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Due to past experiences...I'm looking to buy a good WATERPROOF tent. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to spend a ton of money but I realize that you get what you pay for...

See Matt at the Tempe REI. I am very pleased with my Eureka Tents. Equaldome for vehicle camping and Back Country 1 for backpacking and Mtn. Bike camping

screww REI. Retail is for the birds.
Now matt on the other hand is a stand up gentleman.

anyway, I have a brand spanking new Sierra Designs Hyperlight 2 man tent that will shed water with ease. S.D.s have a pretty durable rainfly with a lot of poly coating and my Alpha (similar to Hyperlight) withstood 40+ mph winds and 3 hours of constant rain with NO problems. I have never even treated the seams. THis is a great buy, shop around and look at the specs and PRICES and then you will buy mine. asking $180, never removed from box. It will last for YEARS.

i have a big agnes seedhouse SL 1, and i love it, its lightweight, sheds water unbelievably well, and i never have had any condensation in it, right now a lot of places have the SL 2 on sale which is a slightly larger version of the same tent

I just do like Luke in "Empire" and sleep in the abdominal cavity of whatever large mammal I can find. A little messy, but way cheaper.

Crocodile Ryan wrote:i have a big agnes seedhouse SL 1, and i love it, its lightweight, sheds water unbelievably well, and i never have had any condensation in it, right now a lot of places have the SL 2 on sale which is a slightly larger version of the same tent

I have the Big Agnes tent and love it, however when I'm backpacking I tend to bivy or tarp it! Big Agnes is lightweight and great, but I would rather shave the 2 extra pounds from my pack. Mary

mary you're such an ultralighter you crack me up! Ive been looking at a 6oz backpack, (and yes, it has a waist belt) so if I get the thing you can have a look-see. Been going tentless all season, it sure is nice. Saves 2 lbs too!
for those of you that dont go tentless, BUY my Hyperlight! last chance before it hits eBay... :idea:

I know you're looking for waterPROOF, but I'd consider the shelters from tarptent. They are extremely roomy and light, and with reasonably careful camp siting will keep you dry. You can't be as haphazard with them as you can with a tent, but they do work and the weight and space tradeoff is IMO well worth it.

Prior to converting to tarps, I carried a REI Sololite (the precursor to the REI Roadster) for many years and was entirely satisfied with it.

mikeinFHAZ wrote:mary you're such an ultralighter you crack me up! Ive been looking at a 6oz backpack, (and yes, it has a waist belt) so if I get the thing you can have a look-see. Been going tentless all season, it sure is nice. Saves 2 lbs too!
for those of you that dont go tentless, BUY my Hyperlight! last chance before it hits eBay... :idea:

I'm not that ultralight....I've seen what you do and there is NO way I could go to a 6 oz backpack with the weight I carry! I am not willing to give up comfort or carry unnecessary weight!

Last weekend I was CAR CAMPING! Kitchen sink and all...okay, so not really. I had my sheep skin, my Big Agnes tent, Big Agnes pad, full size pillow, sleeping bag, and extra blanket! Lounge chair! Gallons of water! SWEET! OMG, I think I LOVE car camping!!! Weight, is NOT an issue!

Good luck with the tent purchase. There is a lot of experience here with lots of options to choose from, even if you have to save for what you need or want, it's better to purchase a good product that works for you instead of making all the mistakes I made...purchasing cheap and having to replace nearly everything over time for things that I actually wanted or needed.

Mary

I have a Eureka Solitaire that I use for backpacking and I really like it for several reasons. Price was right at $69 and weight is only 2 lbs, 9 oz. It's bigger than a bivy but smaller than a 1P tent and my only complaint is that you can't really sit up in it. Has a rainfly too.

If you are on the petite side it has plenty of room for you and your pack (with room to spare)

:mrgreen:

I'm a big guy- my Eureka Zeus works great for me- a bit over 3 pounds, and just the right size. I've not found a tent yet that really is much lighter that will fit me. Even the BA Seedhouse 2 is only 4 or so ounces lighter, and seems a bit smaller. The single wall construction of my Zeus could bring potential condensation problems, but it's only happened once, and it wasn't much of a problem. HOWEVER,

I'm beginning to lean more and more toward tarp-tents. I'm anxious to try one out, so maybe one of you guys could answer this question-

What about set up? I don't think I've backpacked yet where you don't have to fish for soft ground forever to stake your tent- what do you do if your camping on rock and there are few trees or such to guy out to?

So- question is- is there a greater inconvenience of set-up, or do you have work-arounds for that...

Mike

I've been looking at the North Face "Rock 22" as a 2-person backpacking tent. Its a bit heavy (4-5lbs I think) but has dual doors and is kinda large for a 2-person. Has anyone used this tent?

galaxieargente wrote:Due to past experiences...I'm looking to buy a good WATERPROOF tent. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to spend a ton of money but I realize that you get what you pay for...

You might consider "framing" the question some to narrow down the suggestions...

1) One person, 2 person, etc.
2) Used for car camping only, or is backpacking also in the plans (weight)
3) Free standing or not
4) single-wall or double-wall
5) budget