Mineral King™ 3 Tent

Are you carrying that bad boy alone? Far? 7lbs for a solo backpacking tent isn’t messing around if you’re going more than a few miles. I’m not knocking the tent & that’s a great deal! I still use a 7lbs 10 year old 3p mountain hardware tent when I can split the weight or for super short hike ins. For solo backpacking, I landed on a lanshan 2 (weighs 2lb 11oz) a few years ago it works perfect w/ the $30 carbon fiber hiking poles from Costco. Have fun!

I have the 3 person Mineral King and it’s a great tent. If you are using it for backpacking it’s a tad on the heavy side, but it’s a great tent.

Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3. I love it because it's big enough to car camp with, but I can also easily throw it in my kayak and remote camp with it. I also didn't want an ultralight option because I wanted something that would stand up to my dog. They also make it in a four season version.

I have a mountain hardwear mineral king. They’ve since released a 4 season model but I have used mine in over a foot of snow below 0°F. On mine you can roll back half the fly to stargaze/ look around.

Have a few and have learned a little from each. As mentioned, you’re generally paying for ounces, materials, packability, and weather resistance. I have the previous gen REI Quarter Dome. It has been good and have already replaced the shock cord on poles, a common issue for REI tents. But I’m always jealous when looking at my friends MSR Hubba Hubba. I also have a Durston Xmid 2. An amazing tent and design, but requires a little more work to learn how to pitch and takes up a little more space. Also needs good ground to secure to. They also have a freestanding option that looks real nice. And then I have an old 3P Mountain Hardware. Not something I use other than for car camping. Materials are thicker and more resistant to having a kid and dog inside. More space for all our stuff, traditional air mattress, etc. dumb vinyl windows on the fly failed years ago and I’ve been running with it taped ever since.

MSR or Big Agnes for backpacking get my vote. Mountain Hardwear also make some nice backpacking tents. Nemo and Marmot would be the next ones I look at. I love my MSR and Hardwear tent. if you want to go ultralight, just stick with a two person and you’re gonna be really snug but totally doable if you’re with a partner. I’m 6 foot three and I have slept in a two person MSR tent with another 6 foot three person. Go with the three person if you want to compromise comfort while in the tent for added weight. Chances are you will be splitting the tent up into two separate packs to offset the total weight or you’ll carry it yourself and have the other person carry other stuff to equal out the weight. It may not seem like a huge deal, but when your backpacking every little bit counts.