1P tent for 2P? Anyone doing it?

I have a Stratospire 1 which has worked very well for me as a spacious 1 person tent. I've never had 2 in it, but the tarptent website shows a 2-pad configuration.

And hey Max, sounds like a keeper!

having spent some time in small tents like the bd *light* series, i can't imagine having two normal sized people in anything less than 27 sq/ft if they really wanted to get some sleep and that would be tight. with the fly creek, the way it tapers towards the foot, you'd need to custom cut a pad, and maybe if the girl was tiny and with a 2 person quilt that tapers or a custom made sleeping bag you could get it to work, but it would be virtually impossible not to touch each other. that being said, if anybody can make it work it will be you max.

My wife and I slept fine in a small tent. It was at least 40 inches wide for its entire length. That would seem to be a requirement to me, unless both of you are small. We just put two like mattress next to each other and that worked fine for us. Since the tent was just wide enough they did not separate. We used a 2P quilt that I made.

We only slept in the tent. No reading, etc., so we weren't "stuck" in there.

Edit: BTW, we were using a double walled tent, so touching the sides wasn't a problem. In a tent that small you WILL touch the sides.

I am definitely down to cut a custom CCF pad. I'd need to know where I could buy a CCF that was wide enough to be cut to fit.

As for touching each other, that's not a problem. I/We are assuming we'll be spooning. I think logistically, it works, but my questions are more about fitting in sleeping stuff for winter; we need to stay warm and comfortable using some configurations of two 20º sleeping bags, a blanket, and some type of foam mat system.

So can I just unzip two sleeping bags and put one on the top and one on the bottom? Should I use two 20º bags on top and a summer bag on the bottom? I'd rather not go in for blind testing with her; I want to have a setup in mind by the first trip.

If it's easier, here's everything I own for sleeping as of now, with a budget of $50 or so for improving this:

1 Torso Z-Lite
1 Full-Length Z-Lite
1 Torso X-Therm Air Pad
1 CCF Full-Length Pad (1/4 inch)

1 Mountain Hardwear Synthetic 15º
1 Mountain Hardwear Synthetic 45º
1 EMS Synthetic 20º

1 Big Agnes Fly Creek Platinum 1P

We are not small, but we are both athletic and average build. She's also not picky; we slept on a traditional airbed at family's house and when it leaked and deflated, she said "I don't care, let's sleep on the floor." Warmth is the real challenge.

I know a guy who did the PCT with his girlfriend using a single Gatewood Cape and did the CDT with her using a single Tarptent Rainbow so it can be done. However note that most nights were probably cowboy camped and the shelters rarely used. I will also say that he doesn't mind a lot of discomfort and you two may be in the same boat. I would think in the east it would be inevidible to touch the walls of the tent and the condensation with two would be terrible. I might recomend a large 8×10 sil nylon tarp and groundsheets for the conditions you describe. I would think a normal solo tent would be pretty miserable with two under all but the best conditions.

As for pads, you could put two closed cell foam pads side by side or if you use inflatables, they can be Velcro d together. Slacks sells the Velcro patches made for just that.

I think my BF and I could fit in my 1 person Gossamer Gear One. We've laid in there just lounging around together, but we've never actually slept in it with all our stuff. We have a 2 person Lunar Duo that we normally use. I usually end up with about 4 inches of space since he tends to roll or slide into me. In other words, it seems no matter what kind of tent it is, there's never enough space.

Max-

First, congrats on meeting a woman so compatible with your lifestyle, that is a great thing!

Second, I won't say it's impossible, but 2 people is tight in a Fly Creek UL2, I just don't see how you plan to stuff two people into a UL1. On BA's site, the floor dims on that tent of yours is 42" wide at the door, but only 30" wide at the foot. Unless you plan on custom cutting your sleeping pads, that is going to be a tight fit. It will probably have one or both of you shoved up against the tent fabric also, which may cause your bags to wet out via wicking from the condensation on the walls.

Maybe give it a shot one night in the back yard or at a local campground where you can bail if you need to. One night should give you enough info to know whether this is a viable set up for real camping.

and two open sleeping bags as a top and bottom may not work. the fly creek one is probably too narrow to handle the bulk of both sleeping bags down at the foot.

I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but in the winter I leave the door (pointed out of the wind) on my Fly Creek open about 1.5 feet and I guy out the sides substantially.

This way, I get zero condensation on the walls or the tent fly or my sleeping bag because there's moving air. I have touched my own bugnet tons of times without raining precipitation down on me because everything is dry as a bone, so I think we'd be ok even if we were touching a wall.

It's ~5-10º colder than a fully enclosed tent, but I find it worth it for the absence of condensation.

That being said, a backyard test seems safest.

Still open to more tips from people who found good ways to sleep tandem using traditional sleeping bags in some combination.

I met a couple who shared a BA sl1—NOT the fly creek but the earlier iteration of this tent. It's a bit larger than the fly creek. I also owned the sl1; very very sturdy and storm-proof.

I've shared my Solong6 with my dad. We are both 5'8" and 160. I guess it's more of a 1.5 person, but it works great both as a solo and 2 person shelter.

We first used two sleeping bags zipped together. My wife what fine with it, but I didn't like it. I felt that a 2P quilt would work better. I made one (the Ray Way one) and it worked much better. It weighted way less and worked very well. One thing important about sharing a quilt/zipped together bags is that you will be warmer that sleeping alone. You get benefit from the shared heat. Can't quantify it in degrees, but it is definitely warmer.

i saw on another thread that you winter hammock. i assume you already have a tarp for this.

here's what i'd do.

-sell your tent. why on earth would you want to sleep in a tent if you hammock and live on the east coast?
-buy ccf pad from walmart for her (since she's such a hearty sleeper).
-buy a hammock for her (can be a simple gathered end).
-buy a used top quilt for you and give her your old stuff
-hang both hammocks side by side, tied to the same 2 trees (or stack them)
-hang tarp over top of both hammocks.
-buy door kit from 2qzq to create enclosed shelter.

No dice.

1. Part of the romance is being adjacent.

2. Indoctrinating someone into hammocking is, to me, akin to marriage. I don't want to scare her with such a bold proposal. (I am kidding slightly but tent = familiarity).

3. I like my tent AND my hammock. I could just sell my tent and buy a 2P tent, but I kept it because I enjoy it as a shelter.

So I will definitely be using the hammock, but not all the time.

You might be on to something with a used quilt.

Why not find a used mid or a large flat tarp to fit the both of you? If she's a heavy sleeper, she won't mind. Not to mention, for winter, I'd think the Mid-style shelter would do better than a lightweight tent. I'd suggest against putting two normal sized folks in a single UL BP tent. It just will not fit well, and will likely be pretty uncomfortable. That said, a Hexamid Plus or Lightheart Solong (those 1+ sized tents) I have heard will work in a pinch, moreso depending on how close you are.

It works ok with the Scarp1 for my girl and me. Tight but can be done. (I'm 6' she is 5'10)

a side door each helps.

I've cooked meals inside the vestibule with doors closed in a storm.

I wouldn't want to try it in a end opening tent. (Not now anyhow- would have been fun 20 years ago!)

All helpful advice in here, folks. I'm still not sure about the best sleeping bag configuration but I think it's 45º on bottom and 20º x 2 on top. I'll do some backyard testing with her and let you know.

In my case in a fly creek ( older version, I don't know how sizing has changed)it's doable.

She had a tent, I relied on others so I didn't have to carry one :)
she had a self inflating pad, I had a neoair and a ccf pad.
she had a sleeping bag, I had a 30 degree quilt.
basic umm, baselayers.

I put the pads in a V formation with the ccf pad in the middle, I could feel the cold spot in between the 2 pads but the rest felt toasty warm.
no problem in freezing conditions. A pain to get out without waking up the other person.

would not repeat.

a duomid with poles in a V shape I believe would be a good alternative.

I love my wife of 17 years dearly – known her for three decades. We are comfortable in our queen size bed and like to sleep close still even after all these years.

But no way I'd try to fit us both into either of my 1P tents (BA Seedhouse SL1 and MSR Hubba). The biggest issue I think would be touching the sides and condensation. I'm not a huge guy by any stretch but find I'm about as tight in both tents as I care to be by myself.

Heck – I have an LL Bean Microlight FS2 and I'm not entirely sure I'd share that with her either! ;-) That tent is – to me – a comfortable 1P tent for shorter trips when I don't mind the weight and/or car camping by myself (although for car camping I usually bring a Marmot Limelight 3P and really enjoy the space).

Seriuosly though – the FS2 would be fine with my wife or one of my kids – wouldn't share it with someone else I don't think – it is pretty compact and not that much bigger than the 1P tents…

All this is, however, academic as my wife draws the line at an enclosed cabin with a remote bath house as about as rough as she's willing to go.

You are a lucky guy but admittedly I discovered my wife long before I took up hiking and backpacking!

could you add some grip clips or panel pulls onto your hammock tarp so that you could pitch a closed A frame and then just purchase a groundsheet? shouldn't need any mosquito netting in winter. then just pitch the tarp into a tent shape for her and enjoy…