Blacktail Hotel

I picked that one up with my rebates and it’s a pretty decent tent honestly. Aluminum poles that even came with a patch kit for them! Packs down small enough for what it is as well. The Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel is a really nice tent as well that is made for bikepacking so the poles are shorter, I’ve also seen that one on sale pretty frequently.

Go with a four person tent if you are car camping. Especially if you want to be able to stand up. It's only me camping. I got a 4 person Big Agnes on sale. And I have a large size Teton cot. The tent is ok for one cot, with room for gear and space to stand. Two large cots, would fit. But no room to stand. Two normal size mats and gear would be fine. As others have said, err on the big side. Unless weight is a major factor.

I used to believe posts like this until I actually got on AT. You won’t believe this if all you look at is social media but hardly anyone is actually using the shelters. Everyone is using their tents. If I was OP and that was all my budget could afford, I’d go for the half dome. If I had more money, I’d go for a BA two person if free standing was preferred or a zpacks two person if trekking pole tents were okay with OP.

My post literally says “if I had more money” but I guess you decided to ignore that and then criticize me for my “more money” option. Stay toxic social media. There’s always someone who chooses to make a jab to make the conversation nasty and toxic and unpleasant rather than what my comment was - a fellow hiker just genuinely trying to help out another hiker on ideas. 🫤🙄🙄 You have reliably made this interaction unnecessarily unpleasant. Congrats!!!

Big Agnes are exceptional. Buy one secondhand, get the two person, and never look back. My buddy and I both use one, they are light, small, and truly worth every cent. 

For quality camping equipment I tend to wait for a holiday then check out REI outlet online. If you are a member you get a 20 percent off coupon that works for outlet prices. I bought a 2 person Big Agnes tent that retailed for over 3 hundred dollars. My cost was about 120 I think. It was years back but it's a great tent. We would budget 2 big ticket items every year until we had everything we wanted.