favorite 1 & 2 person tents

Double walls are so 2007. Hybrids are the wave of the future!

There are some cool options in your range but not radically different in weight than the hubbas. Definitely take a glance at the hybrid single walls by Tarptent (Contrail and Squall 2), Gossamer Gear (One and Squall Classic), and Six Moon Designs (Refuge). These are all extremely user friendly and will offer the protection of a double wall without the weight.

Best of luck!
Doug

Thanks Doug. BTW, I'm still loving the JRB setup for my hammock (where I absolutely prefer to sleep!). I'm looking for the tent when I'm camping in a field with my son on scout trips.

If anyone has experience with any of Doug's recommendations I would appreciate your feedback. I do need something that my 13 yr old would be able to set-up, hopefully stay dry, and not destroy!

100% "Tarptent Contrail" Fan!

Perfect W/ Floor and Tyvek for a footprint.

Hi Jeff!
For a versatile traditional double-wall tent consider the Montbell Monoframe Diamond. It's billed as a three season tent, but because it vents so effectively I use mine four seasons. Also, even though it's a solo tent it's large enough inside for me (5'11") and my gear or even two people in an emergency. At 2.7 lbs it's the lightest double-wall you're likely to find. Someone recently mentioned in a post that they scored one online at a substantial discount because it's being discontinued (what a shame).
Happy Trails!

Not so fast… single wall tents / tarptents are not the UL panacea for all camping occasions.

Depending on climate conditions, these tents can suffer from condensation (not enough breeze and/or high humidity) on the one hand — and uncomfortably drafty on the other (too much breeze).

Tarptents are definitely worth considering — but if you camp in relatively humid places, esp. with two people sharing, a slightly heavier double wall tent can be a smarter choice. As well, for scouting, you may want a tent with higher durability.

One perennial favorite for two people sharing is the REI Half Dome tent — a great balance in quality, versatility, comfort, durability, price and weight. You should also take a look at its little brother — the REI Quarter Dome 2.

Finally, for a palatial solo tent, take a look at the Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 SL — great space for one and a lot lighter than the Hubba Hubba (it actually weighs essentially the same as the Hubba solo).

You might try a Warmlite 2R – big enough for 2, 3 pounds with windows, 2 lb 12 oz without. A hybrid single wall (at the ends)/ double wall (in the middle).

Benjamin has a point, tarp tents are not always the best option. However, in general, I agree with Doug. I think any of the tarp tents (or hybrid single wall tents) that he mentioned are great. My wife and I have used the Squall 2 and we have been very happy with it. We occasionally get condensation, but most of the time we are quite comfortable and dry. We tend to “under ventilate”, preferring warmth over dryness. Even so, we have never had it dripping, only just a bit damp (which is easily fixed with a towel). I just ordered the Refuge X and I’m excited about it. Not only is this thing crazy light, but I like the big vents on the top, which should reduce condensation without the “breeze in the face” effect.

I think the toughest problem with double walled tents is that there are very few being made with “ultralight” techniques or materials. Most are made from the big manufacturers, so they shy away from silnylon, let alone spinnaker or cuben. One exception is Big Sky, but their delivery problems are infamous (do a forum search). Few, if any of them, use trekking poles for support. The combination of a bug bivy and tarp could be considered a double walled tent (it will act like a double walled tent) but it won’t give you as much room as most tents (a bug bivy being as long and wide as a typical bivy). Mountain Laurel Designs, Gossamer Gear and Six Moons all make bug bivies that go well with tarps (there may be others that do so as well). That certainly is an option to consider. So far as I know, no one makes a two person bug bivy system — in other words, I don’t think anyone makes a double walled tent for two people that could be considered ultralight.

A couple links worth mentioning:
review of double walled tents (a bit old, but still valuable)

Excellent article about single walled tents and condensation

Just this weekend I was bemoaning taking our Nallo2 with us. Why? Because we encountered cool, calm weather. If we had been in our Double Rainbow, we would have merely wiped down the inner condensation before shaking off the outer, and the tent would have been 80% dry for the next night. Because we were in the Nallo, the condensation (which is still there, there's merely a wall of dry material between you and it) was difficult to get at without dis-assembling the inner from the outer tent, so we packed it away with all that condensation still stuck on the inside underside of the fly, and no surprise, the next night it was sodden inside. :(

Unless you get a truly breathable tent (as in eVent), condensation will always be your biggest enemy. To me, the question of to tarp or to double wall comes down to how cold and blustery you expect it to be. I would not want to be in a tarptent in sub-freezing gale force conditions! The Nallo would handle those conditions much better. But for warmer and calmer conditions the Nallo is just not as good IMHO.