Marmot - Limelight UL 2-Person Tent

Look into how small a 1p tent is. Nothing wrong with getting a Coleman Sundome 2p to start, sturdy bottom and no need for a footprint. If you want to spend from the beginning the Marmot Limelight series is reliable and the 2p has a fun bumpout for gear inside instead of under the rain fly.

I totally hear ya on the space issue with one-person tents. I’ve gone the two-person tent route myself, and it’s made big difference on comfort. I usually drag along a Marmot Limelight 2P, which offers a bit of luxury due to the vertical walls. It’s lightweight and still leaves room for my gear inside. One nice thing I’ve noticed is that the extra space gives me flexibility with how I set up my stuff. like, I can have my backpack in there and not feel cramped. It’s also cool to have some extra room to stretch out or for when you just need to chill in your tent during bad weather. Just remember it might weigh and cost a bit more than a one-person tent, but for me, the added comfort is worth it. It's like one of those little shifts that make the whole experience better. Yeah, so think about what you really want in a tent cause options can vary a lot when it comes to packing weight or weatherproofing. You might also want to think about the type of conditions you'll be camping in, 'cause the temperatures and weather can make certain features more or less important. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the extra cost, but then I think about the comfort, so there’s that.

I was a guide for 10 years and slept in a tent ~150 nights a year. The only tent I owned that entire time was a Marmot Limelight 2p. I think I broke one pole the entire time ( a non-necessary pole that gives you more headroom) and marmot was able to send me a replacement. It's a good middle ground tent, not heavy, but not ultralight. Reasonably priced. Rugged enough to keep up with the elements (used through many severe mountain storms). I have backpacked with it, but it's a bit too heavy to use it for that solo. I longer guide, but my family's tent is now a Limelight 4p (which is huge IMO). On the other hand. If you want true BIFL, don't care about weight, and are willing to spend a bit of money for the last tent you will ever buy, get a canvas wall tent as others have mentioned (Springbar or Kodiak).

Marmot Limelight 2P or a Eureka Mountain Pass 2P are both fantastic tents. The mountain pass is 4 season rated if needed. I have both.

Same. This is mine and plenty of room for me/wife and dog. Easy setup and while bot ultralight I think it fits your description on weight.

Used to be an avid backpacker before having my son.  I use a Marmot Limelight 2P for our scouting trips.  It’s been all over and continues to hold strong, great water resistance.  Surprisingly after 15+ years of use it’s still going strong and has survived a few years of Cub Scout camping weekends.  All my Marmot gear has really held up through the years and adventures.   I have a Coleman 6P with a porch area and it’s nice for car camping but not something I would want to take to Scout weekends.  It’s huge and heavy, and would take up more space than me and my son need, blocking others who have bigger families.

Depends on the tent and what you want to keep in it. I have a Marmot Limelight 2p and it fits me and another person comfortably. Has big vestibules on either side so that’s where we keep our stuff.

2P Marmot Limelight.

I have a Marmot Limelight 2P and it's awesome.

Imagine you went for a long hike, and got turned around. Not lost, really, just heading back to camp late. You're tired and thirsty. You come up on a ridge overlooking the valley you camped in. You look down into a valley of green trees. Where is our campsite? This is not good. There are three trails going down into the valley. If you take the wrong one, it could take a long time to backtrack and try a different trail...oh look! There's our orange tent! Thank you REI, thank you Marmot tents! This happened to me. But it was sunset, and I was dehydrated and exausted.

I’ve used Marmot standard and UL tents. I’m not sure I would use an UL tent as my main tent (unless you’re backpacking all the time). The standard feels more durable, but both have held up for me. My recommendation for backpacking tents are Tarptents. Really like those.

I spend a lot of time camping on the coast of North Carolina where winds go from 10-45+ mph on a normal weekend. I use a full fly dome, with a lower profile with long sand stakes. Usually I use a Marmot Limelight pointed into the wind (helps with bugs). This year I moved up to a MSR Habitude for more room, but has a similar design.