Ranger Doug

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 have been an REI truther for years, and have owned their Half Dome tent as well as a Kelty 2 person tent. I know how valuable it can be to have nice gear, but recently I’ve been thinking: is there any reason not to spend $50 on a tent from amazon, and if it breaks just buy another one? I could do this six times before spending as much as I would on a tent from a major retailer. As long as i check the weather, as I bet amazon rain flies aren’t trustworthy, is there any downside to choosing a cheap ass tent over an expensive one? Edit: seeing comments about waste. I admit I was thinking only about money, and you’re right I don’t want to be dumping Amazon tents and right

I have been using Kelly 2 person tents as my backpacking tent forever. I spray the fly and tent down with a silicone waterproofing spray. Never ever had an issue. Most important thing is a good ground tarp that does not extend past the base of your tent, if anything it should be an inch or two under the base. I use old work tarps cut down perfectly to size. Lightweight, cheap and durable.

Don't blame the tent for the weather. The vestibule could be used as a windbreak - to cook in and stuff like that. I like the looks of that tent. I really like my 2 person Kelty, but have yet to find the perfect tent. Mine lets in small puddles near the corners during heavy rains.

I have two tents (both kelty brand) a two person for solo backpacking/short trips where bad weather isn’t forecast and a 4 person for trips where I have another person in the tent with me or I plan on having to spend more time in the tent. Totally a reasonable move and the bigger tents really aren’t usually much harder to set up unless you have some huge 10 person multi room situation