Lightweight tent recommendations?

Did I have to crawl in? Sure. Was it an issue? Not really. They have clips on them so you can remove them very easily.

Chicken Spring Lake in the Sierra. Very refreshing after what was a very tough day.

Are you riding or hiking?

I'm just thinking about bivvying vs tarps vs tents and still don't really get it.

Bivvy is faster and stealthier but you need to find some other cover if the weather is shit (or also carry a tarp).

Tents are better for shelter but heavier and least stealthy.

Tarps are lighter (lightest?) but less sheltered, less stealthy than bivvies and as slow up as tents.

I think what makes bivy + tarp attractive on US hiking trails is the ability to cowboy camp when the weather is good and add bivy and tarp depending on bug pressure and bad weather.
I transitioned (in hiking and bikepacking) from a Tarptent to a mid + inner which I still found too much to put up and break down the next morning when cycling large distances. I recently got a minimal tarp and bivy to try out this summer.

Hammock can be light, (somewhat) stealthy and quick to set up, especially if you don't need the tarp up at the same time. Then again I'm gonna say always put the tarp up...

I didn't even get into hammocks because they're useless without trees and I can fall over enough without being off the ground already :)

I'm hiking, exclusively. Yeah, I get that perspective. One important disclaimer is that one generally doesn't need to worry about being stealthy in the U.S. One of the reasons I don't think I'll ever be able to move back to the UK is because of how how spoiled I am with public lands, especially in California and other western states. It really is crazy. I can camp basically anywhere so long as I'm following leave no trace principles. 30 metres away from water, 30m from trail etc.

I wouldn't consider a proper proper bivy because they're claustrophobic for me. For tents, I did try the Tarptent Double Rainbow and it was great to sleep in, but its pack size and the annoyance of carrying poles were the reasons I sold it. I went straight into the ultralight shelter end of things when I started hiking, so its the first shelter I'd had to carry dedicated poles with and I didn't like it at all. The pack size was also very big compared to what I'm used to.

The appeal of a tarp/net tent is exactly as @maki says - in the winter, flying insects are all but non existent west of the Rockies, but the weather is still really nice, so you can easily get away with just carrying a tarp and no net tent. The tarp portion of this SlingFin weighs 224g and as its nylon it packs crazy small. I don't know what nylon they're using but its been impressively resistant to sag versus other nylon tarps I've used like the Gossamer Gear Twinn.

After three days on trail I'm now staying at a proper campground in the Sierra where I could have a full size tent, but I'm using the tarp still and its been fine. All I'm doing is sleeping in it.

I had loads of bugs in June during TransAm so happy I had my bivvy - basically a superlight bug bivvy. I was more often than not in towns or with shelter. It was hot as balls out east so a heavier bivvy would be useless. Tarp makes more sense when you're remote and with little tree cover. But then I'm kinda like "if I'm carrying and pitching a tarp, why not go full tent and keep crawlies out". Guess that's the difference with walking and riding - weight is a much bigger factor for you.

I have the same tent, used with ultralightgear pole and 'upgraded' to the bearbones one @platypus linked and the beefy-ness of that is a HUGE benefit! Would recommend. Tent bangs.

Thanks @platypus and @amey
I ordered the the Easton pole as soon as I got out of the woods, it was the only one available from a shop in Finland and I wanted something rather quickly. Then after asking here, I also found a few reviews saying it's so flexy that people are suspicious of how durable it is. It had arrived now as I got home and I'm sure the one you linked is beefier indeed.

But, I also read what Taneli Roininen had to say about this, he was touring off-road around high mountain ranges around the world for years and now makes routes for living, he has this pole made by Easton, speaks highly of it and has used it for 1300 nights with a Lunar Solo and Lanshan 1 pro. So I suppose I better at least try it, as I have it in my hands already.

The one I had seemed stiff too, until it didn't, so we'll see how this is compared to that.

Haha, fair. I've definitely done a bit of hammock without trees, but they do help

i think the one I had was Easton, if you can return it do it and get the bearbones, I called the guy he said I wasnt the first person with this tent (and six moons) to have this issue of pole.

For what its worth, even Easton carbon arch poles (used by TarpTent) are supposedly incredibly resilient, so I'm sure their alloy ones are just fine.

This is carbon too. It says Easton, Advanced carbon, Made in USA and Custom carbon 6.3 on it.

Oh, assumed you were talking about alloy.

FWIW you can pack a repair splint, just in case https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/tent-pole-repair-splint/

Looking for 2 person options ar reasonable cost / 2nd hand availability. Was looking at lanshan 2 but saw wet/windy weather review vid that makes it slightly nope.

Use case is family bikepacking trip, I already have gatewood cape and would try get 2x lanshan 1's on marketplace but daughter won't camp solo yet so partner & her would share 2p tent.

Any recommends?

Great to hear it’s living up to the hype, hoping our new fly is solid now and will last beyond the trip. I reckon we’ll need another zipper slider replacement in a few months though (BA sent some new ones with the fly) and I’m not looking forward to taking scissors to the bug net for second time.

In a future where we have disposable income (lol) for a tent I think a Sling Fin is top of the list, after a new bike of course.

Can someone remind me of the custom pole maker that everyone rates?

Gonna mod my Bowfin to have a collapsible cross pole (1) and then same length 'through' pole (2), but folds twice as often as the existing one so that both poles are half as 'long' when folded.

Love the tent, but it packs down really wide and doesn't fit in a pannier.

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Bear bones?

https://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/product/custom-length-carbon-poles/?attribute_carbon-poles=70cm+2+section

Perfect, that's the one! Thanks.

Are Bear Bones's carbon pegs any good?

Or maybe it's better just to go to Amazon and get Chinese ones (and lose them again)

I think those poles are only made for the tents that need stiff poles standing straight in the center. And you need poles that bend to the shape of the tent, so not those.

The cheap Chinese alu pegs can be soft. MSR Groundhog or Hilleberg UL is better.