Tent Options for the Tall

I am in the same situation as you my friend. You have an inch on me, but I have yet to find a "light" free standing 2 person tent that I can comfortably lay out in.
I do find that Eureka tends to make their tunnel tents much longer the others. I have both the Moonshadow Duo (for when the girlfriend comes) and the Solitaire (for winter) and both have plenty of length for me, sleeping bag, plus gear. Eureka may not have too much of a hiker following, but they have some very interesting tents coming out this year (Skylite SUL being one of them) and their prices are usually substantially lower. Hope that helps.

I had a mtneering partner who was 6'5" who found the Stepehenson Warmlite 2R and 3R tents quite comfy—the 3R w/ it's ample headroom was his personal tent.These are the lightest/roomiest combo shelters on the market. Not cheap, though.

Again, these are a tunnel tent configuration.

http://www.warmlite.com/start.htm

Well the Stephenson 2R will certainly be long enough but perhaps a little short in height for someone 6'5", but I agree not the case for the 3R. Be that as it may, the 2R/3Rs are very versatile four season tents that are easy to set up and stable as a rock in bad weather. As for the odd stories of malfunction posted in the forums for Stephenson tents, I have no idea how to account for them other than operator error. I hopefully have enclosed a picture of my 2R on a recent trip to Navaho Mountain across from the Stuart Range in Washington State in April 07.

I own the REI Quarter Dome and while its a great tent, its not for anyone 6'5", unless you lay diagonally. This isn't an option' of course, if you share the tent. I have read a few taller individuals being happy with the Seedhouse series. My suggestion is to try them out in the store.

I think some of your better options might be a Tarptent or Six Moon Designs shelter. I also own a Tarptent Contrail and can easily see it would work for someone your height. The Tarptent Squall2 and Cloudburst2 both have the same length floor (94 inches) as the Contrail and good height at the foot end. The Double Rainbow is even longer. SMD's Lunar Duo has a floor length of 90 inches.

Thanks for all the suggestions here! Although, it's sad to hear that my suppositions about the BA Seedhouse & REI Dome are correct — too short for a tall guy.

Does anyone know what the equivalent of the Eureka Moonshadow Duo is for the US? Would it be the Spitfire 2?

http://www.eurekatent.com/spitfire2.asp

The Stephenson 2R certainly sounds nice… but that's ridiculously expensive! Not sure I'm ready to spend > $600 on a tent just yet… I kind of prefer the < $300 range of stuff that you can find at REI on sale.

I think I'm still looking for a free standing tent. Any other suggestions out there? (Or warnings on brands / designs to stay away from if you're tall?)

If I may be so bold, what is the reasoning behind desiring the tent to be freestanding?

Hi Stephen,

I'll confirm that the SL2 and REI tents are defintely too short for you. These tents are both on the cramped side of double wall tents anyway…

The best tents I've come across for tall folks are Tarptents and Six Moon Designs tents. I'd highly recommend the Tarptent Squall 2, Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo and Six Moon Designs Europa(non-freestanding tents) and the Tarptent Double Rainbow (freestanding option). You would love these tents. Reviews on all but the Lunar Duo appear on this site.

Besides being longer and far more spacious inside, these tents will also drop considerable weight from your tent. The quality of both manufacturers is excellent (I've owned 3 Tarptents and 1 SMD tent).

Best of luck!
Doug

Granite. Granite, everywhere. And not a peg will drive. (Or be driven.)

Heck, I am 5'4" and the QD is to me a glorified solo tent ;-)
My husband is 6'4" and if he got into it, you'd hear ripping ;-)

Just got back from REI, and I can confirm first hand what others have said. My head was touching one side while my toes touched the other in the SL2. Also tried a number of the other 2-person backpacking tents that REI has in stock — all of them were just as small or smaller.

Too bad! The SL2 looked nice, light, and well-constructed. I guess it is time to look at the Tarptent and SMD designs. Just wish that some brick-and-mortar store carried them so I could check them out in person first!

Not sure if I can justify the preference for dual-wall, freestanding… for a relative newbie, it just seems better contained. Easier to setup, no condensation covering the inner wall, better withstand varying weather conditions… I guess I'll have to reevaluate some of those assumptions.

Checked this topic to be sure someone recommended Stephensons. Sho' nuff, nice pics, Scott.

Regarding the preference for double wall, I keep going over that in my mind, and I realize I'm just one of those people to whom my tent is my castle and a great source of pleasure. But in addition, I've endured very cold conditions in summer and would've been miserable without my warm antique North Face double a-frame. And I don't deliberately push the limits by setting up my tent in a wind tunnel or on a ridge, but several times have found the value of a wind-stable tent in the straight-line winds of a thunderstorm. All of this plus weight considerations point me at Stephensons but its really hard to part with that much cash. But then I'd have the ideal (almost: it's not a sexy-looking tent to my eye) with double-wall warmth, stability, those side windows, great ventilation, less weight…..arrrrghhhhh! I gotta buy one. It would even fit an ultra-tall boyfriend!

The only tents a couple years ago that my husband could fit into comfortably were Sierra Designs that had a long "A" shape. Not very light, but they worked for his height.The SD Clip is a good example.
He cannot fit into any of my tents that the kid and I take.
He usually parks it in his Hennessy Hammock though.

Stephen,

Unless you're pitching in conditions that require a certain double-walled tent (snow loading, very high winds) there is little to be gained by going to double-walled route, outside of sentimental or emotional attachment to this style of shelter (and there's nothing wrong with that!).

Going right to a single wall, tarp tent-style shelter is one of those leaps of faith. There's a lot to be gained in terms of less weight and more function by using a non-freestanding single wall tent. It might require creative pitching if you find yourself entirely on slickrock or an AT tent platform, but its certainly manageble. Most current tarp tent designs eliminate almost all contact with the tent walls and can be pitched to withstand very gusty conditions.

Just this past weekend I pitched my tent on a hard packed gravel and dirt campsite and a raised sandy berm in the middle of a creek..talk about one extreme to the other! One site broke an Easton aluminum tubular stake, the other required piling rocks on top of the stakes to hold them in place. At some point during the latter pitch, I got rain and gusts that had to be over 30 mph. The tent held fine.

Don't be afraid to experiment with this style of tent. My Contrail is one of the few pieces of equipment I own that I felt comfortable buying site-unseen. And, if you end up deciding its just not for you, most tarp tents have an excellent resale value. You're not likely to lose more than 10% on a nearly new Tarptent.