Lightweight tent recommendations?

Interesting!

This looks like a good option:
https://www.tarptent.com/product/stratospire-2/#tab-id-2

Hiking pole tents could be an option for hiking and on skis, but we really want something for bikepacking on mountain bikes too

I use a carbon pole. Works perfect.

I'd look at a pyramid style tent from a local maker. So much option in USA, quite jealous.

To be honest, given you're up there, I'd definitely be looking at double walled. Single walled is fine for where I am in SoCal where rain is rare and the air is super dry, but if I was somewhere less predictable like the PNW/BC, that can get very wet, I'd for sure want double walled. There's just too much chance of moisture buildup in a single walled tent - especially with two people's body heat and breath.

Re 2 person Big Agnes tents, you can't fit two 25" wide pads next to each other, which is my gripe. It is not a rectangular tent, it tapers at one end and I don't know why. Just let it be rectangular!

If you aren't in a rush, you may want to check out reddit.com/r/ulgeartrade - I hate to say it, but about 12 hours before you posted your question, I sold a used 3 times Copper Spur Ul2 for only $280 :-( so you can definitely get deals on there. You can always post a WTB anyway.

Here are a few brands to check out though in the mean time. Most of them do specialise in single wall, but maybe after you do more research you might decide they're for you:

ZPacks, Six Moon Designs, Gossamer Gear, Durston Gear (these are pre-order only and not open right now but people rave about them), The Tentlab (given you like your Terra Nova, this may actually be a good one for you).

We used a Big Agnes 2P tent off ebay on the An Turas Mor.

I got beerbabe to make me a special bag for the 'non-bikepacking' poles that fitted under the down tube: https://www.beerbabe.co.uk/ourshop/prod_7657067-Hippy-Down-Under-Pack.html

The rest of the tent was in a drybag, Voile strapped to my bars.

I’m after a cheap 3 man tent for bike camping with my kids.
Anyone got a recommendation?

Ordered a Naturehike from AliExpress.

Will I need to waterproof it before using it?
Will I need to buy or upgrade the pole(s)?

Thanks

The fabric itself should be as waterproof as it's ever likely to be. You could look into seam sealing it too (if the seams aren't taped), but plenty of folk don't bother.

@Bearlegged thankyou

I've got a naturehike cloud up 3 I'm thinking of selling. It's the lighter version at 2.5kg, and it's massive for two adults. Only used it ~5 times I reckon.

Hi,
Yes that sounds good. I’ll PM you.

Just ordered one of these as inner for gatewood cape. The S2S bug net is ok in principal but i found it a faff to work with & around.

https://m.de.aliexpress.com/item/32814647330.html

Tarpin' 'ell. Think this might be the end of my tent usage. This tarp is over 3x3m and its TINY.

Tarp is a Gossamer Gear Twinn and the tent is a Six Moon Lunar Solo, which is already light and small.

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Wow. It’s a palace in here. First time I tried putting it up and it was very easy to get a decent pitch. Muchos stoked.

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Oh to camp in a place without mosquitoes.

Looks great, the poles make it significantly more palatial than any of my tarp set ups using a front wheel or tree.

Are you going to use any kind of groundsheet / footprint with it?

I have a head net just in case :)

Yeah, only downside of this vs the Lunar Solo is that I only carried one pole for that, and now I need to carry two, but it's still 400g lighter with both poles and the tarp than the Lunar Solo and one pole.

I have a polycro sheet to lie on. It's huge. Once summer rolls around, I will probably just cowboy camp most nights but I really like that I can have the tarp with me just in case and it only weighing 275ish grams.

Having them a cm or two from your face, periodically landing and biting as you move in your sleep; these are the good times I recall…

Lol, yeah, if bugs get to be too much using a tarp I’ll buy an MLD or Katabatic bug bivy.

recommend to get the sides nice and high!
you can do this by finding branches around 30cm near your campsite.
place them vertical next to the edge of the tarp, run the guylines over them.
this will make your tarp setup feel a lot more spacious.

Yah. I actually just did this to see how wind proof I could get it while still keeping it kinda wide. I only have six stakes so I’m gonna get two more for the mid guy outs. The middle of the tarp was flapping in the wind despite being taught at each corner.

Thanks for the tip Re branches, though in all honesty, this tarp is so fucking big and I am so small/have hardly anything with me that I cannot imagine having more space than I already do 😂

Im doing a three day trip this weekend and once I’m back from that I’ll play around with pitches.

sounds good!
I never used a bivvy in mine, only lightweight Tyvek 2.5m x 3m groundsheet, then sleeping mat.
probably hundreds of nights in now, can sleep 4 snuggly or 1 like a king.
I really enjoy the process of finding two trees fairly near to string it up every night.
love tarps!

Nice if a bit pricey: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165426665103?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=pG86Q5e_QdG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=93cTJUliQzS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

My inner arrived 2 weeks earlier than predicted it looks good & looks like it packs small enough to go in the pouch pocket within the gatewood cape.

"The tent retails for 800 which is the price I'm selling it"

Um, sure buddy.