Tarptent Recommendations?

Go with the bigger tent for two for the winter and buy/borrow/trade something lighter for your solo trip next summer. You may even decide you don't mind carrying the extra 9oz for the additional comfort/space.

Nick
For the occasional use with your girlfriend, the Contrail might be OK. I should be able to set it up tomorrow with two mats inside to give you a better idea ….
If it turns out that your GF comes with you more often, then get a Double Rainbow later on but keep the Contrail for solo use.
As far as sagging…
Silnylon does indeed sag, however it does have a limit . Once it has reached the maximum stretch it stops. So the trick is to re-tighten the shelter just before you go to sleep. In most cases after sunset, once the air is cooled down the fabric has reached maximum stretch.
Of course you could have a night that is warm and dry and then it rains but that is not the usual case. So most of the times I wake up with a Contrail that looks pretty much as it does on the TT site.
BTW I am of your size, so you will have enough room for one pack at the foot end and the other in the vestibule. Since with two the single pole would be a pain, I will set it up with two.
Franco

Rainbow with two mats inside. Note that the bathtub floor is clipped up. With the floor down you get a few extra inches .

> BUT I'd like to do the JMT (and perhaps PCT someday) next summer and obviously the extra 9 ounces would be something extra to carry for solo use.

But the extra space might turn out to be really valuable on a long trip.

And the gf is less likely to get turned off the idea of camping in a tent where you can sit up together.

Nick,
My wife and I are 5-7 and 5-8. We have a squall 2 and she loves it. It has a floor and weighs aprx 2#4oz. We have used it on Isle Royale, the Winds and on 4 Superior Hiking trail trips.

I have the Contrail and my wife and 5 yr old daughter fit in the Contrail to sleep in, but I would not want to do anymore than that. (My wife is just under 5 ft tall).

I have meet a couple on the trail who shared a Contrail together….must have been very snug.

If you were caught in any bad weather, sharing a Contrail would definitely test the limits of your relationship!

My friend has the Squall 2 and uses it as just for himself with the option of taking his wife or one of his children with him…which gives you the sort of flexibility that you are looking for.

As a solo shelter the Squall 2 is palatial in space for only 8 oz more weight.

I would agree with the comment above…make the trip fun for your girl friend and yourself and give yourselves a little more space.

If you want to save more weight, eventually, you might want to look at going tarp and bivy for your solo trips.

Hope this helps.

-Tony

In short, you're going to need two shelters for this kind of use. This comes because of a few reasons.

First, a 1+ person shelter is not going to be enough room for two people consistently, especially if you're going to be hiking with that person more. You will be cramped with the GF when you don't want to be, and as stated, you may turn her off.

Second, with more room comes more weight, especially if you need a floor and but netting. At some point, you don't want to carry a two-person shelter for one person when a solo will do.

I solved this problem by supplementing my DoubleRainbow with a 5.5 x 8 siltarp. Your 80/20 split approximates my trip ratio.

I agree with Matt's comments regarding the need for two shelter systems, one for solo trips and a seperate/differant shelter for trips with a partner.

Depending on the ratio of use I would recommend focusing resources (money) on the more used system and watching for a good deal on a secondhand shelter for the other. If patient one can get that alternate shelter system at a great price and not need to feel bad about owning both.

If a single shelter system is the only option, I would recommend a duo tarp and a bivy. When a partner comes along you only require a second bivy or a double bivy. This system may not offer the privacy/bug protection the GF prefers but you will stay dry.

I don't think 8 oz should be a dealbreaker on a thru-hike. And I can see the camping experience being much, much better if the GF is happy.

Given your desire to keep price down, have integrated bug netting, and fitting two people, I would also go with the Squall2. You could squeeze into the contrail in good weather… but if the weather is good you don't actually need the shelter. If the weather is nasty, I would want more room for two people.

–Mark

ANd the Squall is a PALACE for one. I have a Squall. Love it.

The Squall is definitely a good suggestion. With the Rainbow one person needs to crawl over the other to get out. OK in emergencies or just once or twice but unlike to promote camping with new ones.
As promised, some pics ( I had the bags on the line to air out…)
Note : double poles for unobstructed entry/exit
Side guyouts in use to expand width a few inches
Thge floor is somewhat "relaxed" (not as bathtub as it can be)
The WM bags are 6' long
The two Nalgene bottles (one on top of the other) are 170cm (5'7") away from the door .The fly is about 2" above at that point
From the Nalgene to the end of the floor there is another foot of space
Some practice with the tent is needed for this…… ( IE don't learn how to use it by setting it up the first time after a 10 hour walk)

You could also consider the XT version, with the large added vestibule. ( A Sea 2 Summit poncho tarp in this picture)

Franco

Thanks for all the good suggestions. Certainly good points to thing about.

Franco, thank you for those excellent photos! A picture really is worth a thousand words. It looks like there is enough room for the two sleeping bags… but is there enough room for 2 people to lay flat?

How come more people are suggesting the Squall 2 instead of the Rainbow? It seems to me that the Rainbow places the height of the tent in a more usable area as well as being freestanding. (Or are you guys recommending the Squall made by Gossamer Gear?)

You can't go wrong with any tarptent. If weight is an issue and you only want to buy one tent for all of your purposes I would go for the GG squall (when they are available again), it is pretty much the same weight as the contrail, but more room for 2 and has less sag than silnylon if that is a concern. Only downside is the single pole at the head end doesn't have quite the same space as the squall 2. The pole at the foot end with a 1 peg self equalising guyline is the easiest to setup. Contrails are great, but need a bit more work to set up. Using all the guylines helps with the silnylon sag, but really you only need to adjust the guylines once if there is a bit of sag, then you are right for the night. I have added elastic to my end guylines which helps with the sag too.

I strongly recommend not trying to squeeze 2 people into a one person shelter, either the Contrail or one-person Rainbow. I tried it with the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo (which has more square feet than either)–in this case, with me and my Labrador retriever. In humid conditions we completely overwhelmed the ventilation system, with severe condensation on rainy and/or cold nights. The tent was also far too cramped when we were stuck in there on rainy evenings. As a result, I've gone back to using my Squall 2 (my first Tarptent, bought several years ago)–the extra space is well worth the 9-10 additional ounces, and I've never had serious condensation issues with it.

Either the Squall 2 or the Double Rainbow would be far more comfortable than trying to squeeze two persons into a one-person tent, in terms of both elbow room and condensation issues. The Squall 2 weighs less and costs less than the Double Rainbow, so is closer to your requirements. There's plenty of elbow room for two persons (plus dog), and it's palatial for one person (plus dog).

The Gossamer Gear Squall Classic (which will be available again late this year or early next year) is the obvious solution, providing a 2-person tent for the weight of the Contrail or Lunar Solo. However, it is almost $100 more than you want to pay.

Get the Squall 2 and don't worry about 9-10 ounces (which you can undoubtedly compensate for, an ounce here and an ounce there, elsewhere in your gear list). Please don't subject your SO to squeezing 2 persons in a one-person tent. You'll end up damp (you'll have more condensation and not be able to avoid rubbing the walls), miserable (bumping into each other with the slightest stirring in your sleep) and, probably, hating each other!

My son and another kid squeezed into a Contrail this summer on a 10 day hike. It rained a number of times and they never got wet beyond normal condensation you find in single wall tents and two breathing bodies create a lot more condensation.

That being said, I would never sleep 2 adults in a Contrail for an extended trip. My kid is 5'10" and weighs 150 lbs. His friend is 5'8" and weighs 135 lbs. That's how they did it. It would be way too tight for me. I did notice the netting would stick out beyond the tarp since there was appreciable stress on the width. They would have to really concentrate on tying the sides down if there were a chance of rain. they could tie it to the ground and not get wet at all at the loss of some space.

My other son took a Double Rainbow. 2 entrances. Storm proof. I liked it a lot. A bit heavier than I would like but it has a lot of room and its easy to set up.

Scott

Scott, your two kids are taller than me and the OP, one is also of my same weight….
As for the Lunar Solo comparison, the Contrail is much wider ( 36" for the LS, 47" for the Contrail in my set up) at the shoulder where you need the room than the LS. It is my opinion that the LS collects more condensation than the Contrail because of trapping more ground evaporation from the vestibule ( I would suggest using a ground sheet there…)
Nick
In this shot you can just see the foot end of the mats. They are the standard 50cm (20") width.

BTW in my mind a 20/80 split suggests a few nights of double use per year. Not many occasional walkers do 10 or more trips involving overnighters in a single year….
Franco

I really like the Contrail. I would be glad to use it for 2 if it were for a few nights. I think for me it would be too tight for extended use. I'm as tall but weigh a lot more than those kids. I like the 2 pole set up. They used a single carbon fiber pole.

Like I said. Even with 2 no one got wet except for considerable condensation. I also had a ton of condensation in my GG The One. They also, as shown in your photo, used the center tie outs.

Awesome pictures. Looks like a contrail will totally work for my wife and I. Now how much smaller is that sublite? ;)

BTW we fit us and a 70lbs golden retriever in a firstlight too with no major complaints. I'm 5'11" 155 and she's 5'6 and skinny (posting wifey's weight online is not a good idea).

Hi. I hear you loud and clear. I must agree with one of the other suggestions – the Gossamer Gear Squall Classic. I have one as a solo tent because I like the space and I need to have all my stuff in with me in the Aussie bush. The Classic has been wonderful – holding up in wind and rain without a problem. At 750 gms it is light as you need and the space inside is enormous. As for bug proofing – absolutely beautiful. Worth the extra I reckon.

For two adult and one dog use, I have not found a tent I like better than the Double Rainbow. The dog gets one of the vestibules (particlarly nice when it's wet) and we get the other for cooking, gear storage, going out in the night without navigating around pooch…I have not used a Contrail.

I've had the Squall Classic since it first came out and love it! Light enough and a palace for one and fine for two adults. Easy to pitch, strong and watertight.