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I finally stopped trusting tent capacity ratings after a guy at REI in Denver called me out
Honestly I used to be that person who bought a 2 person tent and figured it would fit 2 people plus gear. Then about 8 months ago I was at the REI in Denver getting a new rainfly and this employee asked what I was using it for. I said me and my buddy were doing a weekend trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. He goes, and I quote, 'a 2P tent is really a 1P tent with a friend you really like.' At first I thought he was just being a jerk but he had a point. We had two 25 inch wide pads and they barely fit side by side, and once our packs were inside we were basically sleeping on top of each other. So I changed how I shop. Now I look at the floor dimensions and the peak height, not the person count. A tent listed as 2P with a 50 inch wide floor is useless for two adults with real pads. I ended up moving to a 3P tent for the two of us and it weighs about a pound more but I actually sleep. The lesson was not that the ratings are lies, more that the rating assumes you are a 5 foot tall person with a 20 inch pad and no gear. Anyone else gone through this and what floor width do you actually look for when two people are sharing?
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colescott4d ago
Did that REI guy just describe my entire camping life or what? I'm 6'2" so a "2P" tent is basically a body bag with a view for me. These days I won't even look at anything under 55 inches wide if it's two of us.
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