretex tent was 2 pounds and my two person Moss tent was 3.5 lbs. My current dyneema tent is barely over 1 pound.
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Old 05-28-22, 09:38 AM
  #43  
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Is a true 2 person tent, say 31 square ft. of usable space with full rain fly and netting, and is free standing, at 4lbs really that heavy in this day and age? Can they be had for less than $250 ?
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Old 05-28-22, 09:55 AM
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I'm a minimalist, so I use a minimal shelter when I tour. I tour with only two packs, one of which always stays on the bike, so I don't need overnight storage room. The one-person shelter (Tarptent Protrail) I use when hiking, which did me well on three long hiking trips (PCT, CDT, AT) and many others, also works fine on bike trips. I easily resist the tendency to carry more stuff on a bike.

On my Northern Tier trip, I met two other cyclists, each traveling solo, at a town park in Montana. Both of them were AT veterans, and both were minimal packers like me. The long trails tend to mold a unique travel style.

On our first tours together in the 80s, my wife and I packed a three-person REI Dome. That was awful. Way too much stuff. Over the decades we learned to pack smaller and lighter. When we travel together now, we use the Tarptent Double Rainbow. Neither of us takes it on solo trips.
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Old 05-28-22, 10:30 AM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
I was chatting with a couple of neighbors a few years ago, learned that they did the AT. I asked her what their packs weighed at the end, she started to say - we started with, ... you asked at the end? I said yeah, I don't really care what the start was, but I was curious about how little you had at the end. My memory of the exact numbers could be wrong but I think that she said hers was 12 pounds and her husband's was 16.
FWIW, I have never done really long backpacking trips so I am not sure how I'd pack for one. Would I trim to the barest minimum or wind up with a bit more by the end? I have no idea. I am pretty sure I'd remain in the ultralight category, but may shift a bit one way or the other.

The folks that I actually know who thru hike the AT or PCT tend to carry very little gear, but it may be just a bit more rugged than some. By rugged I mean maybe not much cuben fiber and the like and maybe a foam pad rather than an inflatable one. I don't know if they are typical of the majority though.
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Old 05-28-22, 11:00 AM
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We are seeing a wide range of opinions on weight and volume here for tent or shelter, ranging from a bivy sack without any hoops for support to a big enough tent to hold bike(s).

When I consider how much weight I am willing to carry, I base that in part on the effort to carry it.

Backpacking where my muscles expend a lot of energy to carry the weight, whether it is uphill, downhill, or flat, the weight is really critical.

Bike touring, my leg muscles expend some energy for more weight, but on flats or downhill the extra energy is minimal. Uphill, the extra weight in terms of theoretical work is comparable to the exertion in backpacking. In other words, weight is a consideration but much less of one than when backpacking.

And canoeing or sea kayaking, weight is almost meaningless. If I add 10 pounds of weight to my boat, it paddles just as fast. There is some weight concern depending on the route, if there is more portaging over hills then weight is more important, like in backpacking.

It is all personal preference. I am happy to carry more weight when carrying that additional weight is not much additional exertion and leads to more comfort and convenience. But, I try really hard to reduce my weight when that extra weight means a lot of exertion. And that goes for the cooking gear and everything else.

When I did a bike tour in Florida Everglades and Florida Keys, at times I was wishing that I had brought a few more conveniences since the ground was so flat that it would not have meant much additional work. This is one of the bigger hills we had to climb.



They however do have man-made hills, they are the approaches to bridges. And they are higher than three or four feet.
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Old 05-28-22, 11:09 AM
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
FWIW, I have never done really long backpacking trips so I am not sure how I'd pack for one. Would I trim to the barest minimum or wind up with a bit more by the end? I have no idea. I am pretty sure I'd remain in the ultralight category, but may shift a bit one way or the other.

The folks that I actually know who thru hike the AT or PCT tend to carry very little gear, but it may be just a bit more rugged than some. By rugged I mean maybe not much cuben fiber and the like and maybe a foam pad rather than an inflatable one. I don't know if they are typical of the majority though.
I have not done any really long ones either. I did a lot of backpacking in the 1970s and early 80s. Then the next backpacking trip was 2011. Slowly getting back into it with steadily longer trips. But I do not see doing any backpacking trips longer than a few weeks, nothing like the AT.

I am pretty sure that you would pack very light weight if you did a long backpacking trip. If you bike tour with a bivy instead of a tent, that says a lot about how much weight you would carry.
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Old 05-28-22, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by base2
Obviously I recommended what I had. That's what these threads usually are. Any reading of ridicule of others into what I wrote is strictly in your own head & I was calling you out on it. Sorry your feelings are hurt that I was amazed people use 4 pound nylon tents for anything other than car camping. I now & forevermore promise to take your feelings, insecurities & personal hang-ups into account before any expression of my own.

As if I'm not aware enough to know I was doing it & everyone else was doing it too. Or is it that I said so? Am I not allowed to express amazement on the internet?
you
Call the Whaa-mbulance.<===That is mockery, BTW.
Not hurt, just commented that you did exactly what you said others were doing, despite the fact it wasn't true. Carry on. A 4 pound nylon tent including poles and stakes is not that much on a bicycle. Mine weighs less, but if someone what's to carry something that weighs 4 or 5 pounds, who cares. Not everyone wants to pay $700 for a tent that doesn't come with poles or stakes just to save 2 pounds. If you do, great. You gave a nice option for those interested. I just called you out for mocking people who carry tents heavier than yours. It was your mocking tone that was the issue.

Here is what that the Ataplex tent weighs, 15.4 ounces, but... it costs $675, and here is the details on the weight and what comes with:Weight:

The total weight displayed near the 'add to cart' button includes guy lines, sewn in linelocs, taped seams, and a stuff sack. A piece of repair tape is included with the tent. Your choice of canopy material will change the total weight.

*6x Stakes are required but are not included. We have a variety of Ultralight Stakes to choose from.

The tent also does not come with poles, you use a trekking pole or buy their tent poles, so that is an extra cost, and extra weight. Still lightweight, but at what cost? Carrying on my back, I get it. Carrying on my bike, not so much. If I want something that lightweight, I will use my Warbonnet Blackbird hammock. It's comfortable, easy to set up, and I am always dry in heavy rain, and so is my bike and gear under the tarp and hammock.
You have over $700 in the setup to achieve the weight I have with my hammock setup. I can park my bike under the tarp.


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Old 05-28-22, 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by base2
Thanks!

I busted out the sewing machine & sewed up a reusable steeping bag for coffee. 29 grams medium ground, plain, black 2x/day.
.
I read that as sleeping bag for coffee. I need more coffee.
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Old 05-28-22, 01:51 PM
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I ended up finding a 2022 2P Hubba Hubba NIB for half off locally. 3lb 4oz and 29 sq ft for $200.

Thanks for the opinions and may the convo continue

Last edited by polymorphself; 05-28-22 at 03:58 PM.
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