Best couples ul/sul shelter?

[Keith Johnson]

Call me obsessive, but in the past two years I’ve owned and sold an older model DR, SS2, SSli, and Duplex in search of the perfect shelter for the wife and me. Kept an Epic Fabric (yellow) Hilight and bought Fibraplex poles for singular outings where that might be fun. We live near Bellingham, WA so it’s Cascades and Olympics with all those conditions. Loved the Duplex till we got clobbered on Baker in a fall rain storm. Not fun. Loved the SSli but I kept putting holes in the delicate inner and outer…pilot error on all cases. Also the room inside wasn’t the best..especially the drooping inner net. Kind of annoying. DR was my wife’s favorite, but it always had the wet morning to wake up to. The SSli was pretty awesome after I learned to set it up fast. Only ish was weight and space. In fact that tent at 45 oz is the outer limits of what I can endure these days. (65 and lifetime climber/hiker. Ease of set up is important, negating fiddle factor tarps. Also we snuggle so something with a mid pole is out. Anyway, surely this has been covered a thousand times, but was wondering if I’m missing something, or someone has found the ideal answer for most conditions in the PNW outside of winter.

[Keith Johnson]

Correction SS2 was pretty awesome.

[Michael B]

Portal? I know it is near the max you want to carry, but bomber by all accounts and will handle your climate.

[Keith Johnson]

See…there ya go. I don’t even know this Portal exists. I’ve tended to support the main cottage guys…TT, Zpacks, MLD, and so on. Is that Sling Fin by any chance? I can check it out. Thanks!

Right now I’m two inches from ordering a new SS2…as it hits most boxes and I DO know how to set it up fast. I just need to learn how to clip the inner easier…man that’s a pain.

[Chris R]

We have the X-Mid 2, so far so good!

What about a mid with an A frame set up? We would have gone that route but we wanted 2 doors.

I’d love to figure an A frame for our Trailstar so we can sleep in the middle.

[Jason McSpadden]

This article came in my email feed this morning

https://www.adventurealan.com/best-tents-backpacking/

[Keith Johnson]

<p style=”text-align: right;”>Awesome. Thanks for the help.</p>

[Michael B]

Kieth,  I would call Slingfin a cottage company in the same way I would call MLD or TT a cottage company. Probably more like Durstons products in that their products are still made overseas, but I don’t know how you value such things. Their products are highly rated by most.

[James Marco]

I have a BA Scout Carbon. Pricy, but at 11oz (13oz with lines pegs and ground cloth.) It was quite roomy for the wife and I and also kept us real dry in a three day rainstorm. You need a trekking pole or “found” sticks, it easily does “dual purpose” with your hiking staff.

[Keith Johnson]

<p style=”text-align: center;”>Interesting. I wantrd to hear if the scout was any good. Very intriguing at that weight. Thanks. …on another note…I wept when TT started making stuff in China.. I love Henry and am loyal to him but…o man that stung.</p>

[Michael B]

Yeah. I’ve been trying to move my spending habits out of China. I understand the motivation for a company to go overseas with production; I cannot fault them for trying to stay competitive in the market, but I’ll likely not buy a product from TT that is made in China. I believe many of the TT products are still made domestically.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Tarptent STRATOSPIRE Li (Dyneema fabric)

This tent has great interior space and two generous vestibules. Doesn’t get much better for two, or any lighter for a double wall 2P tent.

29 oz, $900. Ya get what ya pay for and the new TT Dyneema tents are “Hilleberg quality” in design and construction.

[Bill in Roswell]

From all I’ve researched, the highest tech, highest quality tent maker working with DCF is in China. That is why Henry, Dan D, Big Agnes and others have their high end tents made in that factory. Same goes for UL fabrics like GG uses. TT silnylon are still US made. Hilleberg makes awesome tents from UL nylon in Estonia. But no DCF. The economics are complex with materials, labor, QC, shipping, etc. Don’t you think many outdoor gear companies look at the economics? If it were profitable, there would be DCF tents made in North America. I understand the desire to not buy Chinese, yet it reminds me of the 1980s. People wanted to buy American made cars, but allowed the Japanese to take over quality and design features. The market for DCF tents is not huge. In fact it is quite small. If you make quality you can maintain production capacity and keep skilled workers. If mediocre quality ensues, you lose customers/production, you lose skilled workers and before long you are out of business, ala GoLite. I had rather Henry, Dan, GG, MLD and other DCF tent makers stay in business and support their products into the future, regardless of where they are made.

[Bonzo]

But no DCF.

Is Hyperlight overseas, now?  Last I checked, they were still sewing and taping things in Maine.

Loved the SSli but I kept putting holes in the delicate inner and outer…

I hope it’s not as fragile as indicated, because that’s my final choice for my own two-person snugglepalace©.

[Jason]

I haven’t seen it mentioned, but I have owned or slept in most of the same tents and landed on the Yama Mountain Gear Swiftline 2p for 2 person hiking trips. Lightweight, easy to pitch, lots of room inside and out, and no mesh hanging in your face anywhere. It holds up really well to wind and nasty weather as well.

[Bruce Tolley]

@ Keith My wife loves our TT Double Rainbow. She has her own door. She is tall and can sit up and read her Kindle. She can also sit up and drink her morning coffee. When properly guyed out, it is very stable even in high winds.  The pitch is very simple. Because it is semi self standing, there is no hiking pole in the middle. There are options to use hiking poles to hold up the porch if needed.  It is also much longer than any Big Agnes tent I have ever used.

It has been reviewed her at BPL several times. Check the reviews out.

[Daryl and Daryl]

My wife and I both live and backpack in the Pacific Northwest.  I’m 5’8″ and she is 5’2″.  We snuggle.

Haven’t tried it but I think either the Big Sky Glacier or Revolution 1.5 pereson tent would work for us.

We own/use the full size version now but it might be worth it to save a lb by going to the 1.5 person.  And I think the tent would be warmer than the full size version.

[Stumphges]

Maybe the new Double Rainbow DW (Double Wall), or wait till Henry makes the Li version:)

[SIMULACRA]

From all I’ve researched, the highest tech, highest quality tent maker working with DCF is in China.

I don’t believe it’s entirely the question of whether they’re made of quality or not. More of a persons personal desire and motive to support a local economy, from local craftsman, creating unique and quality gear, locally.

Is Hyperlight overseas, now?  Last I checked, they were still sewing and taping things in Maine.

They are now making products in Mexico.

 

 

[Elena Lee]

A PNW backpacker here with long history of double backpacking with husband, kids, partners. We also climb mountains.

We have two tents – Dyneema Tarptent DR, and Slingfin Portal. The logic behind this decision is:

-At least one ultralight tent that’s big enough for two but also light enough for one person trip. It’s also good to have a lightweight option for going out with our two kids when we tend to carry more gear than usual.

-At least one tent that is stormworthy. We stayed in DR in the Enchantments in October, snow , 50m+ winds and it was a stretch. Another time we didn’t go as high and stayed below Cloudy Peak in Goat Rocks and again high wind and the DR was so much struggling. I did some research what would be the lightest option for our terrain if I wanted to take a tent above the tree line in 3 season conditions here for alpine climbing and mountaineering, but also light enough for backpacking trips when we needed two tents, and SlingFin Portal was it. It’s free standing, internal tension, plus tons of tieouts and pole attachment for extra stability if needed.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Tolley]

[I see that this is an old thread recently revived]

I reference to avoiding spending $ on products made in China, I recall that my SingFin Portal was sewn in Vietnam.  Great tent. Great post-sales support by a small company based in SF Bay Area.

[Author]

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