Originally Posted by
staehpj1
On the tent, like most things, it depends. Personally, I find the rated sizes on tents to generally be fine and do not feel the need to up-size to a 2 person for solo or a three person for two. I do not take much inside the tent for the night and don't feel the need for much sprawling room. I really like the Eureka Spitfire 1 for one and am assuming that the Spitfire 2 would be an equally good value for two.
Stoves, I like the MSR Pocket Rocket and similar cartridge stoves, but... and this is a big but in my opinion, I have not found fuel all that readily available in many places I have toured. This includes my trip in the Sierras and even this year's trip on the coast. I rarely saw cartridges in the small towns on the coast this year and last year in the Sierras the first place I saw it was on day 20 in the camp store in Yosemite. If you are doing short tours that you do not have to fly too that probably is not a problem.
Because on the fuel availability issue, I have taken to mostly using home made pepsi can alcohol stoves. If you don't want to mess with that you can buy a Trangia for pretty cheap. I have had zero problem finding fuel for it, most often in the form of yellow bottle Heet! dry gas. It comes in a nice 12 ounce bottle that is a handy size and is easy to pour from.
+1 on the tent front. I lived in a Big Agnes Copper Spur solo tent for 7 months, I never wanted something bigger. I recently shared a 2 person MSR Hubba Hubba with a friend, and I thought it was roomy enough. Especially with a significant other, where I assume you wouldn't mind sleeping close to each other. But only you can decide for sure. If you have a local REI or outdoor store you should climb into some tents and see what you think. Another advantage to a smaller tent with another person is the body heat factor, at least when it's cold out.