Big Agnes - Scout 2 Platinum

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.

When’s the last time you actually set up a modern tent? If you’re picturing threading tent poles through sleeves then I’d get the hesitancy. Modern tents are extremely easy to set up now Takes me <5 minutes to set up my 2P big Agnes tent. Going bivy seems overly aggressive when just getting back into camping

We each have our own hammock... Def my preference! We have a 2 person Big Agnes that we put our packs in or use if the weather is really bad (even tho I have a rain fly for my hammock now!)

I’m so glad this was mentioned. I went colder weather camping with my sons a bit ago. Initially, I bought a big giant tent with an added screen room. This sub pointed us in the right direction. I returned the behemoth and went with my Big Agnes 2p and bought the boys their own 4p to use with their friend. OP, I did buy a propane heater. I would warm up my tent when I was getting ready to go to sleep and then again in the morning g before getting out of my sleeping bag. In the tiny tent, it was hot in there within minutes!

We really love our big agnes. It's durable, huge and comfy without being too heavy. it's about 4lbs so my husband and I split the weight. It's really thoughtfully desiged, and has so many pockets to stash stuff. super roomy footprint. It's like the Taj Mahal of tents