The Best Thru-Hiking Shelters for Couples (2022 PCT Survey)
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 has 143 completed surveys by hikers who reported hiking the PCT as a couple (I guess at least one member of one couple failed to fill the survey out).
- More detailed posts focused on data from the PCT Survey are always in the works; to be notified of new surveys, click here.
Couples’ Shelters
| # | SHELTER | RATING | PRICE | WEIGHT | FLOOR | FREESTANDING | CAPACITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zpacks Triplex | 8.27 | $799 | 1.37 lb | 622 g | 37.5 ft² / 3.5 m² | No | 3 |
| 2 | Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 | 8.94 | $600 | 3.63 lb | 1.65 kg | 41 ft² / 3.8 m² | Yes | 3 |
| 3 | Zpacks Duplex | 7.88 | $699 | 1.19 lb | 539 g | 28 ft² / 2.6 m² | No | 2 |
| 4 | Gossamer Gear The Two | 8.00 | $375 | 1.47 lb | 667 g | 26.2 ft² / 2.43 m² | No | 2 |
| 5 | Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2 | 8.57 | $500 | 2.62 lb | 1.188 kg | 38 ft² / 3.53 m² | Semi | 3 |
| 6 | Big Copper Spur HV UL2 | N/A | $550 | 2.69 lb | 1.22 kg | 29 ft² / 2.69 m² | Yes | 2 |
| 7 | NEMO Hornet 2P | N/A | $430 | 2.09 lb | 948 g | 27.5 ft² / 2.6 m² | Semi | 2 |
| 8 | Dan Durston X-Mid 2P | N/A | $300 | 2.4 lb | 1.085 kg | 33.2 ft² / 2.1 m² | No | 2 |
| 9 | Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2 | N/A | $400 | 1.88 lbs | 853 g | 28 ft² / 2.6 m² | Semi | 2 |
| 10 | MSR Hubba Hubba 2 | N/A | $550 | 3.25 lbs | 1.47 kg | 29 ft² / 2.69 m² | Yes | 2 |
Highest-Rated Shelters
The Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 was the highest-rated shelter among couples on the Pacific Crest Trail this year. It’s a three-person, side-entry, freestanding shelter that weighs 3.63 lb / 1.65 kg. It was also the second-most-common shelter among couples. It comes with stakes, guylines, tighteners, a pole-repair tube, a pole bag, and a stake bag.
Most Common Shelters
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 set up. The Triplex was the third-highest-rated shelter among couples. The third-most-common shelter this year was the two-person version, the Zpacks Duplex (this was also the most common shelter overall).
Shelter Complaints
When hikers report anything less than a perfect rating for their shelter, I ask them what they would have changed about the gear they were using or what they didn’t like about the gear.
Here are the top complaints hikers had with each of the five most popular and highest-rated shelters on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Zpacks Triplex
- Zippers failed 42.3%
- Poor performance in wind 23.1%
- Poor performance in rain 15.4%
- Not durable 11.5%
- Condensation Issues 11.5%
- Difficult to pitch 3.8%
- Not enough interior space 3.8%
- Not enough pockets 3.8%
- Not long enough 3.8%
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3
- Zippers failed 61.1%
- Poor performance in wind 5.6%
- Too bulky 5.6%
- Too heavy 5.6%
Zpacks Duplex
- Zippers failed 37.5%
- Poor performance in rain 18.8%
- Not enough interior space 12.5%
- Poor performance in wind 12.5%
- Condensation Issues 12.5%
Gossamer Gear The Two
- Not durable 44.4%
- Poor performance in rain 33.3%
- Zippers failed 33.3%
- Poor performance in wind 22.2%
- Difficult to pitch 11.1%
- Not enough pockets 11.1%
- Not long enough 11.1%
- Condensation Issues 11.1%
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL3
- Zippers failed 57.1%
- Not durable 14.3%
- Poor performance in wind 14.3%
Wrap Up
Although there are other pieces of gear that are shared by couples on the Pacific Crest Trail, shelters are the only thing that differs materially from solo hikers. It turns out that double-wide sleeping pads and sleeping bags aren’t too popular among long-distance backpackers.
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!
We use the Nemo osmo 3p. Split the load. 25 oz for me and 22oz for the Mrs. An amazing easy to set up tent
Happy to hear it worked out for you!
I definitely think batteries should be included, and also have a question in that portion addressing if a hiker had a battery failure. There is a growing population on the r/ultralight over at Reddit that has been denouncing the nitecore batteries for their reliability issues. Might be helpful to have some data to see if it’s a real issue or just Reddit being Reddit.
This is a good idea. That said, I recommend that couples carry batteries as if they were hiking solo, but it may be interesting nonetheless.
I have had issues with the smaller Nitecore batteries fwiw.
We carry one stove, one pot (an aluminum grease pot–much lighter than the titanium pots we own) and one tent. I carry the tent, my wife carries the litemax & pot. She carries the filter, I carry back-up water purification.
I was carrying a cup, the grease pot seemed too small, but I sent it home as the grease pot was fine.
All in all that is a good split. We are going back out again this year, will have an X-Mid Pro and will see how that goes.
How do you like the LiteMax? I am trying out a Giga for the first time on the Hayduke but almost went with the LiteMax instead.
I have to say that the pole caps made a huge, huge difference on how livable the Triplex was. You can get almost the same effect by running the side guy lines through the pole straps on a Triplex. It only seems to pull the walls a foot or so out, but it just really is a game changer.
Before they let you loose with one of those they should show you the video on how to fix the zippers. Ours failed about a thousand miles into the trail and fixing them with a pair of pliers wasn’t too hard. Would I have preferred not to fix them — yes! But the alternative of knowing how to fix them would have been nice.
Luckily they failed on us in an area that was bug free, I’d have hated to have had the bug net start falling open in a mosquito swarm area.
Excellent tip! I plan on trying one for the first time later this year and I will make sure I’m fully informed before setting out.
#1 Complaint? Zippers? Maybe it is time for the manufacturers to forget the weight and start putting heavier-duty zippers in. I would rather have a few Oz of zippers that will not fail than a failed (vestibule) zipper in a raging storm.
And it’s not just tents! Sleeping bags, jackets, and packs all fall victim to the same thing. The best zipper I ever used was on my Montbell Down Hugger sleeping bag – the thing was amazing.