👇 GEAR FROM THE VIDEO 👇 Best Ultralight: geni.us/XmidPro2 Ultralight Alternative: geni.us/ZpacksDuplex Best Roomy Ultralight: geni.us/OffsetTrio Roomy Ultralight Alternative: geni.us/XmidPro2Plus Best Budget: geni.us/Mongar2P Budget Alternative: geni.us/X-Mid2 Best Freestanding: geni.us/Dragonfly2P Best Roomy Freestanding: geni.us/TungstenUL3P Best Family Tent: geni.us/HalfDomeSL3 Best All-Around: geni.us/X-Mid2 All-Around Alternative: geni.us/Dragonfly2P
You must be new to the hobby For what you get, that is. I have a thousand dollar tent. That $500 difference would mean my pack is heavier, but I could also have paid for my entire sleep system with that.
@@ImChrisGonzo1 That’s pretty solid, and if it didn’t break the bank a 20 pound pack is a great goal with everything especially with two people.. Thing is, where I’m living I simply can’t use a cheaper tent for 4 seasons; it gets into negative temps on the approaches I usually use my gear to spend the night on (alpine altitudes). For me, $500 is almost half of my current tent but for context that tent weighs well over twice as much as mine in a single person config, and is even heavier if both were two person tents. Western mountaineering also made my sleep setup expensive but the quality of down and fact it is handmade here in the US make it worth being more expensive than a full zenbivvy ultralight system to me, etc. It really really depends on the extremes you’ll experience though. If I only hiked in a state like Michigan (where I grew up), I could get a durston xmid 3 season setup for pretty cheap for example. It’s more for me about staying very light (and warm) at high altitudes with a lot of equipment year round. That being said, sadly $500 is very affordable in terms of the more expensive stuff whether for mountaineering or being ultralight.
Yeah, myself, too, I prefer a 5 dollar trash bag held together by rubber bands I took off some woman’s hair and a free shopping cart from Pigglymart; this is really affordable and comfortable
Did you have any issues with the fly being cut higher on the ends? Some people in reviews mention being annoyed with rain dripping down off the fly onto the tent itself, but it's not in the majority of the reviews and people really seem to love it. I haven't been able to speak to anyone who's actually used it and wondering if it was just user error in staking it out as a lot of RU-vidrs rave about it
@@sizzel6 I have seen that comment before, but I have not had it in heavy rain yet tbh. Light stuff and dew it is solid and it’s easily then best set of features of any tent, also in my opinion
I miss the Lanshan 2 (non pro) in that list. Just did a Greenland Tour with it. For me it has to go on the list for maybe the best budget lightweight tent. Cant get more bang for your buck. I paid like 150$. Not every one can afford to pay 800 bucks for a tent... so good for beginner as well. Greetz
Thank you for including the family tents. We have two kids, ages five and eight, and we’re older in our 40s with very little backpacking experience. I wish more people reviewed family backpacking tents for three or four people, and that some companies would come out with ultralight family tents for three, four or five people. It usually ends up being that the parents are carrying nearly all of the weight for themselves and the kids, including the food and water for everybody, and we end up having to carry babies/toddlers/children as well. It gets really hard and discouraging to enjoy nature, the outdoors, and getting anywhere. Plus, basic childcare consumes a huge amount of time each day and when all of that has to happen on a trail, generally, with the female doing the majority of the problem-solving and care, including all the potty drama it is easier to just skip backpacking altogether. We are lucky and grateful to be able to get our kids in nature as much as we do. Good luck with your family journey. Thanks for doing the video.
Agree with Tarptent. Could even add on the Dipole 2 Li or for 4 person the hogback! I feel like Tarptent always gets looked over by the durston gearheads
@@BigDawgCAM Yep, sold it for the same exact reason, too small. Great quality and a great tent, just not for two people with a 24" top spread. 50" wide floor yes, but that's it
I'd be *very* grateful if someone kind and experienced out there can recommend me a tent based on what I really want most in a tent (in order of importance): 1. Extremely easy to set up. 2. Genuinely freestanding -- in other words, in a pinch it could be used just fine in calm weather without any stakes (I'm slightly confused by videos like this that define freestanding tents as tents that could be lifted and moved in one piece, then define the Nemo Firefly as freestanding, then say it requires eight stakes). 3. As light and compact as possible to pack. 4. Sealed enough to keep out all bugs, yet filled with enough features to make it airy and avoid condensation and leaks. 5. It would be for solo hiking, so 1P or a smaller 2P is fine. To get these traits in the best possible tent, money would be no object for me. Any suggestions??? Thanks.
Living in northern Scotland most of those have a couple more issues to add to the list - inner first pitch tents are deadly when you're hiking in a windy, rainy place, and when it's not windy you've got midges, so in my mind the tent needs to pitch outer first or just be a single wall one. - Naturehike Mongar is a great budget shout, but in my mind the Tagar 2 is an impressive option at 1.3kg - Zpacks and Durston Pros are just stupidly expensive when you add the taxes and customs and shipping to Europe - about the Nemo being freestanding + light + affordable -> check out Big Sky International Mirage for even cheaper and similar weight, the bonus with Big Sky is that they offer shorter section poles so bikepackers have an easier time packing them
Pitching the X-Mid on Uneven ground: Most folks don't do this right because they confuse elements of the tent. Almost every other tent will require you to stretch out the guy lines to get good mechanical leverage to hold the fly taut. The X-mid is NOT like that. The walls (in particular the corners) ARE the guy lines; the fly itself does double duty as fly and guy lines. No matter the ground evenness, ONLY peg the 4 corners first and make sure the guy lines are choked all the way in (this lets you see which ones need to be extended and things will only go one direction... up). Choking the guy lines at the corners in also keeps the stakes/guy lines in the correct angularity to get a good solid pitch; you do not want to extend the guy lines further from the fly than you absolutely have to. Set the poles, and get your ridgeline parallel with the horizon as you set the ground-to-fly gap you need for the conditions. AFTER you do that, then go back and add the extra pegs. If you use all the peg points to start with, you'll never get a good pitch.
I used the Durston X-Mid PRO 2p on the hole pct last year. After a couple of pitches (when I understood the construction) i never had a problem getting an awesome pitch on uneven ground. People that say that "dustins only work on flat ground" just don't understand geometry or haven given the process and thaught. It is a myth, its no problem pitching in weird angles or uneven ground. Just try to leard the tent and understand how it works. Then no prob.
I got and have used my X mid 2 and love it, the only downside is it works best if you have the space to guy it out. There’s a video on Durston site that shows how to set it up in smaller areas. Great, innovative tent
On the note of the Mongar 2 from Naturehike - Naturehike is a no name company that buys (and occasionally commissions minor changes for) tents manufactured in China. You can find a lot of alternatives for around the same price or less with the same features if the Mongar 2 is out of stock and if you like a warranty with your tent as well as a little savings Featherstone makes the Peridot 2 person and the Granite 2 person for a little less than the Mongar with a warranty that protects pretty much everything besides user error and the fly, the fly which they sell replacements for at $20 a piece and should, theoretically, be a replacement for all similar tent bodies since they mostly come from the same factories. I like telling people Featherstone exists because they go really heavy on the seam sealing and stuff. I bought one and due to severe storms had to leave it out for about a week for what was originally supposed to be a test night and the thing took heavy rain and wind without a drop leaked.
Hi Justin! The Duplex floor width is 45” not 40”… on my last trip my gf and I used two 25” square pads, you lower the trekking pole height & they fit. You will lose most of the bathtub height though. It rained a bit & still worked 🤙
Awesome video Justin, great selection of tents for various user types. Really appreciate your hard work, helps me make informed decisions about my future gear. I really trust your outdoor proven reviews! PS good luck to the both of you as future parents.
I was all ready to trade in my halfdome 3+ for something smaller. Now I might keep it. I plan on getting the xmid 2, my only hang up is xmid 2 or xmid 2 solid. I don't mind the extra weight and I like the solid inner walls.
The Vango F10 Nexus ul 2 is an excellent 2 man tent, or a roomy one man tent. Pitches all in one, low profile but still enough room to sit up (I'm 6'2). Loads of floor space, sturdy, free-standing. 1.8kg. £250.
I just bought an x-mid 2 and I'm glad that this video validated what I was already hearing from everyone else! I'm mostly going to be using it for me but I love the option to have another person join and be able to fit and I like that it's double walled. Excited to try it out!
I always enjoy watching your "best of" videos. You've got an enormous amount of experience with gear and I find it very helpful when you compare some of the new offerings with older popular choices I'm familiar with. I've got 2 kids who are now 8 and 11. I've taken them on a few backpacking trips from the time they were 5yo/8yo on up and have found a pretty solid family tent option that might be intriguing to check out. It's called the Klymit Maxfield 4 person backpacking tent. We can fit two 25" long/wide pads for the adults as well as two 20" x 66" Big Agnes Air Core pads for the kids in the shorter sections near the sides. The large front door allows anybody to get in and out without having to hop over one another, which is really nice when taking turns as parents to help the kids out for bathroom breaks. I even made a collapsible 11oz toilet setup that the kids can use in the large vestibule at night so they wouldn't need to pee in the woods, ha! A parent can then just dump the contents in the woods themselves to save some effort. Anyways, the tent ended up being much more well-suited than I initially thought it would be for a family of 4 with smaller kids. It won't fit full-sized pads on the sides, so the shorter ones must be used. This limits the height of the kids to somewhere around 5' 6" or a little better. It comes in at a packed wait just under that of the Half Dome SL3, so you actually get a notable bump in space for less wait and less money. They were originally $530, but they didn't really catch on, so I was able to pick one up for around $250. They seem to go for anywhere between $230-$350 depending on the sales currently going on. It's a steal when you get it in the $250 range:)
What are some warm/comfortable sleeping pads that are 25” tapered? I have the cooler spur ul2 and the taper goes down to 40” at the feet, but I like the 25” at the shoulders.
In the past, tarptent hasn't been interested in me testing out their tents. In light of comments in this thread, I have reached back out inquiring about a couple that inteigue me.
I like your idea about the two tents. I am a scout leader with both my boys in. For camping we used a Colman 4 person tent for the three of us. When we go camping now in the troop the kids sleep separately from the adults so it is a good way to start that separation. Have them next to each other to start and as they get older move them father away. Both the boys discovered hammock camping so now I am in a tent by myself which is two big and they are swinging with the breeze.
What would you say is a good budget backpacking tent for people that live in Europe as most of these are very difficult to get if you live in Europe and if they do deliver delivery is really expensive so it’s not really budget friendly anymore
On the Marmot Tungsten UL, there's a yellow ribbon on the underside of the fly. It runs near the vent. I can't figure out what it's for. Does anyone know?
I really love my NatureHike Vik for 1 person, and I see the 2 persons is suppose to be 1.6 kg, which is impressive for a freestanding tent. It’s not perfect of course, but the price is very affordable. Im unsure if this model will still be available for long or not.
@@lakorai2 the single walled doesn’t create more condensation, just makes it more likely to drop on you. But many people actually prefer single walled tent because they let them wipe away any humidity. I personally never really found the condensation to be any big problem.
I love my Vik 2. Sets up quick. Great pitch and looks the business. Easy functioning but…on occasions for goodness knows what reason, maybe pitched too low to the ground and not enough ventilation the condensation has been bad. The thing is because it pitches real well when the rain hits it it’s like a drum so all the condensation just disperses with every rain drop. Great for drier weather though and really light for backpacking.
I have the Nemo Dragonfly 2P and that is a phenomenal tent. At some point I want to try a treking pole tent, but for a freestanding tent and a solo person this is a palace.
I really like the Arixi Peak 1 as a budget option (all i can afford) pole tent. Ive just bought Astagear: Fengyin and New Snow 1 person tents. I'd appreciate any input on these tents
Man, we really don't have much in the ultralight freestanding category :(. There are some tents on the horizon that may change that though with the Tarptent's announcement and Durston's X-dome response to that. The Tarptent double rainbow still seems like a good option to use in the meantime. I also want to know if the scouting all-rounder, REI half-dome, and where it sits in the midst of everything works. There are plenty of options in that price and weight range that are still great even if any of them aren't winning awards.
Despite the OSMO material of the dragonfly having extra water repellency, it still only has a paltry 1500mm waterproofing on the fly. Do you find it holds up in wet conditions as we typically need a minimum 3000-4000mm waterproofing in the Cape mountains in SA 🇿🇦?
I don't really cherry pick my trips and I have never felt the need for a crazy storm-worthy tent here in North America. The Dragonfly and X-Mid tents would likely handle anything I could ever want to throw at them. If I was heading to Patagonia, Iceland, or some of the windier European places, I might assess what tent I was bringing in a bit more detail. I agree storm-worthiness is important for a lot of people out there, but not something I can test with any sort of authority.
In the past, Tarptent hasn't been that interested in getting tents into the hands of reviewers. I am going to try again with the Double Rainbow if they release the single walled version with a silpoly fly.
Love my Durston X-Mid 2. It's still lightweight with easy setup and good functionality. That's what i like in a tent. My downside is the 15d floor. I would like it more durable, since i don't mind extra grams. Ultralightist would go for dyneema anyways 🤷♂️
Yeah…no. It’s more money than a Xmid, heavier and you have to seam seal it yourself. They will seam seal for an extra $35, so at that point it’s DEFINITELY more expensive than a Xmid
@@rgmALCoptional liner for a double wall, uses two trekking poles at both ends making it freestanding and has a dyneema version. That sounds like a decent reason to be more expensive. Customizable and versatile
It’s funny that you say the dragonfly is the best tent in wind. I live in Alaska and so weather can be brutal here and I’ve bent the poles on my dragonfly tent during a windy outing. I think the trekking pole tents are better in wind due to the trekking poles generally being stronger than traditional tent poles
And if you want a tent that will not break down in really challenging weather conditions, and will serve you 10-15, even 30 years, then get a Hilleberg or a Fjällraven. Yeah, they are not UL.
I have a North Face 4 season (lower 48) 3-person tent. It's a bit heavy but it gives plenty of room for me and my big furry bed hog friend. Had the tent for years and I don't think North Face makes it anymore. But while I've graduated to lighter tents, I still use it on occasion.
1. Problem. Tent is not something what you bring just to setup so you can look at it. Its supostu protect you from elements like high win, rain and storms. Most of those tents will leak and break if you are caught in some bigger storm.
No they don’t or it is super small. Look for hilleberg red or black label tents or fjällräven. These tents here are probably good for 3 season tents but I would not take any of them to winter conditions if you are really in the wilderness outside of cell coverage
Family Backpacking! Yes it was a struggle figuring out how to do it. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that the largest reasonably weighted backpacking tent for 4 wide pads is the Copper Spur 5p. (The 4p doesn’t work) I have 3 boys and they are now 13, 11 and 8 so it was just easier to have one tent for all if us and then I’m not up all night worrying about them in another tent. I think all in its about 8lbs which isn’t to bad for how big the tent is. We aren’t trekking to far usually anyways. I also have the Half Dome 3+ which fits 3 wide pads. That part came out a little weird in your video. Great tent for when I’m only taking two of my kids. I know…it gets complicated. But over the years I’ve collected a tent for all occasions 😂. Next time you’re in AZ if you ever want to review the BA Copper Spur 5p let me know. You’re more than welcome to haul it out there 😂. I call it the Taj Mahal.
I liked the video, made me think about summer camping 😂😂 maybe someday, that been truck camping season... have 1 night in the msr frontrange at the end of winter. Loving it over my first tent, nemo kunai. Dragonfly looks like a better setup/design
Yeah I discovered slingfin just recently. I'm sure you've already seen the one or two videos on just a few of slingfin's products. Hardly a light weight tent in their lineup and I've read a lot of quibbling about their quality. Faulty zips, questionable guy out placements and an array of design oversights. Visually amazing tents though.
🤔 hmm, no msr, no BA's, no Hyperlite, no Tarptent. I was surprised no doubt !!! When I don't like about freestanding tents is you don't want to be setting them up in the rain either do it long before you think the rain is going to come or forget about it and just keep on hiking !! 😮 That's the one reason why I have moved to trekking pole tents even though I'm not crazy about them. But things are changing quickly in that arena !!! 🤠
Hi Justin. Love your videos. Congrats on the baby. Just wanted to say that if you end up with two kids and then plan to take them camping in two tents, good luck having the kids sleep in one tent and you and your partner in the other. There will very likely be one parent and one kid in each tent. LOL!
So what's stephy poos favorite? My wife and dog and I have been using the Nemo Aurora three person my wife loves it I enjoy it also but it's heavy. Thinking of going with a trekking pole tent to lighten the load but my dog is about 36kg. We live and so far all are backpacking has been in the Montana Rockies if that helps. We would love your professional opinion. Thanks for all your great content and hard work!
I have the Marmot Tungsten UL 1p and 2p and they are great upper-mid tier tents, especially if you can buy them discounted. They are very compact, I can pack the tent down bottom of my pack and leave the tent poles in a separate stuff sack sitting upright parallel with my back. I took the 2p out to Mt. Rainier National park and i thought it performed well in the wind/rainy conditions.
Justin, how about best 4 season tent? I'm looking for this type of tent that I can use any time in any weather. I live in Finland so it gets really cold in the winter time. So obviously it has to have stove capability, but also it should be a good summer tent. I hike and camp mostly alone, so no need for super spacious tent. Maybe a two person tent would be ideal. Best that I have found (not bought yet) is the Pomoly Locomotive 2. A tent that is "best all-around tent", but also 4 seasons, so REALLY the only tent you need, ever. ;)
Maybe also interesting in terms of freestanding tents: the Exped Mira II HL has a minimum weight of 1150g, fits two wide sleeping pads, and works quite fine with six tent stakes.
Why does nobody look to hyperlite for a 4 person tent? Double walled extremely light as far as 4ps go, rivals some 2p freestanding tents in weight but if you're considering two 2 person tents for a family of four you're not to far from the price of 1 hyperlite 4p. and you could carry it for a solo or duo trip when not taking the family.
You should sleep with the gead towarsd the same part of a Durston 2p tent, thats how its meant to be used. Thats some kind of myth (head to toe) thats been spread on youtube and other places. The silpoly 2p or the 2p+ version of the Durston have different angles the the other models of the tent. They are made for 2p sleeping next to eatch other. One side has crazy amounts of room, and the other that has a bit less still have more of an angle then most other tents or similar ultra light tents like the Zpack duplex. So at its worst part in the shape for one of the people its still a better angle then the Zpack duplex. Watch the video on the Durston youtube channel to get the exact data and numbres on the angles and a better explanation.
What would be the best "mild winter" tent? By this I mean a tent that can withstand some snow loading, but doesn't need to be a full-on expedition tent. For solo trips, I actually use x-mid 1p in winter, but the 2p version becomes too wide for its height and doesn't shed snow well.
it would be nice to check how options from European brands such as wild country would fit in this list. The Helm Compact is in a decent budget and looks like a solid free standing option.
