I bought my first tent in the late 90’s. The original REI Half Dome. $129. Just retired it last year. I don’t use trekking poles so I would also opt for another free standing tent.
Do the Halfdome. It's fine.
I would pack the fly and main tent separate. When it rains, you'll want to keep the fly away from your less wet inner part anyway. And now it's two smaller, easier to manage pieces to put in your pack instead of one huge ass annoying tube. Use the current bag for one piece, and you can probably find another bag you like in a hiker box. There's always ton of random gear bags.
Rei, you will appreciate the space, if you don’t you can always mail the other to you and swap. Field strip the tent, ditch the bags, bring only the poles, number of stakes needed for fly, tent body and fly, and just roll it up and carry it on the outside of your bag. It’s nice at the end of the day to sprawl a little. Also having space for your gear if it’s raining or in general is nice
Where are you based? If you're in the US, REI's house brand has a couple of options - Trail Made and Trail Hut 2P tents that go for under USD $250.
Sounds like your usage is pretty low, so I would also consider exploring your local FB Marketplace for 2P tents. You might get a higher end version or older models of REI tents for far cheaper. Lots of people who are new to camping go buy new gear only to find out that perhaps it's not for them.
I found a used Half Dome 2 on Craigslist 5 years ago for $30. The Half Dome goes on car camping trips, or trips where it'll sit out in the sun for day. I've also had a REI Quarter Dome and a Passage before - they are decent tents.
If you're buying used, just inspect the waterproofing layer for signs of wear and delamination. Good luck!
Agree with most of the comments here that the REI is the better option so you can actually use the space.
I would strongly recommend some room in the budget for gear upgrades. You may find the Halfdome just fine and the weight to be not a problem. You may also end up really feeling it on your back and want to upgrade after a month.
**If** that ends up happening, I'd recommend you pick up something like the Lanshan 1, Gossamer Gear One, or Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo. All are ~$200ish if you can catch a sale on the latter two.
Don't take the bivy.
Analogy for you: OP has a beater car and wants to make it last a while. This **clearly** implies they are cost sensitive.
You suggest that if OP wanted something better than their beater, they should buy a BMW.
While technically true, this totally ignores the context that they are cost sensitive. It creates the illusion that the only options are to keep their old beater or buy a brand new BMW. If I were OP, I would probably find this to be an intimidating proposition and avoid it.
You completely ignore the existence of the economical Camry and Accord, which are far more valuable recommendations to OP.
If you think my comment was that toxic, you need to chill out. There's always someone on social media who chooses to make a scene because someone mildly disagreed with them...
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