Salida 2

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

You are a vet. Get the expert voice app and then you can get yourself a kelty 2p tent for a good price and have a decent quality tent for what you are doing. You can get an emergency blanket to put over your mattress then cover with a blanket to keep the heat. Those things have 0 R value. Happy camping!