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The Best Shelters for Couples on the Pacific Crest Trail (2021 Survey)

By Mac Leave a Comment

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as a couple can be a huge test of a relationship. Which tent or shelter to use as a couple can be an important consideration.

Will you sleep together? Separate? Who will carry what part of the tent? Will you use a two or three-person tent? Will you bring no shelter and cowboy camp every night until it rains and then have a huge, relationship-ending fight?

I may start asking, as part of the PCT Survey, which gear couples split between one another (e.g. if they only carried one stove). If you’re a prospective couple planning to hike the PCT and are looking for more data beyond the PCT Gear Guide, leave a comment below or get in touch and let me know what you think.

Notes on the data

  • This year’s survey boasts 101 completed surveys by hikers who reported being part of a couple (I guess at least one member of one couple failed to fill the survey out).
  • More detailed posts focused on PCT Gear, women-specific gear_, PCT Resupply, PCT Demographics, PCT Horror Stories, and PCT Advice are also available. If you would like to be notified of new surveys, click here.
Highest-Rated PCT Shelters for Couples

The REI Co-op Quarter Dome 2 was the highest-rated shelter among couples on the Pacific Crest Trail this year. It’s a two-person, side-entry, freestanding shelter that weighs 3.75 lbs / 1.7 kg. It was also the fifth most common shelter among couples. It comes with stakes, guylines, tighteners, a pole-repair tube, a pole bag, and a stake bag.

REI Co-op Quarter Dome 2 Tent
REI Co-op Quarter Dome 2
Zpacks Triplex
Zpacks Triplex
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2 Solution-Dyed Tent
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2
Zpacks Duplex
Zpacks Duplex
MSR-Hubba-Hubba-2-Tent-600x600
MSR Hubba Hubba 2
#SHELTERRATINGPRICEWEIGHTFLOORFREESTANDINGCAPACITY
1REI Quarter Dome 29.00/10$3493.75 lbs | 1.7 kg28.7 ft² / 2.67 m²Yes2
2Zpacks Triplex8.72/10$7991.37 lbs | 622 g37.5 ft² / 3.5 m²No3
3Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL28.57/10$4001.88 lbs | 853 g28 ft² / 2.6 m²Semi2
4Zpacks Duplex8.35/10$6991.19 lbs | 539 g28 ft² / 2.6 m²No2
5MSR Hubba Hubba 28.33/10$4803.25 lbs | 1.47 kg29 ft² / 2.69 m²Yes2
6Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL37.88/10$5503.63 lbs | 1.65 kg41 ft² / 3.8 m²Yes3
7NEMO Hornet 2P7.80/10$4002.38 lbs | 1.08 kg27.5 ft² / 2.6 m²Semi2
Most Common PCT Shelters for Couples

The Zpacks Triplex was the most common shelter among couples on the Pacific Crest Trail this year. It’s a three-person, side-entry, shelter that requires two trekking poles to be set up. The second most common shelter this year was the two-person version, the Zpacks Duplex (this was also the most common shelter overall).

Zpacks Triplex
Zpacks Triplex
Zpacks Duplex
Zpacks Duplex
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2 Solution-Dyed Tent
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2
REI Co-op Quarter Dome 2 Tent
REI Co-op Quarter Dome 2
#SHELTERRATINGPRICEWEIGHTFLOORFREESTANDINGCAPACITY
1Zpacks Triplex8.72/10$7991.37 lbs | 622 g37.5 ft² / 3.5 m²No3
2Zpacks Duplex8.35/10$6991.19 lbs | 539 g28 ft² / 2.6 m²No2
3Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL37.88/10$5503.63 lbs | 1.65 kg41 ft² / 3.8 m²Yes3
4REI Quarter Dome 29.00/10$3493.75 lbs | 1.7 kg28.7 ft² / 2.67 m²Yes2
5Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL28.57/10$4001.88 lbs | 853 g28 ft² / 2.6 m²Semi2
6MSR Hubba Hubba 28.33/10$4803.25 lbs | 1.47 kg29 ft² / 2.69 m²Yes2
7NEMO Hornet 2P7.80/10$4002.38 lbs | 1.08 kg27.5 ft² / 2.6 m²Semi2

Of the most common shelters for couples, we have two, three-person shelters and three, two-person shelters. This follows my personal strategy of selecting the “best shelter capacity”. The number of people using the shelter + 1. Quite scientific, I know.

The Wrap Up

I was going to include other pieces of gear here, but as it turns out, as far as couples are concerned, everything else is essentially the same. The other pieces of gear I considered were sleeping bags, sleeping pads, stoves, and water filters, but most people (even those in couples) choose these pieces of gear as if they were hiking solo.

Nobody (or at least very few people) uses double sleeping bags or double sleeping pads. Honestly, it wouldn’t be wise to do this in the case that you were somehow separated from your partner.

If you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, or awe-inspiring statements to make regarding the data here (or the data in the PCT Survey Gear Guide), then leave a comment below and let me know.

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Pinterest - 2021 PCT Survey Couples Shelters

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