HikeArizona.COM

I'm looking for a stong Two- man tent, but cannot afford one of those 300 dollar kind because I am young. Does anyone have a suggestion?I'd appreciate it.

Take a look at the "2 Person Tent" thread posted a few weeks back - its about 7 or so down from the one you posted. That has a bunch of good suggestions in it. Most of the tents mentioned are below the $100 mark with a couple of upper end tents falling in the $150 category.

I've used an Aries available at Popular Outdoors for 3 years. It's a good value for the bucks.

If you are not in a real big hurry, keep an eye on the sales that some of the establishments have from time to time. You may be able to find a pretty good deal. Every once in a while Popular will have a sale on Camping equipment at so much percent off. I am not sure about REI but maybe they do too.

Personally I like a double wall tent over the single walls. They breath better so you get a lot less condensation. Any major brand should be good. It really helps if you buy from a place that will set the tent up for you before you buy. Some of the tents that they call a two person tent are more like 1.5 people. Some are very heavy.

Have fun looking.

You can also check out the tents upstairs at the army surplus store in Mesa. It's on main just east of Extension I think. I bought my tent online from Campmor. Cost is a factor but I highly recommend you get the lightest tent you can afford. I spent a miserable day hiking out in a thunderstorm carrying a cheap (heavy) tent. That was when I promised myself I'd buy a light tent for backpacking and keep that one for car camping.

Good old Larada's Army Surplus store. If you haven't been there you are missing out on one of the true landmarks of Mesa (it's even catty-corner to the Landmark Resteraunt!). If you can't spot it (as it is a huge bright orange/yellow building) then you have big problems.

That place is just FANTASTIC to people watch on the weekends. But - it is true, they have some really good prices every now and then.

Youngboy: Check out Sierratradingpost.com and REIoutlet.com Both places sell closeouts, overruns, and last year's models at notable discounts. You can probably find a good deal on a name brand quality tent for about the same price as a no name version. Other places to check on the net are Bent Gate Mountaineeering and Northern Mountain Supply.

Good luck...-R

Another suggestion is the Eureka "Zeus" tent. Popular sells it normally for around $149, but watch the sales, cos I got a good deal on one. It is single wall construction and really EZ to set up. The bonus is it is pretty roomy , packs GREAT and weighs in at 3 lbs 10 oz. It has a large vestibule and air vents along the bottom. You can take a closer look at it on the Eureka web site. They seem to have decent tents that dont gouge your bank account.
Good luck!
Sande J

Also check out Campmor at http://www.campmor.com I bought a light weight tent (1 person) at Larada's for less than $ 40.00 that I used quite extensively for backpacking. It worked quite well unless it rained 1/3 fly. I used my Coleman Sundome Fly which covered it completly and it worked better. I am still reviewing and looking at tents (see two person tent postings).

I was at REI today (6/9) and on the bulletin board a 2 person Clip Design tent was listed for sale at 100.00.