I bought the 2025 copper spur up 3 and absolutely love it! The awning seems a little bit silly, it’s super small. That being said I love the duel zipper door. You can get something out of the tent without climbing in the vestibule. The 3 person is good for 2 people with plenty of extra space.
I used a 1P tent (X-Mid 1) on the PCT, but upon experiencing the others' tents, decided to upgrade to a 2P (BA Copper Spur UL2). I think it is well worth the added weight, and I pack (almost) ultra-light.
We have a core equipment tent that we got from costco for car camping. i think its the 10 man version. it is hilariously huge, and weighs like 40 lbs. it is very spacious, has a built in LED light strip, and sets up in under a minute. it has held up well in the rain. the 6 person version is on costco for $140
i have a ultra light 2 and 5 man big agnes copper spur tents for when we are hiking in to camp, but for car camping the ease of the core equipment tent is great, and you really dont need something as technical as the Wawona.
I have a copper spur 2 person for my self. It’s a retail store “ultralight” tent. If you’re backpacking and weight is a concern it’s a good tent but you will want to be careful as the material is thin. I also have the groundsheet for it to protect it. If you’re car camping just get a cheap tent from Walmart. I’d say get a 3 person tent for two people. Tent ratings for people a lot of the times still go by the old 20” wide mummy shaped pad standard but most people are using 25” rectangle pads these days. No need to save weight or spend a bunch of money for a car camping tent. Esp when ultralight tents are a thinner material to save weight.
It's out of your budget but the Big Agnes Cooper Spur is top notch. Ultra light and very sturdy. Will fit well in your 40l pack. I have used mine dozens of times over 100s of miles. Have fun.
Nobody can really tell you "What's the best." How comfortable you want to be and what that looks like for you are very personal decisions and really weather-dependent.
I have a Big Agnes copper spur 2 person tent. Do you need an expensive tent like that? No. Do I? No. But it's comfortable and lightweight.
I have an Osprey 55L pack. I'm able to cram a week's worth of food and gear in there. Do you need that much space? Not if you're only going out one or two nights. Although I will say Osprey packs do a fantastic job distributing the weight, better than any ultralight bag.
I bring a Nemo Moonlite chair. You might not be someone who wants that, but if you try one, you will be.
I have a Zenbivy quilt system and sleeping pad. IMO this is the best backcountry sleep system available. Do you *need* that? Probably not, but i sleep like a log in it. I've considered sleeping in it at home.
I can list out the rest of my gear if you're interested. My reasons for bringing each piece are going to be different than yours.
I lean towards comfortable sleep stuff and ultralight everything else.
Top Camping Tents on Reddit
1
The North Face
Wawona 6
85% positive of 133 users
Spacious vestibule, strong in storms, but rainfly tricky solo.
Weekly_Try5203
