Two-person backpacking tent under $300 that won't rain on me from the inside

Question

Two of us, three or four trips a year, mostly damp forested valleys. Budget tops out at $300 and I'd like to stay under about 2.5kg split between us. Our…

negativesplitz · Accepted Answer

Mostly you, honestly, and that's good news because it's free. Condensation dripping off the inner of a double wall almost always means the fly is touching the mesh somewhere, which wicks water straight through. Check every guy out is tensioned and the fly isn't sagging onto the inner at the corners after it gets damp…

two_hills_up · Answer

At $300 for two people and 2.5kg you're in mainstream freestanding double wall territory and they are all roughly fine at this price. What I'd actually spend the decision on is vestibule size and whether the doors are on the sides or at the end. Two adults climbing over each other through a single end door for four…

springtail_stella · Answer

Vents matter more than fabric. Look for a fly with a propped peak vent, and then actually open it even when it's raining, which feels wrong and isn't. Sealed up tent plus two breathing humans equals close to a litre of water a night, and it has to go somewhere. Right now it's going onto your sleeping bags.

torque_spec · Answer

Also dry the tent properly when you get home, every single time. Packing it damp is how a perfectly good tent becomes a mouldy tent in two seasons, and then people blame the design and buy another one.

oldnorse_nina · Answer

Cheap thing that helped me a lot: a small microfibre cloth. Wipe the inside of the fly before you take it down in the morning. Ninety seconds, and it stops the shake off shower that soaks everything you've just packed.

Two-person backpacking tent under $300 that won't rain on me from the inside Sleep System

9 answers