Kelty - Late Start 2

I've had the Kelty Late Start for a few years. Not the lightest but roomy enough and tall enough. Decent quality tent that was priced right for me.

If you end up not getting/wanting it repaired. I can personally recommend the Kelty Late Start. I have the 2-person variant but they make several sizes. By far the simplest/quickest setup of any tent I've used/owned. I'm on my third or fourth-ish camping season with it and it has held up wonderfully. No fancy bells or whistles as far as features, but I put a premium on simplicity and reliability when it comes to my camping stuff. I can elaborate a little more if you're considering it. Good luck!

Go for the Core tent if you're a stand up in the tent & move around type. You'll like it. We got our big one pretty muddy and it was a heavy pain to clean. Hubby can stand & likes to bring a chair in. I like a smaller dome tent. I love my Kelty Late Start. The pole pockets and clips are great. I will never purchase another tent with sleeves for the poles to slide through (looking at you Coleman). Do you have any plans to backpack with the Scout Troop? Or are you exclusively car camping? Many scout camps require you to walk in your gear from a common parking area. If that's the case, having a wagon is key if you want to keep your large tent.

Ease of setup, breathability, durability, reliability The Kelty Late Start will probably be my next tent. - the sleeves that the poles slip into are awesome. Someone should have thought of that decades ago. - AL poles makes it easier to cart to a site - mostly mesh body, this is key for summer in SE USA - your region may change this - kelty has a solid rep - full rainfly means it'll take on storms better and have less condensation inside I don't care about how many pockets or whatever else it has. A 4 person is the biggest we use regularly. I have had bigger tents but they're just whatever I find an amazing deal on.

We have a kelty two person backpacking tent and two single backpacking mats that click together if you want to sleep side by side. we typically use our own sleeping bags but we do have a two person one that can also zip off into two individuals. She carries the tent and I carry all the food/water and cooking supplies to even up the weight.

I have a kelty 2 person with doors and rainfly vestibules to the ground on both sides. You can each stow your pack outside your respective doors. Easier for nighttime pee trips too.

I also have a very similar kelty 2p tent. It has been my backpacking tent for probably 15 years now. In 2007 it was pretty light and I was constantly being teased for my tiny little tent. It’s a good tent, it’s even a good backpacking tent, it’s just not up to par with modern ultralight but that can be ok. I’m willing to bet that tent is like $100. So for the price I think it has its place. I actually bought myself a Nemo hornet to replace it this year. My son will be inheriting this one until he saves up his own $500 to get something more fashionable.

My Kelty 2p is barely big enough for 2 people. My partner and I were pressing up against the edges of the tent, causing the tent to push up against the rain fly and transfer all the condensation inside ☹️. It's now my solo / backpacking tent and we use a 4 person for car camping lol.

Same. I carried a Kelty 2P tent and we had a joke about it that it was a portable mansion in the forest. It really wasn't THAT big or THAT heavy. It's very close to OP's choice in terms of size and weight. I'm a tall guy with long limbs and I very much appreciated the extra room it gave me even if it was on the heavier side.

Haha it's funny how that works. I guess back then everyone was carrying something similar to a Coleman 2P which are "dome" tents. I love my Kelty, it's certainly not lightweight but it's a damn good tent that I never had issues with.

Kelty has a great 2 person backpacking tent and it isn’t crazy expensive. Years ago my scout troop stumbled on cheap Walmart backpacking tents (probably ozark brand?) and they were great as an entry level tent and around $20 at the time - if you can find a Coleman exponent backpacking tent they are great too. I’m not they even make them anymore- the “exponent” was Coleman’s high end stuff and they had much better sleeping bags and tents under that brand

I have a kelty 2 person and it’s more than enough for myself and a dog or two

I use a kelty 3 man for car camping- it’s light and plenty of room for gear and myself and enough room for the get times my wife came camping. and I like it enough that I got the 2p backpack version. It also probably way und your budget number

I’ve had a kelty two man tent for nearly 25 years. Use it a couple times every year with one being in sub zero winter weather. Only thing that has failed on it is the stuff sack

Survived in a Kelty 2p for years with a spouse , but the day I upgraded to a big Agnes copper spur hvUL3....there is no going back. About 6? Or 8? Years in. Pricey, so make sure it's a hobby you will stick with . But with the hotel fly, man there is room for packs and to take the near 5yo on his first bigger trip soon. Dog, whatever! Big Agnes has an awesome shape even in their 2p, more height with the square shape so it feels a lot less crowded. The weight/size difference between most 2 and 3p is negligible.

I do have the green one. I prefer that more than the red white & blue version. I didn’t have any issues with the Kelty tent. I upgraded the stakes to the red ones you get at REI. I did a 5 1/2 week trip over 10 years ago visiting national parks & monuments throughout Colorado, Arizona & Utah. It rained in Flagstaff after setting up the tent & it kept me dry. I didn’t have problems with the fiberglass poles but I haven’t used that tent since 2019. My ex had a 4p Colman tent and I realized like having the space since I decided to upgrade to a cot & better pad. The last time I used the Kelty tent, I was using a double klymit pad & it had a few inches of floor space left. Ozark was iffy. I got a 10 or 12 person one for spray painting a diy projects. It kept things dry but not clean so I gave up & went back to rolling paint inside. Sold the tent right away on our local fb swap pages. I looked at marmots tents over 10 years ago when I first looking for a 2p one. I ended up with the Kelty one since it was new at a gear consignment store, cheaper than the REI ones & they were thrown in the footprint for free. Marmots were so expensive & there was one at a REI garage sale but since I didn’t know how to put a tent up, I passed the on buying it. Just happen to see the Limestone was a decent price on Campsaver. I still haven’t had a chance to set it up in the backyard or even open up the bag. I’ll be doing that next weekend to make sure all the parts are there since I have 2 weekends of camping next month.

I own Kelty, North Face and Marmot backpacking tents, and can attest to their durability, ease of use and agreeable weight. I've used them both in the backcountry as well as when going car camping.

This depends upon your specific requirements: If your intention is portable 2-person tent that doesn't take up much room and weight isn't much of a concern, get a Kelty. They're nice budget friendly backpacking tents. Big Agnes is good if you want to save weight. But they are expensive and only worth it if you plan to backpack as a hobby. Backpacking and prepping are completely separate topics. You're not hiking your way out of a disaster. First, with most disasters, you will never leave your house. Or even if you do have to evacuate, you will go from your house to another house or apartment. You are not camping in the woods. You are definitely not hiking far. Hiking 10 miles a day would put you in the top 10%. And that's on a good trail, with good weather, and without worrying about being tracked. And more important, you know that every week you will be able to get re-supplied. If you want to be prepared to live on the road after a disaster so that you are not dependent upon a government shelter, then prepare your vehicle instead. My current favorite setup would be a compact SUV pulling a teardrop camping trailer. This provides plenty of room for 1-2 people including all of the supplies you need. You can put solar panels on top of the SUV and teardrop so that you will have plenty of off-grid power. And you will sleep a lot more comfortably.