2M tent for shorter trips in drier climates. West Coast

I've tried to boil what you're written down to a basic list of 'likes' and 'dislikes':

Likes:
– Double Wall
– Freestanding
– Spacious for two guys
– Lightweight

Dislikes:
– Use of trekking poles
– Large amount of mandatory guylines

Ron has posted a few details on the SMD site about the revised Haven. The new weight is 32oz for the tarp + net tent. So if you combined that with 6 stakes and the poles SMD sells (1.8oz ea) so you don't have to use your trekking poles then you'd be looking at about 38oz for the package. The good things are that it's double wall, has reasonable space inside and it's very light. The potential downsides are that trekking pole supported shelters are always slower to set up, it's not freestanding and it's not as big as some of your options.

It would be helpful if we had a better idea how important weight is to you. You've listed options from just over 2 lbs to nearly 3.5 lbs which is a big range. Obviously you're going to get a lot more shelter for 3.5 lbs, so you might want to think about this a bit more and then put a tighter constraint on the acceptable weight range.

You also may want to make a firm decision on single wall versus double wall so we can help you better. A lot of the single wall tents offer more space for a similar weight (ie. Lunar Duo) but then you do need more space inside a single wall tent to avoid touching the potentially wet walls.

Here's how I would make this decision:

Step 1 – Cross off all the tents that are going to be pretty small for two big guys (Fly Creek UL2, Nemo Obi 2P and Mirage 2P).

Step 2 – Cross off the single wall tents because you prefer double wall and your non-UL buddies will likely prefer this as well (Lunar Duo, Double Rainbow can stay if you consider adding the liner).

Step 3 – At this point you're down to non-freestanding silnylon cottage gear tents (Haven, Lightheart Duo, Dbl Rainbow w Liner) or the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3. From here you may be able to make a final decision. You will save weight going with a trekking pole supported shelter, even if you don't use trekking poles and instead use the SMD/Easton poles at 1.8oz ea so that's something to consider. The Double Rainbow + Liner stands out as being quite a bit heavier than the Haven or the Lightheart Duo, so if you want to go non-freestanding, I would choose the Haven if you want full double wall or the Lightheart Duo if you care more about space.

The Lightheart Duo and Haven are both 32oz plus poles & stakes, so you're looking at about 38oz total, whereas the the Fly Creek UL3 is about 53oz for the tent & stakes. So the Fly Creek UL3 is basically a pound heavier, but it's freestanding and it appears to have quite a bit more headroom than the Lightheart Duo, and quite a bit more headroom and floor area than the Haven, so it depends where your priorities are. The FC UL3 is going to be the easiest tent to live with since it's big and simple. The Haven is a pound lighter but it's smaller and it's going to be a bit trickier to set up. The Lightheart Duo looks pretty big, but the walls slope in heavily so I don't think it'll actually feel nearly as big as the UL3. You may want to order a couple of these tents and then return the ones that you don't like. The FC UL3 you can crawl inside at REI. The other two can be ordered and then returned. Actually crawling in the tents is such a great way to evaluate them, so I would suggest doing that.

Dan, I appreciate your well-thought out response to my thread. In reply to your comments, No. 1 is done and the Easton Kilo also out as well, bummer we both had high hopes on that one. No. 2 is done, but I’ve left in the Lunar Duo because it has a large rectangular floor plan with vertical walls. Don’t like the single wall configuration, but most of the places I go are pretty dry. I didn’t see any rain last year. I haven’t used a single-wall shelter for backpacking since the 70s but am giving it some thought, so it’s still in. No. 3 – I’m then left with the FC UL3, which meets all my criteria except its not as light weight as the others. More on that in a minute. Then I have the SMD Haven/NetTent combo. I’ve decided that the TT Rainbow and the Lightheart Duo are out because they have such sloped walls that they are functionally less appealing. The Lightheart has a massive floor area, but if you look at the way the walls slope….

I really want light, but I don’t want to give up a little private space either. And I’m no big guy (5’10” on a tall day), but both the friends that I hike with are – 6’3” and 6’7”. So, the FC UL2 is out, which is where I’d like to be at weight-wise. It’d still be in if there were no other offerings and I guess two people could squeeze in there. Dan, I’m glad you mentioned that there’s some info up now for the Haven/NetTent. It is the same length I believe as the Lunar Duo and it has the same width but it must not be truly rectangular since SMD says it is 4 SF smaller in floor area. But the Haven is light; it is 16 oz. lighter than the FC UL3; but only $20 less.

So, it looks like I’m left with these contenders:

FC UL3 — 54 oz, 42” headroom, 39 SF fl. area, dble wall, easy setup
Lunar Duo — 48 oz, 45” headroom, 34 SF fl. area, sngle wall, not as easy
Haven — 38 oz, 45” headroom, 30 SF fl. area, dble wall, not as easy

I’ve seen videos for the Lunar Duo, along with the TT Double Rainbow and photos of the Lightheart Duo. Wish I could see what’s going on with the Haven. These videos/photos have helped me to form the opinions up until now. So, for the moment, these are the three tents that I feel like fit into my box. Yes, I know, they also have significantly different weights, but they could all be good choices. The Lunar Duo also has huge vestibules, which is pretty attractive to me. But I sure like the weight of the Haven. If I could see better photos or a video, it would surely help me make my decision. And REI will probably have their 20% off sale in April. So the FC UL3 is looking good cost wise. Maybe I can crawl inside one at REI soon.

edited for formatting

The Lunar Duo is only 5-6oz lighter than the FC UL3 and it's single wall, harder to setup , non-freestanding and smaller. That's a lot of cons to accept for just 5-6oz. Accordingly, I would choose the FC UL3 out of these two.

The Haven is also harder to setup, non-freestanding and smaller, but it's a double wall and it's way lighter which means a lot. For me, the weight savings are enough to over look the slower and non-freestanding setup. So if you think the Haven will be big enough I would get that, if you're worried it's too small for your tall friends then I would get the FC UL3.

If it's often going to be just you in the tent, I would get the Haven. The FC UL3 would be massive for a solo hiker.

Ya, really, the Lunar Duo is a great tent, but there are two other choices that meet my needs better. I doubt I'll ever solo. But, who knows. I'm more interested in the company of one or others to share all the glory of God's creation with me.

I'm still very concerned about weight. And so I hold out for more info on the Haven and may just call Ron to find out more details and what the timing on availability will be. The FC UL3 is quite a structure with a gigantic floor area. Wish it was a little lighter, but its worth the weight, no pun intended. So, I'll have to make up my mind in a few months. If I can't learn more on the Haven in that time, I'll snag a FC UL3 when the REI sale happens.

BTW – It would be good if the manufacturers would state the interior cubic area of their tents. This would better address the usable area in a shelter and would be another great unit of comparison.

BTW – It would be good if the manufacturers would state the interior cubic area of their tents. This would better address the usable area in a shelter and would be another great unit of comparison.

I don't see how that would make much difference.
Just as knowing the floor area does not tell you how much usable space you have , cubic area will also not tell yo how many of those cubic inches are usable…

Franco

If there are less of them (cubic inches or feet), it should paint the picture. If one tent has a 40 SF floor area and steeply sloping walls and another has a 35 SF floor area with vertical walls, and all else is the same, I'd take the later because it has more usable area. Simple.