MSR - Remote 3

wow, such bad advice here. The reason a 4 season double wall tent exists is that people want to camp in the 4th season, winter. The insulation comes from the air gap between the inner tent and the fly. the fly will be full coverage and you will be able to tighten the lower edges to minimise the wind infiltration. The inner tent will have no sections that are only netting, you will be able to close all vents off so that tent can be buttoned up. you still need a really good sleeping bag (properly rated) as well as long underwear and a hat. I think you will be surprised by the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the tent after you have been it a few hours. I don't need another tent but if i was looking i would consider the MSR remote 3 for 2 people use. I like the big vestibule, but i don't like it attached to the tent, i have vestibules that attach to the tent and leave in place a full 2 layer door. unfortunately a good tent for 3 people is likely too large for a single person, too much air to warm. The msr remote 2 design looks too flimsy with only 2 poles. look at the REI Arete ASL 2 Tent, or the Mountain Hardware Trango 2. Make sure to buy 2 of the foot prints, they wearout faster than the tent. Good luck , have fun. stay warm.

Big Agnes, MSR, and Nemo are 3 of the best tent brands available. I ran the warranty desk for an outdoor gear company, and saw the least amount of warranty issues with those brands. They’re not inexpensive, but, you get what you pay for. I have a Big Agnes tent that’s at least 10 years old, we use it regularly and only have to hose the dirt off. It’s amazing. Nemo is awesome too, I know a lot of people with Nemo tents and they love them. I just got an MSR 3 person tent and absolutely love it. Definitely get a 2 person tent. The general rule is to take however many people will be sleeping in the tent, and add 1. So 1 person = 2 person tent, 2 ppl = 3 person tent and so on. A 2 person tent is more comfortable for having your gear inside the tent, changing your clothes, etc. If you don’t plan to go backpacking with it, I’d get a 3-4 person tent just for the space.

Just a quick note, after Cubs when they get to Scouts there is no more family camping. So I would go cheap on the "family" tent for now, unless you guys are planning on using it yourselves for separate family trips. Most cub packs only camp once or twice a year. I got my son a three person MSR tent and myself a single person tent. The three person fit him and his buddy perfect. Those sizes are also a lot easier to hump to a camp site. I'd put the extra money in an inflatable pad to sleep on. That makes a huge difference. I used my old closed cell foam pad the first trip with my son and I woke up sore. The inflatable pad was so much more comfortable and kept me a lot warmer.

My only comment on Big Agnes in my experience is that the tents are fragile because they are so ultralight. I’ve had my Copper Spur poles snap twice. BA is great with repairing stuff but it’s not great when you’re in the back country and you’ve got to hold everything together with duck tape just to make it through the rest of the trip. My MSR on the other hand, while a little heavier, seems a lot more substantial while still being a light weight backpacking tent.