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Hey I'm new here on summitpost, but I've been familiar with it since I started backpacking and now getting interested in mountaineering.

Anyway, I'm looking for a two person tent that can actually hold two people and their gear. I plan on using this tent for both winter backpacking as well as winter mountaineering in the sierras. Some tents have caught my eye including tnf mountain 25, mh trango 2, rei mountain 2, hilleberg staika, and the hilleberg allak, but I've been leaning towards the staika because it's about the same size as the mh and tnf tents but lighter in weight.

Any input and suggestions would be awesome!

Thanks

BD Hilight. I don't know about the new green ones, maybe you can get a deal on one of the old yellow ones. Single skin, you may have some condensation, but in CA it won't be too bad. Not much more space in your pack than a bivy bag.

QITNL wrote:BD Hilight. I don't know about the new green ones, maybe you can get a deal on one of the old yellow ones. Single skin, you may have some condensation, but in CA it won't be too bad. Not much more space in your pack than a bivy bag.

I'm about 6ft and the dimensions of that tent seem very tight to me for two people with winter gear. I would think that winter bags would be too large to fit in the Hilight.

I have been opting for a double wall tent so condensation wouldn't be as big of an issue and as for the weight, the tent would be split between my dad and I.

Hi,

You may already know this, and I'm certainly no expert myself, but you are going to get condensation either way up high in the snow, FYI. I have a decent, HEAVY two person double wall tent and get condensation when it's freezing outside. So don't overlook the single walls too much, particularly considering your desired application for the tent. My one cent.

Good luck!

I guess the reason why I landed on the hillebergs was because of how quickly they pitch with both the fly and the inner tent. Single wall tents are an option for me, I just don't want something that is too cramped for two people and gear for a few days. But I agree though that condensation is almost unavoidable either way for the most part.

I have no use for full size double wall 4 season tents, except as a "base camp" tent. They are too bulky and heavy.

For winter camping, my tent of choice is a syl-nylon pyramid tent. Light, roomy, strong, and you don't have to worry about keeping snow out of the tent.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... eview.html

For winter mountaineering, where you might have to pitch on a small ledge, the Rab Summit Mountain Bivi is a good choice. eVent fabric keeps condensation to a minimum, it's light, sturdy, and can pitch on a small ledge.

http://us.rab.uk.com/equipment/bivvis/s ... ivi---140/

My vote for BD I-Tent or Eldorado, both under 5 lbs and more for harsh conditions than the Hilight. As far as I know, Hilleberg isn't sold in CA due to fire retardation laws, you'll have to order from Oregon.

Many mountain guides that I have been with have used a Hilleberg. Not cheap, but bomber and fast to set up with a vestibule to keep your gear.

I thought about tents like the i-tent, the eldorado, and the alpinist 2 from marmot to name a few, but I'm worried that those tents would be too short for me and my dad. I'm about 6ft and my dad is exactly 6ft.

Granted it's heavier, but I've been eying the hilleberg allak because of it's longer length and having vestibules to store gear that wouldn't fit in the tent.

Sierrafreak wrote:I thought about tents like the i-tent, the eldorado, and the alpinist 2 from marmot to name a few, but I'm worried that those tents would be too short for me and my dad. I'm about 6ft and my dad is exactly 6ft.

I'm almost 6'6" and the BD Eldorado fits me and another 6'4" guy fine. Vestibule is necessary if you want to store more that a few items inside the tent however.

you might want to look into a mountain hardware EV2. single wall, around 5lbs, and is over 8.5 feet long on the inside. I've used mine quit a bit and really like it. i'm under 6' tall, but i have a friend who spent a couple weeks in an EV2 in south america. he's 6'6" and his partner is over 6', both said it was very comforatable. there's lighter tents out there, but this ia a very solid tent for the $. it hasn't disapointed me yet.

SJ wrote:I'm almost 6'6" and the BD Eldorado fits me and another 6'4" guy fine. Vestibule is necessary if you want to store more that a few items inside the tent however.

Just curious, but did you and your partner use extra long sleeping bags to keep boots from freezing or did you guys use regular sized sleeping bags? That's the part that concerns me.

Sierrafreak wrote:

SJ wrote:I'm almost 6'6" and the BD Eldorado fits me and another 6'4" guy fine. Vestibule is necessary if you want to store more that a few items inside the tent however.

Just curious, but did you and your partner use extra long sleeping bags to keep boots from freezing or did you guys use regular sized sleeping bags? That's the part that concerns me.

All my bags and sleeping pads are long size. Not sure about my climbing partner's. I rarely keep my boots in the tent overnight, only when its snowing, never slept with them in my bag (tromping around in the morning trying to unfreeze them gives me something to do while melting snow). In the Eldorado I can fully stretch out with a few inches to spare. I'd imagine if you're 6' even, you'll have plenty of room in this tent.

Alright that's good to know. I don't feel too bad about the size then, as I'm used to larger 3 season, 2p tents with a hiking buddy. I assume you guys were using winter sleeping bags, but was your bag a little squished because of the extra length and loft? Also, how is the condensation with the two of you in the tent? Right now I'm debating between the eldorado and the marmot alpinist 2p tent if I were to choose a single wall tent. If I were to choose a double wall, I'd probably pick the hilleberg allak.

Another one to consider is the Integral Design Mk3

[*]http://www.integraldesigns.com/product_detail.cfm?id=737&CFID=2314228&CFTOKEN=64199530[*]