Need a DURABLE tent

[Ike Mouser]

I like everyone else like the lightest things available, however, financially speaking i now prefer things to be a little more durable and able to take a beating than paper thin ultralight materials. I need a 2-3 person tent.

What i want in a tent:
1. Durability
2. Ease of Setup
3. Lightness
5. Subdued Colors, i don't want any blaze oranges or neon greens. Earth or nature tones would be fine, camo is best but i know that is not an option.

Please recommend 5 or so tents that way i can catch one of them on sale @ cleansnipe or S&C, i have better odds if you recommend a few. I also don't mind shelling out for a very nice very well made and tough tent that can only be bought from a quality tent maker and never goes on sale.

[Brad Rogers]

Golite Shangri la 3 or 5 in "evergreen"? Maybe a Oware mid made out of tougher nylon? Tarptent Rainshadow?

[Dena Kelley]

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 probably meets your needs- or the UL3. The UL2 is a 2 man, if you don't mind getting close. It meets your other criteria- it's light, it's easy to set up, it is sort of a gold color but not bright, and seems plenty durable to me. If you want even more subdued coloring and lightness and money wasn't an issue you could look at the new platinum edition. It's grey and several ounces lighter.

The best deals I've seen on this tent have been right here on gear swap. The second best have been on ebay.

[Travis Leanna]

You'd definitely be shelling out for one, but Hilleberg has some of the highest quality and durability ratings. Also not the lightest, but durable.

[Herbert Sitz]

So far as I know Big Agnes, MSR, and the other "big company" makers use the same 30D silnylon fabric in most of their "ultralight" tents that the cottage makers like Tarptent and SMD use. The main difference is that most of the "big company" tents are dome or dome-like designs that include extra weight of tent poles.

The dome-like designs with arched poles are great for someone who wants a free-standing option, but I don't see how they increase durability. In fact, having those arched poles to tension the fabric seems to add another point of failure, since these lightweight tensioned poles are more likely to break than a heavier-duty trekking pole in straight-on configuration in cottage-company designs. So aren't those dome-like designs less durable (when they use same 30D silnylon as cottage tents)?

I do see how tents like Hilleberg can be more durable; it's because they use heavier and more heavy-duty materials than ultralight tents. The fabric Hilleberg tents use is heavier than 30D silnylon used in ultralight tents (and I expect their poles are also heavier and stronger than those used in ultralight arched-pole designs).

EDIT: I should add that I don't think durability is an issue with 30D silnylon. It's proven itself over the years, many people have used ultralight 30D tents for hundreds of nights and thousands of miles, which goes far beyond what I expect to use them for. I don't even think you need to baby it to get that; just use common-sense care. Also, even the heavier weight materials are pretty delicate in some situations, e.g., resistance to fire or to sharp-edged objects.

[Dale Wambaugh]

+1 on a Shangrila or mid for a good, simple, weatherly tent for several people. I've been wanting one just as a good all-around shelter. One pole and a few stakes and your palace awaits :)

IMHO, the BA style tents are a pain to set up. Way too complex and too many stakes. Calling them free standing is stretching the term.

Most of the tent durability issues I have seen were due more to carelessness or abuse. Maybe tired newbies with minimal mechanical skills? A footprint and minimizing UV exposure will extent the life of a tent, along with a little care and patience when setting up. Proper cleaning and drying when you get home will extent the life too.

[Andy Anderson]

The MLD Trailstar in any color but yellow meets you requirements. I have the gray and its pretty low key. The brown is really nice.

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