I've been looking for a freestanding 2 person tent to replace my old "backpacking" tent (an old NOT ultralight Tadpole 23). I have my eye set on the Imogene UL2, I know there are a lot of lighter, probably better tents than this. But I am not interested in spending $500+ dollars to save a half a pound. I am definitely trying to lighten up ALL my gear because of a recent surgery on my foot, but its more of a cost/benefit thing for me. I always have at least one other person with me to share the load when I am using a tent. So I would rather spend money on things that I have to carry alone, my pack, personal gear, etc.
Anyhow, some of the places I go are quite windy. My Tadpole held up EXTREMELY well in the wind, never had one single issue with that tent when it was all buckled in. The Imogene looks like it might not hold up so well on the tail end. The cross bar thing does not seem so sturdy. Do any of you have any experience with this tent in high wind/rain?
If anybody has any suggestions otherwise I would be open to hear them. This tent is in the price range that I am looking to pay, and a fully free standing tend is necessary due to the rocky terrain in the places I usually go. I can deal with a couple guy lines for the fly and some extra support, but in general it has to be reasonably self supporting as I can rarely find a place to stake every corner in. I'll do the tarp tent/trekking pole thing when I'm solo, but when I have my girl with me or somebody else to share the load, I would prefer the convenience over the weight savings.
By the way, I do realize that this is not a truly free standing tent, in such that you would have to at least stake down the back end to really get the full footprint. However, this seems better to me than the closest alternative that I was considering before I decided it was not worth the extra cost, the Fly Creek UL2.
