Two Person vs Three Person Tents

There's lots of discussion around the "Big Three" pieces of hiking equipment (tent, sleeping gear, backpack), but rarely have Roslyn or I found anything on the differences in what the size of a tent means when two people are using it. Having used a three person tent for all of the summer of 2018, and a two person tent for all our backpacking in 2019, here's some discussion on the differences.

Ease of Use

Three person tents are easier to use. Setting up two person or three person tents is about the same once you've practiced with your tent, but sleeping setup and gear storage is much easier in a three person tent that in a two person tent when you have two people sleeping in it. With the three person tent, there's enough room for two people and all their gear to sit inside the tent with some space left over, and you don't need to worry about organizing your stuff very much. With a two person tent, the entire floor space will likely be taken up with the sleeping pads being used with a bit of space left at either the foot or head of the bed.

What this means in practice is that in a two person tent you will need to be comfortable with the person you are sharing the tent with. Any slope in the camping area will mean the two of you are sliding together during the night and getting pretty close. You will also need to either sleep with your feet on top of your backpack or keep your back pack in the vestibule, along with quite a bit of other gear you would normally keep inside if there was room.

Roslyn and my setup with our two person tent has each of us put our backpack, shoes, one water bottle, trekking poles, wet clothes, bear spray (my side only), sit pads, and some other small items in our tent vestibules. In the tent we only have our sleeping pads, sleeping bags, clothing and other items in our dry bag, and electronics. We also hang some damp clothing inside the two person tent hoping it will dry off. If we have the three person tent everything except shoes goes in the tent.

Keeping organized with a two person tent will help a lot. Roslyn and I have laid out exactly where everything goes and make sure to always put our gear in the same spot. This also helps with packing up the tent in the morning and gets us out on the trail faster.

Weight and Packability

Two person tents weigh less and pack better. Our two person tent weighs about 3.5 lbs, while our three person tent weights about 7 lbs. The two person tent takes up less than half the space that our three person tent does in a backpack. The smaller size means we can do 4 day trips with our 30 litre backpacks instead of needing our larger 55/65 litre packs. The smaller size also lets us split the weight more evenly because we can divide up the food/fuel/cooking gear better instead of the tent taking up the space.

Setup Location

Two person tents are easier to find spots to setup. This is due to the smaller foot print that a two person tent has compared to a three person then. On well maintained trails with designated camping spots this may not be a big deal. On more rugged trails, places that get very busy with limited scramble sites, or in densely treed areas, having a smaller foot print has helped us get more tents in or get our tent into a nicer spot our three person tent would not fit.

Overall Comfort

Three person tents are more comfortable overall. The extra foot print size and head room in a three person tent makes stretching out, getting dressed, packing and unpacking much easier and less cramped. Being able to spread out a bit more while sleeping also makes the night much more comfortable.

Given the above four points, Roslyn and I have decided to have both a three person tent and a two person tent. When weight isn't a factor on canoe trips or car camping trips we opt to take the three person tent since the major downsides of weight and packability are moot. For backpacking trips we take our two person tent because we would rather cut out some weight and make the trail easier for ourselves at the expense of comfort at camp. Everyone has a different set of priorities though, so I hope that the above will help you come to a decision on what size of tent to choose.