Kelty - Wireless

If you’re going non canvas, I like tents with a full rain fly and the main body has a good amount of mesh. I camp solo with a Kelty Wireless 4 person tent. (I do wish it had aluminum poles) And I camp with two people in a REI basecamp 6, older model. Both of these tents I can set up by myself easily.

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

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.

Both are solid tents. FWIW I have an older model Kelty 6P and it is amazing on rain and wind.

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.

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’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.