Soliciting tent opinions…

Have you looked at this model?

Tarptent Scarp 2

I did take a look at it – I was a bit concerned about how well it would take winds in "three-season" compared to the two double wall tents I listed. It's also a fair bit pricier. Do you think its a better tent for what I'm looking for?

I think it is a very versatile tent but of course that comes at a higher price. I thought about it since you mentioned you where buying only one tent to last a long time that would work in various types of situations.

single pole (mild conditions) vs cross poles (snow, wind, above treeline, free standing)
net inner (3 season) vs solid inner (4 season)

If you are really concerned about high winds it would work great with all the poles.

Plus you set up the fly first then clip in the inner tent. In sustained rain this is VERY useful and is one of the main reasons I use a tarp setup vs a single wall tent. Even regular tarptents when used in continual rainy conditions get really wet inside and out after a couple/few days.

You can also setup just the outer during lunch, or anytime, to get out of the weather or setup the net inner by itself with all 3 poles to get out of the bugs.

Dual entry and dual vestibules……….

If I talk any more I will have to buy one for myself :-)

The downside is that with all the available options and versatility it will weigh more than other options and cost more money to purchase.

If I was only going to purchase ONE two person tent this would probably be it.

I guess it depends on your priorities, cost vs versatility vs weight etc……

If not this, I would go with the double rainbow. Lots of tent and light weight for the money. A great value that will work good in most situations.

I bet you could get henry to sew up extra tie outs, if it even needs them, to work better in windy conditions.

Call him up and see what he thinks.

What about the Six Moons Luna Solo? No poles needed – just use walking pole. I love this tent, it does get some condensation, but that's "par for the course" with single skin. Plus weight is only 800grams. Maybe a bit cosy for 2, but hey sometimes cosy is good!
If you want to invest in a "bomb proof" relatively light option – you can't go past our NZ brand – Macpac Microlight

…

If you need a more bomber shelter out of the ones you list, the Vaude will be the more stable 3++ season shelter, capable of holding wet snow as well.

The tarptents are more fair weather friends that use ventilation to manage condensation.

The only downside to the Vaude is a smallish vestibule – much like the Seedhouse tents by BA. But more storm worthy than those shelters.

Reviews of many of these tents are on this site- it might be worth looking them up.

Many great options out there- I'm an huge fan of Tarptent myself. Six Moon Designs is also great.

I've not been happy with the Big Agnes Seedhouse tents- too small for me. I felt the same way about the Vaude tent.

Best of luck!

I own both SD Clip Flashlight (older version) and Tarptent DR (new version). here are some of my comments/suggestions

SD Clip Flashlight
-great waterproofness, was floating in 3 inches of water once, inside stayed dry
-good price
-not sure about your comment abt too much space. it is very "cozy" for two big adults.
-wouldn't comfortably sit two at the same time
-not sure how it would perform if it snows since the tent has some sagging in the middle
-new version has all netting so may be colder than old version and also may have some more condensation issues.

Tarptent DR
-feels more spacious than SD Flashlight
-i wouldn't use the freestanding option unless i'm sleeping on the rocks, i use stakes instead for tauter pitch
-has two doors, easier for entrance for two people
-abt pound lighter than SD Flashlight
-has two vestibules for 2 people
-can sit 2 people at the same time. we actually had 3 people playing cards in this tent.

i "upgraded" to Tarptent from SD Flashlight. I"m not sure where you are getting your price from, but the tent costs $260 plus delivery. it also has only one pole and it's included in the price. If you end up getting Tarptent, here are some suggestions:

-get a 50 ft Kelty Treaptease line at REI or Amazon for $15 bucks. this will be your replacement plus extra line for high wind, and the "porch" option. plus you can tie little loops to zippers since the zippers are really small and sometimes hard to find, esp. at night.
-i think spending $20 to have it seam sealed is worth it. i didn't and i regretted. if you do end up seam sealing yourself, get something that is ready to go. don't bother mixing silicone and mineral spirits, it's a HUGE pain in the a..s.
-don't go anywhere without seam sealing, because it will leak from the side seams in the rain.
-be prepared for condensation. however, i had very similar condensation with my SD Flashlight. it pretty much depends on the area where you pitch your tent. one night you can have it completely dry, another it will be all wet on the ceiling. tarptent forces you to be much more selective about your site.

i also replaced my stakes on my old tent and use them with all my tents. i got very thin titanium stakes, they are very strong, super light, don't take much space, are not very expensive, and are easy to poke thru rocky ground. i think you can get those on this website.

you may also want to look into Cloudburst 2.

Good luck.

To help muddy your waters, I have a new, never-used SD Clip Flashlight 2P that I scooped up on sale a year ago at REI. I can let you have it for what I paid ($130), free shipping CONUS.

The Tarptent Double Rainbow has been my most flexible tent (I own at least a half dozen). I've used it for regular 3 season backpacking, windy/rainy mountain terrain, summer mountaineering on glaciers, trips with my 7 year old, and a couple of winter trips. It performs great in the 2-3 season weather and acceptably in the other conditions. I actually prefer it to other, more weather appropriate tents whenever I think I can get away with it.

The weakest spot is sideways blowing rain — it would be nice if you could cinch up the bathtub floor to completely block the sides — but other than losing a bit of sleep, it has turned out to be more worry than actual wetness.

Thanks a lot for all the replies – very helpful and much appreciated. I'll try and respond in order:

@SP: If I was only ever going to buy one tent, the Scarp might rank higher. At some point in time (perhaps not for a year or two), another tent will likely be in order – my two thoughts on this are to get a light, less sturdy two person now, and when the time is right get a 4 season mountaineering-type tent OR get a more weatherproof shelter now and then later add a superlight tarp-like shelter. I'm leaning towards the former.

@Robin: If the Lunar Solo was about 6 inches wider (or just more rectangular with the same floor area) it would be the one. As is, it might be a bit too "cosy".

@Mike: I did look at the Big Agnes tents – mostly the Seedhouse (the Copper Spur is a little more $$ than I would like to drop). It wasn't any bigger than the Vaude and seemed less stormproof. Good customer service though, from my contact with them.

@Doug: I haven't quite memorized the reviews of the tents in question – yet. Great job on them, by the way. A question for you (if you have used both the Double Rainbow and the Lunar Duo): would the Tarptent handle winds better? How much better, if so?

@Elena: I think the new model of the Flashlight has a lot bigger floor – the specs on the SD website make it seem huge. Headroom doesn't look fantastic though, from what I can see of the design. I'm not sure where my price can from either – I have it down in my notes as $260.

Based on the great info from you guys, and about 5 hours of contemplation on my bike today, I'm currently leaning towards the Double Rainbow – my thinking being that it should handle most weather just fine (especially if I can somehow get some mid-height guy line points on the arch pole), it won't be cramped for two people, and yet at 1.1 kg, I have no problem taking it solo. I think that when I start to push the "3-season" limits, I'll invest in a good mountaineering tent. That should be for another couple years though.

Aaron,

I second the Scarp 2 nomination. It's as stable (with the crossing poles) as you're going to get outside of a full on expedition tent. I'm going to get it with the ripstop inner and crossing poles for my winter tent, and I've had a lot of winter camping experience.

Eric

Another vote for the Double Rainbow, especially if you use trekking poles so can take advantage of the rain porches.

I'm going to mention my favorite tent ever (I'm prepared for an internet slap)…a Golite Den 2. Roomy, light weight, easy to set up. Unfortunately, hard to find.