Two-Person Backpacking Tents

            When you’re out on a trail in the backcountry you don’t want to be worrying about your tent. Whether the skies are cloud free or covered by grey you’ll be happiest if you know your tent will keep you and your gear safe and dry. Then you can focus on the fun and adventurous parts of your experience. There are dozens of 2-person backpacking tents available, but we’ve picked out just three to highlight here. (NOTE: Minimum weight refers to the tent body, fly, and poles only, without extra stakes or guy lines.)

            This is one of the lightest—if not the lightest—2-person backpacking tents around, with a minimum weight of just 2 pounds, 12.7 ounces. It features double-wall construction, two doors, and two vestibules, with silicone-coated nylon fly and floor and mesh canopy. The tent is also comfortable with about 33 square feet of floor area, 8.3 square feet in each vestibule, and an interior peak of 42 inches. Big Sky’s customized options include a choice of carbon or aluminum poles and several fly configurations.

            Although the interior floor space totals only 25.5 square feet, this 2-person backpacking tent feels a lot more spacious. Thanks to its innovative double-hub pole design the mesh walls stay up and out of the way to maximize interior space. Floor dimensions are about 7x4 feet with a 38-inch peak height, and there’s an 8-square-foot vestibule as well. Floor and fly are coated nylon taffeta, and the poles are aluminum. All this packs up into a 5.5x20-inch package that weighs only 3 pounds, 4 ounces.

            MSR (Mountain Safety Research) is a division of Cascade Designs, a company known for innovations in outdoor gear, and it shows in this 2-person backpacking tent. The tent is supported by a hub-and-swivel pole system that utilizes lightweight aluminum poles. Two doors lead to 29 square feet of floor space that measures 50x84 inches, plus there are two 8.75-square-foot vestibules attached to this 3-pound, 11-ounce tent. Fabric is nylon taffeta, polyurethane coated for the floor and fly.