Solitaire AL 1-Person Backpacking Tent

I’ve had the [Eureka Solitaire](https://sectionhiker.com/eureka-solitaire-aluminum-tent-review/) for years, and it is a nice 1-person tent. Basically a glorified bivy sack with a couple of hoops to keep the netting & rainfly off you. Mine has been through some pretty nasty storms and has held up well. The new version with aluminum poles is probably a bit nicer; my fiberglass poles are fairly brittle.

I was going to suggest eureka but they stopped production last year. My first backpacking tent. Very affordable, weight was fine split between 2 people. And my goodness, it lasted waterproof and zippers a very long time. Like most, I have bought and resold a few tents over the years but the eureka one remained in my loaner gear through it all. If you see a 2 person eureka, used, for a very low price, grab it and try it out for your first couple of trips

It depends on if you want to sleep closely to them. I would buy the tent I want for solo, then a cheap second tent just for the friend. I actually kept my first backpacking tent, a eureka!, just for friends.