tent question

I use the Marmot Limelight 3
for two of us camping and they make a two man version. The vestibules are not freestanding but you will have no trouble finding rocks to use as a deadman.



Freestanding is not what you want necessarily on the Maine Islands. (none of which have sand camping btw except if the tide is out and you sleep fast) A good set of many exterior tie outs can be helpful in sour weather. Tie one end of a line to the tieout and the other to a set of rocks…



I also have a North Face Tadpole 23 that is a more freestanding version of the veritable Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight. All is freestanding except the long entry vestibule. Again deadman the tie out points.



The Hubba Series of all mesh tents (I have an older Hubba Hubba) is too sloppy inside. I nixed Hubba just for that reason…its a true one man tent with no room for splash errors.



You might visit a North Face Outlet (Freeport) and also Ragged Mt (Intervale) or IME(North Conway). The latter two have high quality consignment tents from time to time.

great ideas Kayamedic

– Last Updated: Feb-12-13 4:38 PM EST –

i would like free standing for a couple of reasons though...one of them being you can easily move to find even ground, hate that when you are all set up and then you realize that you are on a slope. not easy to move the type tent i have, it's actually not even worth it. But free standing would be so much nicer for such a thing. also would be much easier for camping on platforms. The one i have is destined to my neice so while i am in the market, i want one that should cover all my needs. I do plan on anchoring, but would like options.

We (not an I) used the Limelight
on chickees on our just concluded Everglades trip. The ease of setup was a great asset, plus the tieoffs were sometimes necessary…



Chasing a tent into the water after its left a chickee is not a fun sport in my book. While a freestanding tent is said to be essential for them, it IS possible to tie to the floor board ends.



Do you have a preference for end entry or two side entries?

Mountain Hardware Trango
is the tent that I have use for about 10 years now. There is a 2man, 3man and 4man. They are not for summer camping. But for fall, winter and spring, they are great tents. I have used my 3 man for many years and it has held up well. It is a 5 pole tent and very stable when all staked out in extreme weather. Not light. Not compact in the sack. But rugged and durable. It is a free standing tent except you have to stake out the vestibules. This is s tent that can bring you through the worst weather you can imagine.

My tent wardrobe
is the Limelight 3 for summer duet use, the Trango 3.1 for spring fall duet use and the 2 man North Face for solo spring fall use . The Hubba Hubba is reserved for true summer where no sand is anticipated. Before I got wiser I camped in Quebec with it in May and nearly froze…to its credit it did not cave in with the snow.



The Trangos are the beefiest. They are true mountaineering tents. But on a chickee you might cook.



I am not sure if the OP wants to chickee camp in Florida or GA but you do need a fly there…otherwise the dampness will soak your sleeping bag. (I tried going flyless). Some mesh is a plus in this situation. The Trangos have none and the fly comes down to the ground…a real asset in lousy cold weather.

Quarter Dome UL
They advertise it as a two-man tent. More like one-and-a-half.



http://monterey.craigslist.org/spo/3612981393.html

I spent 3 weeks on the ground…
Due to a brand new Big Agnes sleeping pad. It failed on day 4 of a 26 day trip, delaminated and couldn’t be field repaired. I wouldn’t buy anything Big Agnes ever again, but that’s just me. It was also the third pad I had from them that failed, I should have learned the first time, but they were so compact and comfortable for the time. I’ve since switched over to a exped.



I spent three months in a MSR Hubba Hubba tent in Chile, and it performed perfectly despite not being the best tent for the wet\windy conditions down there. If camping on a sandy beach, I’d wake up to a tent that was more sandbox with all the sand blowing through. It did blow flat during a few gusty nights, but always sprang back up.



For nasty weather nothing beats a full on 4 season tent, no breeze cranking through the tent all night, no endless flapping all night. I’ve spent a lot of time in the MH Trango tents, pretty awesome. As are the Hillbergs, but so expensive. I cheaped out and found a Marmot Widi 2 that seems pretty good, kind of a tube tent 4 season tent, but can open up a big side panel to get lots of ventilation and access for nicer weather.



NEMO designs out of NH seems to making some pretty burly little tents that would stand up to a bit of weather, and have more panels in addition to the mesh that’s typical of other manufacturers.



http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo2012-esprile2p-tent



For kayak camping I usually add 3 or 4 feet of p-cord to tie down points to stack rocks, and lots of p-cord on the guy out points to tie to either a rock pile or whatever anchor is available. A well set up tent doesn’t make as much noise or flap around in the wind all night. I carry extra cord to make sure I get a good set up. I’ve seen people who carry small eye-screws with them to tie into logs or wood platforms to get a good anchor point.



For hiking I’m looking into a UL tarp setup, and a lot of manufacturers are making mesh inserts for the more popular tarps to keep the creepy crawlies out. I’m thinking if I can find something that will handle a bit of wind, I’ll use this as my nice season kayak and hiking setup, and keep the four season tent for the kayak trips to places with a little more weather.



http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=102



http://www.bearpawwd.com/shelters_floors/pyraNet1.html




MEC Tarn 2

– Last Updated: Feb-13-13 12:12 AM EST –

Canada's Mountain Equipment Co-op has the Tarn2 for $219 - great value, imho. Have used one for years, in wind and rain - when paired up with the Guide tarp, it's bombproof.
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Tents/3SeasonTents/PRD~5027-697/mec-tarn-2-tent.jsp

Don’t get the Black Diamond…
“First Light”. After a lot of useless research, it seemed to be rated among the best so we got one last year for an expedition Challenge.

We didn’t get to use it for that, but used it on a six day five night trip, and were very disappointed to find that the inside wall would get soaken over night.

We called them about it when we got back, and they passed it off saying that it just needed more ventilation. We had lots of ventilation and it didn’t make any difference.



Jack L

Thanks everyone
Little nervous to buy an EMS product, sounds like they are going out of business, selling out to Bob’s. they laid off over 100 employees.

No inside news but if EMS is going
out of business, why did they open a second store recently in Portland Maine?

Also a new store in Bourne, Mass.
Jack L

EMS
not really sure why they would do that, we headr it the WMUR news about 2 weeks ago. They are closing the headquarters in Peterborough,NH and laid off approx. 116 employees. I noticed that the were having great sales unlike anything i had ever seen them do in the store in Concord, NH.

Time will tell.

Don’t know only what i saw on the news and in the store.

beach camp with caution
Generally it’s better to get behind the first rise or dune.

EMS News
EMs was bought by a private equity firm who ALSO owns Bob’s. No stores listed to close as of now.



The layoffs in Peterborough were associated with the closing of the warehouses. I believe the plan is to consolidate with the warehouses that they already own/service in Wilton, CT.



For news, read here:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130201/NEWS02/130209913/0/OPINION01


Thanks for setting us straight Suz.

Back to the OP’s question,
I have used a MSR HubbaHubba as a solo tent for years and am quite happy with it. True, now that I love hammock camping it gets less use but I love the roominess (I am a Big Guy) and gear storage room.



I will be doing a cycling trip on the GAP trail from Pgh to Cumberland and back this June, and for the longest time I lusted over a MSR Hubba. But it is essentially a tall bivvy, only 26" wide and I got to thinking how “close” it would feel on a humid and rainy night. The HH is very well ventilated, and I have been happy when it sheltered me from the rain. And it ventilates relatively well to boot. The H would save about 1 lb, but I can do that by losing weight!



Jim

MSR Hubba
This is a great tent for backpacking or kayaking. Very compact and light. My only issue with mine is that you want to leave the rain fly unpacked when not using it. I left mine packed in the bag for about 2 years and when I took it out, it had kind of glued itself together. Took me about 30 minutes to pull it apart. It’s a bit gooey but it still works. (The tent was fine.)

Who solo?
A two-person tent fits perfectly in a kayak and is so much more comfortable. I would never take a solo tent kayak camping. In fact I might even take a compact 3-person tent for the ultimate luxury.



Desirable qualities: two side doors; brow pole (also called a spreader pole—stretches the top out); large vestibules for air flow; simple design with minimum of stakes.



I’ve owned these two-person tents that I can recommend:



Kelty Grand Mesa: light, but front entry and small vestibule.



Kelty Trail Ridge 2: spacious, tall. Defect: no side pullouts on fly. That can be remedied.



REI Camp Dome: cheap, rugged, just 2 stakes hot in summer (not enough mesh).



Alps Mountaineering Zephyr 2: My favorite of all. Good headroom; large vestibules for air flow; lots of mesh; rugged and waterproof; simple design (4 stakes); large doors with easy entry; rain doesn’t enter when you open the doors. There are tons of positive reviews for this tent. You can usually find it for $99. It is well worth that price, equal in quality to tents costing much more.

EMS was doomed
They were great in the 1970s, but after that they never developed a corporate image that distinguished them, as REI, LL Bean, Cabela’s, and others did so well. High prices, uninspiring equipment designs (like tents).