Suma 2

If you can still find a Eureka Suma 2, they're a killer value. They were an awesome value even at full price. About 3lb for the 2p, if I recall, so not UL by any means, but still completely reasonable to carry (and half the weight of an Elixir 2 et al.) Great little tents. Only issue may be ongoing support in the long term as Eureka is done now - their parent company still exists though and is honouring warranty claims.

I have the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 that one is amazing. I have the Eureka Suma 2 is which is great too but a little heavier (about 4lbs)

I have owned several Eurekas over the years. I still have all of them except my first 3 man, which i gave to my sister(she is still using it, its probably 20 years old, if not more). They get my vote for price and quality. To be fair, i haven't used many other tents because i haven't had to. I currently have a lightweight 2 person, apex 3 person, a 3 person with a large vestibule and now a 6 person as my family has grown.

Okay, kind of weird, but I used to backpack with my Eureka 2 person. Loved it. Still have it just in case I need it. But now I also have kids and dogs and a wife so I needed to make an upgrade. I went from my 2 person - 3 season Eureka backpacking tent to the North Face Wawona 6 and I love it. It's an amazing tent. Used to have 2 small areas on the sides of my Eureka tent for gear/boots - now I have a massive vestibule that fits everything under the sun. Amazing (size) upgrade.

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.

That will be so easy to drop a ton of base weight when you get a good tent. I was at 6 lb 2 person eureka. Got a 3.75 lb MSR Hubba Hubba in 2020. Last 2-3 years I have had the extreme pleasure of carrying the just over 1 lb Durston xmid pro 2. It’s pricy but the regular xmid is much more affordable. And double wall vs single wall of the pro. Nemo Hornet and any of the BA tents are great too.