Tarptent - Hogback (sil-poly)

I love my Tarptent Hog Back. Its about 4 lbs and classed as a 4 person tent. Would be enough room for all of you!

Tarptent hogback. Plenty roomy with 2 kids under 10. Will probably switch them to their own tent this year, but for the independence aspect, not a lack of room or anything else really. 

The Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 is the QUEEN of 3person tents. It *will* get a bit cramped once you have two adult-sized boys, but it’s still doable. But at that point, you’ll be at the end of that tent’s lifespan (newer tents will be much lighter) and/or the boys are gonna want to sleep alone in their own tent. For an even lighter option, the Tarptent Triple Rainbow, Hogback, or Cloudburst 3 person tents are all great choices. One thing to consider: double doors are more pleasant with two people … but with 3, you may want a front-opening single-door tent like the Cloudburst. That way, nobody needs to climb over anyone else for the bathroom. The Cloudburst also won’t feel too tight with an adult and two adult-size kids. It has TWO openings/vestibules but they’re positioned at the head and foot, so no climbing over your friends.

We have had the Hogback for 5 years, and I would recommend it. Once you get the hang of setup, it is really fast to go up. The biggest issue is that it has a large footprint, but I have always been able to find a spot that works so far (mainly wooded Midwest sites). We have a full-mesh inner, which is generally great for our uses and relatively cool in the summer. However, I do wish the bathtub came up a bit higher. There was one night with a sub-optimal site (sloped and exposed) where sliding people and blowing rain got the foot of one sleeping bag wet. Maybe you could call that operator error, but I would prefer a bit more robustness in coverage for a family tent. Overhead space is great. The Hogback is very good at making the space over the floor useable.

I read about the first third of comments, so I may be repeating some of this. Whatever you do, use two separate mats. The motion transfer on an inflatable mat is unbearable, to me, though some don't seem to mind. You can use one of the various products available to lash them together. The Zenvivy Light Double Bed will take care of that part for you, and you should seriously consider it for your sleep system, if you're looking for that close cuddly sleep style. Sharing the weight of a tent you can get more space per pound than a solo hiker. A 2 person tent is not enough for two people in my opinion. If you want a big roomy tent that's light (and you don't want a DCF or pyramid style tent), you have basically 3 options. The MSR Hubba Hubba LT3, the Big Agnes Copper Spur, and the Tarptent Hogback. All will get you around 2lbs per person, but the MSR is a half pound heavier. The Tarptent Hogback will be the most stormworthy and is the only one that can be set up in the rain while keeping the inner tent dry, though the Big Agnes can do this with the extra weight and expense of the footprint. The Hogback is not a freestanding tent, it's a semi-freestanding tent. The MSR gives you more room at your sides, the Big Agness gives you more room at your head and foot, and the Hogback is square so you have the most side room and the least extra head-to-foot room.

I used to own this tent. If you don't mind the weight then this is about the best deal you can get on a tent this large that is not obnoxiously heavy. It makes for a good crawl in car camping tent too. I did a post on this tent a few years ago. I have since sold it as I'm an X-Mid person now and I use large family camping tents for car camping. [https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/s4ybkw/sierra\_designs\_meteor\_4\_for\_189\_at\_dicks/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/s4ybkw/sierra_designs_meteor_4_for_189_at_dicks/) If you need to go lighter you can but the price goes way up: * Tarptent Hogback 4p, 4lbs, $605 * [https://www.tarptent.com/product/hogback/](https://www.tarptent.com/product/hogback/) * Zpack Triplex, 3lbs, $829 * [https://zpacks.com/products/triplex-zip-tent](https://zpacks.com/products/triplex-zip-tent) * Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 4p, 5lbs, $799 * [https://www.bigagnes.com/collections/copper-spur-hv-ul-series/products/copper-spur-hv-ul4](https://www.bigagnes.com/collections/copper-spur-hv-ul-series/products/copper-spur-hv-ul4) * Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 5p, 7.5lbs, $899 * [https://www.bigagnes.com/collections/copper-spur-hv-ul-series/products/copper-spur-hv-ul5](https://www.bigagnes.com/collections/copper-spur-hv-ul-series/products/copper-spur-hv-ul5) The Big Agnes is a total ripoff at retail pricing IMO. However there are a couple online retailers selling it for about $400ish right now. The Zpacks should only be considered if you are a real gram weenie. This is a trekking pole tent with mandatory guylines. The Tarptent is about the best middle of the road option, but it's north of $500 and it does NOT come seam sealed. If you want tarptent to seam seal it you need to cough up another $35.

My wife and I have a 1 year old and we use a Tarptent Hogback. We considered some other options but decided the added space was worth the weight penalty (more livable room when it inevitably rains here in VA, more room for diaper changes, etc). We've done 2 overnights with it and love it so far. The footprint is sizable, so take campsite size in your typical haunts into consideration before getting it.

The Big Agnes Fly Creek uses the same material and was the highest rated tent on several of those Halfway Anywhere PCT surveys for a few years, it was my primary pre-UL tent and survives to this day like 8 years later as my loner, and it's the tent used by the professional guides at the local outdoor shop. It's plenty durably. The Copper Spur is similarly rated on those surveys. They're both covered by Big Agnes warranty. Yes, they're very durable. You would, however, save over a pound by switching to the TarpTent Hogback. When the Copper Creek isn't on sale, you'd also be saving literally hundreds of dollars with the Hogback, too ... which is nice.

We have the Tarptent Hogback 4p which is 4lbs for 2 adults and 2 kids (6,2). So far we’ve taken it canoe camping only where weight isn’t so much an issue. When the youngest is potty trained we’ll be using it to hike though and I’m sure we’ll be happy with the extra weight savings. With our oldest we did backcountry camp since he was 2 and we used a heavier 3p freestanding tent (6lbs split between two adults carried). We always made sure we didn’t go too far. The thing with toddlers is that you’ll never know when an extra 40lbs will go up your back lol. So going lighter sometimes helps.