I've done a lot of searching on what people like for good alpine tents and I'm going with Mountain Hardwear's Trango. I am just not sure whether or not I should get the 2 person or 3 person. It will be just my wife and I doing trips and I wanted to know if people thought that the 2 person is big enough or if I should just go for the 3 person and have the extra luxury.
The biggest difference when packing the tents is 1 pound in weight or so, and the packed diameter of the 2 person is 6"x20" vs the 3 person 9"x22".
All other things being equal, for a 1 lb. difference I'd go with the 3 person. However the packing volume of the 3 person is about 2.5 times bigger than the 2 person so I'd have to consider that pretty hard.
I would say go with the Trango 2 person for a number of reasons. -Easier on your back (weight) -Easier for two people to heat up in cold weather.(dead air space) -It has a pretty decent sized vestibule for two peoples gear. If you are sure its just going to be you and the wife than I don't see any reason for the extra weight.
I agree with you completely. My wife and I have a small 2 person tent, and I have never seen any need for anything bigger. There is plenty of room in the vestibule for our gear, and we have enough room in the tent for anything we need. so yeah, I'd forget about anything bigger because there is no need.
Where will you be using this tent? In what conditions?
If you're gonna be in Alaska on a glacier for a few weeks, or camping out when there is stormy winter weather in the forecast, then the Trangos are a good choice. If you will need to spend days in it waiting out weather, might as well get the 3.1.
If the trip is anything less
In reply to:
anything less, e.g. if you'd cancel your weekend trip if there was an impending snow onslaught, then something much lighter will work.
I have the Trango 2 and I think it's quite roomy. Yes it's only a pound difference for the 3.1 but man does it take up more space to pack.
We have squeezed 3 larger sized guys in my Trango 2 on climbs by sleeping foot to head and it wasn't all that bad. For you and your wife? Plenty of room.
DEFINITELY the 2 Reasons: 1) weight- not THAT big of a deal (1 lb) but oz's make lbs right?
2) pack room- the difference between the two tent's pack room can/will make the difference between what size pack you can bring. a smaller tent means a smaller tent which means a smaller (and LIGHTER) pack. saved space and weight here (add to the 1lb savings). a smaller pack is also easier to climb with
3) dead space- a smaller tent has less dead air that you need to heat up. so not only do you save room in your pack and save weight on your back, but you will find you can bring a lighter/less warm sleeping bag in the trango 2 vs. the 3 if you only have 2 people. DO NOT DISCOUNT THIS POINT!! the trango's are WARM tents, and if you save on space with the smaller tent you can be VERY COMFORTABLE with smaller/lighter sleeping bags.
4) the vestibules on the trango's are great, you'll have plenty of room for 2 people with the trango 2
SO to sum up: by going with a smaller tent (the 2 versus the 3) you not only save the 1lb up front but you save a LOT of weight in the long run b/c you can bring a smaller back-pack and a smaller/iighter sleeping bag (which ALSO cuts down on the amount of room in a backpack, so maybe go EVEN lighter)
The Trango is a 3 season tent, it sucks in summer, so if you think you'll be using it in warmer weather sometimes then the 3.1 will be worth the extra weight.
However, IMO, the 2 is roomier for two people than the 3.1 is for 3 and the 4 is for 4.
Lastly I'd say get the 2 and bring a pounds worth of pole splints if you're going to get the new Atlas Scandium poles, or see if you can score some old purple and black poles from someone. NOLS and many wilderness therapy programs have had tons of problems with those poles, mine broke while setting it up to use the seam sealant so I took some old ones. Even if they don't break, the part between pole lengths isn't attached to one side so it makes it a pain to fold them up evenly.
Except for the pole issue (which has hopefully been fixed) they are great tents, have fun with it.
Thanks for all the tips and advice everyone! You all have brought up some good points and I think that I'm going to go with the Trango 2. Although NO0B, I'm not sure why you said it's a 3 season when it's advertised as a 4 along with everything else I've seen people say about it. Thanks for the tip about the poles though. I'll remember that.
Keep any more advice and info comin'!! Hopefully this thread will help somebody else in their future decision.
I think NO0b was referring to it as fall winter spring tent, as to the lack of ventilation for the summer months. However I am not NO0B and can't confirm this.
I think NO0b was referring to it as fall winter spring tent, as to the lack of ventilation for the summer months. However I am not NO0B and can't confirm this.
I think NO0b was referring to it as fall winter spring tent, as to the lack of ventilation for the summer months. However I am not NO0B and can't confirm this.
Pat
Yup, I've woken up in a Trango after the sun has started to beat down on it and have not been able to breathe because it was hot and uncomfortable. But if you skip the thermarest and put your bag on top of the tent for shade during warm days it is definitely bearable.
I've heard about folks having issues with the poles. I have had no problems with them and I've had my Trango for 5 years now. I haven't put it through the ringer like NOLS would but it has seen a lot of use and is still in great shape.
Trango 2 is one of the biggets 2 person tents in the market. We selpt 3 in it a couple of times without any problem. In that case the only lomitation is that you won't be able to keep all your equipment inside. Anyway it has a big abside...
Just in case anybody wonders (for future info searchers) I ended up getting the Trango 2. I got a chance to see a 3.1 set up and in comparison the 2 man is MUCH smaller. However, I think that it is perfect for any one taking it for two people or who wants to have a ton of space to themselves. The 3.1 is way more than 2 people would ever really need.
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