2-3 person tents

Any recommendations for a tent that will fit myself and lady (both 5'8") and a 45 lb white german shepherd for a weeklong backpacking trip in West Virginia (about 75 miles) would be appreciated to the utmost degree. I'm fairly novice in backpacking and don't have a large circle of friends to ask regarding their experiences.

Thank you kindly,
Todd

Hilleberg Nallo 3 or another of their superb tents, go to www.hilleberg.com, these are the finest tents I have owned/used or seen in over 40 years of wilderness backpacking. Get a "footprint" with it and use it, this saves your tent floor from tiny punctures that alow H20 inside.

It will be in mid-July as well.... so the weather will be quite toasty.

That tent is absolutely beautiful and looks ideal. It's just a tad pricey for me and I'm not sure that such a substantial investment is prudent right now.

Look for something made by The North Face or Sierra Design or a similar mainstream company. Hillebergs are great, but as you already know, pricey. Go to REI.com or backcountrygear.com and look through their tent lists. You need a 3 person tent with ventilation. One with a fair amount of mesh will work for you. REI rents tents if there is a store near you.

Something like the SD Antares would probably work for you. Not particularly light, but fairly cheap. I'd get a tent with a vestibule so that if the dog gets wet or just stinks from something it gets into, he or she can sleep in the vestibule and still be near you and under cover without muddying up the tent interior. You can see the SD tent on their website or the backcountrygear website.

Todd -

You might possibly have an EMS near you, as an alternative to REI. EMS has more stores in the East, REI more in the West. Both have store-label tents that are pretty good and less expensive.

As kutenay mentioned, Hilleberg makes great tents (and Bo Hilleberg is a very interesting fellow who tests all of his tent designs in the northern Scandinavian backcountry). But if you want to start off with something less expensive and high quality (don't want it to fail during even a backpack as short as a week), as Tom said, look at North Face and Sierra Designs. There are others that are reasonable for your use - Big Agnes (fairly new company, seems to have good tents), Wentzel, Eureka (for a big company connected to a huge corporation, but makes quality tents for the price), some others. Be sure you look at Trailspace's Gear Reviews (click on Gear Reviews at the top of this page, then select tents, 3-season, and scan down the list).

Sorry, I don't really pay much attention to price as I am retired, very serious about my gear and really don't spend on anything except gear, guns and good books. Here in BC and in the rest of Canada, the weather can be horrific even in July/August, so, I tend to go with "carriage trade" gear and not worry about it.

My choice in lower cost tents is Mountain Hardware and MSR,with Marmot another option. Again, you can see I think in terms of severe weather. I had a North Face VE whatever tent for nealry 20 years, I found it wet and wobbly in high winds, so, gave it to my nephew, I don't like NF gear, never did.

Sierra Designs is OK, but, heavy for what you get, my choice here might well be Black Diamond's line starting with the "First Light"and there are larger models.

BUT, I own Indegral Designs and Hilleberg, have owned Bibler and several others and will just say that the day I got my Hilleberg about two months ago and set it up, I was a CONVERT, the designs,, materials and workmanship is fabulous. I am going into northern BC to goldpan in mid-August and will be dropped by helo a long way from the Alaska Highway, this tent is going with me.

kutenay said, "I am going into northern BC to goldpan in mid-August and will be dropped by helo a long way from the Alaska Highway,"

Can I go, can I go, can I, can I? Oh rats, I have a couple other commitments that take up most of August. Sigh .... Well, that sounds like it would be a fun trip - you could provide cover for me while I shoot lots of photos. I used to be pretty good at panning when I was growing up in Arizona. And I would bring my Bibler Eldorado (appropriate for panning, eh?)

There are other alternatives for a summer hike. Lots of people enjoy this type of shelter...

http://www.tarptent.com/products.html

If you are handy with a sewing machine, they also have plans, and others provide you with all the materials ready to slap together.

It is on the cheap side, definitely is light weight, options are for bigger size, they are almost bug proof.

Another option.

Well, I'm sure others will have opposing points of view - but a Eureka Timberline two man with a vestibue (for the dog) would be an inexpensive, functional tent for your stated use. My wife and I have been using one for over 20 years at this point. While I'm generally a tarp guy, she enjoys the "anti-creepy-crawly thing" aspects of being in a tent - it's nice and roomy for two - when we only had one child he'd sleep in it with us (a tad snug - but who wants to put a three year old in their own tent - especially if you can't sound-proof it??).

Pitched with an eye to any available breeze they're not bad in hot weather (open the flaps front and rear - let the breeze blow through) - not the lightest dogs on the block but I've carried ours more miles than I can count through all four seasons (in the mid-state region on the East coast - I probably wouldn't want to take it up high in winter in the Cascades or Rockies)

My 2 cents -

Steve

Steve

I am going to go with the Marmot Titan. It's light enough. The vestibules might be a bit small to fit the dog, but we'll figure something out. It's well within my price range and I believe it will serve me well for mild summer camping. I truly appreciate all of the advice, and will be purchasing a Hilleberg when I am a bit more stable financially. Thanks again everyone.

I used 65-sq foot Go-light Hex with two samoyed dogs and my girlfriend a few weeks ago. It was large enough, though it was better with just one dog last winter... The lack of floor was good for the dogs, who were very muddy and wet. After shutting door and killing mosquitoes inside, it was fairly bug-proof. Dogs seem to really sleeping in tents, and therefore a very small two person tent isn't big enough for two people and one large dog. You probably need at least 40 square feet, excluding any vestibule. Bringing a dog may add to your post-trip cleaning chores concering tents with floors.

REI has the halfdome HC 2 doors/vestibules
polyester rainfly $170

I ended up purchasing the tarptent rainshadow 2. Thank you for the recommendation and I'll let you know how it worked for me.

Todd -
You only have to click "Post Now" once. It isn't necessary to click it a half dozen times (the excess repeated identical posts have now been removed)

I do, I can't figure out why it puts multiple posts on there. I apologize, and will be very conscious of how I click from now on -- if that's what the problem is.

Reading two posts asking about solutions for staying dry and warm in tents, bags and bivies, I am amazed that the site monitors have not asked why these individuals were bringing their dogs into the wilderness to begin with, or most importantly; why would any sane person invite a dog into their tent or bag unless perhaps they were dying of hypothermia? Seriously folks, leave your dogs at home.

Dogs are welcome in most state and federal park lands and wilderness areas within certain guidelines.

We have backpacked for years with our dog with no problems.

I recommend a tent with 2 vestibules like the REI Half-Dome or REI Quarter-Dome (which is lighter!). http://www.rei.com/camping/shoplette/Tents/Backpacking+Tents?cm_re=toc*1M*backpacking_2person

Some people train their dogs to sleep in the vestibule on their own light bedding.That prevents wet feet & sharp nails on sleeping bags. They hook their dogs to the tent to prevent a midnight wander.

Others do very well with their dogs curled up right in the tent!

Have fun!

I actually just ordered a Marmot Titan myself (not yet arrived) and wondered how it went with your dog. I have a 40-lb lab/chow that I’m thinking about taking out.

I found this post when Googling for a footprint for the Titan. You didn’t by chance get a footprint? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.

Just got back from hiking the Quehanna Trail in Parker Dam and wanted to thank everyone for their recommendations. I, once again, went with the Rainshadow 2 Tarptent and it worked phenomenally well.

The tent was extremely light and kept us dry the entire time. We propped up the bathtub floor in the middle of each side with a shoe or something if it was sagging. My lady and myself (both 5'8") would sleep at the head of the tent, and the dog slept at our feet, as she's pretty laid back and just went right to bed everynight.

The tent floor is extremely slippery, so it made cleaning out the dog hair in the morning a 10 second chore. We bought yoga mats to sleep on because they were grippy, came with a small case to strap on your bag, and only cost 15 bucks.

Lastly, to reply to the gentlemen a couple posts up. I bring my dog because she's phenomenal company, is more disciplined than many people, makes me feel a bit more safe at night, and is always smiling, carefree, and keeping my spirits up--even when my girlfriend is yelling at me for an hour for not counting down correctly for a picture with her in it. There are many dogs who have too rambunctious a demeanor that would not be pleasant during hikes, but she stays right between both people when we walk, and carries her own food. We also saw bear, deer, turkey, etc.... so she's not scaring away the other animals. I live in a fairly urban area and these trips are as enlivening, uplifting, and necessary to her health as they are to mine. Not to mention, finding a dogsitter is a hassle.