Tarptent - Preamble

I have a preamble and love it as a one person tent. As a two person tent it is tight because you can only sit up at all in the middle. I always call it a two person in a punch tent.

Just a couple ounces past 34oz, but the Lightheart Duo has been amazing for me. I used it for chunks of the PCT, and my wife and I used one for most of the CDT. We tried the Preamble like another poster mentioned, and while it is super cool, we personally found it a little tight and low for two people, and I'm a medium sized guy and my wife is pretty small. It worked, but felt a little crampy during a storm or for hanging out in before breaking camp. I would use the Preamble solo though, it's a fun in-between, part tarp part tent...uuuuh, Tarptent, I guess haha. We briefly tried the Durston Xmid 2 but sold it, as it was a little hard to figure where the floor would end up when trying to set up between roots or rocks (kind of like the asymmetrical Stratospire 2), and we just didn't like it more than the Duo. The Lightheart Duo is super livable and doesn't cost any more than any of the cottage company tents. I love it's integrated bathtub floor, lots of headroom, awning (if you get it with the awning it's fucking awesome). Just everything. It feels very spacious inside of it. For ME it has the least amount of sacrifices, esp for two people, but at this point in my UL journey, a hair over two pounds for my favorite tent is totally fine by me, even solo. I can't make my gear more than 12.5lbs, even with semi-winter loadout and my heavy-ish tent and ULA Circuit/Ohm (same as the tent...I've been a super hip Palante/frameless guy and while I can rock it, everything feels SO much better with a pack that can truly carry a bunch of water and food on the PCT and CDT long stretches). I've tried a good amount of tents over course of a triple crown, plus a partial PCT and Colorado Trail hike, and I think it rocks. I've sold off most of the rest and it's what I'll use until it breaks or they stop making them.

i use the tarptent preamble for me and my dog. i love it. it’s floorless, so i don’t have to worry about her messing it up. it has a mesh skirt and zip door so it’s still fully enclosed. at $200, it’s also really affordable for a highly featured silpoly shelter.

Check out the Tarptent Preamble! It's essentially a re release of one of the original tarptents, but with improved materials and features, so you may really dig it. It fits two 25-inch pads but is not overkill. It's floorless, but the shelter with lines, stakes, and bag is 20.5 oz, so with a couple ounces of polycro, you're still under your target. And at $200 msrp, well within budget.